McClelland British Woods

My favorite McClelland tobac. This is a Latakia silky soft english. The smoke is spicey and you can almost chew the blue swirls of smoke. Delicious, robust, and highly enjoyable. But wait I've found that this tobacco can be "kicked up a notch". After you have smoked about half of the can add some Edgeworth Ready Rubbed to it,(about two tablespoon fulls).Put the lid on the can and mix it up good. Now take some light rum,(tablespoon full) add it to the tobacco and mix well. Let it stand a few days and then let it dry a bit. Then you can thank me because you'll be smoking one of the best English spice tobaccos you'll ever put in a bowl of a pipe.Honestly it really is GOOD. Dang did I ever get off the subject here.Anyway this tobacco "by itself" is a true winner. No bite,no cloying in the bowl, and as always like most english tobaccos it goes exceptionaly well with Scotch Whisky.

Forgiveness is devine. Well, you see, I've got this Peterson 4th of July 2000 Dublin...and she's picky. Really picky! I introduced her to a number of other English and American English blends and she just couldn't be pleased. They were apparently so brash that she couldn't stand them without getting angry and hot under the collar. The fine old families like the Dunhill's didn't suit her. My American buddies - those Froggy favorites were quickly spurned. The mysterious Balkans didn't excite or intrigue her. What was I to do? On a chance outing (as these things often turn out) to the river with my dog I dug into the bottom of my smoking carry bag and discovered some two year old British Woods. It was love at first sight. Our American-English hero tamed the hot headed Irish beauty in their first encounter. They developed an exclusive relationship and are now happily married. The groom is perhaps the most forgiving gentleman I have ever met. Picky about neither pack nor puff he burns smoothly and cool in nearly all bowls but seems to favor his little Dublin beauty the most...giving up a delightful side smoke and lovely flavor. While perhaps not "the grail", this is truely an all day blend with excellent balance and a very acceptible mellow sweetness...and above all that packing and burning forgiveness that makes it an easy and welcome companion. In a word...devine!

I guess I made the wonderful transition to English tobaccos relatively quickly. I was first introduced to the McClelland line with Frog Morton which is still one of my everyday tobaccos. Although I frequently enjoy contemplating at the end of the day with the truer, heavier "My Mixture 965"'s and "Nightcap"s of the world, I feel McClelland's "British Woods" is a true sleeper out there. I find that it is perfectly balanced, reasonably complex, flavorful "English-aromatic" that fills the air with a sweeter, woodsier aroma than that of more potent, Latakia-laden Englishes. There is never any problem with keeping the pipe lit, no tongue-bite, it smokes quite cool, and no extra care needs to be taken to successfully pack your bowl. Simply put, it is one of my favorites.

A extremely well balanced english blend from McClelland. The prose on the tin is quite misleading, I don't find this to be a "dark" or "heavy" blend at all, on the contrary it is a wonderful medium blend with a fairly bright, almost fruity taste and cleanly smoky aroma. It is fairly sweet blend (nearly as sweet as FrogMorton IMO), but the orientals help prevent it from cloying while the virginias cut the bitterness of the orientals. The Latakia is surprisingly moderate, but plays nicely around the edges of the mouth and adds more spice than smoke to the taste.

Tin date of 370496 (1996). Tin note of smoky, earthy and sour fruity. Tobacco is a ribbon cut of black with a little dark brown and tan. Moisture content is great. No drying/prep needed. Burns slow with a few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of smoky floral, dark spiced fruit, savory, fermented sour, musty vegetation, toast, dry herbal, grass, wood, rich earth, buttery smooth, an incense and citrus background note, and a very peppery retro. Latakia is leading with Oriental/Turkish and Virginia supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

This review is based on old tins of Barry Levin British Woods that have been resting quietly in their bail top jars. The McClelland version may be different and your mileage may vary.

Veddy British. Perfect moisture. Some fermented aromas of big red wines present. Like Claret. Some vintage port-like sweetness, balanced with some nice tannins that are almost "rusty" in character. Very nice indeed. Leathery aromas in the jar.

Some "leaf lock" after their long rest, so fluffing was needed. A wee bit of air helped the moisture. Loads well with a light hand. Takes the match like a champ. Burns to a pristine gray ash with some dottle...no big deal.

Full, Rich and Dark sums it up nicely and accurately. Cold weather. Fireplace. Miles Davis Kind of Blue. Islay malt with a wee bit o' water, no ice. An old Bogey film noir.

Life is good.

McClellands loves their "woods": Blackwoods, British Woods, St. James Woods, and Virginia Woods (but no Tiger Woods). WIth the possible exception of St. James Woods, British Woods is clearly the best of the lot.

Out of the tin, the stuff is almost watery, no surprise here. Some serious drying is needed. The smell, with just a hint of McC, is very rich, leathery and dark- in other words delicious.

I would classify this as a medium English. Not killer latakia, but definitely there. A good dose of orientals, which makes this blend special for me.

I find that BW starts out kind of thin, almost anemic. This may be due to the moisture issue, though I promise, Dad, I did give it a good drying period. If I just had the first half over several bowls full, I would give this a "not my style" rating.

Ah, but the second half! The flavors all come on strong, with a good dark English taste. The latakia and orientals balance oh so well. This all builds to a wonderful climax... and then the bowl is done, making me want to have another.

A solid English entry from McClellands.

British Woods is a wonderful, fully flavored English blend that I heartily recommend. While described as a heavy blend, I concur with other reviewers that this does not accurately describe the blend, if it is to be viewed solely on the Latakia content.

I am reviewing a can that aged for over seven years prior to opening. I have not smoked a newer tin, but plan on getting more.

Immediately upon opening, the tobacco has the characteristic McClelland scent, which dissipates after being open for a few weeks. The tobacco itself is very dark, with a sprinkling of lighter colored leaves. The size of the tobacco is rather large, which forced me to work at the packing density a bit in order to get a good smoke to the bottom of the bowl. The effort is well worth it. My aged can showed a high level of crystal formation on the leaves. As usual, I let this sit for about a week after opening before smoking.

The initial taste is smoky and sweet, which settles into a dark, full flavor at the lower end of the spectrum, which may be what the tin notes refer to as heavy. The taste is consistent through the bottom two-thirds of the bowl, deepening a bit, and complex enough so as not to become boring. Occasionally increasing the smoking speed will bring the very pleasant sweet notes to the forefront quickly, adding an element of playfulness to the bowl.

Once I got past the packing issue by packing the bottom of the bowl a bit tighter than usual, this smokes cleanly to the bottom of the bowl and leaves you wishing it wasn?t over.

Highly recommended. 3/2002.