Butera Dark Stoved

This seems to be a love-or-hate smoke. I wonder, honestly, how much it has to do with the pipe? I smoke this 'blend' in a small bent plateau freehand by Walt Cannoy which has never had anything but Va flakes in it. It comes off in this pipe as somewhat 'monochromatic,' not being a complex flavor at all, but very smooth and mild. It is only a tiny bit sweet, still it has the distinct taste of the dark Vas that everyone else mentioned. It reminds me of the woodsy, haylike, field-of-wheat descriptions that apparently mean we all know what we are talking about here. It does NOT taste of vanilla, raspberries, leather, chocolate, or anything else. It tastes like good straight Virginia, well stoved and nicely cured. Four stars.

Tin aroma is very pungent, tangy and vinegary. A strong McClelland odor I would say. But very very pleasing to me. The flakes are pitch black and highly compressed, so they won’t peel off to ribbons but rather break with rubbing. Loading and lighting is easy and it keeps lit while burning slow and evenly.

When smoked aromas of burnt caramel, leather, black pepper, smoky wood came to me. Even the vinegary aroma comes through, at least in the beginning, a thing that is not always the case with McClelland’s tobaccos. Overall it is pungent with some sourness but there is plenty of supporting sweetness but towards the end it becomes more mellow, earthy, nutty and sweet-spicy.

Dark Stoved is a fantastic, complex tobacco. It’s also strong but never crosses the threshold of being unpleasantly so. In any case I cannot imagine it being an all-day tobacco for me, it has to be an occasional treat. I believe it is a tobacco that will benefit from ageing.

I have never tasted Samuel Gawith’s Lakeland Dark, but Dark Stoved has similarities with 1792 without the tonquin. However it’s not as strong and behaves better.

Nice dark stoved broken flake. Mild virginia blend, tasty and cool burning. Plum and currant flavors, easy to ligth. Need to be rubbed before packing. None of the Classic McClelland's ketchup aroma.Good for a brunch pipe. Maybe a little plain.

Butera Dark Stoved (Royal Vintage) tobacco is the prefect collaboration between pipe carver Michael Butera and the McClelland Tobacco Company.

Tin aroma was McClelland’s signature aroma vinegary/ketchup but goes away in a few days.

Dark Stoved look very similar in color, feel and appearance as McClelland Dark Star. It is somewhat of a chore to pack and light, in the bowl Dark Stoved offers an overall sweet smoke with occasional notes of fig, dark chocolate, and wood. Once lit, it burned richly and smoothly to a fine white ash. As it gets going the sweet vs sour tastes are fun to play with. Enjoyable any time of day. I have several more tins set aside to age. I recommend it highly.

Dark Star is a favorite of mine. Even though I don't always have a tin of it open, there's always some in the cellar. However, Dark Star is not always the appropriate choice for me when it comes to stoved VAs. The flake can come off a little too bold, too zesty or tangy -- a little overbearing in the flavor department. This of course depends on my mood, time fo day, what I've eaten, the pipe it's in, and other variables that are unique to the smoker.

When the mood calls for a silky, buttery finish but with just a little less in the all-out flavor and mouthfeel adventure that is Dark Star, Butera Royal Vintage Dark Stoved is the ticket. Butera's flake is just toned down a bit. It's an excellent, breezy smoke that is still full of flavor and interest.

When you feel like Dark Star might be a bit much, reach for this instead. Save the Dark Star for a more suitable moment.

When I first opened the tin of this tobacco the sour aroma was overwhelming but this aroma did not overpower the flavor .this was one of the coolest smoking tobaccos I have tried in a long time. There was only a slight sour taste and aroma wile smoking. The flavor was consistent throughout the entire bowl, this has quickly become one of my favorite blends and I highly recommend this one.

I've only had one bowl of this so far and that was in a Castello that seems to like any Virginia but if first impressions mean anything this is one pleasant blend.

The flake texture reminds one of Dark Star or 2035. That is to say the flake could be used to repair worn shoe soles. Upon rubbing out and lighting the taste is very refined for a Va. This is something that could be smoked with very little thought but doing so is going to mean that one misses a lot of subtle tastes. All in all this is a great choice to introduce someone to Va. blends or for the seasoned smoker looking for an all around good smoke.