McClelland Deep Hollow

Deep Hollow, like all the McClelland Virginias, is an extraordinary tobacco. It is as sweet as honey, and has a bold, spicy flavor. By spicy I don't mean peppery, like Perique, but like the brown spices: cloves, allspice and cinnamon. Its sweetness comes from the natural sugars in the leaf, not from any top flavoring or casing. I like its soft, fluffy texture. It also ages wonderfully.

Besides enjoying it on its own, I use it as a blending tobacco. I like English blends, but I prefer those with a bit of sweetness. If I try a new English blend and I like it, but it isn't at all sweet, I can usually make it more to my liking by adding a little Deep Hollow. I also use it whenever I break in a new pipe. The sugars really season the briar quickly.

The only negative for me about this blend is the same drawback I find with all straight Virginias: they don't have the richness or body of a good English blend. They're like eating sorbet instead of ice cream.

I have posted the identical review for Virginia Woods. To me, Virginia Woods and Deep Hollow taste almost exactly the same. Both are great, but virtually indistinguishable from each other.

I find this blend to be a very esquisite by McClelland and I generally do not care for the McClelland Tobaccos.

To the debate, is it or is it not an aromatic or is it or is it not a natural tobacco? Tough call, although being an aromatic connoisseur I would say this is a conflict between the aromatic and the natural arormas of the Red and Stoved Virginias.

I find Deep Hollow to be a very intriguing blend that has influenced a sensation of sweetness to my liking.

I also find that by leaving this tobacco for a few days in a jar increases the prodominate taste of the Virginias to their fullness. But... again there is that same old cnflict; Is it, or is it not?

Oh what the hell, I enjoy this tobacco in my Eric Neilsen and my Balleby and really that is all it really matters.

A non-aromatic that deserves high praise. Nutty, yet sweet. Perfectly moist right out of the tin. An excellent room note, but had the familiar McClelland "Heinz 57" tin note. I had moderate expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked this wonderful addition to my rotation.

What a wonderful smoke. Great virginia taste. Getting a little up the nose adds to the flavor. Sweet, maybe with a hint of vanilla. McClelland virginia's are rapidly becoming my favorite smoke.

******ON A PERSONAL NOTE IF YOU ARE A ENGLISH SMOKER AND OLNY LIKE ENGLISH THEN PLEASE DONT RIP APART STRAIGHTS OR AROMATICS THIS CAN BE VERY MISLEADING TO THE NEW PIPE SMOKERS*********

THIS IS A VERY NICE MILD BLEND, IN WHICH I WAS ALITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT TRYING AFTER I OPENED IT UP. AT FIRST HAS THAT MCCELLAND KETCHUP SMELL. BUT AFTER LETTING SIT OPEN FOR A WEEK AND THEMN SMOKING A PIPE FULL, YOU DONT EVEN NOTICE IT. JUST A NICE RELAXING SMOKE W/ NO BITE AT ALL.I WOULD RECOMMEND TO THE NEW AND OLD SMOKER.

I found Deep Hollow a great blend. It taste great, smokes cool and has room note that is enjoyed even by the nonsmokers. In some ways the taste and aroma reminds me of a blend I used to smoke called Black and Gold, but the tobacco blend in Deep Hollow is quite different. The red and black stoved Virginias in Deep Hollow are of the highest quality. Great job McClelland!

I enjoy this blend, it reminds me of being out in the woods, just like the packaging says. I find little to be more enjoying than smoking this alone at night, outside, just sitting and watching the smoke rise to the tree branches above.

I find this to be moist, but not to the point where it'll fill your bowl with goo, making it hard to draw in the smoke.

With the mixed bag of ratings, I was slow to try this blend. I can't say that I was necessarily missing out with there being so many other blends that I have tried and enjoyed. This blend just happened to work with my chemistry. I found it very flavorful and with just enough sweetness to satisfy that occasional craving. What I found more interesting was that over a period of a month, I managed to smoke a 100gm tin without realizing it. So much for the occasional craving. I think what I liked about it, was that it kept my taste buds happy during those times when I was in "auto-puff" mode. I have to be careful when I do that with some blends as I can either fry my tongue or miss the subtle nuances of more complex blends. It's a non-thinking smoke, and there are times when my subconcious likes to enjoy a pipe, while the rest of the brain is balancing the checkbook. While this may not be a hallmark tobacco, is has it's place.

I picked up a year old can of this based on my tobacconist's recommendation about five months ago and finally opened it. I did not notice the standard "McClelland odor", which threw me after reading all the reviews, but I wrote it off as the additional aging. After letting it dry for five days I loaded a pipe and sat down to relax after work. WOW! I enjoyed it so much I used it to break in a new piece I had recently added to my collection. Deep Hollow smoked cool and to a nice grey ash with little to no tounge bite, no matter how furiously I puffed. It definitely is not your standard cased aromatic, but it had enough flavor to keep me guessing, and enough tobacco flavor and nicotine strength to keep me interested. The Latakia smokers out there will probably not enjoy this blend but the aromatic smokers will find it a nice foray into straight Virginia territory and it could satisfy the Virginia lover's sweet tooth. After a minimum of one years additional aging, Deep Hollow will definitely become a regular in my rotation.