McClelland Dominican Glory Maduro

This pipe-weed is about the fourth one containing cigar leaf that I have tried. It is easily my favorite. The pressing and aging techniques used here result in a marriage of flavors I do not find in the other cigar blends (including Pease's Robusto, C&D's Billy Budd, P&W Churchill). Masterfully balanced, I first find a Red VA taste, followed in short order by the slight spice and earthy cigar leaf, and thereafter the stoved sweetness kicks in. Other blenders seem to really struggle with the incorporation of cigar leaf, never quite finding how to balance it, or discerning precisely the role it should play. McClellend really found the secret. Very well done!

If I wasn't told that DGM had cigar leaf, it would be hard to explain the subtle spiciness that "curbs" some of the natural sweetness from the main Virginia base.

Perique could explain it, but DGM lacks the "stewed fruit" aspect evident to some extent with Perique-touched blends.

The sweet, dark flavors still prevail even as complemented by the maduro cigar leaf. This is moderately complex and certainly not monotonous.

DGM is on the other side of the flavor fence as compared to Robert Lewis 123. DGM is a cigar enhanced Virginia blend (red and black stoved), while 123 is a pleasant take on an English-hybrid of sorts. I have yet to compare it to Robusto by GL Pease or Peretti's No. 500.

This is pretty darn cool smoking, producing little moisture and lots of flavor and aroma for indoor and outdoor enjoyment. Could be an all-day blend except for the richness.

I get the most taste without any penalty when fully rubbing the already broken flakes. It just doesn't burn well for me otherwise (I usually just fold flakes with other Virginia blends).

My tin was two years old when opened.

Being quite new to smoking Pipes, I've not had much experience in this area, but I do enjoy a good cigar, and that's where I find such a liking to this brand.

The smoke is quite rich, and most definitely sweet. I'm getting a wonderful idea what the VA's are like, and these full-bodied, sweet-on-the-pallette smokes are absolutely wonderful as far as I'm concerned.

In the beginning of the smoke, the sweetness is very pronounced. As you get towards the center of the bowl, it really comes alive. It's a bit of a warm smoke, and if you drag too hard, you're liable to burn yourself. This is definitely a pipe tobacco to be "sipped". Towards the end of the bowl, the sweetness tapers off, and you've got a fantastic warm nuttiness with the smoke just POURING out of the mouthpiece.

In the can, my honest impression is that this blend smells a lot like teriyaki jerky, but the flavor is quite robust. If you're looking for subtle nuances, this isn't really the blend for you, but I've found my favorite for the moment. I can't wait to try some more virginia flakes!

Wow, it's been years since I smoked this. I got some from Barry Levin back in 93 or 94, can't remember exactly.



As I recall, it's basically Blackwoods Flake with 2-3% cigar leaf added for spice. It's surprisingly good if you like cigars; you can definitely taste the cigar leaf; but like a good spice it remains subordinate to the (excellent) virginias. If you're expecting a cigar-in-a-pipe you'll probably be disappointed, but if you're looking for a spicy blend with that leathery spiciness (and don't want latakia), then this is a good place to start.



Surprisingly, the cigar leaf is much more noticeable in the aroma than in the flavor, so if your wife doesn't like your cigars, she probably won't like this...

What a strange smoke.

Its glorious to behold in the jar, has that ketchup aroma wafting out of it right from the start, and you get the cigar in there too.

Soaking wet, needs a tonne of drying time. Even after that, its a "female dog" to light this and needed about 3 or 4 relights after char and tamping. Then it was really hot right at the start, palate stingingly hot.

Then it calmed down, warmed, and its a good smoke. However, its a cigar in a bowl! The VA's are present and you can smell them, but the overwhelming presence is a chopped up and pressed maduro cigar. If you want a maduro cigar, have one, this concoction is so strange. I used to smoke cigars before turning to pipes (my bank balance rare got above zero when smoking cigars) and loved a maduro after a meal, but honestly, they are so heavy and palate numbing that you have to be in the mood for them. I thought this would be a McClelland VA with a touch of maduro, but the maduro overwhelms everything, and it just came out with big plumes of cigar smoke.

Kind of nostalgic for me as a former cigar guy.

Won't buy another tin, might give the rest of the one I have away. Its not bad, I just don't see why it exists.

Picked up a dusty, old tin of this from my favorite pipe tobacco shop. The date on the bottom read "18 01 96" so naturally, I had to buy it. For $13.25 I got a 16 year old blend of good tobacco. I haven't been smoking a pipe for very long but this stuff is definately a good virginia. Couldn't taste much of the cigar leaf but I can literally see the sugar caked on this stuff. Truly amazing the way tobacco ages and I will definately buy the other tin that was a few years younger. I'd reccomend this to anyone who favors the taste of natural tobacco over the flavorings you find in aromatics.

On top of enjoying cigars from time to time, I primarily smoke VA, VAPer, and English blends. My first bowl of this blend was slightly disappointing as I was really expecting a much stronger taste of cigar. I loaded my second bowl in a Savinelli bent Dublin and decided to simply enjoy the quality virgnias in this blend. In not trying too hard to notice the addition of cigar leaf, the full creaminess and spicy, woody notes that only cigar leaf can provide came out in full force. I would suggest drying this blend before smoking as with most McClelland products to truly enjoy its well-behaved smoking characteristics. Flavors I detected throughout the smoke where oats, slight honey, spices, and very little citrus/tangines on top of still somewhat subdued cigar notes. Definitely not a cigar in your pipe. If you want the taste of a cigar it's been said that you should SMOKE A CIGAR!:) Overall a somewhat mild, high quality virginia smoke with pleasantly subtle cigar notes. Can't give it four stars but I have some aging so I may update.

Outstanding blend, the Virginias are very creamy and sweet, the cigar leaf is spicy. Burns very nice to the bottom of the bowl, never gets hot, and very few relights. From the tin the tobacco just a slight vinager smell, never offending, in fact very nice.

This stoved Virginia flake with cigar leaf added is a pretty good smoke. It has a lot of flavor, although I detect none of it being that of a cigar. It comes off more as a flavorful flake that smokes well with minimal bite factor. The tin I smoked was packed in 1999, so it has a few years of age on it.