Butera Matured Ribbon

This is a blend of three different Virginias, and all contribute nicely to this tobacco offering. Despite the weight, it burns cool too. I found this to be very similar to McClelland's #27 and McCranie's Red Ribbon. This particular blend carries a bit more spice than the aforementioned other two, and is perhaps less sweet as well.

If you do give this a whirl, do so in a small bowled pipe, it seems to smoke better than in a large one. I tried a variety of shapes and sizes of briars during the course of smoking the 50g tin. Perhaps the Virginia strength became too much for me in a larger pipe.

When I opened this tin I thought well there is a lot of stoved black VA's here and I thought they would completely dominate the blend. They did not. The Red VA in fact is the dominate flavor in this blend. They are sweet, tangy, notes of dark fruit and a note or two of earthiness. The stoved black follows below this but occasionally rises to compete with the reds. The stoved has a slightly spicy note along with some dried dark fruits (think dried dates/figs/prunes) and was rather sweet. The bright VA had brief notes of hay but very little citrus and were usually far in the background only occasionally coming forward. Overall, a good blend that will not bite and smokes slow. The finish is very short on this one making it perfect for the first pipe in the morning or for when you want something in between fuller blends. Great in the afternoon summer heat as the nic is light. The room note is outstanding; smells like a tobacco burning should. It just missed being outstanding 3.5 stars.

I was really looking forward to trying this blend and while I was not disappointed it's not quite for me. Excellent quality. Smooth smoking, complex, clean finish, easy burning. Red virginias provide the base and body with stoves and bright augmenting. What this blend lacks that would make it outstanding for me is sweetness. Very dry, earthy, mineral tasting blend with subtle spice. Excellent in that respect. Tang, spice, and earth. Just no sweetness detected. If it's there the tang and spice mask it. I might even go as far as to say it's completly devoid of casings. Natural tasting tobacco.

Maybe a decade or two would make it shine...for my tastes

My tin was five years old at the time of opening.

I have had mixed feelings about this Royal Vintage line: I highly recommend Dark Stoved, really liked Latakia #1, but thought Latakia #2 was a flavorless failure. To be brief, I think Matured Ribbon is a success, falling just below Dark Stoved in my rankings.

The blend is a very nice, rich blend of Virginias that burns quite well and never poses a threat to the tongue. Well worth seeking out.

The tin aroma of this medium-cut, medium ribbon is the usual funk associated with McClelland: fetid silage and sauerkraut.

Flavor is, again, typical. Which is to say, typically sweet, strong, and complex matured VAs. The solid and balanced flavor rests on the red VAs with the gold and dark leafs providing punctuation.

This is a delightfully complete, full-spectrum blend. More than yet another red and black VA blend, the gold leaf brings a wonderful variance to a somewhat bloated blend category. This seemed best in a narrow to medium gauge chamber.

This is a blend of three different good Virginias, which all together contribute to the creation of a quite fine tobacco.

Of course there is this constant ketchup taste (since it is manufactured by McClelland).

Though it is easily smoked, easily fills the bowl, does not produce any tongue biting, it does not stay lit. It must go through a procedure of drying, in order to bring about better results. It tastes like McClelland?s No 27.

I will not buy it again because I was not really impressed.

I am tough on reviewing Virginias ! I agree with joe ;this is not a krumble kake' but a mix cut ribbon flake Va! One of my favorite Va's is blended by McClelland's ! This is not it. Its not bad its fair to partly cloudy ;and a little pricey for the mediocrity . I will not bash Butera though;for if you want to smoke a very fine Krumble kake try king fisher! I'm gonna go try to find that old tin now ! Vincenzo

A good McClelland Virginia, with all the classic characteristics: a little ketchup flavour, cut in small pieces and easy to pack. Although it smokes pretty cool, it is difficult to keep lit and it bites a little, especially during the first puffs. Good, but nothing I will stock in my cellar.

Let's start with the presentation: not a Kruble Kake at all -- there are no less than three kinds of ribbons in the quantities that they appear in this blend, they really do sing.

I like that this is tinned my McClelland and yet is somewhat dry in the tin (more like the Blakeney's and the Syrian's by McClelland).

I've smoked a few tins of this in the last two weeks and am glad to have the stocked up. This could easily be an everyday blend. The lemon is somewhat muted while the stoved really runs the show in the flavor department. The red, as one should expect holds it all together. I think this may be similar to the "sun dappled red" used in a recent Christmas Cheer -- excellent choice.

It is somewhat overpriced typically, but if you like Va's and really liked stoved Va's you owe it to your pipe and yourself to try this very cool and clean burning tobacco.