McClelland Grey Havens

I bought this can because of the name and description, being a Tolkien Junkie, i had to try it. The aroma is outstanding, rich aged Virginia and a sweet topping which smells of prunes or something likr that. Upon closer sniffage you get a nice spicy flavor, overall the smell is half of the experience and starts the mouth watering.

The blend is as others have said a bit wet, and needs a few minutes to dry out. Once a tad dryer, it packs nicely into my slightly bent horn virginia pipe. It takes a bit to light it, but find a nice torch lighter gets it going nicely as well as drys it out a bit. The initial flavor is the sweet virginia musty flavor, but is quickly accomanied by the topping flavor. a rich smoking experience, about a third to halfway through you get the perique spicyness that rounds the blend out nicely.

I dont think alot of english tonbacco smokers would like this, but if you like a nice mautre virginia try it, it is a nice accompanyment to a good book and my wife found the aroma much to her liking.

Overview: Grey Havens comes packed in a can typically used for macadamia nuts. It?s an economical container but not really suited to pipe tobacco. The label states it to be a mix of Burley & Virginia with a dash of Perique.

Sight & Feel: Grey Havens is golden brown with shreds of black, slightly moist to the touch and not sticky, even though it is sauced. The loose, coarse shreds did not require rubbing before packing in my pipe.

Smoking Characteristics: I found this tobacco a little moist for my liking so I stood my packed pipe for 15 minutes before lighting it. It then took up a flame and smoked quite easily but usually required 2 matches to set-up properly. It also required slightly stronger draws to achieve good flavour than my favorite blends do. I enjoyed it best in a Canadian or Billiard-style pipe.

Nose: Some reviewers have compared the aroma of Grey Havens upon opening to chocolate or vanilla. I can't agree. It reminded me more of my early attempts to mix pipe blends; efforts that ended in confused aromas ranging from spoiled yogurt to oily coffee grounds. I do not find GH's aroma pleasant. However, the room note is much more attractive and has enough 'tang' to prevent the room from quickly lapsing into a stale or boring note. In small amounts it would be tolerable to most non-smokers.

Mouth: The initial taste is somewhat confused but settles down to hnts of lightly peppered jam made from overly ripe plums. Although it generally smokes well, a slight nip in it warns your tongue about the consequences of high speed puffing. As this is a Perique mixture, inhaling is not recommended.

Economics: In Canada, GH is mid-priced but as its rate of burn is only moderate, it is only a moderately economical tobacco.

Last Word: Gandalf and Strider would have preferred Old Toby. Although GH beats many corner store pouches, thats not saying much (I find too many McLelland blends lacking in some way). GH may suit those who want to stray a bit from corner store Aromatics. If you are searching for the Grail of Perique mixes, go straight to Germain?s Royal Jersey or even Bell's Three Nuns.

n their words, "A lightly flavored Burley and Matured Virginia blend". It has a bit of Perique in it and also

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has the least attack of McClelland ketchup soaking of any McC blend I've tried. It actually smells delcious in the can and I enjoyed the

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flavor a lot too. It's very distinctive and refined, and the aroma smells much like a box of fine sweets. The downside of my experience is

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that this is another blend which suffers from the McClelland Moisture Mystery - I'm sitting here sniffing a tin which has been open for

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easily 3 months, and it's still moist and almost sticky to the touch where other open tins would have been Rice Krispies by this time. I can't

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say if this is related to the other nasty McC side-effect or not, but I get the same delayed-effect bite from this as from their other blends...

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it's that next-morning, "Oh god, did I eat a live hedgehog last night?" tongue shock. If the delicious flavor could be spliced off by itself it

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would be a solid 4 star tobacco, but the acidic bite chops it right down.

I just finished smoking through half the 100g tin of this I picked up several years ago. I was quite surprised in that what I experienced was not what I was expecting. This is a burley blend by McClelland and that is not a common thing. I would describe it as a very classy Prince Albert.

I don't know the intention behind the creation of this blend, but it seems as if McClelland wanted to take their own shot at a codger burley with this offering. The description above says there is no added flavoring, this is wrong. It is clearly topped. There is molasses and a sweet liquer of some sort, if I had to guess. It is strong and for the most part covers most of the tobacco taste. The reason I picked Prince Albert above as a comparison is that the topping most reminded me of the taste of Prince Albert with less chemical aftertaste.

Burley is clearly the lead leaf in this blend, but as I said, the blend is dominated by the topping. The Virginia and Perique are nor perceptible to my palate. The topping is well applied as it carries right through to the end. Of course, the leaf is well done as is everything McClelland does. A nice even ribbon cut that packs and burns easy.

This is good for what it is. I don't think I would go crazy searching for this or paying the high dollars that people are demanding for many of the MC blends at this time. And truth be told, I would still rather smoke Carter Hall than this even with that blend's chemical after taste.

Lots of positive things with this one, but not a stand-out! It has a great blend of Burley and Perique which give it a nutty and sweet, but just a hint of spice. The typical McClelland vinegar tin note is not as obvious as other McClellands, but still present. I will keep some cellared to try in a year or three, but it will not be in permanent rotation just yet. I liked it a lot, but not a favorite. I would re-order, though.

Easy, mild, smooth. If you are a new pipe smoker, I would recommend you start here when it comes to aromatics. This is a mild, easy to smoke mix. It is sweet and light, just a touch of spice in the background. The flavors are kind on the tongue and don't take a developed taste bud to enjoy. Personally, I enjoy latakia blends more, but this is the best for a light and easy aromatic.

I got a generous one ounce sample of this from an acquaintance. It was from a 2008 tin, and I smoked it in summer 2014.

This is a little out of my wheelhouse in that I tend to not smoke aromatics, but the base tobacco won me over quite quickly. Like most McClelland tobaccos, there was no nicotine to speak of. The topping seemed to compliment the plummy perique quite well, but rather than simply enhancing the flavors already present, it sometimes overpowered them.

If you like plummy flavors and want a good tobacco base and low nicotine, this blend might be for you.

I love VaPers, but most have a bit too much Perique for me. I also like Burley. This is both, and the Perique is very mild in this, yet still noticeable. This is good stuff, and appropriately named. It is a peaceful, lightly creamy, relaxing VaPer.

I have been a confirmed aromatic smoker for several years and have always been wary of taking the plunge into the non-aromatic blends for fear they would be so God-awful to taste that I'd never smoke a pipe again. Grey Havens, then, is my first non-aromatic blend and what a surprise.

It has little to no casing that I could detect, just the smell of ketchup. That was a bit alarming in itself, as I thought, "What in the hell have I gotten myself into!" as the tomato smell hit me.

It was moist and burned well, and from the first puff I was pleasantly surprised. This is probably the best tobacco I've ever had. That doesn't mean it's the greatest in the entire world or anything, just that I've never had such a pleasurable smoke like I had with Grey Havens.

The flavor had a bit of spice to it, but it was not overwhelming and it was something that I believe I could smoke all day. I've heard of people saying that about other blends, yet until now I'd never experienced it for myself.

I enjoy medium strength & flavor tobaccos. I don't like mine too weak nor too strong. Grey Havens seems to fit the bill for me. I plan on trying more of McClelland's blends, but believe that Grey Haven's is very near a perfect smoke for me. I will probably step up in strength at some point, but not too much.

For those who enjoy some flavor, this is a wonderful place to begin, especially if you've been limiting yourself to aromatics for fear of getting something unpleasant and rank in your pipe.