McClelland St. James Woods

opened a tin of this a couple of months ago and filled one mason jar full to cellar and put about 4-5 bowls worth in another jar to try. and now i'm done my first bowl. wow.

like some people have noted, it doesn't roll out all that well so i packed it as flakes and topped with some loose stuff that i rubbed out. a little trouble with the lighting at first but once it got rolling it delivered on a lot of levels. each puff truly fills your mouth with exotic flavours of dried fruit and hints of pepper; a perfect marriage of these flavours. i love the mouth feel of this tobacco, a very sensual experience. and it keeps delivering from start to finish. the VA has a nice sweetness but not too sweet, kinda peeks out to say hello just when you need it.

it's quite a smoky tobacco but is likely the reason why it's so mouth filling, and lends itself to slow sipping. nicotine is on the high side but not overwhelming and had no bite throughout the whole bowl.

i've got some escudo on the way so very curious as to how it's going to compare but regardless of how it stands up to other VaPer's i can't imagine ever doing without this lovely tobacco in my rotation.

highly recommended.

and as far as the tin notes that everyone speaks of when it comes to Mc's, all it speaks to me is about style. they've picked a style, which i respect in any blending craft, and stick to it. it's a signature as much as anything. and regarding the ketchup tin aroma, i get (as i believe someone has said before) more of a dill/canned pickle aroma. and i can deal with whatever the tin notes deliver as long as it smokes like this.

I've been learning to appreciate VAs more and more lately. Although this is a Vaper, it's a great way to ease into VAs. It's a medium-dark broken flake that looks just like Christmas Cheer except just a tad more broken up. Typical McC ketchup aroma that leans more toward A-1 steak sauce, with a great sweetness and a tiny hint of the Perique lurking in the background. In other words, it smells great!

I packed it lightly in a chubby Savinelli Author, and it burned well right out of the tin. The Perique manifests itself more during the first third as the familiar tang in the nose, but the VA sweetness shines through. This is a rich, wonderful smoke, and I marvel that it's me writing this since I have not been a big VA fan. But I'm learning...

The pipe lasted more than an hour. The Perique spice settled in and melded nicely during the last two-thirds, becoming the condiment that it's designed to be. The VA flake is obviously very high quality. My tin says it was canned in 2006 so it's had some time to age.

As a typical English blend lover, I can heartily recommend St. James Woods and will certainly be buying several tins to age even further.

I flat out love this blend! What can one say? Far in the background there is cedar freshly cut. A little closer but still far off is the Italian Roast coffee and cinnamon. Then the spice really begins to tickle the tongue and the flavor opens into a full symphony of Virginia's warm sweetness which is complemented perfectly by the soft tingle of what must be the Perique...never more noticeable nor more enjoyable than in this blend. This one must be smoked in a large bowl and the first true light needs to be a good, long, even one. Once it really catches, it offers a nice long smoke. The bowl stays cool and there is no discernible bite. To my tongue, Latakia feels cool and Perique feels warm and this is the warmest smoke I've ever enjoyed. Definitely four stars!

This va/perique combination has awoken my tastes to another deminsion in this genre of tobacco chemistry. The flavor= interplay between the va's and perique are complex and rewarding. Honey, cinnamon, and smoked almonds meld with powerful notes of figs and prunes. With each puff I got various degrees of the formentioned. When rubbed partially and gravity filled, I get a consistent burn rate accompanied with a complete burn. Very pleasing in the nose when exhaled. Some try to compare 2015 to st. james but, I find them to be on opposite sides of the universe in depth and flavor spectrum. The only thing that I have to say that is negative in nature, is soley relate to the fact that I am kicking myself for not trying this blend earlier.

What a tasty blend! There is not much more to say. I found this to be a blend that held interest to the bottom of the bowl.

Excellent as any Mc Clelland´s Va.Very mild,I think,due to the black stoved Va.Not a lot of Perique.Depending my mood and kind of pipe I prefer this or another VaPer of the brand,everyone of them fantastical.This one is very soft and I can smoke it in a briar,for the rest I need cobs or meers.St James Woods is the softer but no means the less flavourful of the range.It worths a try,just as all theVaPers of the brand.It´s truly a hard task to choose what is the better.Of course you will find the well known typical acidic smell at opening the tin,no problem,rub out,let breathing for a while and enjoy.

Tin aroma is Delicious McClelland aged Virginia, With more than a little Perique. That mixture of the cured sweet and sour grain of the Virginia and funky ripe cheese odor of the Perique. Makes some interesting complexities, Ketchup of course, lemon, hard cheese, buckwheat, Smells like a fine VaPer blend.

Rub out to taste, lights and burns slow. If you don't rush the Virginia it smokes quite coolly. This flake's smoke is filled with delicious McClelland aged Virginia, warm, sweet and complex. But adding the Perique - adds a dimension of depth and earthiness. Really great stuff, may play second or third fiddle to some other Virginias in the McClelland Personal Reserve series - say “Blackwoods Flake” or “Dark Star“, but I found it very satisfying - and found it very easy to smoke. Goes on the favorites list.

St. James Woods is, in my opinion, one of McClelland's better offerings, and McClelland knows how to do Virginias. This tobacco is a mix of red Virginia, dark stoved Virginia, and perique, presented as a broken flake. In appearance, the flake first appears quite dark, but with a closer inspection, mottles of golds and browns are revealed; the tin aroma, while somewhat acetic as is typical of a McClelland blend, beckons the smoker with the sweetness of the fine Virginia tobaccos and the rainin-like fruitiness of perique. The flakes are a bit moist, and I'd recommend removing enough for a bowl, drying it a bit, and then rubbing it out. Doing so, the flakes easily rub fairly fine. The charring light brings mostly Virginia flavor, but once the bowl is lit the perique's darker nature is a presence. Those not familiar with perique might wonder if they are smoking a real biter, but I found that I could puff fairly heavily on the blend without risking damage. Rather, the perique mellows the normal bite of McClelland Virginias while adding a delightful not of fruit. The initial light is slightly difficult, but once the tobacco is lit it seems to stay so with little effort. By mid-bowl, St. James Woods becomes a fairly special smoke. The Virginias are darker in nature, less sweet than some, but with a complexity often absent from Virginias. It is creamy, with a slight hint of vanilla (though it is NOT topped), with a rich, dark and strong flavor. The perique's effect on the tongue has drastically lessened at this point, but the fruity taste of raisins, or even figs, remains, and even slightly strengthens. The flavor at the end of the bowl seems to fall off slightly, but remains good. I was particularly impressed by how fresh the flavor remained at this point. Overall, I'd call St. James Woods one of the better blends available from McClelland. It offers excellent Virginias mixed and balanced, with just enough perique to mellow the Virginias and add a fine flavor. Contrast this to their bulk 2015 Virginia Flake, which, no matter how well aged, leaves me feeling like I need Theraflu to cure my throat. If you like a good Virginia, I think you'll be pleased by St. James Woods, as you will be if you enjoy a Virginia/perique blend.

What can I say about the magnificent tobacco blend from McClelland? It is truly a pleasure to smoke, the perique is perfect and the stoved VA is awesome. This tobacco surpassed my expectations. I sipped the first part of the bowl to find it subtle and not overly powerful. By the middle of the experience some sweet notes of the tobacco came out and by the end I was asking for more. Highy recommend.