McClelland No. 24

No. 24 is a McClelland broken flake, so mechanically it's flawless ... just stuff some loosely in your pipe and break up a tiny bit to go on top to help light it.

I want to give this one a 4th star, but for the first 5 or 10 minutes of an hourlong bowl there is more Drama than a telenovela. It's kinda overwhelming. After that, this settles down into a very good VA/Or. The last 1/3 gets super sweet. I almost called it a smooth Turkish and domestic blend, except Drama is in Greece and totally ruins that joke.

Smoke it like a straight Virginia, there's not enough sun-cured in here to keep it cool if you smoke it wrong.

Update: 🙄

This was one of the original 10 tobaccos that Mc Clelland came out with over 30 years ago . It has not changed in any way in those 30 years . This is one of the Mc Clelland hallmarks ; the consistency of the blends . If you like it you can depend on it years after year being the same . Like their other blends , #24 is totally unique , you will never taste another blend like this one . Using Drama as a compliment to the really fine Virginias is at once a master stroke and an innovation . #24 has a depth not often associated with Virginias because of the high quality Virginias and the best drama that I have ever encountered in any blend . This is a later in the day blend which goes with afternoon tea , very British you know . Now , not everyone likes Drama . If you are one of those this blend is not for you . But if you are willing to give orientals a chance #24 will reward you with some really fine smoking .

This stuff is awesome. I never thought I would take to a virginia like I have with 24. It happens twenty-four is a lucky number for me. I only enjoy smoking aromatics but that all changed recently with this nice blend from McClelland. It's simply a good smoke. This tobacco comes highly recommended.

Appearance: medium sized flakes, a bit trickier to rub out than normal. Mixed coloration.

Scent: rich, slightly acidic, almost olive oily type of smell. Very pleasant.

Taste: bright and spicy. A touch of citrus and olive oil.

Smoke level: not overwhelming.

Overall, a very unique style of red Virginia with the inclusion of the Drama leaf. Highly recommended.

Oh , man ! This is quite a great blend . Every so often a blend blows me away and # 24 sure did ! I'm not a big McClelland Fan mostly because of their " ketchup " perverseness [ lol ] . well , this blend doesnt have any ketchup at all , thank the Lord . McClelland flakes are thicker cut and softer than the European stuff , in general . The aroma of the open tin is lovely ! It smokes very slow and very cool .. this stuff couldnt bite , just impossible . The whisper of Oriental [ drama apparently ] is just the cats ass ! It's there but in such a mild lovely way that I wasnt even sure what it was . It adds a slight depth to the blend and is just fantastic ! I'm gonna keep it short cause I just started smoking this blend and I'm sure I'll edit later as I get to experience it more . In a Nut shell .... Giada De Laurentis in Fishnets !!!!

Despite the obvious quality of the product it did not agree with me. The addition of some OR leaf made things interesting so I was looking forward to try No 24. Unfortunately, the taste was too bland for me and it quickly bite my tongue. It would probably do weel in a blending of some sort with some LA.

As of late this has been one of my go to blends. I absolutely love this blend. I am a big fan of Virginia blends with orientals in them and this one does not disappoint. The virginia's in this blend are of the darker and red variety and it contains a little bit of drama leaf. The combination in this blend produces a wonderful subtle yet complex smoking experience. The blend starts of sweet and then for me the oriental starts to show more pronounced about a third into the bowl. The sweetness wears off a little bit and then you get a nice interplay between darker virginia flavors and the drama leaf. The drama leaf is a nice addition to this blend and has a unique flavor that is slightly pungent and a little bit assertive. If you love virgina / oriental blends this is a must try. If you can cellar this up as it ages very well. I have been smoking tins of this from 2007 and am going to continue to stock and cellar this. Very, Very good and highly recommended!

McClelland's Virginia #24 is my first experience with the tobacco Drama, which is a strong Macedonian condimental tobacco. The blend comes as a small flake, cut fairly thick but easily rubbed out; it is fairly consistently medium brown in color and has a pleasant pouch aroma. The charring light strikes me as basically Virginia. Once lit the Virginia is still the primary flavor, coming through as sweet and slightly fruity, but there is an interesting undertone which reminded me somewhat of the taste of Orientals, but which certainly is not a typical Oriental flavor. The early part of the bowl needs to be smoked quite carefully. This blend could potentially burn the smoker's tongue more than most blends I can think of. Deeper into the bowl the flavor remains sweet and creamy, while the bite-inducing nature dissipates, making the mid-bowl extremely pleasant. The undertone previously noted has picked up a bit at this point, but the Virginia sweetness is really enjoyable. The somewhat spicy underflavor of the Drama is quite pleasant now. If the entire smoke was what it is at mid-bowl, I'd run out and buy a couple of pounds of the blend. The end of the smoke, unfortunately, lets off on flavor. To me, the taste of the Drama adds a somewhat metallic flavor along with the musty spiciness. With each bowl I smoked, the last quarter or so was quite a letdown after the exciting, almost brilliant mid-bowl pleasure. It could be that Drama is a tobacco I simply need to get used to in order to enjoy. However, the blend is sold as a Virginia, and so my expectations in smoking it are naturally going to be based on what I know of this type of tobacco. As Virginias go there are many better. Coming from McClelland, I was disappointed with #24.

Today, I officially moved away from aromatics and thanks to 'tobaccoreviews' had decided to give VA 24. a shot!

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted visually with rectangular flakes that were dark, lined with a few bright leaves. They looked like small pieces of chocolate lined with thin slivers of almonds.

The aroma was a little sour. Now that I think of it, when I opened the tin it did smell like ketchup. So, as some reviewers suggested, I rubbed out the flakes and left them on my table for a good 10-15 minutes to let them breathe. After the sitting time, I came back to what smelled like rich, leathery tobacco leaves. Being an aromatics smoker, I didn't expect much in terms of taste because I was accustomed to just getting a whiff of the aromas while I puffed (yeah...'smoker's pride, captain black, macbarens, etc.)

I lightly packed my Stanwell colonial pipe 3/4 not knowing what to expect. After lighting the baccy and 'gently' tamping the charred flakes, I didn't get much with my first few puffs. However, after the leaves smoked themselves a bit, I started to notice sweetness at the tip of my tongue. Then, the flavors started to orchestrate themselves and I was pleasantly surprised by the sweet, nutty, and spicy notes. I'm a 'sipper' of tobacco so naturally, I experienced no bite. Being that this is my first with VAs, I decided to really draw some smoke. NO BITE! Wow...

I vow never to touch aromatics again! My next level will be Dunhill EMP and 965. I'm nervous as heck but soon...