McClelland No. 24

Tin aroma reminds me of playing in the hay loft of the old barn on a humid, rainy Autumn day. Beautifully matured Virginia. Just a whiff of the sweetish-tangy, sea air saltiness and fresh citrus nature of the Drama. Sweet and sour - curing hay and grain - fermenting grain, heady and earthy and intoxicating. Lighter notes of malt syrup, molasses, cocoa, sun-dried tomatoes, pepper, white wine (riesing).

Light it up, and dive into the deep, sweet ripe Virginia. Warm cookie dough, rum cake with raisins, hay, coffee, black pepper. The Drama Orientals add a fresh, spicy, salty, citrus tang that blends nicely into the delicious Virginia background.

Delicious, light Virginia flake. Magnificent flavor, but has a tendency to bite. Even with careful puffing, in five different pipes. The fact is sometimes Virginias bite, there no getting around it. A great blend, the only minus is having to be so diligent with your puffing to keep your tongue safe.

Not on my favorites list, but very, very good. I'll try this one again, but as long as McClelland still makes Blackwoods Flake, I'll probably grab that first. Although I do like the Drama - Virginia combination. Gonna give it 3 ½ Stars.

The fourth and final of the McClelland Mature Virginias that I have tried, this one wins the prize. Though the tin aroma still had that ketchup aroma (and I really do not like ketchup at all) it was less Nos. 22 and 25, but more than No. 27. As with the latter, it did not carry over into the smoke.

The partly broken flakes were good quality, though they took a little more to rub out as this blend is somewhat stouter in construction. It was hard to get the flakes to beyond a broken ready rub. I did not even consider folding and stuffing after the nicotine hit from the first bowl. The moisture content of this more than year-old tin was a trifle damp, but not enough that any drying was necessary.

In flavor, this one was the strongest than the others, but mostly in a good way. The 24 had a sweetness that was lacking in 22, 25, and 27, which I really liked. It wasn't cloying, though it had a molasses quality. I might just buy another tin of this to cellar and see if that flavor improves with several years aging. The room note was easily the best of the four according to the wife test. My only real complaint here is that the nicotine level was too high for my lights - I know many like that aspect of tobacco, but I could do without it. I have to take a star away for it, though I would like to only take a half-star.

Overall, my experiment with the four McClelland Mature Virginias was a success in that I have found at least one - this one No. 24 - that I would purchase again.

(1.75oz tin smoked over 14 days in June.)

Age When Smoked: 1 year, 4 months

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

Tin note strikes me with pleasant smells of dried fruit and cedar. The flavor son first light are very dry tasting, pencil shavings, chestnut, lightly toasted bread. A subtle sweetness peeks in and out. Halfway through the bowl I'm getting an oaky sweetness. It makes me take a couple of deep draws to get a better taste, must be careful though lest she unleash the VA bite. A fine smoke, smooth, dry, not as bitey as some McClelland VAs.

This is one weird va blend. It has this nutty almost musty woodsy smell and taste to it to me. Kind of interesting tin aroma. Not offensive but not the typical mclelland aroma for va's. Just Interesting. Will keep you wondering what it smells like for a long time. I find this blend is one of the few that tastes close to the way it smells.

As far as taste this is not your ordinary va. I find it good to mix things up but not a daily smoke. Smooth and nutty. Not bitey at all. Not that flavorful either but a good solid smoke.

I find the tin aroma and taste nothing like #27 as others mentioned. Much more mellow and unpronounced in both smell and taste.

Good, interesting and worth the money. Will smoke it once and a while. Just not as much as the others I smoke everyday in this series. I like the 27 and 22 the most.

update: I am finding myself coming back to this blend more and more often. It is very good and smooth. A little hard to get lit but worth the effort. Fast becoming a regular for me.

This is a weird one. I have had 2 tins of this that I never touched. I finally got around to popping one and after half a tin, I am not sure if I have this one figured out.

Tin note is fruity, reminds me of the Esoterica/Germain Virginia's (Brighton, Medium Flake, Dunbar, etc.). I am not sure if it is the leaf or a topping but it smells to me of apricots mixed with good VA tobacco. The flavor is bready, and spicy. This is unlike any other McClelland VA I have ever had. If I was given this in a baggie I wouldn't think it was McClelland. Kind of like a McConnel VA. There is some nice dry spice from the Drama a bit of wood. Stewed fruits, toast with marmalade. A really nice aftertaste that I cannot define.

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 .

1999 tin, decanted into a glass jar perhaps 2 months ago. Radice medium sized straight pipe. Flakes are dark and richly coloured with a variety of different hues. On closer inspection I notice what appears to be bloom on the flakes. I certainly hope it isnt mold!! I`ve seen this before, particularly on some of G&H and SG`s offerings. There are also a multitude of sparkling sparkly bits. Glistening in the light as I turn the flake one way and another...they twinkle like stars. Dried out just this side of crispy, I loaded the flakes in a broken almost cube cut into the bowl. Upon lighting I notice sweetness with a slight spicyness in the background. It is similar to a VA with a small dose of perique, but slightly different. Unique. I notice a pronounced creaminess too. Taking a sip on my beer I notice some bite across the tongue, but nowhere near the agony a typical beer/VA experience usually produces. Putting down the pipe and picking it up again several minutes later, I am pleased to find it smoking gently. Puff, puff....thar she blows. No problems smoking this flake, with a bit of drying its burns superbly. As I make my way down the bowl I taste darkness more. Less sweet VA and a headier, thicker darker noted smoke. Really quite nice. I am surprised how smooth it feels too. As carefully as I smoke, most VA`s far too often give my mouth pain. Not this one, not tonight...not in this pipe. Having a tin/jar of this tobacco which has aged since 1999 is a treat for sure. This is the kind of stuff probably not that great straight from the store. With a bit of aging tho...quite delicious in very subtle and interesting ways. Smoke it slow, sip.... breath-smoke it gently...and it is a rewarding VA flake with a little more depth than a pure virginia. Put some of this away for a decade if you can. Nice.

An ammonia-like smell is what greets you after opening the tin. The only drawback is that it can taint the room note, hence the "pleasant to tolerable" rating. Some have noted the smell of urine while I smoked it (a similar experience with McClelland Navy Cavendish), but don't worry as none of this translates into the smoke.

In spite of all this, I enjoyed Virginia No. 24 very much. It was pleasantly sweet, and I am sure some of that extra sweetness was due to the addition of the Drama leaf. There was no bite or moisture while smoking, the end result a clean medium-gray ash.

If you favor Virginias, you should try this blend at least once. Not in my regular Virginia line-up, but a nice smoke for when the mood strikes. 3 solid stars.