McClelland Virginia Woods

Wow! McClelland really hit a home run with this terrific blend. It is deep and rich in flavor, and for us long-time puffers the added wallop of nicotine was of particular delight. I can see, however, where the neophytes might swoon and drool if they don't keep down their puffing cadence.

I have tasted many McClelland blends over the years, and this one ranks with the best. Give it a try!

If you like the sweetness of red virginia and stove Virginias and no nicotine this is the blend for you, easy to light somewhat easy to keep lit, the cut is mostly ribbon, the flavoring mention by others reviewers was undetectable by me, what you got here is sweetness and spicyness from the Virginias if you are a novice and is looking for their first Virginia blend you could do worse this blend is very forgiving when you over puff, would I buy it again most likely no, I like more nicotine from my smoke, but kudos to McClleland for creating a no fuss virginia blend.

Mixed ribbon and choppy cut of tan to black with a beautiful light spice tin aroma. Seems like a variation on a theme, as the lemon/red/stoved seems to be a popular recipe for McClellands. On the other hand, this one has been out longer, so this one would be the theme. I smoked a bowl of this when it first came out in the early-mid 1990's but wasn't sufficiently impressed to pursue further.

As for the aro vs non debate, this one leaned decisively to the non-aro side but with a noticeable top dressing (and as usual, I can't tell what it is). The dominant flavor at the beginning was the deep rich red tang melded with the very light lemon zing. As the bowl progressed, the stoved took center stage and lent a nice spiciness - not like chili powder but more like a mellow herbal spice. Reminded me of a ginger ale-type spice when compared to 7-up. The topping was sparingly evident but drying the tobacco out for smoking quelled it quite nicely. This one preferred to be quite a bit drier than tin moisture but not crispy (typically flakes like crispiness, ribbons not so much). At tin moisture, this one became a bit befuddled in its presentation, as I've found most Virginia-based blends to do. Sufficiently dried out, this one was quite good, if not the last word in jump factor nor complexity. It seemed to shift gradually around mid-bowl but then remained stable to the end. Far from my favorite McClellands VA, but worth a try if you're a Virginia lover.

Leaf : A mix of wide cut medium brown and reddish ribbons mainly, with scattered golden and light brown ribbons throughout. Mine was a new tin, recently opened and jarred. It had the ideal moisture content for me.

Tin Aroma: Delicious. The tin note is fairly strong, it definitely smells of a rich ketchup with barbecue sauce mixed in.It almost has a faint hint of Worcestershire sauce about it. There is a certain spiciness there, not peppery like perique but cooking spices, like in the Worcestershire. I am a big sauce fan so it was very appealing to me. You do get a HINT of the sweet tobacco hiding inside but for the most part it is like smelling a jar of nice sauce. I Didn't notice any "woodsy aroma", but maybe it smells like the woods in America? I live in the rain forest area in tropical Australia so it may have been lost on me.

Taste: On first light you get a nice mouthful of the rich sauciness from the tin aroma, although it is slightly subdued, and accompanied by a nice sweet puff of VA smoke. This is how the first 1/3 of my bowls seemed to go. The sauciness seemed to burn off a good deal and remain in the mid-to-background, while the VA's made their way to the forefront. From there the flavour profile stayed similar, with the only change being the sweetness of the VA increasing as you burned towards the bottom of the bowl. It is a very sweet VA blend, but not sickeningly so. There is debate if it is aromatic or not, personally I think there is something on or in the blend that is changing its flavour a bit, although whether it is a flavouring or a tobacco product I'm not sure. All I know is it hasn't affected the smoke in a negative way in my opinion. I enjoyed it for it's flavour and uniqueness. Very rich smoke,sweet, and smooth, with that little touch of spices dancing around in there waiting to be identified.

Smokeability: Mine packed easily without any extra drying out of the tin. I used the Frank Method, and smoked from my VA pipe, a tall bowled Brebbia Boss Canadian that is great for flake and ribbon cut VA. The leaf took to the flame well, lit quickly and easily and stayed alight with minimal tamping and only one relight. The smoke was smooth and cool, and flavourful throughout,even when I gave it a little bit of a tease it didn't bite, although it felt as if it would get hold of your tongue if you were silly with it. Sip it for maximum flavour. Burnt down to a slightly chunky ash, left my bowl smelling saucy.

Room Note: I smoke outside, 100% off the time, so no room note, but my wife and her friend commenting "Holy f!!k you smell like pipe, go away", while I was on the other side of the room may be an indication. I thought it smelled nice....... Bloody Women.

Summary : I really enjoyed this blend, though not as an "Ultimate Virginia experience" as the label implies, nor as an aromatic as some people see it. I enjoyed it as a sweet and flavoursome smoke, with good quality tobacco, that has a unique and interesting flavour profile. It was a nice journey for a VA, and those who normally find VA blends too one dimensional, or Aromatic smokers looking to branch out, may find this an ideal smoke. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again, but Its not on the top of my list. If it sounds like something you may enjoy, and you are looking for a reason to put money over the counter for a tin, then go for it. Rich flavour, smooth smoke, minimum fuss.

I have to revise my review based upon a comparison between this tobacco and Grey Havens, and Deep Hollow.

Upon opening the tin one can see lots of red and medium brown ribbons mixed with a smattering of black ribbons. The smell is red virginia for sure, with a slight hint of the McClelland scent (vinegar), but ever so slight. I like the typical McClelland Va scent, but to each his own. The tobacco in the tin smells woodsy, sweet, earthy, with a hint of tang. There is a sweet scent to the blend that seems to allude to some kind of topping (maybe this is the 'other' tobacco mentioned in the tin description?).

Loads and lights beautifully. Keeps lit with minimal tamping. Moisture content from the tin is fine, though some would think it needs some dry time. I find either way works great.

The smoke is very creamy and sweet. The flavor is definitely red va., with it's tones of bread, natural sweetness, wood, and bits of tang and dark fruit here and there. The first time I smoked it there was a slight chemical taste that has to be some kind of topping. However, upon smoking it a few more times, and in comparison to the other blends listed above, it has greatly, if not completely, dissipated. It's good nevertheless. The smoke is enjoyable, cool, soft, and not in the least spicy or bitey. It reminds me slightly of other Red Va. blends such as Hal-o-the-wynd, but not as deep, a bit sweeter, and less round. The flavor is still rich in it's own right, but maybe a step down from some of the other blends mentioned.

As a comparison from the other Craftsbury blends listed above (Deep Hollow, Grey Havens), I would say this is the most natural of the three. This is a good blend and is quite enjoyable from beginning to end.

I have tried mixing this blend, as another reviewer has mentioned, with other 'dryer' blends, or blends that need a bit of a sweet pick-me-up. This works WONDERS!!! One combination in particular was a dry English blend that is on the verge of being salty. By mixing in a ratio of 1:3 (Virginia Woods:Dry English) I ended up with something that was slightly reminiscent of Frog Morton.

Well, this will be a review of two Virginia Woods! Why you ask, well because I came into a can of this from 1998 and to be fair in reviewing it, i also bought a can of fresh VW. It has to be two because with 13 years of age on it, this blend matures into a sweet mana that will just melt onto your taste buds. Wonderful stuff it is. But in smoking a new tin, it is still a great, non biting, smooth and creamy Va smoke with a touch of the woodsy aroma claimed on the can. So many other reviews of this blend they are calling it an aromatic, but I don't get that at all. What i get is the ketchup/vinegar typical of this brand and maybe, just maybe a sweet topping I can't place, but no more than a lot of other VA tobaccos, with only a few exceptions, all of them are cased.

This tobacco has the MC aroma upon opening the tin, perhaps stronger than a lot of them. The tobacco is a wide ribbon cut in a reddish dark mix and it is somewhat moist. Even my tin of 13 year old is still moist. After letting it dry a few hours set out, I packed it into my pipe which it does easily, and lit it up. It took several tries to get it lit, but once lit it stayed that way only requiring one relight until the bottom of my pipe. It smokes nice and slow and smooth with no bite, and the taste is a sweet dark VA flavor with a pretty nice room note. It burns clean all the way down to a fine grey ash with almost no dottle at the bowls bottom. I find this to be a very pleasant smoke fresh, but aged, it really is fantastic. I am going to buy some more and put it into long term storage in my cellar. I highly recommend this aged, and still recommend it fresh as it's a very nice smoke.

Opening the tin of this beautifully-named blend, I detect a background note of something like burnt rubber, a note that is present during the actual smoking. I assume this to be some humectant or other, which will evaporate after a while. This review is based on that assumption. If the smell does NOT go away, I will lower the recommendation and throw the tobacco away. Many are the comments that have been made about McClelland's odious use of humectants. I feel it is high time the company did something about it.

I don't know that the other premium tobaccos are: I suspect some cavendish muffler. For a pure Virginia blend this bites very little, and one gets to enjoy the zip of the lemon Bright without the penalties: quite an accomplishment.

Otherwise this is more of the nutty Red grassiness kind of taste than the maple sugar kind of taste: very agreeable and sec, with an occasional, almost-Périque pungency.

If it weren't for the gaminess of the [glycol?] dingitude, this would be an excellent product. Get with it, McC. Leave that stuff for antifreeze, damn it!

Upon opening a tin of this, you immediately notice the typical McClelland acetic acid smell. As I've often said, don't let it sway you! This tobacco is worth the time to smoke! Virginia Woods is a ribbon-cut darker blend of stoved Virginia, red Virginia, and bright Virginia tobaccos. There may be some sort of slight topping to it, because it is so sweet a smoke, though I can't say for certain. I think it is a good tobacco to introduce the pleasures of Virginias to an aromatic smoker.

Like a lot of Virginias, Virginia Woods is a little shy. But with patience, the real nuances and undertones of the flavor will come through after a few minutes. Puff gently, because it also can probably bite, as most any Virginia is likely to do. The tobacco lights easily, but the charring light will only act as that – to char the surface so that after a tamping the second match will really ignite the tobaccos. The burn is relatively clean, though I found I need a pipe cleaner a couple of times during a bowl. The further you smoke, the sweeter the flavor.

The tobacco is a good one to DGT, and upon relight the flavor comes through rich and dark. There's a good hint of the spiciness of Dark Star or 2035 here, but also the creamy smoothness of lighter Virginia tobaccos.

Overall, this is a nice, mild smoke for a Virginia, with the good sweetness typical of the variety. I don't keep it around all of the time, but if in a tobacco shop and I spot a tin I'm likely to buy it.

Tin Aroma: Vinegar, ketchup, whatever you call it, this is most definately a McClelland blend.

Physical Characteristics: dark brown ribbon cut, mottled with some blackish ribbon, and very moist. It has always amazed me how long a McClelland ribbon will keep moisture. However, it is easy to fill and pack with, and it takes the charring light well.

Notes: I like to char this one, and then let it sit for a while to dry out a tad more before smoking. I suppose that means that almost every bowl I have smoked of this has been DGT'd to some extent. I do love the 'burnt marshmallow' aroma that this blend gives off. Very thick smoke, good for coloring a meerschaum, if you are the type to blow smoke at the pipe while smoking. The flavors become darker and richer as the bowl progresses. This blend tends to start off a bit spicy and disjointed, but by the midway point, it has settled down into a very nice rich smoke. The flavor/aroma I am most reminded of by this blend is caramel, burnt caramel.