McClelland Virginia Woods

First of all, this is my first review here on tobaccoreviews.com Having only smoked a pipe for a couple months now, I was started to tire of aromatics and wanted to branch out and experiment. My local tobbaconist recommended VA Woods to me and was able to secure a three year old tin for me. Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a rich, woodsy aroma, and was also able to detect the supposed "ketchup/vinegary" staple smell of McClleland tobacco blends (which I found most pleasant. All I can say regarding the taste of VA Woods is that I was in pure bliss from the first puff! I smoked the first bowl of VW out of a newly bought Savinelli Estella rustic pipe and it was just plain magic. I actually had to shake my tobacconist's hand on his suggestion. The room note was a rich woodsy aroma, reminding me of the camping trip I went on last summer to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The taste was every bit as rich and wonderful as the aroma. Pure bliss I tell you! Since the first smoke of this fine blend, I have made several additional revelations. 1.) I recently purchased a nice big Butz Choquin calabash pipe which seems to be the perfect companion for VA Woods (hence I have designated the BC for VA Woods 2.) For beer drinkers on here, VA Woods goes really well with a Dogfish Head 90 min IPA. The tangy, hoppy bitterness of the 90 min compliment the tangy, woodsy, richness of the VA Woods. I plan on buying a Dogfish 120 this weekend in hopes of finding an even better compliment! All in all, this is the first Virginia blend I ever smoked and thus far it has remained my staple! Highly recommended!

Starts with a wonderful candy-like flavor and sweetness. As the bowl progresses the Stoved Virginias increase their influence lending deeper, darker flavors and a nice toasty note. Remains this way for the duration. An outstanding smoke in both cob and briar. A bit dull and one dimensional in a clay for some unknown reason. Mostly Stoved and very little else. Highly recommended in cob or briar.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. Burns well after some drying time.

Just cracked a tin marked 00 & lit up straightaway to break in a new pipe - Hilson Jr Extra, NOS, 14 mm long, 40 mm high, 17 mm bowl, 30 mm outside (thick wall). Great Va flavor, slight grassiness, rich base notes, mildly sweet & cool. Has aged superbly & has absolutely no bite. Delightful. Update: 12/20/13. I had jarred this & lost track of it 'til now. The tin was actually marked '03, so I was off on the age. Upon opening the tin had almost no humectant odor, but now it is absolutely the smoothest, coolest Va I have had. Still moist, it took 2 lights & then cruised like a liner. Top third is creamy, sweet and mild in body. Second part grows in flavor to a near chocolate malted tang. Finish never bites and all those intertwining flavors meld to a cool dry end. Ten stars

I'll keep it short:

I usually do not do aromatics...but this stuff...I'll make an exception.

It is well done. The small amount of sugar is justified. It really helps to round out and intensify the natural VA sweetness. The flavor is completely unique and, without trying to sound obvious, really does tastes great while walking through the woods.

VA Woods is manageable and behaves well and better yet does not stink up my pipes.

I smoke coming from work and when my pipe is packed with this blend I plan on taking the long way home.

-Z

This tobacco is full matured Virginia, with a very creamy natural aroma. The cut is perfect of easy packing, the moisture is just right after opening for my taste. The smell is is dried tomatoes and ketchup with natural Virginia tobacco in the background, which is typical for McClelland. For me igniting this tobacco requires a bit more attention, but it stays lit nice. No bite, very slow burning, producing cool smoke through the bowl. Highly recommended after a spicy meal with an IPA.

**5/21/2015 - My girlfriend and I had tasted several different Virginia blends to add to C&D's Shandygaff to give it a little more sweetness (she prefers her blends much sweeter) and we settled on McClelland's Virginia Woods. While McClelland's has the best Virginia's on the market (IMHO), they have almost no nicotine, C&D has all the nicotine and great Burleys but their Virginia's are not as rich as MCC. So we tried several variants and settled on 4oz of Shandygaff mixed with 2oz of Virginia Woods. Man the VW elevates Shandy to a whole nother level! We both really love this mix and she has started labeling the Ball jars as "Summer Woods". We wish C&D and MCC would combine forces on a blend or two, C&D Burley with MCC Virginia making a Two Friends type deal. I think it would be a huge hit...**

5/1/2015 - I have been smoking Virginia Woods on and off for over ten years and after the first tin, I have searched high and low for aged tins. I will not purchase a fresh tin of VW. My current tin is dated 2006 so it has 9 years on it and is divine, sugar crystals are abundant and being all Virginia, the blend has mellowed and although lost some of its tanginess, the sweetness has increased tenfold. If this is not your thing place it in a ball jar and forget about it for 3+ years, as complex as an English blend what with the yellow, brown, orange and red leafs all doing their tasty jobs here. Add some 5 Bros or any other strong Burley to get some Nicotine since VW does not have much (if any). What a great name, its all Virginias and its also very "Woodsy", I plan on opening an aged tin every autumn as a pre-Christmas Cheer smoke since it goes amazingly well with falling leaves, fireplaces and cool fall air! 🙂

6/3/2014 - Just finished another 8 year old tin of Virginia Woods. This time most of the tin was mixed with Uhle's Blend #44. The mix of sweet Virginia Woods and Uhle's amazing Burley was simply divine. I highly recommend Virginia Woods as a blender for a personal Half & Half blend!!! One of the best mixtures I have created to date 🙂

Update a decade later. Today is 5/24/2014 and I opened another aged tin I had and it was delightful. This blend really needs 3 or more years to age to really develop. Now the interesting thing is I purchased some McClelland blending Perique and mixed a small pinch with a bowl worth of Virginia Woods, wow what a Virginia Perique blend!! This really shines when mixed with some spice as the Perique makes the sweetness of the Virginia explode! So two stars when new, three with 5 years of age or a pinch of Perique.

Had to change my rating, its 9/1/2004 and i do not have any aged tins left. The new tins are not as great and have much more moisture and along with that more tongue bite. I will smoke it if offered, but most likely will not purchase another.

McClelland can really mix some outstanding blends and this one is no exception. It is called an aromatic but I simply can't believe there is much in the way of flavoring in this blend. They don't say but there has to be a bit of Lat and perhaps some orientals albeit in small amounts. On opening the tin all you really get is the aroma of wonderful sweet and sour Virginias. Light up was easy but burns a bit on the hot side. Flavor at the start is sweet hay, straw and some earthy vinagery tones with a hint of peppery flavor. This continues throughout the smoke with the addition of some smoky flavor on and off through the bowl. Now this blend can certainly bite you if your not careful to sip this blend. Puffers beware! Burns really slow and you get creamy smoke throughout the bowl. Room aroma is smoky hay and not unpleasant at all. This is another outstanding blend. You can also mix about 15% of Scottish Woods with Virginia Woods to get an even more smoky flavor with the sweet hay. It is a really delicious mixture with tons of flavor. This is a very pleasing all day smoke.

The tin says Virginia Woods is "... blended from Matured Red Virginias, Stoved Virginia, wide-cut Lemon Virginia and other premium tobaccos. One of the untimates in Matured Virginia blend smoking" Aside from quibbling as to whether there can be more than one ultimate in Matured Virginia blend smoking - at least in standard English, I like just about everything about this blend. The blend has a sweetness that goes beyond the Virginias, and I detect a hint of some sort of topping - something that smells a bit sweet. I suspect one of he other premium tobaccos is a black cav.

I started smoking it several years ago when I tried it and Deep Hollow at my local tobacconist. Deep Hollow bit my tongue; Virginia Woods does not. I devote 5 large pipes to it - two Canadians and three straight billiards, including the first pipe I purchased back in 1988. I smoke Virginia Woods when I want to savor the smoke, and it's always a welcome change-of-pace. This isn't al all-day smoke unless you're willing to smoke slowly. Like many Virginia blends, this can get a bit hot if you puff too quickly.

Notes: I have smoked quite a bit of this now, and I must admit it suits my personal tastes, although I try to write reviews that are objective. I can't stop smoking this one, though! I find it best in a tall thin chimney briar. Amazingly, it didn't burn my tongue, either, and I always get bit by Virginias.

Appearance: Reddish brown wide cut ribbon mostly; with brown, black and a few golden strands completing the mixture. Fully rubbed out.

Aroma: Strong smell of concentrated tomato paste, white vinegar, brown sugar, dried figs, pencil eraser.

Taste: Walnuts, brown sugar, sweet-sour Virginia tobacco flavor, nutty, oily deep flavor (from the stoved leaf), heavy on the tongue, juicy with flavor (i.e., tasty; it was a dry smoke). Well-composed; good flavor balance from to to bottom. Not over the top at all.

Comparisons: Some richer blends can be a bit much, but not this one. McClelland here is aphrodisiacal, in contrast to GL Pease's concupiscent blends. Not as nutty as Samuel Gawith's flakes, even a hair less nutty than the well-balanced Dunhill Light Flake. A hair less naturally sweet than Rattray's Marlin Flake. It comes across as a magnified, slightly sweeter Dunhill Light Flake with a helping of stoved leaf mixed in. Take just that stoved leaf alone, and you would have McClelland's Dark Star.

Bottom Line: For those who are seeking a natural Virginia blend that is in the middle of the nutty-sweet spectrum with a backbone of stoved leaf to provide fullness, this may be your blend.