McCranie's Red Ribbon, vintage 1983

This pure deeply rich, fermented red Virginia offers a burst of tangy ripe dark fruit, wood, earth, sugar, a few bread notes, and hints of spice and quickly dissipated vinegar. Not a complex blend. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste is almost medium. The nic-hit is a slot below the strength level. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace with a very smooth, consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste, and room note. Can be an all day smoke. As smooth a straight red Virginia as you'll find on the market.

-JimInks

This is one of the finest pure Virginias I've ever had the pleasure of putting into my pipes.

I first tried this tobacco in 1999, and have since cellared about 20 tins. It should be almost sinful to smoke in five to ten years! The way straight virginia tobacco ages, I imagine this will blow me away due to its quality.

The only bad news is that as of today (4/20/02) the McCranie boys say they'll run out of this special 1983 crop in less than a year. Gotta go now and order some more!

**********(4/1/03) UPDATE**********

Seeing johnnyflake's recently posted review reminded me to pass on the fact that the McCranie's have decided on a new '96 crop of Virginia to carry on the Red Ribbon and Red Flake tradition. The '83 crop Red Flake has been sold out for some time, and the Red Ribbon is going to suffer the same fate in a few months. If you want to order some of the original (and soon to be lamented) Red Ribbon before its all gone, you better do so ASAP.

**********5/6/05**********

Well, the original 1983 Crop is all gone. Thankfully, I still have have a dozen tins. I will ration them carefully because I just tried the new Red Ribbon from the 1996 crop, and it is not even close (IMO) to the original. Still, it is quite good and I will cellar some tins for aging. The '96 version is much lighter in flavor than the original and lacks the variance of flavors as the bowl is consumed. It does burn well and is stem free - which I appreciate.

Tin: Reddish-brown to tan ribbon cut, with a McClelland sweet raisin smell; labelled "1996 crop North Carolina leaf." The bottom of the tin is stamped 2005.

Packing & Burning: Packs easily. There is incomplete combustion in the bottom of the bowl due to moisture. There is no tongue bite, but what I call inner lip scour. Left to dry on a plate for 3 hours, it is fairly dry, which seemed to limit lip scour. Although, moisture still develops in the pipe. 2 stars.

Taste & Aroma: This is one of the best, meaning mildest and smoothest Virginia's. I've smoked some sharp, tangy VA's, and RR is nothing like that. 4 stars.

Around mid-bowl, it does develop a cinnamon apple strudel taste. The taste is mildly sweet and the aroma is that of toasted marshmellows.

Room Note: A pleasant faint caramel aroma. 4 stars.

Overall: An all-day smoke. 4 stars. 3.5 stars for a VA.

I just found out that McClelland?s blenders are Elves that thrive on a steady diet of French Fries and Catsup; which explains a lot. Clearly these critters need to start washing their hands after lunch.

That being said let?s move on.

Red Ribbon is of course ribbon cut, and the color is an unsurprisingly reddish brown. Upon first inspection after popping the can I remember full well the impression that I had was that there was no doubt that this was quality leaf.

Packing and lighting is no chore, RR is easier to manage than most VA?s and certainly the flakes. I have never been one to complain about moisture levels with tobaccos that I smoke and RR is no exception.

The leaf is a delightful example of what my opinion of what a Red VA profile should be- despite the Catsup aroma that McClelland?s blends portray it interferes with nothing in the way of taste.

The first half of the owl I detect no round deep body present in the dark stoved VA flakes blended by McClelland, instead I find this blend to show more of a sharp brightness- a zippy taste not unlike Veermaster or VA Slices.

The last half of the bowl there is a stoved element that develops, adding dimension as the body pronounces itself with more and more volume it complements the flavor- very nice indeed.

I have smoked this blend in large medium and small bowls. There is certainly a more developed stoved element toward the last half to third of the bowl in the larger bowled pipes, increasing the body, which I enjoy. My definition of a fine tobacco is one that has body as well as flavor, though not necessarily equal in presence.

An outstanding blend- easily one of McClelland?s finer straight VA?s in my opinion.

Wow an incredible blend...wait...what?...this is not a blend? Holy Cow a dynamic puro pipe tobacco? Yes sir. Properly aged and cured pure red Virginia with a dynamic taste profile. If you are ever lucky enough to have a tin of this within arms reach do whatever you can to get a pinch. This is more dynamic than a McClelland blend and it came from one place growing one plant curing the entire farm the same way. Wow, what an experience. The taste of Virginia is three layers deep in this one. Mind = blown. Lets find more like this.

Most of the four star reviewers have already noted the wonderful qualities of this fine Red Virginia blend. I can only add that I have been in search of the perfect Virginia as an alternative to my favorite English style blend (Penzance for me) for quite some time. I came across McCranie's Red Ribbon and the master blender at the Conclave of Richmond Pipe Smoker's annual convention in Oct. 2008. He gave me a sample of Red Ribbon (it was from the 1996 crop) and I was immediately hooked. This is it, I told myself. Of course, the search for the perfect tobacco (based on individual tastes) is, fortunately, never ending. But, for the time being at least, I think I may have found the perfect Virginia blend. I don't by the way, think Red Ribbon is as bland as some reviewers think. It has a distinctive, piquant taste but lacks that little bit of tongue bite that I have found in most Virginias.

Let me start by stating that my 2 star rating DOES NOT indicate that this tobacco is in any way bad or inferior. It is very different for pipe tobacco so the 2 stars are more of a "it depends on what you are looking for" rating. This is by far the lightest, mildest pipe tobacco I have ever tried. So mild that to my taste it is not pipe like. It is more lik ethe most exquisitely fine cigarette you can imagine. Now, I do not mean that to be as insulting as it sounds. I hate cigarettes... but if they made one that was this good, I might smoke one occassionally. This tobacco is much finer than any cigarette in existance, but it has that kind of quality to it.... very light.

It is clear that the tobacco is of exceptional quality. It has a clean light taste and aroma. The burn is spot on, as several have commented. If you want a really light smoke, this is a good choice.

This is probably the finest virginia I have ever smoked. It's from the '96 crop and tinned in 2003. I've cellered 20 tins of this beauty and occasionally wonder what I'll do when it's all gone. It is mild to medium in strength and is naturally sweet, burning to a fine white ash. I personally find this blend a little light, so I add 20% of McCranie's Red Flake, which I rub out completely. The flake is medium to full and has a lot of tang which I don't enjoy in full measure. The flake is more multifaceted and has layers of flavor which the ribbon lacks. But blending the flake with the ribbon on an 80-20 basis seems to add that little extra that the ribbon lacks on it's own. I don't know how much of this blend McCranie's has left, but replacing it will be a hard act to follow. Let's hope they're up to the task.

October 16,2007:

A great Red Virginia. But I've discovered that Red Virginias are just too sharp for my palette. Even 4 years of aging can't mellow this mixture to suit my taste.

Wow... smooth, creamy, round, deep red virginia flavor the age made the leaves dark and sugary and made the taste deep and dark smooth and creamy. This treat didnt last a month.

Upon opening the tin the aroma is wonderful. I really like the smell of this stuff and the appearance of the ribbon is deep, dark and really red.

It does need to be aired out a bit to get the optimum smoking consistancy. It packs easily and I had no problem keeping it lit.

The flavor is well rounded, deep, rich and smooth all the way to the bottom of the bowl. You can really smoke this without it biting. Definately 4 Stars.

Highly recommend!