Rattray Black Virginia

I purchased this about 3 years ago when I first took up the pipe, and if I remember correctly that tin had a few years of age on it. Rich and intriguing tin aroma: fruity, earthy and edible. Odd and crisply chunky black leaf that was pliable but not exactly moist, could barely get a char let alone a smoldering coal. Ugh. Tried that once then popped the rest in a stupendous gravity-lid ‘30s moriage tobacco jar (yes, I'm a gear hound) without any humidification at all.

I've remained curious about Black Virginia since then because of its delightful aromatic profile and pulled that jar off the shelf fully expecting the contents to be ruined after so long a time without proper care. The leaf was dry but surprisingly had a bit of spring and still smelled wonderful – some kind of fermentation polymerization during the manufacturing process? Loaded up a large-bowled churchwarden to check it out. STILL a bear to get a coal underway, but managed that. Glad I got nostalgic because BV turned out to be delicious (when smoked like a proper Virginia) and not without complexity. The smell of the smoke coming off the pipe was amazingly fine: sweet, musky and herbal like Tibetan incense. Very flavorful with the aftertaste of a good maduro cigar. Was it the extended aging and drying that allows me to be a rare champion of this stuff?

A dead-black mixture that deserves its name, this is a slightly sweet, tart tobacco that reminds me of McClelland's Dark Star with a little more sugariness. It's a very small, almost cube cut pressed and stoved Virginia that is mild with a flavor that reminds me of raisins without all the sugar. It can be a touch hard to get lit well, but once you get a good burn going it stays lit and smokes cooly.

It's not very complex and lacks strength and is thus not satisfying as a thoughful smoke, but it sits well when I'm up late watching an old movie or reading and want a tobacco that tastes good but isn't distracting.

I would call this Tobacco the "little brother" of Dark Fragrant.

Its look and its taste are closely related with DF, but: it has less taste and strenght and the licorice notes and the piquancy are by far weaker. If DF is a bit "too much" for you, than this should be yours. In contrast to some other reviews I did not have any problems neither to light it up and to keep it lit nor with heat or gurgling - maybe because it was a little bit dry when I received it as a sample?

2-3 stars!

I am mad at Black Virginia. I have attempted to smoke this blend several times over the course of many years, all from the same tin. Each time I found it very hard to light, unwilling to accept a char, difficult to keep burning without excessive puffing which heats things up to an intolerable degree, and lacking in any enjoyable flavor. When I sit down at the end of the day to enjoy the one or two bowls life, and my wife, allot me, I do not want to have to do battle with the blend. Black Virginia, damn you to hell!

To tone the hyperbole down just a bit, Black Virginia is black in the tin, as described. It appears to be covered with something, but what I do not know. It smells tangy, like most virginias, plus something else which defies description, at least for me.

It packs ok, due to its very odd cut. It is cut into large chunky flat squares. The only thing that I have seen similar is cavendish existing as a constituent part of a va or english blend. Cavendish, however, will burn, and this, at least for me, will not. Even after drying, it is wholly resistant to the flame. When I finally get it going, it flames out quickly, and burns hot. The flavor is a great let down from the strong tin presence.

Overall, this tobacco had bad mojo, and I have thrown the rest of mine out. Things have been right with the world ever since.

This is interesting....Ive never considered myself a Virginia smoker. Of course, its present in the blends I generally reach for (Highland Targe, Black Mallory, all the Frog Mortons), but not just a Virginia. Granted this is stoved, but it is still new territory for me. I've had a dozen bowls now and like this. Its dark as charcoal, incredibly mild, smooth, rather monochromatic, but enjoyable. Everyone else has described its appearance, but I found mine only need one night spread on a serving tray to dry a-bit. I'll grab this tobacco again. It probably will be part of my usual rotation. Try it....

A decent, sweet and caramelized stoved Virginia (it IS black!) in rubbed out form, but I think that Dark Star and Butera Dark Stoved have a richer and more complex taste, not too mention that they burn better, slower and more regularly. In particular I noticed that this tobacco, like many Rattrays, is full of humectants, which generates quite a bit of wetness and makes frequent relights needed. Even if you let the tin dry for a month, you will still have some combustion problems... unless you puff like mad, in which case you will scorch your pipe, fry your tongue and get absolutely no flavor from it.

I have always enjoyed McClelland's 2035 Dark Navy Flake and still have about 2oz. Wanting to find something similar, I decided to revisit Rattray's Black Virginia. My original review (see below) was not too favorable, but today...a different animal. Opening the tin reveals a very black, medium length/width ribbon cut with an occasional brown piece of tobacco. The tin note was just like opening a box of fresh raisins and very delicious. Loading and lighting were very easy as was keeping it lit. There was a very nice burnt sugar taste (not off-putting at all) with a mild molasses-like flavor. This smoked clean to the heal without moisture or bite. Compared to my first experience of 40 or so years ago, as stated, a different animal and very enjoyable at that. Now I have found a suitable replacement for McClelland's 2035. Highly recommended to those who enjoy a nicely stoved Virginia.

ORIGINAL REVIEW from 4-19-20: I first tried this in the 1980s thinking it would be similar to the Tinderbox's Captain Spice. Boy, was I wrong! First off, there was little if any tin aroma. Second, it wasn't jet black like the Spice. Third, it was a bugger to keep lit. Finally, little to no taste. Not sweet at all, occasionally a whiff of that hay-like barn smell, but not much. I was quite disappointed to say the least. If Tobaccoreviews existed then - a 1 star rating.

Over the years as my experience in pipe smoking grew, I would from time to time try Black Virginia. I came to appreciate it for what it was - a mild, stoved or steamed Virginia, nothing more, nothing less. I would dry this out in the tin for days at a time and this helped to reduce the frequency of re-lights. With slow smoking I sometimes experienced the subtle hay-like taste in an otherwise bland tasting blend. All in all, if you want something very mild with an at times very subtle flavor, and if you are willing to dry this stuff out sufficiently for smoking, this may suit you. As such, only somewhat recommended. For this piper after nearly 34 years of pipe smoking, not a re-visit for me.

Black stoved virginia ribbon with considerable casing. Like many dark stoved tobaccos it's monochromatic in character, fig-fruity, tangy and sweet but in this case too much casing makes it a bit cloying. I think it would be a better product if K&K would throttle back on it. Mild and hardly sharp acidic wise for being an all virginia tobacco. It is described on some sites as a European style black cavendish but it is not in line for blending with orientals being so fruity and sweet. Other brand's dark stoved flakes would be superior choice over this tobacco for that characteristic dark stoved virginia flavor in mind but since McClelland folded, the options are much more limited. Perhaps buy this when the better options are out of stock.

I will go against the party line and make the absurd claim that this smoke is in fact complex. And that it's not very sweet. The fact that noone agrees basically must mean I'm wrong, but this review is my honest perception. Earthy-fermented & plain good ol' tobacco flavour would be my best description off the flavour. But notes - and I really mean notes, as in subtle, barely perceptible - off plum, fruits, nuttiness and above all licorice makes themselves known throighout the smoke. The licorice isn't nearly strong enough to dominate the flavour, but I am clearly reminded off salty licorice in a way I find most pleasant & delightful. Licorice notes are most present mid-bowl, with the beginning being a bit more fermented-fruit sour (in a good way). The fact that isn't very powerful in flavour is what allows for the complexity I perceive. No flavours are strong enough to overpower any other. It's mild without being flat. Perfect!

Please do yourself the favour off eating licorice when smoking this.

This is also the coolest smoking blend I have ever come across. I could probably light this with a blowtorch lighter and puff as aggressively as someone trying to burn their tongue off and still get cool smoke.

Easy to pack, slightly moist out off the tin but not too bad.

Highly recommended!