Robert McConnell Red Virginia

A va/per for people that dont like per. I could have sworn this was straight VA with some light topping, as the is perique added very judiciously. As a perique skeptic, I appreciated the light touch. The spicy perique condiment balances the sweet chocolate topping to create a enjoyably unique experience. Burns evenly requiring an average number of relights. 3.5 stars

Very nice stuff. I'd been blowing out my palette on to me sweet hay-ish va's. This is more tart, sweet and tangy. Bit fruity from the per. I don't notice the chocolate in flavor but could smell something extra in the tin not. A bit moist, and at firth to coarse to readily stuff in a small bowl so some extra attention is required.

All in all great stuff, although I would like something less sweet/fruity and more tangy, and bready.

Solid 3 stars out of 4

tabacco molto buono, di facile fumata, aromatico al punto giusto. L'ho comprato chiedendo una miscela a base di Virginia, aromatica ma non troppo, leggera. Questa miscela rispecchia tutte le mie richieste.

Reading reviews from others on this blend, it seems either one hates it or loves it. I fall in the love it camp with one caveat, the tin I am smoking from is dated 06/99 so it is well aged and with a Va blend, that makes a large difference. The tin note when opening is of a sweet and tart red VA. It has a touch of spicyness if you really give it a good smell. It is a ribbon but in mostly a deep brown leaf with a little bit of darker leaf intermingled. The tin I have is just the right moisture content so no drying out was required. I loaded easily into my pipe and was very easy to light up. It does require a relight now and then but I find this true of most red VA blends as I tend to sip them slowly. After lighting up, the room note that I got was very pleasant. The taste of the smoke is very sweet, with just a touch of spicyness. The spicyness would be from the small dose of perique in it. The perique is used more as a spice and never becomes the main player in this blend. But it does add to it. The sweetness of the smoke is not just the hay like sweetness and this is supposed to have a top dressing though I can't guess what it is as I never really tasted it or smelled it. It just gives an extra punch to it. It burns nice and slow in the pipe and burns literally down to a soft grey ash and no dottle in the bottom of the pipe. I never got any of the tongue bite that some complain about, I just found it to be a very good full VA blend that I like. I have smoked five bowls in a row today and my tongue is just fine. I think that Robert McConnell blend tend to get overlooked but they make fine blends and this is one of them. I highly recommend giving it a try.

Mmmmh,... I like its aroma, taste and flavour with pleasant room note even too lingering. Opening the tin the moisture level is right but it dry out quickly, i recommend to put it on a jar. This tobacco has a declination more spicy/fruity than grassy, with an undertone linalool note that I appreciate with a glass of Trani Muscat as partner. Recommended

I opened the tin I'm smoking now in 2007, but let it be for the most part until recently. To be honest I didn't really like it at all at first (even if I don't recall it tasting drastically different back then), but I've come to reconsider in the last month or so. It bears resemblance more to an aromatic than a straight VA, so I don't treat it as such. Its topping is on the light side, but still very noticeable. The fruity descriptions (strawberry in particular) are quite accurate to me, and it certainly makes the blend worth while. I can see why people are fond of this blend, but I also see why some are not. I guess you should give this a shot if you're primarily a VA smoker who doesn't shy away from aromatics of the subtler kind now and then.

Tin aroma is good, with wafts of fruit with vanilla overtones and a somewhat pungent (perique'ish) component (I can't say I pick up on the "spice" and roundness I usually attribute to perique while smoking it, though).

I'll miss having the mixture around now that this tin is nearing the end of its life, but I'm still undecided on whether or not to buy it again. It's good, but not outstanding (something I find to be true about most McConnell blends). Perhaps when the next break-in is due...

this starts out with a bit of an irritation on the tongue that gives the impression of a tongue bite to follow, this is apparently caused by the casing which seems to burn off within the first quarter of the bowl because this blend caused no tongue bite at all. 2nd quarter this settles down and becomes a very pleasant smoke that gets richer as it progresses, i found the final 1/4 to be the high point of the blend. the burn is clean and complete. one thing that i found with the cut is that the strands seem to be so fine that if packed just the little bit tight they would restrict the draw, i found that a loose pack was much better and allowed for a much more pleasant smoke. i tired the frank method with the blend and found it to work exceptionally well. overall i would say that this well above average for a tobacco with a flavoring.

My tin also says "The original RED VIRGINIA pipe tobacco" The smell from the tin is simply delicious, fruity at first but smell deeper and up come chocolate and even roast almonds/hazelnuts. I think this is a top flavour as opposed to a casing. The smoke itself is that of a virginia, light, mild with the barest hint of Perique,I would say about 1-2 %. I am now smoking this with some Perique of my own added, more zest as one would expect. I plan on keeping this in my rotation! Rob.

My sentiments regarding this tobacco were eloquently expressed by reviewer ?pxi106? below and restated here:

?This isn't a tobacco that triggers deep thoughts on the first smoke. You don't think anything the second time you try it, either. As a matter of fact, this isn't a tobacco that will ever jump into your mind. Yet you will notice yourself reaching for it almost every time you go to fill a pipe, almost unconsciously. An insidious tobacco.?

I did notice myself reaching for it more often than my other open VA blends. I wasn?t particularly impressed with it at first but after repeated bowls, it grew on me. This is a nice, pleasant and refreshing VA blend.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 9.0 out of 10.