Robert McConnell Red Virginia

After finishing a 100g tin, I still have a most contrary kind of feelings. On one hand, there's not much to say against this blend. It is quite decent Virginia. Perique is but slightly noticeable (though I'm a big Perique fan and maybe just too used to it). The broken flake can be rubbed to fine ribbon and burns perfectly well. Moisture was perfect, and, well... everything seemed to be just fine with it. Except the casing. Yes, I didn't expect it to be an aro, and still believe tha it was never meant to be. But still there was always present some light flavour, reminding somewhat of chocolate and somewhat of the worst and most chemical aromatics like Mac Baren Ambrosias. For me it was the thing that I didn't look for and didn't appreciate in a 'natural VaPer' kind of blend. And it quite spoiled all the experience with this German product for me. Maybe you will give it a try and come to enjoy it, but I'm not buying this again.

So, this is a nice little change of pace for me, from time to time. I love virginias as well as Va/Pers. Though I'm not big on aromatics, I don't mind topped tobaccos on occasion, even heavily topped ones. In fact, Mac Barens #1 is an all time favorite of mine. I do find a difference between topped tobaccos and heavily cased tobaccos with sauce. This blend has a nice little fruity topping that goes very well with the red Virginias, IMHO. I wouldn't smoke this all the time, but on a bright spring morning like today's ( 4 April 15, 70°, South Louisiana ) this blend is hitting the spot. I would recommend this to anyone wanting to go from full aromatics into the world of light virginias. Also, though I have yet to conduct this experiment, I would think that R.M.'s Red Virginia may make for an interesting blending tobacco. Either way, at a fair price, I would go for it.

Red Virginias with some Perique and a chocolate topping, this is what is described on the official website of Kohlhase, Kopp und Co in German. Considered a Scottish mixture the name is: The original Red Virginia pipe tobacco.

This tobacco is great for aromatic smokers that would want to dabble in Virginias without sacrificing too much of the flavoring. I do find that the chocolate flavor takes over most of the time. The Perique is weakly applied and adds nothing to the mixture. In conclusion, another average mixture for me. Even if the tobacco is of quality, the blending is a waste of inspiration and resources. A semi-aromatic at best or a light aromatic at worst.

Virginia lover

Heavenly tin note, intense, very tangy and sweetly fruity, it smells like a fruit liqueur with notes of chocolate. It’s a tangy and juicy smoke which I find quite nice. It is darkly sweet and this sweetness is balanced beautifully by the tanginess and some bitter and sour citrucy fruit element. However the topping which smells so nice does taste a little chemical and metallic to me.

Still not a bad smoke, but not as good as Robert McConnell’s Mature which is also topped but with a much more natural tasting flavor. Not to mention the superb Scottish Cake... And if you are looking for a pure red Virginia tobacco better look elsewhere, for this is not it. 2.5 stars.

The manufacturer claims that this is one of the old recipes that have been preserved since 1848, but based on the review, I’d rather not to believe that.

Appearance: the jar I opened had a "Q4 2019" excise stamp. There were no other date stamps on the can. The jar turned out to be an almost monochromatic light brown blend of rather bright hue, with occasional flecks of light Virginia and even more occasional flecks of darker perique. The tobacco is frankly damp, the manufacturer didn't spare glycerin - the mixture didn't dry out in the open air even after half an hour. After waiting some more time, I still achieved what I think is an acceptable humidity (or rather dryness) of tobacco to stuff it into the pipe.

Flavor: dense note of baked fruit, some fresh strawberry and caramel (what?), faintly noticeable allspice, and over it all - very dense bittersweet chocolate smell, which obviously has an artificial origin. After the tobacco sat in the air for ten minutes, the caramel evaporated, the roasted fruit lost a lot of intensity, there was a slight note of muffins, but other typical Virginia notes were not catching because of the powerful chocolate topping.

Taste: calm and very unassuming. Virginia woodiness obviously dominates, especially after the chocolate topping makes way for it, fading away by the end of the first third of the pipe. A sweetish fruity note lingers in the background, but there are no hints of bread, floral or herbal tones. The initially noticeable, but obviously faint, soft perique spiciness almost completely disappears by the middle of the pipe. The tobacco is a little harsh to the taste at the beginning, about the end of the first third of the pipe it calms down and turns into a very mild blend, but remains demanding to the rate of smoking until the very end, immediately giving off a bitter taste when overheated. If you take your time, the tobacco burns quite cool and slow, but leaves some moisture in the pipe, burning out into gray ash with some dark lumps. The strength of the tobacco is below average, and if you take into account the leisurely pace of smoking - nicotine hit is not a threat. The aftertaste is woody-sweet, not persistent.

The tobacco smoke has a slightly spicy aroma with a woody base. It is not persistent and wears off quickly, not disturbing others at all.

What's the bottom line? I have mixed impressions. The blend is frankly good, in general, as an everyday tobacco. But its cost in our market for a long time was higher than the competitors. Now the situation has improved, the tobacco is on sale at a decent price. Its taste, of course, can hardly be called bright or outstanding. Personally, I prefer Carolina Red Flake, and if you want a blend with more perique, its sister, Carolina Red Flake with Perique. But this tobacco is frankly not bad. By the way, if you have pure perique on your shelf, try adding it to this tobacco - it becomes brighter and more interesting. My mark is 2.5 of 4.

I had found RV intriguing for a long time and had heard variously different assessments over the last decade. I finally took the plunge and was quite excited I did. The tin art depicts a Native American and random white devil, the former smoking a pipe and the latter appears to be enjoying a pinch of snuff. They seem to agree on tobacco, while not necessarily the method of ingestion.

Leon is right, this tobacco smells lightly of strawberry candy when first cracked. I would suggest a combination of chocolate and sour fruit after some air. The strawberry dissipated and the chocolate topping became more evident.

This is a ready rub preparation of red and quite a lot of orange leaf. It is very basic when smoked. You get a Muzak version of your favorite Virginia flavors, but they are all fairly muddled and mild. There are some quite clear black tea notes late in each bowl. I could not readily identify the Perique in the tin or on the smoke itself. The chocolate topping can be tasted mid bowl, and the strawberry comes and goes, barely notable in the retrohale. The strawberry is quite strong on the room note which is why this blend was pleasant to bystanders.

This would be an excellent blend for aromatic smokers to broaden their horizons with. I would also recommend this blend to any and all who fear Perique, because there basically isn’t any there. I found that while the combustion qualities were attractive, this one could irritate my tongue a bit

For me, the Red Virginia starts out very nice and slightly sweet. The first 2/3 is a good straight forward, easy going smoke. The last 1/3 starts to get a slightly sharp edge ... Just not the finish I had hoped for.

The tin had 9 years on it so the perique was muted. I’ll bet the two to four year old tins are better. This tobacco has the potential to produce a mild bite so puff slowly and don’t push.

Not bad itself, but that chemically sweet smell when you open the tin is the killer. No information at all about flavoring on the tin, so that was a little unpleasant surprise. After 2 years of aging the smell is much softer, but still not consistent with the overall tobacco flavor. Packing and lighting easily. At first flavor is quite pleasant, although the sweet artificial smell remains, but after half of the bowl it disappears. If you like virginia based flavored tobaccos, then it's maybe worth to try, but that's not my favorite.

Bites like a bat biting things hard. Other than that I love it. But goodness, hard to get over that.