Robert McConnell Red Virginia

Robert McConnell - Red Virginia.

Although it's been fully rubbed some of the 'ribbons' are still fairly coarse. The moisture of my tin couldn't have been any better when I first opened it. The aroma of the blend is only suggestive of Virginia, really.

Classing this as a VaPer would be similar to saying a burger's healthy because it has a lettuce leaf on it. The Perique's been added lightly, very lightly. The Virginias rule the roost here. Being doughy and just sweet enough, with a bit of a tang. The flavour's more nonchalant than some Vas, it isn't all caustic grass and snappy citrus. As a bowl burns I begin to notice a very subtle dark fruitiness. It goes at a medium speed and doesn't bite.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: nice.

Red Virginia? A definite four star smoke:

Highly recommended.

I bought some tins of this when I realized I didn't want to diminish my 5100 stash too quickly.

I'd say it's on par with red cake, so I enjoy it as much, but it's not the same thing. Much of the taste is similar though. It has what I consider a casing level of topping, like so many other straight Virginia Blends that I don't at all consider aromatics. To me, an aromatic is a flavored tobacco with intentional flavoring and I think this one isn't that at all. It just smells out of the tin a little better than stale tobacco due to a casing of some sort. It's a sign of a well processed high grade leaf that someone took some care with prior to packaging, distributing, and selling. I don't taste it in the smoke at all. It has a bit more strength and nicotine I think than red cake, not a lot, but its a stronger tobacco, maybe even a bit more full flavored as I get down into a good bowl. If there's perique in here, its slight and I don't taste it really at all. It honestly tastes like a high quality straight Virginia blend perhaps a little more dry and earthy than red cake. Could be considered somewhat bland, unless you are particular to the one dimensional-ish taste of other straight red Virginia blends. It tastes like its namesake and it does indeed scratch the same itch as the red cake. No Vinegar McClelland casing though and its more of a broken flake vs. the cake type mixture of 5100. Not the same thing, but close enough that I'm optimistic that I could go without red cake somewhere down the line when I run out as long as variations of straight red virginia's like this are available. Maybe if Royal Yacht and 5100 had a love child that inherited no vinegar......

In the post McClelland world of tobacco this was a real treat. I really enjoyed smoking this one for the pure taste of the blend. As Jiminks points out, it is a bit of a misnomer in calling it Red Virginia as it does contain other things that are detectable in the taste; however, I do find that the Red Virginia is the key flavor in this as it is more earthy/tangy than citrus/hay sweet. The latter being more characteristic of the bright leaf that accompanies the former in this blend.

Also present is a touch of perique. It does add a bit of complexity to the blend. As I tend to enjoy VaPers a touch more than straight Vas on average, this does not bother me in the least. In the flavoring notes above, it says it contains cocoa, idk where that would come from. I really couldn't detect a topping at all, but if one exists, I would expect it to be simple sugar or maybe honey, nothing as rich and intrusive as Chocolate or cocoa. It really presents to me as an untopped blend.

So although this has more than Red Va within it, it still primarily presents as a Red Va to my tastes and it tastes great. I am giving this a four star rating, but will honestly say this is mostly due to the vacuum left in the world of Red Virginia offerings since McClelland departed the market.

I have seen people ask in many forums for recommendations of a good red Virginia blend and I see a general lack of response to the question. When McClelland was produced, it was easy to answer and the answer was always McClelland or blends produced for other by McClelland (i.e. McCrainies, Peretti, Watch City, et al.). I have seen this question stump many people who have tried much more tobacco than I and it has also stumped me. Now I have an answer, and this is it.

This is a Danish style aromatic tobacco, but I am not bothered by this fact. For one thing the taste is somewhat similar to the tin note and it does not seem to bite at all. I know this might sound bizarre, but this baccy smells just like Playdough. It reminds me of those pick-and-mix strawberry sweets you buy loose for your kids in most sweet shops, and this is something that quite shows in your smoke. I thought I wouldn't, but funny though it is, I am enjoying this. The moist content is borderline being just too wet, but it seems to smoke perfectly fine after airing for a few hours, so I am not sure I'd smoke this tobacco as dry. As for the quality of the Virginia leaf, surprisingly enough, it seems to be really good. It is not infrequent to find bad quality tobaccos being masked by all the added casings, but this does not seem to be case in this particular instance. Not a nicotine bomb by any stretch of the imagination, but who cares for a morning blend you can smoke anytime to break the day. And it evolves quite nicely the more you progress with your smoke. I am surprised I am enjoying this, but I am, so I am going to give it 3 stars.

24-06-2017 Edit: I have come to fully appreciate this tobacco for what it is, so I am upgrading it from 3 to 4 stars. The Virginia/perique combination is quite balanced, it evolves beautifully in your bowl and, as a mild aromatic the casing is something more of a compliment that the main feature underscoring this blend. When I first tried it I knew it was something worth taking your time to fully appreciate it, and as a matter of fact I have found myself reaching more and more for this tobacco. One of my favs now, this baccy is.

I don't mean to throw out another 4 star review but what a lovely surprise here. A lovely Virginia with a hint of perique. I like strong va/per blends but I also love tasteful subtle ones like this... every bit as good as Scottish cake in my opinion... slightly sweet maybe a little bready and tangy. I don't really notice the topping much... maybe sweetens the room note slightly, but completely natural smoke... it's delightful.

The smell is very natural, deep, like grass or hay. Flakes rubbed with various shades of brown. The humidity is optimal, no need to re-ignite. The virginia manifests itself from the beginning of the smoke, semi-sweet and the perique is present showing a slight itch in the nose and mouth. The taste is maintained until the end. A very pleasant experience with virginia. Depending on the type of bowl leaves some moisture at the end. The ash is gray and fine.

I got this for what it was described to me as a Virginia blend with a touch of Perique. Not a true VaPer, but a blend with a light touch of Perique. A light casing is applied to bring out the Red Virginia’s natural sweetness without being over done. The tin smell is enticing and the flavors during the smoke are a blend nutty flavor with a slight sweet finish. A cool smoking Virginia and very well rounded. Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG States the Aroma is chocolate - well maybe.

This was my first meeting with VaPer. And i must say i was a little "scared" of the perique. But as many other have stated, it has very little perique in it. You can feel it but it will not take over. There is also a small taste of some red-berry-thing that i really liked. It becomes a threeway where the fine red virginia is in center and the other two plays wingmen. A perfect balance! I smoked most of the tin in an MM corncob and almost every bowl i smoked tasted perfect. I will buy this again and then i will take a 100g tin. I would like to call it a starter VaPer just because of its mild taste. The perique tickles the mouth but then the red-berry-thing comes a smoothens it all up.

Just try it and you´ll see what i mean.

The 'touch of Perique' is just enough to add some balance to the Red Virginia. A very nice, relaxing smoke, undemanding but (to me) very satisfying, balanced, and fairly full for its strength.