Robert McConnell Rich Dark Virginia

A delightful to look upon and smell, it produced a super rich and deeply flavorful presentation at the match. The flakes burn slow and that is a really good thing because once lit, you want this one to stay lit for a long time. I compare this one favorably to some of the Gawith Virginia offerings, but few of those match the depth of flavor of this one.

Robert McConnell - Rich Dark Virginia.

Reminds me of my favourite evening smoke but without the hassle of preparation, Germain's Rich Dark Flake. Not so sweet, minus the Burley, but not a million miles away! Anyhoo, let's forget that and get to the crux: Rich Dark Virginia.

Preliminarily the blend matches up to the name. It is, indeed, rich and dark; a sweet aroma and practically black in colour! The moisture suits imminent smoking. I wouldn't have wanted this tin languishing for long in my stash, I think the few months was enough without it becoming too dry!

Sweet tasting, bready, with a touch of dark fruit. That encompasses the flavour, for me! It's a proper sit back and 'chill' blend. The burn is A1 from the initial light; steady, independent, reliable, necessitating hardly any maintenance. Tongue bite? Where!! The smoke's quite thick and cool in temperature; very palpable in the mouth!

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: nice.

Rich Dark Virginia? Very tasty and very relaxing. Four stars:

Highly recommended.

This is a very enjoyable smoke. Sweet citrus with hints of darker fruit. Has a bit of tang to it as well. A hide and seek note of bread. Not terribly complex, but complex enough to hold my interest. An easy 4 stars.

Mild to medium in body and taste. I think the casing has been sweetened just a touch. Burns very well straight from the tin.

A dark brown, almost black short ribbon. It has a sweet tin note suggestive of chocolate and molasses and, interestingly, has a very close match to the Christmas pudding and acetic aromas that are a hallmark of McClelland tobaccos.

This is to my mind a very straightforward stoved Va of the highest quality. This seems to be a genre that attracts a lot of hate from contemporary pipe smokers, possibly because stoved Virginias are light, naturally sweet, and seemingly uncomplicated. They do however reward the gentle puffer with layers of subtle scents. Beautiful stuff.

Someone has to stand up for this fine blend, so I will step up to the plate and go to bat for it! If we could give "partial stars" this would be perhaps a 3 1/2, but all these one star ratings make me want to raise the average. I bought a tin in Richmond (Old Virginia Tobacco-a bit pricey, but they have some older tins on their shelves; I even found some ten year old Ashton there), and read the reviews before smoking it. I'm glad I'm not impressionable, even though this is all a matter of personal taste after all. But one star? I found it to be a mellow and enjoyable blend. No strong or unique character, but sometimes that it what I need. This is dark and rich in the tin and has a pleasant mild smell. It smokes clean, and much like Stonehaven (which is a little better, IMHO), can be smoked fast and heavy if one so desires.

I long for the day when someone, for the good of humanity, finally starts a college of tobacco blending and tasting. This tobacco is so sweet, I find it difficult to believe that it hasn't been assisted in some way, although I hasten to add it's sweetness is not at all disagreeable. Nor is it at all goopy or sticky. Can a the leaf from a weed be so delicious on it's own?!

In that it came from the same company, and is of the same type, it shouldn't be considered too bold to say that this is very much like Rattray's Dark Fragrant...only more so. If Dark Fragrant is four on a sweetness scale of ten, I would put this at six or seven. The tobacco aroma is "old-timey" both in the tin and in the room. It very much sent me back to the time of my youth, ogling pipes and tins in pipe stores.

Although I like this very much, I just happen to prefer the more mature, quiet style of Rattray's for a stoved Virginia.

This appears to be a tobacco people either love or hate. I am sincerely enjoying it, but I feel that complexity is missing. Would benefit from another leaf in it. It is wonderful Virginia though. A strong tobacco flavor that cigar smokers (like me) will appreciate, and a subtle sweet chocolately nut flavor that will please most everyone. The scent is where it proves itself. In the tin, strong raisins. While burning, cooking spices, pepper, raisins and earthy tobacco. Does not bite much when smoked on the dry side, and not at all very aggressive with the nicotine. 3.5-4 star out of 5.

Looks (and tastes) a lot like the Astley's #88 I smoked not long ago. Same jet black color, same chunky ribbon cut, same Cavendish style blending. Smelled of natural light Virginia tobacco with undertones of coffee that the Astleys had.

Same blender, yes... same blend, perhaps! It's awfully close to the Astleys. Any differences I attribute to the 10 years of age on the Astleys I smoked. Dark roast flavor that seemed more Cavendish than pure stoved Virginia, although it is quite stoved indeed. Soft flavor that doesn't intrude with little complexity and yet it's interesting enough to smoke often. I didn't fire any up after mid-afternoon, as more heady brews work better for me later in the day but when I did smoke this, I enjoyed it thoroughly and didn't feel as though I was being cheated in any way. Good blending tobacco for those times I need some caramel-like Cavendish but don't want the goopy vanilla associated with the basic black cavs available. This is a fine smoke by itself, however. Smoked back to back with the Astleys, there may be some very slight differences but I can't say for certain that I was able to pick them out.

With a recent drop of tobaccos from Germany, I have been going through them again and trying some new ones. Bored with seeing the same old flakes from the F & T tins, I opened this guy up to finally see something new and exciting.

I great in aroma of dark fruit, molasses and maybe even a little anise. And Pipestud was right, a rich leaf in look, smell and taste. A little dry time helps this one, but not alot of needed. It WILL dry out completely if left alone for a few hours.

It takes to the match pretty quickly with a burst of flavor. As said above, molasses, dark fruit, and a touch of anise maybe come through and stay throughout the bowl. Burns well with a decent amount of smoke. A really unique flavor profile and a medium nicotine hit. Burns to a nice ash and no goopyness or ghosting.

I was happy to see this in stock this go around because its been out of stock for awhile. Mid smoke I bought the last 3 tins I could find from online.

This blend isn't extrordinary or the holy grail of straightforward Virginias. It's a decent smoke but somewhat sweet, strong in body and hard to figure out. It falls between dessert, after breakfast or down time smoke meant for sipping. In retrospect, it has the same flavor and feel of MacBaren's Mixture Modern minus the burley. I found a little drying tones down the sweetness. It did require a relight and a few tampers. Burns hot if smoked too quickly, so find a leisurely rythmn and stick with it.That's when RMDV starts to shine on its own and the flavoring comes through. Taste was dense and smoky with a tangerine-like sweetness with the body of dark red wine, possibly Merlot. Got a slght tang at the end of each draw on the pipe. Room note was hard to decipher but not unpleasant. Dark Virginia by itself is nice when taken in at a slower pace. Better for blending as the tin notes suggest. On the plus side, I got a great lingering smoke out my Medico Straight VFQ. Don't smoke a bowl in one setting. Gradually puff your way down to the bottom over several sessions. I got better results from smoking a full bowl in a cob. A great compliment to English style mixtures. In short, RMDV is akin to that friend or cousin you like having around you all the time but can't explain the reasons why. UPDATE: 9-16-15 After smoking this a few times and playing around with it, I'll upgrade to three stars. Unsealing tin and letting sit for a few days changes the flavor. Mellows out and very rewarding, especially in a cob. Doesn't smoke as hot and doesn't bite. My VFQ pipe is Brylon, but briar might give far superior smoke. In the beginning I was expecting something similiar to Royal Cajun Dark. Had to change my mindset in order to enjoy the benefits of RDV. Please share your experiences.