Forums
All right fellas... favorite straight virginia... GOOOO!!!!
1. Carolina Red Flake
2. Christmas Cheer
3. Van Gogh
4. Full Virginia Flake
5. Opening night
If I’m only including 100% straight Virginias, it narrows my list considerably as most that I really like are almost pure Virginias.
For bright to bronze, Sutliff 507c Virginia Slices.
For reds, I’ll agree with one of your choices, Carolina Red flake.
For browns and darker, Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake.
Capstan
I worked really hard this summer to rate VAs. Here is what I came up with.
Top of the Top
- Vauen No 14
- Cut Virginia Plug
- HH Virginia
- Capstan Blue
- Peterson Flake
Honorable mention
- Opening Night
- Full Virginia Flake
Budget/Bulk
- 507c
- 515RC mixed with 507S
OK.
Watch City Simply Orange
FVF
Opening Night
Carolina Red Flake
Union Square
Honorable Mention: Old Gowrie (Yeah, I know. Close Enough).
Since McClellands demise.... C&D's Opening Nights for a full spectrum Va. Ken Byrons' Byronic Hiro is a very good stoved Va
Happy Bogie twist! So much power... like smoke kicked you in the head. Love it. Shame, that Gawith does not supply us in EU anymore
Even though pure virginias are not my cup of tea, i like full virginia flake and i'm enjoying the blockade runner.
Still quite rare finding myself in the spot where i smoke them but they are good for me.
I enjoy the Gawith Hoggarth side of things and recommend that people check out Kendal Gold. It is like the old Three Castles, a nice light bright Virginia with lots of flavor.
Capstan, Full Virgina Flake and Best Brown Flake. I'm not a Virginia smoker, just a few bowls on summer.
1. 1983 McCranie's Red Ribbon
2. McClelland 5100
3. Butera Matured Ribbon
4. McClelland 2035
5. F&T Blackjack/Negrohead
Honorable Mention: Wessex Brown Va Flake
Are those mostly McClelland? Woops!
It´s well known that Straight Virginias can get better when aged. I´m just entering this field, wasn´t huge fan of pure virginias but i´m becoming more interested and want to know from more experienced smokers how long you guys wait till feel that is the time to open the tin? How long till the sugar crystallization starts appear?
I might be in the minority on this point, but many of the straight Virginias I like, I prefer on the fresher side. This is especially true of bright Virginias, as I find they lose their citrusy and hay like flavors from age, and those are things I really like about them. I do find darker Virginias often improve with age, but I’ve never actually done any intentional experimenting to find out what the best point is. Aging for me happens because I have too much tobacco and don’t get around to opening it very fast :).
I often open the jars of brighter Virginias I have every six months or so, to let oxygen in to slow down the aging process.
Interesting your point of view! I have Grousemoor, Blockade Runner and Peterson Flake in jars. Didn´t know that opening the jars could slow down the aging, really nice to know.
This is a good article on aging you might find interesting:
Ha, ha… I probably shouldn’t comment. I have only ever tried 4 straight Virginias, the ones I have open, and smoke in the morning if I want something light that tastes like lemon grass. I have to keep telling myself, “There must be something to this that I’m missing - they made it taste this way on purpose - and some people really like it.”
…not me yet …give me a few years. 😝
In the past, all virginias i´ve smoked tasted like burnt paper, not a single drop of sweetness in the smoke. Almost five years rejecting virginias when back in 2021 i had my first good experience with pure virginias and since them i´ve trying what i can. Now i´m adding constantly a tin of some virginia in my purchases and all of them are making me happy.
I do have to say sorry to all those who won't be able to get their hands on it, but hands down:
Samuel Gawith (ft. Stanislaw) - Scottish Autumn Flake
Another absolutely fantastic straight Virginia is Capstan Blue.
Could not agree more. Hands down the best VA I ever smoked. Capstan is still on my TO TRY list 🙂
- Bright Virginias: Capstan Blue was my go-to, but I recently tried Orlik Golden Sliced and I much prefer the the latter for being more citrusy and giving me that fresh taste I want from a bright Virginia. Capstan is in a very close second for me.
- Red Virginias: Low Country's Edisto is simply phenomenal. I also have HU's My Red Fox on my wishlist to compare, and I'll certainly be really impressed if they can match Edisto, but I have a lot of faith in Hans Weidemann.
- Brown Virginias: It's already been mentioned, but Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake. I don't have a lot of experience within this genre, but I am always impressed by how wonderfully aged Gawith's tobacco is.
target="_blank"
