A comparison of my straight virginias

[billmess]

Recently, I have noticed a few posts about SG blends and worries about getting a constant supply. This post is in response to those posts and decribes my experience with a few blends. First a disclaimer: I am not an expert, I do not claim to be an expert, I do not want to be an expert. The views are my opinion and I really dont want to get into a debate with anyone about how poor my taste is. With any luck this post will help out a newbie.
The following, is a list of my favorite virginias in order from mild to full flavor:

Dunhill Flake: This was the first Virginia and for the first puff I knew I was going to love virginias. Smells great in the tin. It is very light. But, dont let that fool you. Just because it is light does not mean it lacks complexity. The taste is great, it is pretty easy to light, and it burns evenly. The moisture content seems to be close to perfect right out of the tin. What more could you ask for? This was my first love and I will always go back to her for more smokey goodness.

IRC flake: This stuff, for me, is the bridge between dunhill flake and FVF. It shares some characteristics each of these two blends possess. When I open the jar it smells heavenly. Well ok you got me, I dont know what heaven smells like but this is close to what my heaven would smell like. The flavor is mild, only slightly stronger than Dunhill. IRC flake is a complex tombacco. The flavors do change as you smoke your way through the bowl. It is pretty easy to light, so the fold and stuff method really is no problem. Overall this is a great tobacco that seems to overlooked. FYI, this is the blend I use to break in my new pipes. The slow even burn seems to leave a nice, even cake.

FVF: What can I say? She is the beast we all love to hate. She is expensive, hard to deal with, hard to get, and yet I cant get her out of my mind. Sounds like some of my ex-girlfriends.... First, I would like to say the tin of aged FVF is amazing and the appearence... well... the is nothing more beautiful in the tobacco world than seeing the sugar crystals nestled on top of FVF. They cry out, eat me Bill, you know you want to. Seriously, call me crazy, but the smell and appearence make me want to eat it. FVF is somewhat difficult to work with IMO. It is a little difficult to light, even after drying and doesnt burn perfectly even. The flavor is a litlle more full than the IRC but far from overpowering. FVF is complex but I would not say more complex than Dunhill or IRC. Overall it is very good. Do I own a decent number of tins? Yes. Would I buy more tins? Of course. Would I be upset is you took all my tins and I would never be able to replace them? Not really, I would be upset for the monetary loss but I could live without FVF in my life. Much like my ex-girlfriends

Mc Cranie's Red Flake: This is my most recent virginia experience. My expectations were somewhat low. One of the tins I received in the mail was smashed up pretty good so I decided to open it up and give it a go. In the tin it smelled like... well it smelled like every tin of Mcclelland I ever opened. You know what I am talking about; that vinegar/ketchup scent that makes you pause for a second and think to youself. WTH!!! do i smoke this or put it on my french fries? Fold and stuff worked fine right out of the tin. The moisture was a bit too high so I packed a bowl and let it sit for two hours. (I do this for almost every virginia I smoke anyway). So the moment of truth came and I was floored. This stuff tastes amazing. Surely this was just the excitement from trying a new blend and I Overrated it. So I tried it again the next day and the day after.... This went on for a week. Red Flake was the only blend I was smoking; which is very odd for me, I like to mix things up daily. I am rambling, back to the review. The flavor is pretty full and delicious. However, I must say it does run hot. It will bite you good if you smoke this to fast; which is entirely possible considering how good it tases. This blend also seems to lack complexity but who cares? It tastes great! Overall, this blend is great and I highly recommend it.

Blackwoods Flake: This is a Mc Clelland blend so it does have that vinegar smell to it. BF also has a meaty scent. Meaty/vinegar might not sound all that great, but BF does smell decent. It is a broken flake but DO NOT try to just stuff the flake bits into your bowl and light it up. BF is very picky and doesnt like to light easily. Dry it out for a while then rub it out completely. Seriously, if you try to fold and stuff BF will annoy you by going out continuously and slap you with the worst tongue bite of your life (I know from
experience). So why go through all this trouble, you ask? Good question. It tastes very good. However, it is a pretty strong, meaty flavor. This isnt an everyday smoke. The flavor stays with you for a while, as long as 24 hours. I do have a pipe dedicated just to this blend, but I cant see smoking more than a tin a year. Overall, this blend is a guilty pleasure to be enjoyed on a rare occasion.

There is one more blend I would like to mention: Solani Silver Flake. I have not tried this blend yet but I have some in the cellar and have very high expectations from it. The reviews are stellar and I never tried a Solani blend I didnt like.

Hopefully, someone enjoyed my ramblings useful.

Brotherly,
Bill

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Great report, Bill. 8) :cheers: Especially when I finally decide to dip into my BW tins... as for FVF? Until I get into my older stash I manged to pick up, I'm still shruggin' my shoulders with it. Time will tell.

I want to know why McClelland has that special ketchup note to it in the tin. It's just weird--but usually very good stuff once you're not gettin' hungry for french fries. :lol:

 

[DustyRoundup]

Yep,, Nicely done !

I seem to be a Va fan myself, and have not tried any of those except the FVF.

I will put those on my "want list"

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Funny enough, I just happened to stumble up on one of Mr. Pease's posts over in a discussion at T&P that I'd like to repost:

I thought I had read that the McC ketchup smell came from the mold inhibitor they treated with

You probably have read that, and there are a bunch of other theories about the particular aroma, but the stuff I accidentally produced smelled exactly the same, and had nothing added to it but water. It's just a specific and particular fermentation byproduct. I've known Mike for years, and he's an honest man. Though we do not discuss proprietary aspects of our respective blending processes, he's told me quite a few times that it is a natural process, not additives, that results in that characteristic aroma. I've always taken him at his word, and, my little "experiment" serves to reinforce that, at least to my mind. Interestingly, I've not been able to reproduce it. Could well have something to do with the native wild yeasts and bacteria that exist where he is, in the same way that San Francisco sourdough bread cannot be recreated anywhere else with any consistency.

I like it when I can get sensible answers so soon after asking questions! 8)

 

[Zanaspus]

Solani Silver Flake is splendid stuff, however, I think of it in terms of Burley rather than Virginia. If you approach it from the standpoint of unadulterated Virginia, you may be disappointed. There is however more VA than most Bur/Va's.

 

[billmess]

So the vinegar smell is in fact....... Wait for it........ Vinegar???

According to wikipedia:

Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.

I am just speculating but it seems to make sense to me. *shrug*


Bill

 

[monbla256]

I've been reading both here and on the New Tobacco Review site about the infamous McC "ketchup" aroma supposedly in their tobaccos. I've been a smoker of McC's blends for almost 25 years now and cannot honestly say I have encountered ANY "ketchup" aroma from any of their tobaccos. I have smelled the aroma of moist Virginia tobacco when I open my tins along with the aroma of the other 'baccy used in the particular blend. The first time I recall smelling it was when my uncle up in Raliegh N.C. opened his red plaid tobacco pouch to fill his pipe when we were at the auction house in Raliegh where his family was selling their crop of Virginia Brightleaf that summer. It did not smell like my fathers tobacco which was an aro and I asked him why his smelled different. He smiled at me and said".. it's 'cause this is good old Carolina straight Virginia tobacco son". When I first opened my first tin of McC's tobacco that same smell hit me and I can smell it all the time. Tobacco YES, ketchup NO
As far as "straight" Virginias, personally I would highly recommend 3 of McC's :
Virginia Woods
Matured #25
Matured #27
All very smooth, sweet, and full honest Virginia tobaccos that I'm currently buying more of and smoking

 

[user 2031]

*

 

[Storm_Crow]

I've been reading both here and on the New Tobacco Review site about the infamous McC "ketchup" aroma supposedly in their tobaccos. I've been a smoker of McC's blends for almost 25 years now and cannot honestly say I have encountered ANY "ketchup" aroma from any of their tobaccos.

Not all McClelland tobaccos have that smell... you just haven't encountered the right ones yet. It is unmistakeable. It doesn't affect the taste, but the smell of the tin is definitely like ketchup.

Yea, you really can't miss it. If you don;t get it from Dark Star then get your sniffer checked. I love the stuff, but then I enjoy Heinz ketchup too. :lol:

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

If I could no longer get FVF I'd be bummed, if I could no longer get Blackwoods Flake I'd be suicidal.

 

[Hunter5117]

If you are liking McC virginias, you should check out bulk #5100. By itself it is a good all-day smoke, kind of a Prince Albert of VA's although it will bite you if you don't pay attention and smoke it slow. However, blend it with either some dark VA - bulk 5105 is a great choice, or some blending perique, age for minimum of a year, and you have a virginia worthy of any big-name blender on the market.

 

[Brewdude]

If you are liking McC virginias, you should check out bulk #5100. By itself it is a good all-day smoke, kind of a Prince Albert of VA's although it will bite you if you don't pay attention and smoke it slow. However, blend it with either some dark VA - bulk 5105 is a great choice, or some blending perique, age for minimum of a year, and you have a virginia worthy of any big-name blender on the market.

Pretty much one of my go-to bulks these days.



Cheers,

RR

 

[Kyle Weiss]

So the vinegar smell is in fact....... Wait for it........ Vinegar???

According to wikipedia:

Vinegar is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.

I am just speculating but it seems to make sense to me. *shrug*


Bill

...but it's the ketchup smell, not just the vinegar...ketchup and straight vinegar don't smell much alike... explain how such a fermentation process of tobacco gets processed tomato in there, Wikipedia. EXPLAIN THAT! :lol:

 

[jefe1037]

Tomacco? (simpson's reference)

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Tomacco? (simpson's reference)

Holy crap! A pop-culture reference I get! :cheers: The answer has obviously been found. 8)

 

[billmess]

I wanted to make an update about Solani Silver Flake. About a week ago, I had a weak moment and cracked open my SSF tin. Currently, I have about 9 opened tins and I really didnt want to open any more until I finished a few tins. For some reason it really bothers me when I have over 5 open tins. Oh well, I guess I will just have to deal with it. Anyway, back to the Silver Flake.

Silver Flake does not disappoint. Quite the opposite. SF lights and burns very well (Like every Solani product I ever tried). There is very little flavoring, which is something I prefer. The smoke isnt very complex, but tastes so good I dont mind the lack of complexity. Anyone that likes Burley and Virginias HAS to try this blend. However, I do have a couple complaints. It's pretty expensive, it is pretty scarce, and the 100g tins look pretty but lack a seal. The 50g tins seem impossible to obtain; I am not sure if the 50g tins also lack a seal.

Overall, I cant stop smoking the stuff. It may still be a bit early in the tin to tell but I think this is my favorite blend at the moment. The lack of complexity may bore me in the future, but I doubt I will ever stop going back to this blend for more. Currently, I have 400g and am looking to buy more. If anyone knows where I can buy 50g tins let me know and I will stock up.

Hope this helps someone,
Bill

 

[Kyle Weiss]

For some reason it really bothers me when I have over 5 open tins.

I'm the same way.

Added SSF to my ongoing, ever-growing list. 8)

 

[monbla256]

I'll have to add Peretti's Oxford Flake to my list of recomended Virginia's It's fast becoming my "go-to" Virginia and I just ordered another 8oz.

 

[fumo bro]

Kyle is right. It isn't just a vinegar smell - it is a ketchup smell. I opened a tin of Butera's Dark Stoved about two months ago; it had a very sweet and pleasant smell to it. I did not open the lid again until last week at which time it gave off a very strong odor - very much the same as the infamous "McClelland Ketchup Smell." (Can we add KS to the acronym guide? - It comes up frequently. ) Some process it definitely taking place, but I have no clue what it is. Usually a sour smell is indicative of the presence of an organic acid, so I suspect that the process may be some sort of oxidation. In any case, the KS does not seem to leach into the smoke, and many blends with KS smoke very well.

 

[Blackhorse]

I've never seen such a 'tangent prone' buncha guys in my life. Is there no penalty for hi-jacking? lol


Loved the rundown on the flakes. Fine job. What a range there is. Dark...medium...light...etc.

I recently opened a new megatin of Silver Flake and was reminded of Germaine's Brown Flake. Both excellent.

Nice to see someone talking about the IRC, which is a well priced and high quality item as well. Very under rated.

No mention of Stonehaven? Blackwoods? Heinrich's Strong Dark? The set of Burley Flakes...Wessex, Ex Rooster, Solani, C&D 1-4???? Reiner's Long Golden? Yadda, yadda, yadda.