When i first moved to the Akron Ohio area i made a point to investigate all the local tobacconists. Like most they had lost all their pipe smokers and became cigar lounges years before i arrived in the area. This, however, left me with a unique opportunity, their entire pipe tobacco inventory pre-cellared. I found a tin of HH Pure Virginia seven years old and the rest of the HH line between five and six years old and many other brands and blends. I grabbed what i could afford and left plenty behind for any other adventurers who may be in Ohio.
@@spencercole4453 sorry for the late reply. It is called cousins cigar on merriman road. Last I was there it had tons of old stock. You are in barberton? I am right next to you. Interested in sitting down and sharing a smoke?
Thanks you for the recommendations, I also want to mention that I love your Carolina parakeet painting in the back. We had a real stuffed one at my university. Beautiful birds
Your channel is honestly my favorite RU-vid channel right now. Period. I love your approach, demeanor, class, and sophistication. Your voice is second to none. Please keep on doing the great things you're doing. Loving it!
One of my favorites bulk blends is Bullseye. With a few years of age is excellent. I have a few jars that are reaching 10 years. Maybe past their prime, but I enjoy the almost black coins. Dark fruit, deep flavor. Another excellent video. Thank you for your suggestions. Be well my friend. "The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again."
Listening to you is just about as relaxing and enjoyable as smoking my pipe on the porch of my cabin in the mountains in Okanogan County Washington. Thank you so much for your constant good instruction, Dr. Harrelson.
For what it’s worth, my personal favorite is a pure red Virginia from Dan Tobacco out of Germany. It’s called Malthouse Founders Reserve. It’s aged, so they say, in barrels previously used for malt whisky, though it is not a whiskey flavored tobacco. I simply love it!!! Not as available stateside as it was in the early 2000’s ( like all the offerings from Dan Tobacco) but if one cares to spend a little more it can be shipped from Germany. Worth trying if pure Virginia is to your liking.
I've come a long way in my pipe smoking journey, which I started just under a year ago. I've been able to learn about and discern subtle flavors in the tobacco I smoke and I can say with confidence that Virginia blends are my absolute favorite. You've given me a couple more to try out, thank you for your content.
If I could add a blend for consideration, it would be Peter stokkeby luxury bullseye flake. Virginia's mixed with perique and black Cavendish which make for an excellent smoke.
I'm loving the videos. Horry County is not far from me at all. I know it well. I live in NC. All of these blends are very good representations of great Virginias and I enjoy them all. I never really paid much attention to all the tobacco fields here in N.C. until I started smoking Pipe tobacco. Now I have much more appreciation for them and what they become. Thank you and take care.
Surprising that you left out Full Virginia Flake in a discussion about virginia blends as that is an old stand-by. Course it's almost as impossible to get as a McClelland blend. I've got some that I've been aging for a decade and boy it's a real treat when I crack it open. A favorite of mine that you might want to consider is C&D's Briar Fox. A good combination of virginias with just enough burley for some complexity. Honorable mention: C&D's opening night.
Thank you! As a new pipe smoker, I truly enjoy this series learning about the different categories of tobacco. Your recommendations are very helpful in guiding my journey through the myriad choices of tobaccos. Many thanks sir. BTW, I throughly enjoyed your video on southern gospel music history, my wife (Bethany) and I listened together and look forward to moving back home to the south this summer where we hope find a church that has not forgotten that heritage. May God bless you and your family sir. Respectfully yours, Gabriel Roper.
As you are more about flakes, I'd like to add some of my favourits: Richmond Navy Cut, Orlik Golden Sliced, SG Brown Flake (all 100% Virginias with excellent quality); MacBaren Brown Sliced, Bell's Three Nun's (just wow with a lot of punch), McConell Old London Pebble Cut. In case you have a friend visiting Germany send him to Heinrich's pipe store in Cologne and get a tin of his #110 (Virginia with Perique and Kentucky, a bomb of natural aroma). Going funny with Virginia: Capstan blue known for its "ketchup" note.
As a young boy I would see tobacco fields around were I lived. This was in southern Ontario, Canada. A lot of people forget a lot of bright leaf comes from here (Cornell and Deihl use it a lot) , very different from Carolina red, but amazing with age, amazing chanel, would love to visit one day!
Being from NC my grandmother and her family are originally from SC and they farmed tobacco when she was a kid. I'm partial to the red variety of virginia. I have McClelland tobacco to thank for that. Sutliff's red crumble kake is a good one and another virginia with a honey topping is C&D Interlude
I started pipe smoking in 2009 and didn't have much money then, so it was really one tin or pouch at a time. I was fortunate enough to smoke a couple of McLleland blends and I currently have 4 that I just don't think I will ever open. But I did not get a chance to try any of their Frog Morton series. Very sad day when they closed up shop. I wonder if one day they will release their recipes and techniques for posterity.
The reason the Davidoff Flake Medallion is sweeter than Escudo is the dot of sweetened black cavendish in the center of the coin. It is also available from Stokkebye who blends for Davidoff in bulk under their name of Deluxe Navy Rolls,
Very interesting video on my favorite type of pipe tobacco. It is amazing how a couple years even on a Virginia blend can make such a difference. I do have several different Virginias in my cellar that are getting a few years on them and are very enjoyable, sometimes I like to add a few strands of blending Perique to a straight Va. blend to add a different dimension. For some reason I don't care for the popular Escudo, I do need to try the Davidoff Medallions though, sounds wonderful. I have stocked up heavily on Amphora Va. and with just a couple years on it, it is a blend that when I smoke it I say "yummy".
Nice recommendations! Thank you for these great videos. One of my favorite Virginia based blends is MacBaren Dark Twist, especially during these winter months.
Thanks for the discussion on Virginias. My favorite is Ye Olde Signe, an old Dunhill blend that is no longer made. Question for you: What is the shape of pipe you feel smokes Virginias the best? I have yet to find a perfect shape for them but wanted to know your thoughts on this. Thanks for your channel. I’m always eager to see new content from you.
Because there's room for disagreement, I'll suggest that the Esoterica blends easily rise to the hype: all of their blends exude quality. Naturally, not every one of their blends will have a flavor profile that each pipe smoker will welcome, but they're excellent representations of their various styles. For an exquisite straight Virginia blend, I'd say it that would be challenging to top Esoterica's Cardiff. It packs and lights with ease, it produces a full-bodied smoke, and the backbone of its flavor is wonderfully sweet.
Hello, I have greatly enjoyed your videos! My name is Josh and teach high school agriculture education in Ohio and also enjoy your agriculture commentary on southern agriculture. Cheers, Josh
I have not tried davadof yet .though it's high on my list. I do however smoke peter stokkabes luxury bullseye flake every day. You can bye it in bulk and the flavor to sweetness is there. I've been wanting to try the other to see if I could tell a difference of if it was any better. L.B.F is in my top 3 right now for sure. Sorry about the spelling..I'm trying haha.
Chase, the Davidoff Coins and the Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake are the exact same tobacco. Made in the same facility on the same line. Davidoff gets the tins, and Stokkebye gets the bulk.
@@Zippo765 well that's grate to know! Thank you so much for the info..I won't wast my the or money then! What about Cosmo #4 it looks the exact same as well.
I have not found myself to be very fond of straight Virginias. They seem to me to be light and airy with not much flavor. There is an occasion where I will enjoy some Luxury Twist Flake, but it's not frequent. University flake has a good aroma and starts out pretty good, but it tends to knock me off my feet when I least expect it. I'm a fan of the smokiness of English blends and particularly love them if they have some sweetness. My favorite tobacco is Presbyterian Mixture (oriental forward). I also love 3 Nuns (not sure if this is considered a Virginia or not). Thank you for the videos! I very much enjoy watching them.
Being from Virginia and just starting pipe smoking I wanted the Virginia blend now I know they’re grown in other states, but I also have roots in North Carolina and I’m living in Arkansas so just a little taste of home in my mind
Glad I found your channel. These are all excellent suggestions and you're right the aging process does make a difference and MB ages very well you are correct I believe. Orlik Golden Sliced has been around for quite a while and is another decent Virginia enjoyed by some VA lovers. Glad you mentioned the Carolina Red Flake and Im cellaring the last two years batches (4 tins each) and I look forward to those. Hope you can do a review on the CRF sometime.
I have just recently fell in love with Virginia Blends and wasn’t very sure which blends to try out, only smoking Peterson Flake and Newminster N. 400. Now I’ve got some homework to do. Very much appreciate the hard work and knowledge you possess.
There may be better blends, but my two favorites are Cornell & Diehl's Opening Night, and Peterson's Elizabethan Mixture, due to their simplicity if anything.
Thank you Alan for the recommendations. My fav is Escudo Navy De luxe. Second option is Dunhill flake, virginia blends. Artisan's Blend, english mixture, by the way. Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷 South America. Nathan PY6 NO (My callsign Ham radio)
Thank you for this production. Marlin Flake, Escudo, Lousiana Red, Luxury Navy Flake, Davidoff Flake Medallions, Orlik Golden Sliced, Capstan Blue, HH Pure Virginia
I always felt like a bit of an odd-ball because I've been smoking nothing but straight Virginia in my pipe for 20 years now. Although my 'Virginia' is a local grown blend by the Iroquois First Nations here in Ontario Canada.
An excellent work. you covered a lot of territory here. I'm going to view it again right now. Thank you for giving me a few new directions, regarding tobacco, to explore.
I just came across your channel and add it. I’m a fairly new pipe smoker and still looking for my favorite tobacco. Here in Texas, there are not many true pipe shops so mostly I shop on line.
Thank you for a great video on Virginia blends. They are indeed my favorite by far. I, too, missed the Mcclelland tobaccos unfortunately. Very much looking forward to your future video on cellaring.
Enjoyed this chat. Of all the medallions, Navy Rolls is my favorite. I find it sits between Escudo, which I find more robust and less sweet than Navy Rolls and Davidoff Medallions, which I find sweeter and smoother than Navy Rolls. Wasn’t so keen on PS bullseye. I’m not as confident as you about Navy Rolls and Escudo being the same tobacco, but I guess it’s possible. Anyhoo your video popped up in my feed and very interesting real informational content. Subscribed
i remember reading somewhere in my travels through you tube that davidoff medallions and PS Bullseye were produced on the same manufacturing line with some diverted to stokkebye tins and others to Davidoff. This sounds feasible being that davidoff is really more of a cigar manufacturer, but who knows for sure?
If you haven't tried it yet, McConnell's Red Virginia (sometimes listed as Red Virginia Superb) in a v nice red Virginia with a touch of Perique (ready rubbed)
I've smoked escudo everyday for at least 4 years. My brother slipped me some navy rolls in my pocket tin. We had a long going discussion about being the same. Long story short, packed it, smoked it, without knowing, could not tell the difference.
Germains gold leaf is one of the finest Virginia's anyone could ever smoke. It smells of orange's and there is no casings or toppings. The highest quality straight Virginia available today and very very hard to get hold of. I emplore anyone to seek it. The smell alone is incredible
Allen I am a va smoker and appreciate your astute review. I have several on my cellar and agree with your assessments. In Atlanta and would not hesitate to drive up when you are open. Will also order from you when I restock some virginias.
