I have put this under discussion rather than review as I really do not feel qualified to review anything yet.
I was given a pretty generous sampling of Blackwood Flake and was pretty excited to try it as I generally like Virginia blends.
On first opening that bag it was the often mentioned Ketchup/Vinegar scent that people talk about with McClelland, although I found this a little more Barbecue Sauce smelling than Ketchup. A little smokey almost. I noticed for a broken flake it was quite moist so rubbed a bowl out and let it sit open for about 40 minutes prior to loading into a straight Billiard that has a decent size bowl. I used what I think is termed inverted gravity load. I seem to have the most luck/consistency with this type of packing.
This first bowl was one of the most frustrating tobaccos i have yet to try. I would not win any pipe smoking competitions I generally get through a bowl with only a handful of re-lights. This stuff would not stay lit for me. The taste was very acidic. Almost like I was smoking the vinegar barbecue sauce concoction I was smelling when first opening and rubbing it out. On rare occasions I would get a glimpse of the Virginia sweetness but that was rare and infrequent.
Convinced I wanted to make this tobacco work for me I rubbed another Bowl out at Lunch time and let it breath on my desk for 4-5 hours. Loaded a pipe up for my commute home and tried again. This time it was far easier to keep lit. But the acidic taste was still there. I managed to finish the bowl by the end of my hour drive with only 3-4 relights, so progress was made.
A few days later and having smoked mostly english blends I decided to give it another go with this broken flake. Prior to going to bed I rubbed out a bowl's worth and let it sit over night. The next morning it was pretty dry feeling but packed reasonably well. Finally the acidic taste was gone. But I found the Virginia sweetness to still be in and out. At times it was great but then would slowly fade off into a mediocre mouthful of warm air.
For me the amount of lead time to dry and prep a bowl of this does not justify the end smoke. I know some reviews are pretty high for it but personally I do not see it. I will store the remainder of my sample and revisit in a year or two to see if my opinion changes
I was given a pretty generous sampling of Blackwood Flake and was pretty excited to try it as I generally like Virginia blends.
On first opening that bag it was the often mentioned Ketchup/Vinegar scent that people talk about with McClelland, although I found this a little more Barbecue Sauce smelling than Ketchup. A little smokey almost. I noticed for a broken flake it was quite moist so rubbed a bowl out and let it sit open for about 40 minutes prior to loading into a straight Billiard that has a decent size bowl. I used what I think is termed inverted gravity load. I seem to have the most luck/consistency with this type of packing.
This first bowl was one of the most frustrating tobaccos i have yet to try. I would not win any pipe smoking competitions I generally get through a bowl with only a handful of re-lights. This stuff would not stay lit for me. The taste was very acidic. Almost like I was smoking the vinegar barbecue sauce concoction I was smelling when first opening and rubbing it out. On rare occasions I would get a glimpse of the Virginia sweetness but that was rare and infrequent.
Convinced I wanted to make this tobacco work for me I rubbed another Bowl out at Lunch time and let it breath on my desk for 4-5 hours. Loaded a pipe up for my commute home and tried again. This time it was far easier to keep lit. But the acidic taste was still there. I managed to finish the bowl by the end of my hour drive with only 3-4 relights, so progress was made.
A few days later and having smoked mostly english blends I decided to give it another go with this broken flake. Prior to going to bed I rubbed out a bowl's worth and let it sit over night. The next morning it was pretty dry feeling but packed reasonably well. Finally the acidic taste was gone. But I found the Virginia sweetness to still be in and out. At times it was great but then would slowly fade off into a mediocre mouthful of warm air.
For me the amount of lead time to dry and prep a bowl of this does not justify the end smoke. I know some reviews are pretty high for it but personally I do not see it. I will store the remainder of my sample and revisit in a year or two to see if my opinion changes
