Pipestud Blog: Red Virginia

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Oct 7, 2016
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From MacBarens web page:

”Now, it sounds like we are only using one Virginia tobacco and nothing could be more wrong. In our warehouses we have over 100 different Virginia tobaccos, each with its own properties like nicotine content, sugar, thickness of the leaf, colour etc. All of the properties are in close connection with the region where it grew and the main condition for the tobacco are the soil, weather conditions, fertilizer and time of harvest.

As a farmer you have no influence over the first two because the soil is already there and the weather is what it is, never to predict. As for the time of harvest, the farmer has a large influence, and if he harvests just when the tobacco is ripe the tobacco will obtain a very light yellowish colour with a high content of natural sugar. This Virginia tobacco is weak in flavour and at Mac Baren we call it a filler Virginia.

If he waits to harvest until the leaf is overripe, he will end up with a darker leaf, more orange in colour and with less natural sugar. In this case the tobacco develops more flavour than the filler Virginia, which is the reason why at Mac Baren we call it a flavour Virginia. This kind of tobacco is, by many pipe smokers, referred to as Red Virginia.

So which of the two Flue-cured tobaccos are the best? Well, to come forward with an intelligent answer would be impossible, because it depends on which characteristic you want the blend to end up with. So, in short, we are using both filler and flavour Virginia with great enthusiasm.”
 

pipestud

Lifer
Dec 6, 2012
2,010
1,749
Robinson, TX.
Enjoyed this read, figured members here may also.


First, thanks for the plug, Bent1. It was a fun blog to put together and sure opened my eyes. An what got me to thinking about writing that blog was the fact that I was recently on a Zoom group meeting with Mike McNiel, and he said flat out that if he had it all to do over again, he'd have made all of his blends with only Red Virginia. And then he went into all the reasons why he thought it was best. I figured that I needed to learn more about that particular leaf and was very surprised at what I learned. And here I thought for all these years that the different Virginias out there were all from different kinds of plants. Color my face RED!

Steve
 

Worknman

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 23, 2019
968
2,819
Nice article. If you ask me, the fiver or so hours on the Pipesmagazine Radio show with Mary and/or Mike McNiel should be required listening for all pipe smokers but, Red Virginia lovers, in particular.

Mike S.
I was listening to part 1 the other night and I remember him saying the day he quit being able to obtain high quality leaf was the day he would shut the doors. He seems like a very principled kind of guy.
 

mikestanley

Lifer
May 10, 2009
1,698
1,126
Akron area of Ohio
I was listening to part 1 the other night and I remember him saying the day he quit being able to obtain high quality leaf was the day he would shut the doors. He seems like a very principled kind of guy.
It sounds as if it has a lot to do with how the plants are harvested these days vs. how it used to be done. And how it is now harvested seems to be a result of the Federal Government taking away the financial incentives farmers received to plant tobacco.

Mike S.
 
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