McClelland -- 5100 Red Cake

Brand: McClelland
Blend: 5100 Red Cake
Style: Virginia
Pipe Used: Savinelli Oscar #313
Price: $23.65/8oz.

Appearance: 9
Taste: 10
Room Note: 9
Value: 8
Overall: 9

McClelland is one of the premier pipe tobacco companies in the world and out of their literally hundreds of distinct offerings one meager little bulk blend is consistently mentioned whenever talk turns to straight Virginias and that singular blend is 5100 Red Cake. I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to trying this tobacco but better late than never.

The blend is a fully rubbed out, ribbon-cut red cake mixture of various Virginias with the medium brown, or "red," leaf being predominant. In the pouch the aroma is that of raisins and if you blindfolded me and offered up samples of 5100 and Sun-Maid raisins to smell I would be hard pressed to differentiate between the two. And that particular smell means that the tobacco is both sweet and on its way down fermentation lane which is just the thing for a Virginia blend.

Since my order arrived a bit moist I let a bit dry for a few hours then loaded up my Savinelli Oscar #313 and gave it a charring light. Even with the drying the tobacco was reluctant to burn and it took a few tamps and relights to get things going.

The first few puffs delivered a delectable sweetness that was more subdued than most 100% Virginia blends. This was tempered by a nice nuttiness that reminded me more of Burley than Virginia leaf. Added to this was a faint cinnamon-like spiciness that really pulled the flavors together.

It took a few bowls before it finally hit me and I realized that the taste of the 5100 Red Cake reminded me of the cinnamon roasted almonds we used to get at the mall when I was a kid. Not nearly as sweet of course but it had that same interplay of sugar, spice, and roasted nuts.

The room aroma was also top-notch and reminded me of burning leaves with the occasional whiff of cinnamon-scented candles.

The only drawback with the 5100 was that it did require frequent relights but it still managed to burn clean down to the ash with no dottle or excessive moisture left in the bowl.

McClelland's 5100 Red Cake is a stellar Virginia blend and after spending the last few weeks with it I now understand why so many folks sing its praises so highly. While some find it to be one-dimensional in taste I found it to be quite the opposite with a wonderful mixture of complimentary flavors.

Rumored to be a frequent component of many other blends, 5100 stands plenty tall on its own merits and I found it to be one of the tastiest tobaccos I've smoked. Available exclusively in bulk (unless you're lucky enough to stumble on one of the tins produced in 2005 for the Bufflehead Pipe Shop), this is a blend that promises to improve with age and the only question left for me is just how much of the stuff I can cram into my cellar.

I do have one further, and rather odd, note to add. We've all heard of ghosting as it refers to lingering flavors left in a pipe but is it possible to experience olfactory ghosting I wonder? I've been smoking 5100 in various cobs and briars and all have been dedicated Virginia pipes yet hours after I've finished my smoke I find that I catch faint whiffs of Latakia -- a leaf which is, of course, absent from this blend. It's almost as if my sensory memory is adding the Latakia after the fact because the 5100 is somehow reminding me of the Virginias found in quality English blends. Wishful thinking on the part of my schnoz or perhaps 5100 is in fact a blending tobacco used in some of the Englishes I smoke. Either way it has to be one of the oddest things to happen to me so far in this hobby.

John Patton -- Moe's Confetti

Brand: John Patton
Blend: Moe's Confetti
Style: Burley
Pipe Used: Cob
Price: $8.99/4oz.

Appearance: 7
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 9
Overall: 9

John Patton, AKA "The Cobfather," is a vocal proponent off all things related to corncob pipes and is also a tobacco blender whose wares are available through 4Noggins. Mr. Patton is also a fan of the classic drugstore tobaccos and his Moe's Confetti is an homage to those old pipe-smoking standbys.

Moe's Confetti is a coarse-cut Burley blend and the sample I received arrived at the perfect moisture level. The tobacco in the bag had a subtle smell of roasted nuts with just a hint of sweetness.

Since it wouldn't have felt right to smoke this blend in anything but a cob I loaded up my trusty old Missouri Meerschaum Missouri Pride and gave the tobacco a light. And that was the last time I had to pick up my lighter as the blend burned evenly, coolly, and completely down to the ash with only a bit of gentle tamping being required. How can you not love a tobacco that well behaved?

As for the taste, Moe's Confetti was full of that classic Burley nuttiness with just a touch of sugary maple/cocoa sweetness. The blend maintained this singular flavor profile throughout the smoke but I'm certainly not complaining as I enjoyed every minute of it.

Truth be told, Moe's Confetti is merely a combination of some bulk Burley and Carter Hall but something about this thrown together blend sure hits the spot.

The room aroma of this blend was also very pleasant and had that classic pipe smell that even many non-smokers find enjoyable.

I'm afraid that Moe's Confetti has spoiled me on straight-up drugstore Burley blends since it can be purchased in bulk at a lower price than the tubs of those classics. As much as I do appreciate the Prince, Sir Walter, and all the rest, good old Moe has bested the lot of them. This is a top-notch effort from John Patton and is very highly recommended for fans of Burley blends.

Peter Stokkebye -- Luxury Bulls Eye Flake

Brand: Peter Stokkebye
Blend: Luxury Bulls Eye Flake
Style: Virginia/Perique
Pipe Used: Mario Grandi Freehand Poker
Price: $17.99/8oz.

Appearance: 10
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 9
Overall: 9

Continuing my foray into the world of Peter Stokkebye I finally got around to trying the much-lauded Luxury Bulls Eye Flake. This is a Virginia and Perique blend that is rolled around a center of Black Cavendish and then sliced into coins.

The tobacco itself looked great and that dark Cavendish core certainly stood out. The aroma was nice and sweet although a bit mustier than I found with the Luxury Navy Flake. Tthe Black Cavendish added the delightful aroma of bittersweet chocolate.

Since this was my first time smoking this type of tobacco I tried it fully rubbed out into a ribbon cut and then sampled it again using the fold and stuff method I often employ with flakes. While both methods worked fine I found that the constituent flavors were more distinct when the coins were left intact so this is the way I plan to smoke this blend from here on out.

When I first lit my Mario Grandi Poker the rolled up tobacco curled up over the top of the bowl and it took a few relights and tamps to get it burning with an even ash.

The overwhelming flavor was provided by the Virginia tobacco and it had a strong hay or grassy aspect to its sweetness leading me to classify this as a medium-strength VA. The Perique was evident in a nice tanginess on the tongue that reminded me a bit of rhubarb pie of all things. The Black Cavendish offered up a smooth and creamy, almost caramel, flavor that really played well against the Virginia and Perique.

All in all this was a very complex blend and its three distinct flavor profiles emerged and ebbed at various times throughout the course of the smoke. This was especially noticeable when the tobacco was folded and stuffed into the pipe as parts of the coins burned at different times.

The room aroma was very nice and the Cavendish added some of that classic pipe smell as well.

When I use the fold and stuff method my pipe tends to require frequent relights and this blend was no different. It may have been a bit high maintenance but the tobacco still managed to burn right down to the ash and left no dottle whatsoever in the bottom of the bowl.

I'm becoming a big fan of Peter Stokkebye's offerings and the Luxury Bulls Eye Flake is an unabashed home run blend. It looks, tastes, and smells like a million bucks but is available at very reasonable bulk prices. For me this is a perfect change of pace tobacco for those times when I want a complex, challenging blend.

Peter Stokkebye -- Luxury Navy Flake

Brand: Peter Stokkebye
Blend: Luxury Navy Flake
Style: Virginia/Perique
Pipe Used: Savinelli Oscar #313
Price: $15.99/8oz.

Appearance: 9
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 10
Overall: 8

Since I'm such a fan of Peter Stokkebye's Balkan Supreme I decided to try out some of their other well-regarded bulk blends. First up is Luxury Navy Flake -- a Virginia and Perique blend.

This tobacco arrived fairly moist so I left a flake out to dry for a few hours. The tobacco was a nice golden color and had that great sweet hay aroma shared by most quality light to medium Virginia flakes.

After letting it dry for a bit I rubbed the flake out and loaded up my Savinelli #313. The tobacco lit easily and after a quick tamp I was off and running.

The first flavor to register on my palate was the traditional molasses-like Virginia sweetness. On the scale of VAs I've tried I would place Luxury Navy Flake smack dab in the middle in terms of sweetness.

The Perique component soon made itself known when I began sneezing which is something that almost always happens when I first light up a blend containing that Louisiana weed. While Perique frequently comes across as peppery, in the case of the Luxury Navy Flake the sweet VAs tempered it so that the flavor was more reminiscent of cinnamon Red Hots. Very tasty indeed!

That wonderful combination of sweet tobacco mingled with sweet spices remained fairly consistent throughout the smoke. It reminded me a lot of Orlik Golden Sliced but instead of a citrus tang this blend had more of a mulled cider element to it.

The tobacco burned evenly and only required a few relights -- mostly due to my negligence while reading. At the end there was very little dottle and almost no moisture left in the bottom of the bowl.

I'm one of those fortunate souls who almost never has trouble with the dreaded Virginia bite so I can't really provide an authoritative decision on the tongue-burning properties of Luxury Navy Flake but it seemed to me to be a fairly subdued blend.

The room aroma was for the most part inoffensive although the Perique did add a bit of harshness at times.

While billed as a Virginia and Perique blend I thought this flake was much less stout than most VA/Pers. It was also devoid of the rum essence that is typical in traditional Navy flakes. So here we have Luxury Navy Flake -- a VA/Per and Navy flake that isn't either. What it is is a delightful medium Virginia flake with just a dusting of Perique as a tasty condiment.

I've always been frugal by nature and Peter Stokkebye's bulk tobacco blends tend to hit that perfect price to flavor ratio so when I find one I like I tend to stash a good amount of it away in the old cellar. After my first sampling of Luxury Navy Flake it's a safe bet that there will soon be some more Mason jars filled with it in my near future.