G.L. Pease -- Haddo's Delight

Brand: G.L. Pease
Blend: Haddo's Delight
Style: Virginia/Perique
Pipe Used: Mario Grandi Poker
Price: Free Sample

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

Haddo's Delight is a blend I've heard much about and which was on my "to try" list for a long while before a tobacco trade finally netted me a nice sample. There is a lengthy and ongoing online argument over whether or not this tobacco should be classified as a Virginia/Perique blend since it also contains Burley and a quite obvious topping of some sort. For me the proof is in the pudding and ancillary flavors aside this one sure tastes like a stout VA/Per to me.

One thing I've always appreciated about Greg Pease's blends is that he takes the naming of his fine creations seriously and a cursory investigation of this particular concoction reveals some very interesting tidbits that portend what a pipeful of this weed has in store for the smoker.

Aleister Crowley was an infamous English occultist of the early 20th century and among his many passions was a love for smoking straight Perique tobacco. Even the most ardent fans of this unique leaf would be hard-pressed to stomach such a full-on onslaught of this typically condimental tobacco.

Oliver Haddo was a character featured in W. Somerset Maugham's novel "The Magician" and was loosely based on the occultist. Crowley was none too pleased with this skewering of his character and later adopted the Oliver Haddo nom de plume to write a scathing rebuttal in which he pointed out Maugham's plagiaristic tendencies.

So from this bit of literary history one can assume that a tobacco named Haddo's Delight will likely be a Perique-laden blend filled with a cutting sharpness.

The tobacco itself is a Virgina/Perique blend with some added Cavendish and Burley to flesh out the flavors. The tobacco is a mixture of ribbon and cross-cut tobaccos that span the range from almost white to jet black in color. The tin aroma is lusciously sweet and smells to me like rum raisin. And here we run into yet another controversy regarding Haddo's Delight, namely does it feature a topping of some sort or not. While many claim that the aroma is due strictly to the melange of tobaccos my nose detects alcohol, namely dark rum, so until proven wrong I'm convinced that there is in fact a liquor topping used here and I have absolutely no problem with that.

Over the past few days I've tried this tobacco in cobs as well as my dedicated Va/Per pipe, a stubby Mario Grandi poker shape. The tobacco loaded easily, lit right up, and was a snap to smoke as it burned well and required no fussing to keep the pipe going.

Haddo's Delight provided a wonderful flavor range as the various types of tobacco made their presences known on the palate. The dominant tastes were sweet, savory, and meaty, akin almost to the umami flavor of Japanese teriyaki. This was accompanied by a spicy tingle and rounded out with a delightful caramelized sugar aftertaste. It was a bit less sweet than most Va/Pers but certainly spicier.

Perique is a peculiar tobacco that can be both spicy and savory depending on its use and in this blend we get the best of both attributes as it adds a background hint of Szechuan mushrooms to the mix. Some folks find even the smallest dose of Perique intolerable and while I love the stuff I can readily tell it's present in a blend as I get a tingling sensation on my lips and face while smoking. In Haddo's Delight the Perique is a force to be reckoned with as I was hit with not only that pleasant prickling sensation but also a bit of numbness as well. For those who can't abide this leaf you should stay far away from this blend!

The pipe aroma was both sharp and sweet and the voluminous clouds of smoke made for a pungent smell in the room.

As mentioned, the blend burned well and left nothing but a very fine gray ash in the bowl. The ash was so fine in fact that even the slightest bit of puffing back into the pipe resulted in a mini eruption of ash onto my shirt.

Haddo's Delight is yet another masterpiece from G.L. Pease. And while its very forceful nature won't appeal to every pipe smoker I found it to be a perfect morning blend as it goes great with a cup of coffee and provides enough zest to help get my day started. Whether Aleister Crowley would approve is another matter entirely but I dare say that he wouldn't feel compelled to adopt his Oliver Haddo persona in order to take Mr. Pease to task.

McClelland -- Christmas Cheer 2007

Brand: McClelland
Blend: Christmas Cheer 2007
Style: Virginia
Pipe Used: Amalfi #313
Price: Free Sample

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

As winter approaches I always seek out a tin of the new Christmas Cheer to add to my cellar. Since I've been planning to age each tin for at least five years I hadn't actually had a chance to try any of this blend's various incarnations until a friendly trade landed a sample of the 2007 vintage in my lap.

Christmas Cheer 2007 is described as a zesty Red Virginia culled from the 2001 crop and then pressed into flakes. I've always treated single-crop blends like fine wines and put them aside for further aging before smoking. I'm a sucker for holiday themed pipe tobacco and love good quality Virginia flakes so I was very eager to finally put some of this stuff to the match.

The tobacco was a dark brown broken flake and had that funky aroma unique to McClelland's Virginia blends. Often referred to as a ketchup, or vinegar-like smell, I've always equated it with the sweet smell of fermentation and never minded its presence in other blends. But the Christmas Cheer 2007 really had it in spades and smelled more like sauerkraut mixed with ginger snaps than pipe tobacco.

Since this is a broken flake I used the sticks method to load my pipe. First I gathered up a pinch of the tobacco in my fingers, oriented it so most of the bunch was pointing in the same direction like a bundle of sticks, pushed it down into my pipe, and then used my fingers to pinch off the excess from the top of the bowl. The trick with this method is to get a good burn going then put that tamper away lest you muck things up.

The first few puffs gave off that sweet hay-like flavor often found in light Virginias and once I got the pipe going I slowed way down as gentle sipping typically brings out the best in VA blends. Well in this case slow smoking only seemed to bring that tangy tartness hinted at by the strong tin aroma to the fore and that is not a flavor profile I seek out while enjoying Virginias. The taste was akin to that of a soured pipe and that is just not tasty at all.

But once I picked up the pace and started puffing like a chimney the blend went right back to being tasty and sweet with hints of citrus. Odd behavior to be sure and I'm still not sure what to make of it. And since a heavy hand was required I was glad that I was smoking a thick-walled pipe otherwise it surely would have gotten too hot.

The aroma was fairly decent and for all the moaning about the strong fermented tin aroma and tobacco taste none of those sour notes appeared in the room note -- thankfully.

Flakes tend to require a bit more tending than mixtures and this one was no different. As mentioned, I avoided tamping and just stuck to occasional relights to keep the tobacco going strong. And since I seldom have problems with tongue bite I had no issues with this blend.

After all is said and done I still don't know what to make of Christmas Cheer 2007. I'm of the camp that typically finds the McClelland "aroma" to be an indicator of well-aged and actively fermenting Virginias but in this case the smell and subsequent flavor were a bit too forceful. So I'm left with more questions than answers: will these blends mellow with age or is this the flavor I can expect to find with other vintages as well?

Now that I know how to smoke it to get the most from this blend I intend to enjoy the rest of my 2007 sample while glancing at my other Christmas Cheers and wondering what they have in store for me down the road.

McCranie's -- Red Ribbon (2000)

Brand: McCranie's
Blend: Red Ribbon (2000)
Style: Virginia
Pipe Used: Amalfi #313
Price: $8.95/1.76oz.

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

McCranie's Red Ribbon is a straight Red Virginia blend sourced from a single vintage of prime North Carolina leaf, harvested in this particular case in 2000. The tin opens to reveal a ribbon-cut blend of well-aged and fermented red tobacco leaf that covers the color spectrum from very dark brown through medium red and into bright yellow. The tin aroma is magnificent with a rich sweetness backed by a hint of citrus and dried cherries.

My tin appeared to be at the perfect moisture level so I loaded up one of my dedicated Virginia pipes and gave it a light. The tobacco took a few relights to really get going as it was a bit wetter than I at first thought.

The Red Ribbon started off with a subtle sweet taste before hints of tangy lemon and cherry liqueur began to appear. There was also that great nuttiness I usually find with Red Virginias and the tobacco finished with a bit of a spicy kick.

The room aroma was fairly nice but did get acrid when the pipe was smoked too hastily.

I never have issues with tongue burn so I can't report on that front but the blend did require regular relights and left behind a bit of damp dottle. Guess it wasn't nearly as ready to smoke as I at first thought.

McCranie's Red Ribbon (2000) is a wonderful blend and its single source origin makes it possible to compare and contrast it to previous iterations if you're lucky enough to have some of the '83 and '96 crop on hand. Full of flavor, this is a Virginia that is sure to benefit from further aging.

Now comes the big question, how does Red Ribbon compare to its kissing cousin McClelland's 5100 Red Cake? While the McCranie's version is a vintage tin, McClelland's similar offering is available only in bulk. At first glance the Red Ribbon is darker than the 5100 due to the comparative age of the tobaccos but the cut, aroma, and smoking characteristics are all very similar.

So how about the taste? Here we find the biggest difference as the Red Ribbon offers up a deeper, more nuanced flavor than the much brighter and spicier 5100 and at no point would I ever confuse the two. Red Ribbon is the single-malt or prime vintage to 5100's blended nature. Both are excellent but they are not one and the same. For my money I actually prefer the zestier 5100.

And while the 5100 Red Cake can indeed be had at cheaper bulk rates, the price per tin of the Red Ribbon is on par with similar offerings and not at all excessive for such a premium product.