McC's new Red & Black

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monbla256

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I know some of the bro's here have tried this new offering from McC, as seen in the review given on TR by Blackhorse and others who've mentioned they have purchased some but no one has given their impressions of it ? I know McC's 'baccy is not really considered as "in" here as all the Unobtainiums talked about, but some folks must have at least tried what they got? I've two tins coming soon so will be able to try for myself but I was just curious :twisted: :twisted:
 
On Blackhorse's recommendation I have a tin on the way. Should be here this afternoon. I'll be sure to post my impressions.
 
This is for juanmedusa.  8)

Getting ready to smoke some. Typical McClelland tin note, nice quality fermented VA scent. Frankly it looks like Dark Star got it's chocolate mixed with Tawny Flake's peanut butter.

 
OK - As said elsewhere I won't go through the song and dance thing of flavor descriptions. Mixed 50:50 it comes across as a straightforward blend of Red and Stoved VA. Exactly what it is. But whatever else might be a function of the ratio one uses. My 1:1 rubout yields what I consider to be perhaps the most agreeable VA performance I've ever experienced. The prep done on the different formats (R&B) are superb. The concept of two formats allowing self mixing is genius both in terms of outcome and marketing.

R&B. I like that. Rhythm and Blues. Rhythm while smoking it and the Blues when it's gone.

I'm smoking some as I write this...in my Pete Deluxe Rosslare Classic X105 Black and Amber Blast. I'm putting away like a madman with no resulting heat and it just gets better and better all the way down the bowl. Brilliant!

If I were to be limited to one all VA Flake on my Desert Island...this would be it. The straightforward VA goodness is just that rewarding.

For what it is, for me it's on a level with FVF, Stonehaven, Dark Flake Unscented and other masterful classic blends. Yes, it's just that good. And over time it just might beat them all. Strong words? Try it and see. At $10 for 50 gm it ain't cheap...but it IS worth every penny.

The King is dead...long live the King!

Monbla, old buddy, you're in for a treat.

Very interested in hearing Drums initial impressions!
 
D&B, beautiful photography. Beautiful tobacco. I too will be interested in your thoughts on it.

Blackhorse, wow, you're making my mouth water with some of those comments there at the end.
 
Just finishing up my first bowl of Red & Black and I have to say the results are very favorable.. I too mixed the flakes in a 1:1 fashion and rubbed them out loosely, allowing the tobacco to dry for about 10 minutes. First off I can definietly see why this would be right in Mr. Horse's wheelhouse. The flavors are darker and on the subtantial side of "medium" category. There's some nice woodsy flavors and I found this to be an earthier smoke. Very creamy and bold but in a gentle and refined kind of way.The room note is pleasant and exhales are quite spicy in the nose.

So far so good, further sampling is required. I think this might be a good candidate for a wider bowl as there are some nice complexities at play here. Can't wait to try this in my GBD pot. By the way, nice little nic hit too..
 
Without knowing what pipe you used in your first trial I can't comment re bowl widths. And as I tend to avoid wide bowls in general, I have little experience there. But as usual, thinking a Prince to have pretty much an ideal geometry for this kind of thing, I'm eager to try it in that shape. That gives a wider bowl, for the volume, and should prove worthy. I'm thinking this might be one that shows differences according to the geometry used, but strong performance no matter what. It also makes me wonder what a classic Dublin would do...the conical shape often concentrating flavors as it smokes down. Might be one of those, "When you're slapped, you'll take it and you'll like it." experiences!
 
My trial run was in a squeaky clean Castello Sea Rock KK32 Canadian with a smaller conical bowl. It does a good job with McC VA's. I usually smoke Blackwoods or Dark Star in it, so it's perfectly primed for this one. I agree, a prince would be a good candidate for testing this blend in a square profiled bowl. I also plan to run it through my J. Jones billiard. Tasty stuff.

One other thing I will add is that this blend is SLOW burning, 50g's will go a long way. My smoke lasted a good hour and a half with minimal relights..

I think I am going to end up cellaring a bit more of this one. It's definitely ready to smoke now. A bit of age will be the icing on the cake so to speak.

Speaking of Princes, one of these days I'll put my money where my mouth is an commission the Queen of Princes to carve me a proper one specifically for VA's ;)
 
I'm DEFINATELY looking forward to next week when I get my two tins from all I've now read about it !! :cheers: :cheers: I'm a confirmed McC's Va smoker and this one sounds like it might be the pinnacle of the masters of Va's efforts !! :cheers: :cheers:
 
Those pics alone make me want to get some of this in. Looks good enough to eat!

And the reviews sound promising. Thanks BH and D&B. Looks like I can't go wrong with this one. 

:tongue:


Cheers,

RR
 
Well you've got my attention now. The flakes look interesting, the flavor sounds great, and concept is intriguing.
Nice photography by the way guys.
 
When I read Pipestuds review, ( He and I concur on choices of 'baccy quite a lot and I respect his reviews a lot) and he wrapped it up with this "... By far, the best new Virginia product on the market in a long, long time!" I was on the phone with my order !! :twisted:
 
So all this begs the question...

We're all going to love this stuff, some more, others less. But there's another McClelland out there...

McClellard No. 25. Red and Black.  50 gm and 100 gm. A mix of Red and Stoved dark VA.

The question: Similar? Totally different? How close? In what way? From what I've read it must be quite different...I mean, it's not even a flake! Any first hand knowledge?
 
After reading through a number of the reviews it must be a totally different thing. I mean, first off it's ribbon cut...then it's reported to have the McClelland acetic acid ketchup TIN aroma in spades...and taste like burned marshmallows in the bowl...yikes!
 
Blackhorse":4fdavwl8 said:
After reading through a number of the reviews it must be a totally different thing. I mean, first off it's ribbon cut...then it's reported to have the McClelland acetic acid ketchup TIN aroma in spades...and taste like burned marshmallows in the bowl...yikes!
Since I and many folks here have not yet tried the Red & Black I don't see how we could respond as to whether it is similar but I can say that I smoked a bit of 25 back in the 90's and enjoyed it quite q bit till I encountered FM 2000 and 510RC which being mainly Red Va's were more to my liking!! Pipestud back in 2009 gave 25 three stars and found it to be "... it is far from the worst ". Sounds like processing these two varieties in two different ways produces some differing flavor profiles !! And of course they ALL smell like ketchup cause we AL know that's what McC tops ALL their blends with !! :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:
 
Yes dear, I know few have this in hand as yet. It's not as though I was demanding an immediate answer. It was intended as a 'hanging question'. One you hang out there for consideration at whatever point is becomes answerable. I'm quite patient.


So...you know I'm really quite taken with this goobery stuff, right. But as is often the case, a pretty girl can be a very expensive 'date'. Simple calculations and rounding figures like crazy...I see this as $10 for a 50 gm tin, so the typical 500 gm "pound plus shipping" is 10 tins which is a cool hundred bucks. Most stuff sold in itty bitty tins is pretty close to the same thing...and while this might be one of the few out there that's worth it, I hope someday this might be supplied at least in the 100 gm size. Paint cans would be nice.
 
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