tedthebear
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St James Woods...then and now.
I recently received a gift of some ten-year old McClelland St. James Woods. I had just opened a new tin, so decided to do a side-by-side comparison of the two.
This is a broken flake tobacco, much like crumble cake. The pieces are a deep rich brown with flecks of gold. Both had the distinct McClelland “ketchup” signature, though muted in the older sample. The “fresh” was somewhat moist, so I set it out for a couple hours, until it was about the same as the aged. I cleaned two meers with the same sized bowls and rolled enough of each blend in my palms until they were the consistency of a rough cut tobacco. Then I sat back to enjoy.
The fresh pipe:
This was in the dog-n-pony meerschaum…it lit well with two lights and the aroma was of sweet hay, with a slight fruity note. The first third of the bowl was strong with Perique, and the Va’s showed their characteristic sharp tang. I had to re-light this a couple of times…a bit more drying time should help. By mid-bowl, the Perique had settled down and the red Va started to come to the forefront. There was a subtle cinnamon taste working its way through the sweet hay flavor. Very nice. It took around 45 minutes for this bowl to smoke to a soft grey-black ash with a bit of dottle in the heel.
The aged pipe:
I let my palate rest for a while, and then picked up the second pipe, my gold-capped billiard meerschaum. One light had this one smoking, with great clouds of rich smoke. The Perique had changed subtly with age, feeling warmer on the tongue and the Va’s were much mellower. The sweetness was less pronounced, with an almost tart highlight…very nice. As I settled into the bowl, I noticed that the smoke seemed cooler and dryer with a hint of fruit and spice. As I progressed toward mid-bowl, the sweet-spice grew with the Perique strong, but in the background. This was heaven. The bowl burned for almost an hour without a relight, leaving nothing but a dry grey ash.
Conclusion:
Both of these pipes were a delight. The fresh tobacco gave me that bright, sharp Va-Per flavor that I love…it’s what keeps my love affair with Virginias alive. The Perique made its presence known subtly, throughout the smoke. If the first bowl was a delight, the second was Nirvana. Age has been more than kind to this tobacco, and the melding of the Virginia and Perique over the years has given this tobacco a soft warm flavor that wasn’t there before. This is definitely a good tobacco, one that only gets better with age. I will be putting more of this in the cellar and waiting impatiently for the years to pass.
 
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The Bear
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it."
The PHB
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May/1/09, 8:01 am
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tranders
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Re: St James Woods...then and now.
Great review Ted.
I agree, the aged St. James Woods was fantastic.
Last edited by tranders, May/1/09, 9:42 am
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"Too much of anything is bad,but too much of good whiskey is barely enough".
Mark Twain
Rob
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May/1/09, 9:41 am
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Jimbo44
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Re: St James Woods...then and now.
Now that's a review worth reading.
When I tried a similar experiment with Chocolate Flakes (only both at the same time), Greg Pease replied to suggest then trying the blends in the opposite pipes to complete the experiment.
Sounds like that'd certainly be no hardship!
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Work is the curse of the smoking classes
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May/1/09, 11:33 am
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tedthebear
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Re: St James Woods...then and now.
Thanks Jimbo...just the excuse I was looking for!!
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The Bear
"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it."
The PHB
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May/1/09, 1:07 pm
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Johnnycake
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Re: St James Woods...then and now.
Ted - thanks for doing this. I was so curious!
Johnny 
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"If you can't send money, send tobacco." -George Washington to
the Continental Congress, 1776
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May/1/09, 6:41 pm
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