NOT ENOUGH SLEEP AND A MOUTH THAT FEELS LIKE ONE OF MY MISTRESSES CRAWLED INSIDE AND DIED THERE - BUT IT WAS SO GOOOOOD! MCCLELLAND'S NO. 25 VIRGINIA

McClelland's No. 25 Virginia - a balanced mixture of red and black aged Virginia cake tobaccos in a fully-rubbed form.

The manufacturer claims that this product is "ideal after dinner when a rich, satisfying flavor is most desired".


Indeed.

Virginias should be smoked patiently and slow, very slow. One need not worry about them going out, because they burn better than Orientals, and with a snail-like smoke there will not be a significant turning of the leaf (unlike with cigars and Oriental blends, which are harsher if re-lit). Properly treated, Virginias (flakes and Cavendishes) can be a great comfort.


Bought this particular tin of pipe tobacco yesterday on a whim.

While Savage Kitten was out of the apartment I loaded an old Charatan about half-full, and lit up.


Gracious!


Like re-discovering an old flame, who has kept her figure and become riper and juicier with the years!
I enjoyed her ample charms three times last evening, and did not go to sleep till one o'clock.
Soft velvety upper arms, fragrant silken tresses, oh my. Ears to nibble.

Grace and charm, and some long-stilled memories re-awakening.


For me this a very nice tobacco.


Memory is often sparked by specific aromas - this blend reminded me of the last few times my Dad loaded up the calabash (1964 - we still lived in Naarden), of an old friend of the family who liked deeply curved pipes, and of a grand-hotel in Switzerland (visited sometime in the early seventies, in summer).

I also remembered the streetlights beyond a building complex near the old road to Waalre, just east of Saint John (but that is more associated with two other tobaccos, whose names I have forgotten).
Spring sunlight and summer showers - early evenings during the long-twilight, or mid-afternoon with a cup of tea while warm rain falls just feet away.

There were some very similar tobaccos to McClelland's No. 25 Virginia, which off and on I smoked all the way through to my discovery of Balkan blends. Broken and rubbed flakes with an ancient fragrance. What were their names? Hundred gramme tins, a green label with a red text medallion edged in yellow scrollwork. I think they stopped making it in the early seventies - I must've bought the last of the stock.


I am very much looking forward to this evening.

A nice cup of tea. And a self-indulgence. Both not too strong.

TOBACCO INDEX


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