I opened the McClelland Dominican Glory last night and it did not disappoint; this is the experience that I was looking for when I started to become pipe-curious - the flavor profile of a cigar.
The first thing I noticed when opening the tin was that the tobacco wasnt anywhere near as sticky as the store aromatics I have been using. The ribbons were springy and separated nicely as I pinched off a bowlful. I did pack it slightly firmer than I have been with the store blend, as I felt that the texture of the tobacco wouldnt gum up like the aromatics had. I found that the moist/sticky aromatics had to be packed looser in order for me to smoke the whole bowl successfully, this tobacco looked more like the ones in the YouTube videos on how to load a pipe, so I went firm.
I used my Peterson Std No 34 ($18 off the bay) because it provides good feedback when I am puffing too hard; it warms up and lets me know to back off a bit. Even with the warning warming I didnt get any tongue bite. The lower moisture content of the tobacco made for a dry smoke, but I am sure that the pipes design helped out, too.
I noticed that I was fiddling with the pipe tool much less than usual. I typically have to use the pick to break up the last quarter of the bowl, then tamp, relight, and repeat. With the McClelland, I only had to lightly tamp it at quarter bowl intervals and I only relit the pipe after performing a few honey-do items that caused a break in the action. In the end, there was a sprinkle of dottle when I knocked out the pipe; it looked like a ¼ teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper in the ashtray. I clocked my start / finish time and it was just under an hour of active pipe time for the bowl to be done.
As a pipe newbie, I am glad that I purchased the McClelland Dominican Glory. The mild cigar flavor reminds me of a Macanudo or an Arturo Fuente with the light Connecticut wrapper. It was a very pleasurable smoke and I look forward to working my way through the tin with some of my other pipes.
The first thing I noticed when opening the tin was that the tobacco wasnt anywhere near as sticky as the store aromatics I have been using. The ribbons were springy and separated nicely as I pinched off a bowlful. I did pack it slightly firmer than I have been with the store blend, as I felt that the texture of the tobacco wouldnt gum up like the aromatics had. I found that the moist/sticky aromatics had to be packed looser in order for me to smoke the whole bowl successfully, this tobacco looked more like the ones in the YouTube videos on how to load a pipe, so I went firm.
I used my Peterson Std No 34 ($18 off the bay) because it provides good feedback when I am puffing too hard; it warms up and lets me know to back off a bit. Even with the warning warming I didnt get any tongue bite. The lower moisture content of the tobacco made for a dry smoke, but I am sure that the pipes design helped out, too.
I noticed that I was fiddling with the pipe tool much less than usual. I typically have to use the pick to break up the last quarter of the bowl, then tamp, relight, and repeat. With the McClelland, I only had to lightly tamp it at quarter bowl intervals and I only relit the pipe after performing a few honey-do items that caused a break in the action. In the end, there was a sprinkle of dottle when I knocked out the pipe; it looked like a ¼ teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper in the ashtray. I clocked my start / finish time and it was just under an hour of active pipe time for the bowl to be done.
As a pipe newbie, I am glad that I purchased the McClelland Dominican Glory. The mild cigar flavor reminds me of a Macanudo or an Arturo Fuente with the light Connecticut wrapper. It was a very pleasurable smoke and I look forward to working my way through the tin with some of my other pipes.
