Tobaccos McClelland - Grey Havens (Craftsbury Series)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrumsAndBeer (217)	2013-11-27		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Frankly I am surprised that I enjoy this blend so much as I have a tough time finding milder burley mixtures that agree with me. Grey Havens is on the sweeter side of the spectrum, sweet enough to expect a whole lot of bite, but for me the bite never came and furthermore, there’s some nice things going on here.

A piper coming from blends comprised of larger portions of perique may not find this blend terribly interesting, I know at first I didn’t. But after a while I discovered that this makes a great anytime pipe mixture, and one with a bit more pizzazz that your standard drug store burley mix. The components are expertly blended (the amount of perique used is perfect) and the tin note which smells somewhat chocolaty agrees nicely with me.

Grey Havens is mild and nutty with a sweet honey like tone and a very subtle spice note. It also burns easily and performs exceptionally well down the bowl. These are all attributes that I enjoy very much in a lighter mixture or any mixture for that matter.

Age When Smoked: 1

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2003-04-21		Mild	Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

This is a very nice compilation with the famous McClelland's ripe and rich Virginia combining with soft white center cut leaf Burley and a dash of Perique. It is lighter rather than strong and will not overwhelm the palate.

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-07-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This is HADDO'S DELIGHT LIGHT!!! A McClelland version of the same weed. Very Ketchupy aroma in the tin, but not in the bowl. This is how folks should be introduced to McClelland Virginias. They are present ,but not the backbone of the blend. The "Essence" used is very similar to that of Deep Hollow. An extremely pleasant smoke. Very light and enjoyable in the summer. It is a little tingly on the tongue for the first 5 minutes, then settles nicely into a natural aromatic smoke. A great diversion for every pipe afficianado. The room note is not however Aromatic! It is quite smoky. A solid 3 stars, and hats off to McClelland for their successful foray into the world of Burley!

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2001-04-03		Medium	Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Yet another semi-aromatic with a Tolkien name. Unlike Deep Hollow I just couldn't develop much fondness for this one -- it could be a good blend without the fruity topping. Too bad too, Frodo et al deserve better.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	GESJr (8)	2018-03-29		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

While McClelland has always been my favorite pipe tobacco company, I am sad to only have tried this blend in the wake of them exiting the business. While scrambling to grab up any remaining tins after they announced they were indeed closing their doors, I came across this blend I has not heard of, but I took a chance on based on knowing McClelland, their ingredients, and anything they make with a Tolkien reference. I was NOT disappointed, and if you can find yourself a tin, you should send it to me ;)

I hate to admit I like the balance of light, white burley and a pinch of cool smoking Perique so much, I want to use this tasty but mild beauty to break-in new pipes. My only worry, of course, is I only have what I have - they aren't making anymore #cry

I therefore embark on an aging journey - this is one of the select few McClelland Virginia blends with only a faint whiff of the vinegary smell their aged Virginias are famous for. The Perique & burley have clearly been portioned to offset the bold matured Virginias. As the tin suggests, there is some kind of light casing, sugar water perhaps, which makes the blend smell a bit sweeter than a straight Virginia. Similar to Mac Baren's Virginia No. 1 in this regard, and no other, Grey Havens has every quality suitable for aging, but only time will tell. I've shoved a few tins in the back row of my tobacco cabinets, and I can't wait for the day I remember they are there and crack one open - hopefully many years from now and as a nod to the McClelland legacy.

A final note on flavor & flavoring in this blend: it is truly a naturally fragrant mixture with only the slightest hint of (likely natural) topping. I would by no means register this as an Aromatic (even for McClelland), because any sweet notes which may come across as artificial in the tin are nowhere to be found once lit. The smoke is white as can be, and the flavors are tried & true Virginia with natural vanilla notes, hints of light lemony citrus, a slight apple pie spice, etc. It all smokes cool & even, with little need to relight once it gets going. As with all Virginias, I let it dry out just a bit before lighting (maybe 10 minutes), and I am never disappointed with the bouquet I identify. The name Grey Havens elicits pastoral & ocean front views with crashing waves & rustling leaves. Smoking McClelland's Grey Havens is equally tranquilizing as studying any notable artwork of the Gulf of Lhun itself.

I would like to give Grey Havens a 4 Star/Highly Recommended designation, but I feel it would be a bit cruel to entice anyone reading this further given the difficulty one will find trying to procure even one ounce of this mesmerizing mixture.

Pipe Used: Caminettos, Castellos, Dunhills, etc.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Cup O Joes

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2009-01-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I used to smoke this several years ago, before it became easy to order on the internet. It was hard to find back then so I moved on. I recently took a can of this with me to the Virgin Islands on a pleasure trip and I just really enjoyed it. To like this blend one must like burley because the nutty nature of the burley there early on. I learned to like perique smoking this blend, as a spice not as a dominant taste. Too much perique to me is just a tongue bite. But this blend nails the wonder of perique without it being the main actor. Later in the bowl, the virginias come into place as the sweetness of them comes through but do not scald the palate. To me you can't smoke this too fast unless it is let to get very dry. While on my trip, many people commented on the aroma and I agree, when I would go and come back to the room, it's presence was still in the air and it was wonderful. I like this, it is not going to be my all dayer but it will be in my rotation.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gahdzila (61)	2017-03-20		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Admittedly, I wasn't looking forward to this one. I've not tried many McClelland blends, so I don't really have any expectations about the blender...but a mild VaPer with a little burley sounded rather boring to me. Assuming this was going to be a mostly Virginia mix, I grabbed my large Savinelli Capri, which seems to be the best straight Va pipe in my humble collection.

The tin note took me by surprise - a sharp sort of vinegary scent, heavy perique smell, and something else that I can't place....maybe a topping??? It's a little moist in the tin, and does benefit from a little drying time, but it's not overly wet. After jarring for a week or so, the vinegar smell has subsided substantially, but I still notice it. It's not unpleasant....just a little unusual.

The flavor in the pipe is unexpected. There's not a huge burley component, but more than I thought there would be. A balanced dose of Virginia. The perique is just enough to season a bit, much less prominent than I expected from the tin note. The Virginias are smooth and somewhat creamy and sweet, and the burley gives it structure and substance. That vinegar scent does carry over to the smoke, particularly for the first quarter of the bowl or so, but it's just a little tang, and actually adds an interesting flavor component.

It's very well behaved in the pipe, requiring fewer than normal relights. It's not smoking hot or biting, even though I'm pushing it harder than I should.

Overall, I like it more than I thought I would! I can't say for sure that I'll be buying more, but I won't have any problem finishing the tin.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2016-01-06		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I do believe the base Va used in this blend is the same as the base Va used in MC2000, and may even have some 2105 Stoved Va. This smells terrific in the tin, notes of Danish and figs. Packing left a nice spring in the bowl, which I found that I found not fully tamp until I had the char light complete. You can taste the sweetness on the palate, and the Perique in this blend seems very soft. Burley seems muted as well, and to be honest, I never would've thought this blend contained it. This blend was a decent offering, but it didn't grasp my attention as I had hoped. Probably why I don't choose to dissect it any further.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lyle (32)	2015-12-26		Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

The aromatic topping of this blend is very mild. It definitely smells sweet, but without overbearing, easily identifiable aromas. Whatever is added to this blend is very harmonious with the tobaccos. I would guess it is a judicious combination of sweet Cavendish, vanilla and chocolate. The fact that the exact top notes are elusive is a very good thing, in my opinion.

Upon light, the sweetness is again obvious. You definitely know you're lighting up an aromatic blend, but that impression fades slightly as the bowl progresses and the underlying tobaccos come out. These tobaccos are also mild and easy-going. The description mentions "just a hint of Louisiana Perique", which I didn't really notice.

Throughout the bowl there are interesting aromas and flavors that appear and disappear. Burnt sugar/toasted marshmallow came to mind more than once. However, there were no big surprises, and unlike a subtle Virginia-forward blend, close examination and patience in the smoker weren't very highly rewarded.

The burning characteristics were quite good, and the easy smoking qualities of this blend alone would make it a worthwhile pursuit of aromatic fans who are tired of fighting with more heavily topped blends.

Pipe Used: Briar dedicated to light aros, meerschaum

Age When Smoked: Two years old

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-08-17		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

My tin was 3 years old and, unlike most of the McClelland blends I've smoked, the moisture content on first opening the tin was perfect. I rehydrated some of it and further dried some to see how it performed best, and its best performance was straight out of the tin. Excellent tin aroma! The perique was most noticeable in the tin bouquet, more so than the room note or the flavor.

This blend made me realize why professional tobacco tasters insist on using clay pipes to sample new blends. I found briar pipes completely glossed over the subtleties of this blend. They only seemed to come out when this was smoked in a clay or meerschaum pipe. Interesting. But I could not determine what tobaccos this blend contained smoking it in briar... or I should say that I could not confirm what the tin description said.

I was not overly fond of this tobacco once I got to know it, as I found it too mild and I prefer full flavored blends. But if the concept of perique is exciting to you but you find it too abundant in other blends, this might be one to try. If you enjoy a nice room note but a natural tobacco taste, try this. If you like a polite, refined tobacco that doesn't burn the tongue, this might be one you'll like. I didn't care for it but in a sense it strikes me as an excellent effort by McClellands at creating something different.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-03-16		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Grey Havens consists of burley ribbon, virginia, and small amount of perique. Some may compare this blend to G L Pease Barbary Coast. In my opinion it is better to compare Grey Havens and G L Pease Haddos Delight. It has more body than Barbary Coast, but less than Haddos Delight. It is lighter in nicotine strength than both G L Pease blends.

At the top of the bowl there is a burley presence, but soon the virginia dominate. Toward the bottom of the bowl there is more of a virinia and perique flavor. The casing is amost undetectable. It does have the McClelland acetic smell in the tin, however it is undetectable in the smoke.

On my tongue it was bitier than Barbary Coast. This very little bite, but this blend can bite if smoked hard. To bring out best flavor this must be smoked as a virginia or virginia and perique blend. I feel there is more virginia in the mix. This is the reason, I feel that it compares to Haddos Delight. As a previous review stated this is "Haddos Delight" lite.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_dalai_lama_himself (43)	2018-01-15		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

First blend I ever smoked so has a special place in my cellar. Not a big fan of McLelland due to that vinager/ketchup thing they have going on, ph solution etc but this blend isn’t too bad in that department. I’ll smoke it indoors during the winter as it’s not too aggressive and has a nice room note. Easily an all day repeatable Smoke.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rothesay (5)	2016-12-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

Grey Havens is among my favorite tobaccos, with a permanent place in my rotation.

Having smoked several tins at this point, I can say that the cut and quality of the blend is top notch, with the right moisture content, and an extremely pleasant tin aroma without the slightest hint of ketchup. Grey Havens is at home in any pipe it seems, but it does particularly well in larger billiards.

The taste is delightful, though I do not detect any toppings as some seem to. (I do not generally care for aromatics, but perhaps my palate is insensitive to very light topping.) I find the perique is what really sets this blend apart and gives it a character that makes me look forward to a pipeful. A major plus is the very pleasant room note, and it is my go to smoke when non-pipesmokers might be around. This is a smoke one buy one blend.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gladi8tor96 (143)	2016-05-18		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I have tried this tobacco side-by-side with Virginia Woods, and Deep Hollow for comparison.

From the tin you can see red, medium brown, and black ribbons intermixed. The smell is sweet with hints of dark chocolate, figs, plum, a bit of tang, bread, and a hint of wood.

Easy to load, but a little difficult to keep lit as it burns a bit wet.

Produces nice amounts of smooth smoke. The flavor/scent of the smoke is richly sweet. Again, not sure if there is a topping but the flavor seems to be nutty, chocolaty, with tones of fruit (plum), hints of bready red virginia, and bits of tang. It seems the burley contributes some sweet nuttiness. The virginias provide a backbone of sweet bread and slight tang. The perique is just slightly apparent with dark fruit tones and later on, down the bowl, it provides a small amount of spice. More enjoyable than I was expecting, since I'm not one who smokes aromatics too often. This is a nicely done aromatic that has the tobacco flavor that many of this type of blend lack.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob M.M.

Age When Smoked: 1 Year

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-02-26		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I am loving Grey Havens and have finished my tin in record time. I wish it came in bulk so as it does not, I will add one 2 ounce tin of blending Perique to a tub of Chatham Manor. It's as close to Grey Havens as I have tried...

I have been meaning to try Grey Havens for many many years since its the only blend in the Craftsbury series that I haven't tried. Reading reviews on here over the years I was led to believe this was going to be an aromatic or an extremely light version of Haunted Bookshop, instead I found Chatham Manor light! Seriously this is the closest I have found to that blend (which I love). Also this is only maybe the 3rd Burley blend I have ever had from McClelland which although known for their Virginia's, do have access to very fine Burley as well! To me this is a Burley and Virginia blend with a smidgeon of Perique, really hardly noticeable which to me was just fine since I intended to smoke this in the morning and I do not enjoy strong P mixtures that early. Probably my favorite tin art, just beautiful (if you read my reviews you will know is the most important aspect of the blend :- ) everyone loved the room note that resembles cocoa to me but the tin note is very similar to Dark Hollow, sort of a appley, dark chocolaty affair. Interestingly enough I did not get much Ketchup matured Virginia aroma which I actually enjoy and since my tin is from 2014 perhaps the Virginia's have not had the time to ferment or since its a Burley blend, McClellands Burleys do not get the same casing as their Virginia's? Anyways, no bite, smells good, mild for the morning and a absolute delight to smoke. Rounds out the Craftsbury series very nicely and a great way to try Mc's Burley. 4 stars as a breakfast blend, 3 stars overall.

Purchased From: Tobacco Leaf, Las Vegas

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LoneRider (24)	2015-07-23		Medium	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

Well, here's something new--a McClelland that doesn't pass muster. Without going into much detail, let me just say that it didn't have much in the flavor department. It struck me as kind of bland. It needed a little more punch to make it palatable. A real disappointment.

Pipe Used: Larryson

Age When Smoked: about two years

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	yellowstag (1)	2014-08-02		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Light-to-mild, natural tasting tobacco. I could smoke this all day.

I bought a 50g tin today at a small tobacco shop near my house. I asked for something with virginias and burleys, was shown this grey haven tin, liked the way it looked and bought it. I hadn't asked how long it had been sitting but by seeing the dryness of the tobacco when I opened the seal, and the reviews here claiming alot of moisture in a fresh tin my guess is that it has been sitting on that shelf for quite awhile, 3 years maybe.

First whiff, sweet smelling tobacco, with a hint of fruit cake, or plum cake smell, emanating from the tin, very pleasant.

First light was full of natural flavor, billows of smoke, something nutty, and a hint of something like a fruity dark chocolate but with a spice accent( perique ?). The first few draws after the relight remained this way, but afterwards died down only to reappear occasionally.

The remainder of the smoke was consistent to what you would expect from virginias and burley. I smoked it down to near mostly ash where relighting was more trouble than it was worth. It didn't smoke hot. It burned quite nice. I was very relaxed by the end of this smoke.

Unfortunately I smoked outside, which while soothing, as it was beautiful out, I did not get to experience a full room note. However I was told it smelt nice by the few who were around. I will have to disagree with the reviews saying this tobacco is flavorless. It does not punch you in the face, but it is quite tasty. The cherry wood accented this tobacco to perfection, I wont be smoking it any other way.

It was pleasing to later find out about the Tolkien reference.

Pipe Used: Cherry Wood Churchwarden

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2012-05-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a mild smoke - it's not one that will bowl you over, but it something that can be enjoyed all day. It is slightly sweet, in a natural sense, but nothing approaching cloying (no topping or casing...this is from the natural VA sugars).

It does have moments of blandness - the use of perique is very light-handed which, while it makes the smoke pleasant and airy sometimes leaves it a bit short on flavor and depth. But then, just when you think the flavor has died, you come across those great VAs and a remarkable perique spiciness that is the hallmark of McClelland VaPers.

An earlier reviewer noted that this is best smoked in a large bowl. I couldn't agree more. Once the VA and perique start to shine through, they don't go away until the bowl expires...but it takes a good 10-15 minutes of puffing to get there, regardless of bowl shape or size (at least in my experience). This is not to say that the first part of the smoke is unpleasant - it's just uneventful...all the same, best to load up a large bowl and get as much bag for your buck as possible.

One other point to consider: breaking in a new pipe with the blend is something of a double-edged sword. On one hand, it's flavors and nuances don't seem to respond as well to an unseasoned pipe; yet, on the other hand it is neutral enough, burns consistently enough, and is a reliable enough blend to make the break-in process a breeze. YMMV.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2011-10-15		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am not a big fan of this blend for the same reason's that the reviewer below likes it. It lacks enough perique to be interesting. I would also like a bit more Virginia in the blend. It needs some dry time, but the cut is easy to pack and the leaf is high quality. I think Burley lover's should give a try to this blend, perique lovers might want to move on.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3048)	2021-09-10		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The matured Virginias provide some tangy stewed, sugary dark fruit, earth, wood, bread, mild floralness, light vegetation, tart and tangy citrus, grass, and a small touch of vinegar as the lead components. The earthy, woody, nutty, mildly sour, rough white burley is a supporting player. The earthy, woody, plumy, spicy perique is barely a condiment. The creamy vanilla and caramel toppings moderately tone down the varietals as they also help form a cohesively consistent creamy sweet, fruity, nutty, lightly spicy flavor. The strength and nic-hit are a couple of steps past the mild mark. The taste is in the center of mild to medium. There’s no chance of bite or harshness, and has a minute rough note. Burns cool, clean, and a tad slow. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires a couple more than an average number of relights. Has a very pleasant, mildly lingering after taste, and room note. An all day, comfortable smoke.

-JimInks

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mpb0529 (1)	2017-07-30		Mild	Medium	Mild	Tolerable

There are good quality tobaccos in this. It could have been a good Burley/VA Per blend. Unfortunately, the strong topping is really obnoxious. What a waste.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe System 2s

Age When Smoked: 1 year

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	idbowman (26)	2014-11-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This seems to be a love it or hate it kind of blend. I'm in the "love it" camp. It's a light, airy, burley with just a bit of perique.

The tin note is nutty, semi-sweet, and the usual hint of McClelland "twang." It's an attractive cut, with both cube cut burleys and ribbon cut Virginias. Fresh from the tin, I've found it to be at the perfect moisture level for immediate smoking, with no drying time required. I see that this is classified here as an "aromatic," although I can't figure out why. If there's a topping, I can't pick it out in either the tin or in the smoke; I'd call it a classic BurPer with a bit of Virginia that came along for the ride.

This is a very burley-forward blend. It surprises me that I enjoy it as much as I do - while I do appreciate it as something to add body and variety to VA based blends, I don't usually go crazy for predominately burley mixtures. The perique is definitely there, too. It doesn't add much in the way of darkening the flavor, but it certainly adds that bit of spice that registers in the sinuses (in a very pleasing way, at least to me). The Virgina doesn't add a whole lot to the blend, and it seems like it's purpose is probably just to boost the burley forward and give it a platform to stand on. It shines through just the tiniest bit in the last quarter of the bowl, but even then it's rather muted.

There isn't a lot of complexity here, and the smoke is more or less the same throughout the bowl - nutty, straightforward burley with a bit of perique spice. It isn't overwhelmingly flavorful, and I could understand why some reviewers might see this as being bland. If I'm judging this against my usual preferences of Virginias, VaPers, and Latakia blends, I'd agree...but considering for what it is and what it's trying to be, I think it gets the job done.

I think the biggest draw back is that it does like to burn hot. Setting aside the unpleasantness of tongue bite/burn, the higher burning temperature all but obliterates the flavor of the aroma and turns the perique very acrid. The only way to do Grey Havens justice is to make devote time to it, and smoke very cool and very slow.

The blend seems to perform very similarly in both cobs and briars, it might be just a hair nice in a cob - in my experience, cobs usually play very well with burley-based blends, plus it helps just a bit in the effort to keep the burn rate down.

Three stars from me - I see what the blend is trying to do, and I think it goes a long way to doing it. Still, it would benefit if the Virginias were just a little more present and if it didn't require me to spend so much attention on keeping it cool.

Pipe Used: Variety of Briars & Cobs

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sinister Topiary (84)	2012-07-24		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Pleasant

From the description it sounded like something I really would enjoy, so I ignored or minimized the negative reviews. I wish I had attended to them with a more open mind. I tried to convince myself that I like this blend, but I just can't do it.

If there's such a thing as a quality, flavorless smoke this is it. This tastes like nothing more than quality steam delicately flavored with something nutty. Everyone loves the scent, so it has that going for it. And it smokes beautifully. Oh, and it's real smooth, too. But so is water.

I made a heroic attempt to finish the tin, but I decided halfway through that I just don't see the point. If you like your cream-of-wheat straight, this might be your blend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2011-02-26		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'm not sure this one will click enough with me to add it to my regular smoking list (i.e. rotation), but it is a quality blend. My tin was sealed from 1999, and on opening it and sticking my nose in, I got a whiff of that McClelland vinegar I so love, but just a whiff. The flavor is really nice, but it doesn't have enough of that McClelland Virginia thing going on, being tempered by Burley and what seems to me to be a light topping of...something. There does seem to be some Perique here, but it is not overpowering, not that I mind overpowering Perique! Actually, this blend only needs a bit more Virginia to be four stars for me. The taste is delightful, the room note is pleasant, and this is a great one for moderately heavy puffing, with little resulting bite. In fact, I would tend to puff a bit harder on this blend than I would with some, because to me it seems perhaps a little too rounded. I could stand more sharpness, or more of a kick. In the few bowls I've had so far, there seems to be a tendency for this blend to not stay lit, even though I have dried out all the bowls I smoked thoroughly before indulging. I'm not sure what's causing this, but it is not a serious issue; I just won't choose this tobacco as an outside or driving blend. I need to add to this review as I finish the tin (if I remember) because there is something to this blend that just might grow on me; I just haven't found that something yet. Right now, it is pleasant but leaves me wanting a fuller flavor. The bowl I am smoking as I type this review has really improved halfway through, so that certain special something may be in there somewhere, when I have more time to "learn" this blend.

3-25-12 Year (more) has passed, and I am really liking it now. It has such a McClelland Virginia quality that I'm not sure if I would even detect the Burley if I didn't know it was there. It is just a nice nutty undertone beneath the moderate McClelland "vinegar," which I love. I will keep this jar out for a little while!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Glorfindel (86)	2008-03-06		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Good balance of burley and perique here - very light on perique and that's the way I like it.

Grey Havens is a dependable smoke that performs well with no bite no matter how you puff.

The extremely light topping burns off quickly and serves only to begin the smoke smoothly and quickly transition to the burley supported by perique. Essentially preventing "perique shock" which many of us (especially me) can get from time to time.

If nightcap is your regular (or similar) this blend was not designed for you, save your time and money and move on.

However, this is not what I consider an aromatic tobacco, it is simply a light burley/perique blend, and might appeal to English as well as aromatic folks looking for something on the edge of their normal taste profiles - at least that's what it does for me.

I liked Grey Havens, a good solid blend that can satisfy but likely won't make you turn flips.

Recommended,

3 stars,

Thanks,

Ethan

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-01-30		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Grey Havens is an acceptable mild aromatic. Its blend of burley, VA, and a smidgen of perique is complex enough to interesting throughout the duration of the smoke.

The cut is appropriate - a combination of cube-cut burley and VA ribbon. It is easy to fill and pack, and requires no preparation.

The topping seems to be of a vanilla/fruit variety, is applied with a restrained hand, and does not detract from the base tobaccos. The room note is pleasant without being cloying.

This tobacco will smoke wet and hot. A meerschaum may be the best bet for this weed, as it will alleviate a great deal of the moisture problem. This blend also has a tendancy to nip at the tongue if pushed.

Grey Havens receives decent marks from me as a light aromatic with good tobacco flavor and complexity. However, its tendancy to be "bitey" keeps it from earning a top score.

Update: This is another tobacco that I grew very weary of as time went by. Its mildness grew increasingly annoying, as smoking this blend became too much work for too little satisfaction. The bitey problem never went away, either, further compounding my dissatisfaction. Previous rating: 3 stars, now 1.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2002-02-25		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I normally smoke VAs but gave this one a try based on my success with other McClelland blends. The tin aroma did not have the distictively vinegar smell of some of their other blends and bordered on pleasant. I found it easy to pack which resulted in an even burn rate without any bite. I sensed and enjoyed the burley and overall taste but could not distingiush their added 'fragrance'. The downfall was the condensation in the bowl. Although moister than I prefer from the tin, even after several days of air drying, I still developed soup in ~ the bottom 1/4 of the bowls. Full bents and varying bowl sizes did not solve my problem. For this reason alone, what might have been an enjoyable tobacco will not be tried again.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ElMog (36)	2020-03-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A good friend was kind enough to buy me a tin of Grey Havens, not even knowing that McClelland was sadly stopping production. Grey Havens is hard to define, on first taste my impression was that it was trying to do a lot of things at once, and what it does it does pretty well, but in very small quantities. It's a bit sweet, a bit smoky, a bit woodsy... but overall it is not very tasty. Tin note is typical McClelland, the presentation too (chunky, dark, moist pieces of tobacco). It is rather easy to light but hard to keep lit. However, it produces thick clouds of white smoke, and has a creamy, full bodied texture. It becomes much more interesting after the 10 minutes mark, where the virginias develop some sweetness (those Va remind me a lot of Frog Morton and to me feel like they are somehow cavendished). I cannot taste the perique in this and the burley, though apparently the main component, is very mild. This is a blend that can be puffed hard without bite, and just like the Frog, this in turn coaxes out some woodsy-sour aromas which are not unpleasant. If there is indeed a topping added to this blend, it is very subtle and in the same vein as, once more, Frog Morton. Overall, good quality tobacco, but a bit too mild for my tastes right now.

Pipe Used: Various cobs

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fazby (66)	2016-10-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The first few bowls were hot and steamy. Burned my tongue and I was ready to give up, but I don't like to toss tobacco, especially most of a 100g tin.

I let it dry out a fair amount - a day or two with the lid off the tin. Much better!

Mild, like its sister Deep Hollow, but quite enjoyable.

Try a smaller pipe and smoke it slowly.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Clinthulhu (8)	2015-09-14		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I really wanted to give Grey Havens a good review. I've been looking at the Craftsbury Series for a while now and as a lover of Tolkien I wanted this to be a great smoke... I've been disappointed thus far. I picked up Grey Havens because of the 3 Craftsbury offerings it contained Perique and in the past I have almost always enjoyed tobaccos that contain Perique. Unfortunately this is not one of them. If I had to describe this tobacco in a word I would probably say, boring... It just doesn't have any flavor to me. I enjoy a mellow smoke but this is honestly almost non-existent in the flavor department which is surprising due to the way the tobacco smells in the can. If I could get just a bit of that flavor while I smoked it I would be happy but unfortunately I get nothing. I've smoked several bowls of this over the last few weeks and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. I might be putting this one in a jar and aging it for a bit to see if it improves the taste but as it stands right now I'm just not impressed with this offering.

Pipe Used: GBD

Age When Smoked: New Tin

Purchased From: The Havana House West, Bath, Ohio

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Davetopay (43)	2014-07-31		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I'll keep this short as I haven't done any reviewing in a while, but I feel like putting some notes down tonight.

Of course when freshly opened there is the vinegar and heinz 57, but that has seemed to subside in a few short days. Without getting too wordy, I like this mixture. the moisture is darn near spot on within a day of opening, it loads and packs well, smokes cool and dry. The topping is not so abundant as to overshadow the VA leaf and the maple note is always a great companion for burley. The perique is just a little spice in the back to keep things interesting. The leaf is the star here, like so many McC blends and I almost think the hint of topping is more for those around you.

Pipe Used: Peterson B25 Shamrock

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: The Grapevine, Warrenton VA

Similar Blends: McClelland - Virginia Woods (Craftsbury Series), not as musty and heavily topped, but reminiscent..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2014-06-08		Very Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This really reminds me of some of the "Old-Time" aromatic recreations. I detect (but in the most subtle way) cocoa, for sure. Maybe some rum as well. It reminds me a lot of H&H Classic Burley Kake (which I also love). Very light and airy, lots of smoke but not a flavor kick in the mouth. There is some sort of a food tasting element that I can't put my finger on or describe accurately, it also smells slightly of ketchup in the tin. Overall, I do like this blend, don't know if I would make it a full time regular in the rotation, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

Similar Blends: H&H Classic Burley Kake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tleek (51)	2013-09-06		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is some good stuff. Light nutty, fruity, burly flavor with nice sweet virginia undertones. Perique adds a little flavor without the spicy, peppery burn of high perique content blends. It is very far in the back ground. very god and worth a try if you like burly and virginia tobaccos

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JCelsius (6)	2012-05-04		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

A good all day smoke. It's positively delicious, but not overtly so. It's not going to punch you in the face with a wild flavor, but rather it sets in on you unexpectedly about half way through the bowl. This is definitely a blend you want to smoke in a larger bowl to get the full effect. Others in the room have remarked on how good it smellsand it really is just a joy all around. If you're a huge bold Virginia fan, maybe this doesn't quite make the cut for you, but for a very smooth and satisfying (if perhaps less intense) smoke this blend will not leave you wanting.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2012-04-30		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I did not enjoy this tobacco at all. The light is nutty, which quickly transitions into a briny pepper and toasted wheat. Not a fan of the briny pepper part.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fife&Drum (34)	2011-03-12		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is an all day smoke for me.

Nice cube and ribbon cut with decent moisture. Medium and darker brown strands, with a good helping of black strands. Some pressed together pieces floating around the mixture that didn't come apart. This is easy to light and stays lit pretty well throughout the smoke. A nice toasted Burley flavor hits you immediately upon lighting. The Virginia component is mild to moderate and doesn't dominate the smoke making a nice even blend of flavors. The Perique is there only as a light seasoning, showing itself now and again, but lends a fruity stability throughout. The fragrance enhancement is barely perceptible, yet adds pleasantness to the overall room note. I notice it most when I blow the smoke through my nose. I think it might be a hint of the topping that is added to #2050 Oriental Cavendish. I have smoked a ton of 2050 and seems this possibly could be it. Never the less, I enjoy this tobacco. It is smooth and mild. Good.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-07-26		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

One time I was playing around with some blending tobacco. I mixed some Burley and Virgnia, then added a little vanilla Cavendish and a dash of perique. After a few months in a mason jar I tried it out. "Eureka," I thought, "I've created the world's most boring tobacco!" Little did I know I had also created Grey Havens.

Okay I'm kidding. This is far better than the bland mess I made. But there are some similarities. Initially it was hard to write a review because this tobacco hardly left an impression.

Its all in there somewhere, sweetness, nuttiness, a whiff of vanilla, I think, and the peppery perique. There's just not enough of it.

Actually I take issue with the perique. With none of the other actors delivering, the perique seems to get too much of the spotlight. I'm more aware of it than I feel I should be.

Someone else mentioned you have to like burley. That may be true. It's possible that burley is just too subtle for me. That may also be why I - contrary to yet another poster -- find the similarly Tolkien-themed Deep Hollow to be much more interesting. But that's what makes this fun -- it's all subjective.

Update: This may be growing on me. I have dedicated a pipe to it for the time being and as it begins to settle in I'm getting some more of the nuances. Also being careful to pack gently and not let it get too hot. I enjoyed my bowl today.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2010-02-12		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

The first time I tried this, it was from a tin less than a year old. It was wet, goopy, and the 'fragrance' just didn't agree with me. However, I could tell that it was one of those tobaccos that would probably do well with some aging.

Fast forward a few years, and try smoking a nine year old tin of Grey Havens. Upon opening, I didn't get any of the smell of the fragrant topping. It was mostly a faint wafting of the signature McClelland smell, and a pretty good dose of perique, which I thought odd given that there supposedly isn't a lot of perique in this blend. Putting my nose right into the tin rewarded me with smells of sweet virginia and tangy/spicy perique. The moisture level was perfect, and there was no stickiness whatsoever.

Packing this tobacco is just like any other ribbon cut. No little bits of flakes to worry about. On first light I got a slight suggestion of the topping, but it quickly disappeared to give way to a very nice perique tanginess bolstered by the burley. The virginias were there, in the background, to add just the right amount of sweetness. During the top half of the bowl, the topping could just barely be discerned on ocassion in the room note.

This tobacco, if packed too tight, or puffed too agressively, can bite. However, loosely packed in a large bowl with a gentle puffing cadence, it is positively docile. And it is so very tasty. The flavors are very well balanced, with the virginia playing a supporting role to the burley and perique. I don't think I would categorize this as an aromatic, or even a semi-aromatic. Like so many of McClelland's blends, it is quite simply what it is, and should be approached as such. You won't have to dedicate a pipe to this blend, but it's best not to smoke it in a pipe that you've dedicated to aromatics or English blends.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-12-02		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

First review. I love smoking this blend through My Savinelli Prince of Wales. It can get hot at times with a bit of bite, but I find I am still getting a proper smoking rhythm down. It packs well and smokes slow. I find it makes me patient and contemplative because of its mix of mellowness with subtle complexities. I like it matched with both coffee in the mornings, or with a nice scotch in the evenings. It is my go to smoke if I am not in the mood for something specific.

Naturally it has the McClelland aroma in the tin, and can be moist at first. I will be buying more, its a nice low impact blend to go with any occasion.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-04-26		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

What can I say? This is a McClelland blend, and I have yet to find a McClelland that I don?t like. That said this isn?t at the top of my list, but it could see some serious time in my rotation. Out of the tin the smell of this tobacco is very pleasant, Virginia tangy sweetness, and a bit of nuttiness from the burly. When I lit this tobacco up I was surprise as how well the VA/Per came through, it is much milder then many of my standard VA/Per?s but it also burns well without any biting, so I would score that as a distinct positive.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-08-09		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

McClelland for people who hate McClelland, right down to the Alphonse Mucha type tin art. I know nothing of the Tolkien writings so I can't ply any literary comparisons. Still, this is an excellent summer blend. I first tried this during a very hot week in July when temperatures soared around 100 degrees and the taste for english latakia laden blends was not desired. The tin is smoky and chocolatey, without the typical McC BBQ sauce. Taste is creamy and crisp and downright pleasureful. This is nicer and less aromatic than Deep Hollow and none of the stickyness of McC's luscious, but syrupy aromatics. The perfect warm weather blend, but I'm eager to try it in the autumn as well.

Three and a half of five stars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2005-01-19		Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

01-19-2005 Buying an (what is for me) expensive tin of premium has become a crap shoot. All too often I end up kicking myself for laying out $8-10 for a disappointment.

That was the case with Grey Havens. I initially could taste nothing. I began drawing harder, attempting to capture what taste was there and the bowl and my mouth got a little hotter than I like.

I am going to put it up for a month and come back to it. For now, it has shown itself to be a bland, thin, vaporous thing. The "room note" was OK, but that is about it.

My own efforts have proven more satisying. I mixed a pouch of Revelation that had only a couple pipe fulls missing and an equal amount of MC 5100, added a measured teaspoon of MC blending Latakia and a measured tablespoon of MC blending Perique. I mixed it, let it sit overnight and on the way home tonight had a smoke that was much more satisfying that Grey Havens.

Just a hint of smokiness, just a hint of Perique and the 5100 sweetened and rounded out the Revelation. And it didn't cost me almost $9.00. Yes, I can be a tighwad. And sometimes it pays off.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2005-01-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

One thing I've noticed about McC blends in general - they require age to really come to fruition. Lots of age. The tin I have is about 50g worth of 7.5 year old Gray Havens. This is really fantastic stuff. I could envision a newer tin being hard to get through - thin and harsh - much like some of beloved "young" C+D and GLP mixtures. But the sample I'm currently treasuring is dense in flavor in complexity. Truly quality stuff with an interplay of light nuttiness, tangy perique, delightfully sweet topping and natural VA. A very mild cigar note creeping in every now and again adds robustness. No bite or wetness with the topping actually enhancing - instead of overpowering the smoke.

This is in sharp contrast to my experience with other McC Craftsbury collection series. Frog Morton is, IMO, abysmally boring. Deep Hollow kind of like attempting to smoke a caramel apple (though quite tasty if you hit a sweet spot). But Gray Havens is to date the only one of the bunch I'd actually keep around. Though I have a feeling I should hunt down some old tins or else stow away a bunch for savoring later...

I will add that while topped, this seems to promote much more appeal in taste than to room note. While the perique and topping function well in the blend - the air left in the room is exceptionally acrid and stale.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth 69 (117)	2005-01-06		Mild	Strong	Mild	Very Pleasant

In description it sounds interesting and like a real winner, but after opening the tin and smoking a bowl, this is amoung the group of really bad McClelland products. A base of broad rough-cut burley with some black stoved/cavendished(?) broken cake and supposedly some perique which I can't detect. The smell of the tin suggests that it was heavily flavored with Hershey's chocolate syrup. A rather overly flavored product that does'nt reflect it's description on the tin. It would have been better if it was produced with a restraint on the flavoring to just barely case the white burely along with a noticable amount of perique. Or maybe the heavy flavoring is masking it. In the final analysis a monochromatic aromatic without refinement.

-Not recommended

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OSR (78)	2004-10-31		Extremely Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

This is very flat and thin. I smoked one bowl and got rid of the rest. No redeeming qualities, even the lable on the tin is mundane.

Hot, flat and 'blah'.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-05-26		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I see why Tolkien smoked this, I love it! I purchased it because I love perique. Though I prefer Dorchester, I thought I would broaden my taste. I read the previous reviews, after I ordered a tin and thought: Uh Oh! But, I love it! My tin was moist, sure, but, not that moist. It is a most unique, leafy texture, with a smattering of black perique and a fragrant odor of dried fruits. The taste, oh. that taste!, now, I know why JRR used to look forward to each new day as another to smoke! However, one does have a next-morning "after-taste" But don't let this deter you. So do as I did. You need to experience it firsthand!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-02-21		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Va., burley, and perique. Excellent quality tobacco. It has the {traditional} McC nose out of the tin. When lit it is smooth, has a sweet flavor, and a light chocolate/vanilla aroma. Note the word light. It's not flavored like an aromatic. I like this blend because it's not tireing like a straight burley or an english, and it doesn't get sugary-syrupy disgusting like a typical aromatic. A good middle ground tobbaco. The wife will like it too. It is moist but once it is lit it burns quite well. Savor and go slow. VA and perique will bite ferociously if you smoke them too fast. The flavor is sweet and spicy. I like it!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-02-16		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This blend is one of the blends that I love the way it tastes but it usually bites me. If the bite was eliminated from this blend I would smoke this regularly and give it the highest rating. I will not give this the lowest score simply because the flavor is very good. The odd thing about this is it seems to smoke cool even though it bites me pretty bad. Maybe the topping in this does not get along with me. I may try it again later to see if it still gives me the same bite affect.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2003-11-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

November-2003. Grey Havens.This is very strange to me as it taste as though I've dropped my pipe & the tobacco fell out in the dirt.Then I've scooped it up 'dirt & all' repacked my pipe & lit it anyway.The taste being very much like earthy soil,so much so,that I wan't to empty out the pipe & start again.Could only detect the Virginia,near the last few puff's.Tried 4 bowl's just to be fair.But no improvement.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2003-08-12		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Coming this season on Fox: When Perique Goes Bad.

One of McClelland's embarrassments, this blend is a particularly sour expression of perique, with a distasteful topping, to boot. Pointless, given the presence of St. James Woods in their portfolio.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2003-04-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Usually, when I want to think of "middle earth", I go for "Frog Morton". With a title like "Grey Havens" though, I had to try this one. This is definitely not a hobbit blend, but rather something I could definitely see the Elves smoking.It is a mild herbal blend. The Perique makes itself known close to the bottom of the bowl but in an "Elvish" sort of way, (how did it get here?). All in all, it is a good blend but since it is more "herbal" than I care for, I'll stick to the "Frog". In spite of what I've stated, it does have a decent complexity and does not bite, unless you puff like Smaug.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2002-08-05		Mild	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

I bought this can because of the name and description, being a Tolkien Junkie, i had to try it. The aroma is outstanding, rich aged Virginia and a sweet topping which smells of prunes or something likr that. Upon closer sniffage you get a nice spicy flavor, overall the smell is half of the experience and starts the mouth watering.

The blend is as others have said a bit wet, and needs a few minutes to dry out. Once a tad dryer, it packs nicely into my slightly bent horn virginia pipe. It takes a bit to light it, but find a nice torch lighter gets it going nicely as well as drys it out a bit. The initial flavor is the sweet virginia musty flavor, but is quickly accomanied by the topping flavor. a rich smoking experience, about a third to halfway through you get the perique spicyness that rounds the blend out nicely.

I dont think alot of english tonbacco smokers would like this, but if you like a nice mautre virginia try it, it is a nice accompanyment to a good book and my wife found the aroma much to her liking.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2002-01-21		Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Overview: Grey Havens comes packed in a can typically used for macadamia nuts. It?s an economical container but not really suited to pipe tobacco. The label states it to be a mix of Burley & Virginia with a dash of Perique.

Sight & Feel: Grey Havens is golden brown with shreds of black, slightly moist to the touch and not sticky, even though it is sauced. The loose, coarse shreds did not require rubbing before packing in my pipe.

Smoking Characteristics: I found this tobacco a little moist for my liking so I stood my packed pipe for 15 minutes before lighting it. It then took up a flame and smoked quite easily but usually required 2 matches to set-up properly. It also required slightly stronger draws to achieve good flavour than my favorite blends do. I enjoyed it best in a Canadian or Billiard-style pipe.

Nose: Some reviewers have compared the aroma of Grey Havens upon opening to chocolate or vanilla. I can't agree. It reminded me more of my early attempts to mix pipe blends; efforts that ended in confused aromas ranging from spoiled yogurt to oily coffee grounds. I do not find GH's aroma pleasant. However, the room note is much more attractive and has enough 'tang' to prevent the room from quickly lapsing into a stale or boring note. In small amounts it would be tolerable to most non-smokers.

Mouth: The initial taste is somewhat confused but settles down to hnts of lightly peppered jam made from overly ripe plums. Although it generally smokes well, a slight nip in it warns your tongue about the consequences of high speed puffing. As this is a Perique mixture, inhaling is not recommended.

Economics: In Canada, GH is mid-priced but as its rate of burn is only moderate, it is only a moderately economical tobacco.

Last Word: Gandalf and Strider would have preferred Old Toby. Although GH beats many corner store pouches, thats not saying much (I find too many McLelland blends lacking in some way). GH may suit those who want to stray a bit from corner store Aromatics. If you are searching for the Grail of Perique mixes, go straight to Germain?s Royal Jersey or even Bell's Three Nuns.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2001-02-25		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

n their words, "A lightly flavored Burley and Matured Virginia blend". It has a bit of Perique in it and also has the least attack of McClelland ketchup soaking of any McC blend I've tried. It actually smells delcious in the can and I enjoyed the flavor a lot too. It's very distinctive and refined, and the aroma smells much like a box of fine sweets. The downside of my experience is that this is another blend which suffers from the McClelland Moisture Mystery - I'm sitting here sniffing a tin which has been open for easily 3 months, and it's still moist and almost sticky to the touch where other open tins would have been Rice Krispies by this time. I can't say if this is related to the other nasty McC side-effect or not, but I get the same delayed-effect bite from this as from their other blends... it's that next-morning, "Oh god, did I eat a live hedgehog last night?" tongue shock. If the delicious flavor could be spliced off by itself it would be a solid 4 star tobacco, but the acidic bite chops it right down.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2021-04-05		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just finished smoking through half the 100g tin of this I picked up several years ago. I was quite surprised in that what I experienced was not what I was expecting. This is a burley blend by McClelland and that is not a common thing. I would describe it as a very classy Prince Albert.

I don't know the intention behind the creation of this blend, but it seems as if McClelland wanted to take their own shot at a codger burley with this offering. The description above says there is no added flavoring, this is wrong. It is clearly topped. There is molasses and a sweet liquer of some sort, if I had to guess. It is strong and for the most part covers most of the tobacco taste. The reason I picked Prince Albert above as a comparison is that the topping most reminded me of the taste of Prince Albert with less chemical aftertaste.

Burley is clearly the lead leaf in this blend, but as I said, the blend is dominated by the topping. The Virginia and Perique are nor perceptible to my palate. The topping is well applied as it carries right through to the end. Of course, the leaf is well done as is everything McClelland does. A nice even ribbon cut that packs and burns easy.

This is good for what it is. I don't think I would go crazy searching for this or paying the high dollars that people are demanding for many of the MC blends at this time. And truth be told, I would still rather smoke Carter Hall than this even with that blend's chemical after taste.

Pipe Used: 1969 Dunhill Bruyere Prince

Age When Smoked: 9 years

Similar Blends: Prince Albert.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Appalachian Chef (52)	2015-02-23		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Lots of positive things with this one, but not a stand-out! It has a great blend of Burley and Perique which give it a nutty and sweet, but just a hint of spice. The typical McClelland vinegar tin note is not as obvious as other McClellands, but still present. I will keep some cellared to try in a year or three, but it will not be in permanent rotation just yet. I liked it a lot, but not a favorite. I would re-order, though.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Flame Grain

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin-aged one year

Purchased From: P&C

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Prof Korn (7)	2015-02-06		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

Easy, mild, smooth. If you are a new pipe smoker, I would recommend you start here when it comes to aromatics. This is a mild, easy to smoke mix. It is sweet and light, just a touch of spice in the background. The flavors are kind on the tongue and don't take a developed taste bud to enjoy. Personally, I enjoy latakia blends more, but this is the best for a light and easy aromatic.

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Tabacco shack Mt airy

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Eric Cioe (37)	2015-01-04		Mild	Medium	Mild	Tolerable

I got a generous one ounce sample of this from an acquaintance. It was from a 2008 tin, and I smoked it in summer 2014.

This is a little out of my wheelhouse in that I tend to not smoke aromatics, but the base tobacco won me over quite quickly. Like most McClelland tobaccos, there was no nicotine to speak of. The topping seemed to compliment the plummy perique quite well, but rather than simply enhancing the flavors already present, it sometimes overpowered them.

If you like plummy flavors and want a good tobacco base and low nicotine, this blend might be for you.

Pipe Used: Lots of them

Age When Smoked: Six years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Katharsis (39)	2011-07-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I love VaPers, but most have a bit too much Perique for me. I also like Burley. This is both, and the Perique is very mild in this, yet still noticeable. This is good stuff, and appropriately named. It is a peaceful, lightly creamy, relaxing VaPer.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-12-27		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have been a confirmed aromatic smoker for several years and have always been wary of taking the plunge into the non-aromatic blends for fear they would be so God-awful to taste that I'd never smoke a pipe again. Grey Havens, then, is my first non-aromatic blend and what a surprise.

It has little to no casing that I could detect, just the smell of ketchup. That was a bit alarming in itself, as I thought, "What in the hell have I gotten myself into!" as the tomato smell hit me.

It was moist and burned well, and from the first puff I was pleasantly surprised. This is probably the best tobacco I've ever had. That doesn't mean it's the greatest in the entire world or anything, just that I've never had such a pleasurable smoke like I had with Grey Havens.

The flavor had a bit of spice to it, but it was not overwhelming and it was something that I believe I could smoke all day. I've heard of people saying that about other blends, yet until now I'd never experienced it for myself.

I enjoy medium strength & flavor tobaccos. I don't like mine too weak nor too strong. Grey Havens seems to fit the bill for me. I plan on trying more of McClelland's blends, but believe that Grey Haven's is very near a perfect smoke for me. I will probably step up in strength at some point, but not too much.

For those who enjoy some flavor, this is a wonderful place to begin, especially if you've been limiting yourself to aromatics for fear of getting something unpleasant and rank in your pipe.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-03-12		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This blend is uncharacteristic of the other McClelland Virginia tobacco's that I have tried. Usually McClelland has a vinegary smell and a strong forward presence to their VA blends. That is not the case with this one. This blend lacks the in-your-face nature of say a Christmas cheer, and the complexity of a 5100. The blend once properly dried out smokes very well and seems to burn cool enough not to burn your tongue. The Perique is very mild and the burly is well not as nutty as I prefer but hey this blend isn't bad just not great.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2009-02-28		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

this blend was one of my earliest introductions to the mcclellands blends and i liked it from the beginning. the balance of the burley and virginia are just right and the "hint" of perique add just the right amount of the something extra. the tin aroma is wonderful and the tobacco colors make for a very inviting presentation. the varied cuts pack easily and set out to a nice flavorful smoke from the first wave of the lighter. as far as variation down the bowl, there is very little, but the flavor of the smoke from beginning to end is consistently good making for a good all day tobacco.

update (6/9/17)- this has become one of my favorite "go to" blends, i have found very few others that offer the same consistent level of pleasure regardless of time of day, indoor/outdoor, pairing, or mood. i have upgraded from "recommended" to "highly recommended" and do so wholeheartedly.

Pipe Used: briar

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Loboatomy (41)	2009-01-15		Medium	Medium to Strong	Mild	Pleasant

As someone who really enjoys many of McClelland tobaccos, I must say that this is a flop. For the amount I spent I would have been better off buying 5 pouches of Borkum Riff, for that is by far a more satisfying smoke than Grey Havens. This tobacco never seems to "happen"; it smells OK in the can and is cut right with the right moisture content, but then you light it and there's very little flavor, and so you think-- "Ok, this has got to cook a bit before it starts to taste good.". And so you smoke it, and you realize that the topping is getting to taste a bit chemically, I really don't know what it is, although I get hints of synthetic vanilla and butterscotch coming through, but there's still really very little actual flavor, not even the tobacco tastes like much at all...then all of a sudden, within a 3-4 puff window, this stuff gets hot and ashy and astringent, and you know the bowl is over...like I said, disappointing. And this happens regardless of which pipe I try smoking it in. On the other hand, the room note is pretty mild, and I guess as a social smoke it wouldn't be half bad if you could deal with it. It is a "quality" tobacco, as far is the type of leaf and blending and packaging, etc, but it really is nothing special and there are plenty of OTC and bulk jar tobaccos that outshine this stuff for a quarter of the price if aromatics are your thing...as I said, if I'm going to smoke a flavored aromatic, then let it be a flavored aromatic.

Recommendation: Swipe a couple of bowlfulls from someone and give it a try before shelling out $12 for a can of this stuff.

Sorry McClelland, Darkstar and Blackwoods are like manna from heaven in my book and you'll still get my $12/can for them every two months until armageddon, but this blend just plain doesn't do it for me.

UPDATE 1/15/09: Alright, alright--After a long time to dry out and mellow together, it's not too bad. Not my first choice, but not a horrendous as my original impression. Quality leaf...

Somewhat recommended...now

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-10-06		Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I enjoy this blend very much.I smoke this all day, every day.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-09-13		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

I need to change my tasting notes on this blend. I smoked it over 10 years ago for several years and then quit for more flavorful blends. My recent change of mind about Haddo's Delight and Escudo made me wonder if I had a new perspective on GH. And, either my tastes or the blend (both?) have changed. Yes, this is a good, friendly mixture if you do not want to be hit with much Perique and desire a cooler smoke than something with more straight Virginia leaf than is GH. The tin I am noting is two years sealed. If you like what Haddo's D and Barbary Coast are attempting, try their older peer for a milder, finesse-blend. Let it reduce in moisture and pack it loose (Frank method works very well with GH), or it might burn your tongue and leave you questioning whether there is enough flavor. The aroma burning is always nice, and it has a slight cigar leaf note that I did not detect previously.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hunter (54)	2008-03-30		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I am an aromatic smoker, but ordered a tin of this while in Iraq for something a little different to try. I usually am not a big VaPer fan, and to its credit, Grey Havens has only as much perique as needed and not a hint more. This is a good, non-offensive, all day smoke. Not really aromatic, but I am gaining a new appreciation of Virginias. I keep a tin of this around at all times.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-12-14		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not sure what it is about Grey Havens that perplexes me. Sometimes, I find that I thoroughly enjoy smoking it; others, I merely tolerate it until I've managed to smoke the bowl's contents. I have problems identifying any of the constituent tobaccos in the mix (were it not for my ability and willingness to read the label on the tin and the reviews, that is) other than perique. I'm a seasonal perique fan. For me to thoroughly enjoy anything containing the spicy weed, I must have cold temperatures and hot coffee. Lately, however, the area in which I live has been experiencing unseasonably warm weather, and I'm sure that has clouded my analysis of this tobacco. Grey Havens isn't a bad tobacco; I just simply have many others that I prefer to spend money on.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-08-01		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

My tin of Grey Havens was six years old at the time of opening. Still too moist, however, to properly enjoy. The first pipe was hard to keep lit and delivered little flavor. After a day's drying, the subsequent experiences were vastly improved.

The tin aroma, devoid of any McClelland ketchup smell after the drying, comes across as smelling like a spiced fruit compote. At the match the flavor comes through fresh and sweet. Quite sweet, actually, with a light and pleasant room aroma. I don't notice much complexity of taste in this blend, and not much change from start to finish. Rather, it's just good burley, virginia, a touch of perique, and a casing I'm still trying to identify (honey, perhaps?)

A good change of pace smoke for me, and recommended.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-07-30		Strong	Mild	Very Full	Tolerable to Strong

I believe that GH has been highly underrated by most of those whose reviews appear above. I bought a tin reluctantly based on the reviews. My tin was unlike most Mc Clelland blends, having the perfect moisture content. If you even think you like burley blends, you owe it to yourself to try a tin. And if you don't think you like burley, based on experience with drug store brands, give this one a try. One of my top three burley favorites following Stonehaven and Dark Strong Kentucky.

Update 12/23/05. My last tin of GH was not quite as good as were the earlier ones. I mixed it with 2035 (50/50) and found it even better than my original experience with this blend.

Update 7/30/07. While never a great fan of aromatics, GH ranked near the to op the list. As I grow less enchanted with aromatics, so does my liking for this one.

Add a star if you like aromatics and two stars is aromatics are all you smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-03-11		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A fantastic blend,smoking abowl right now.The perique does not overshadow the burley or virginias.Virginias waft in and out giving delectable sweet tease and the burley anchors evrything together in a harmonious blend.

Upon opening the tin the famous McClelland ketchup was not as overpowering as their other blends,a figgy note was prescent,like a fruity steak sauce.

The leaf itself is predominately leather brown with a sprinkling of dark leaf.Finely shredded it packs and lites easily in a medium Savinelli.Upon liting once burning billowy clouds of smoke erupt.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-01-02		Mild	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

A sweet flavor, I've been smoking this for a few months now and have yet to tire of the taste or the pleasant aroma.

I would say this is better than Deep Hollow, not by much, but it seems to excel wherever Deep Hollow fails.

I can't seem to find anything bad to say about this blend! So far I would have to say that this is my favorite!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-10-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Liking burley mixtures, I had to try this blend from McClelland. I must admit when I first smoked it right out of the tin, I wasn't too impressed. It has a light flavoring, but I can't quite determined what it is, burley, VA and a touch of perique. I was hoping for a little more flavor from the perique.

I put the tobacco in a mason jar and let it sit for about 3 weeks, and then tried it again. Wow! It tastes like a completelly different tobacco. The burley had a nice nutty flavor, good sweetness from the VA, and spice from the perique. I convinced, the longer this tobacco ages, the better it will get. As other reviewers noted, it is a good warm weatner smoke. If you like burly based tobaccos, give this one a try.

10/3/06 I'm going to have to downgrade my recommendation on this tobacco. The last couple of times I smoked it, it really started to bite. I thought it would mellow out in a couple of months, but that's not the case. Mc Clelland has much better tobaccos than this one.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-08-04		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As I look at the other reviews of this particular blend of pipe weed, I think you either love it or hate it. I fall into the former category, but it took me a while to get there. I bought a tin of it last month during a trip to Kansas City, Mo. My wife said to me, ?Mike you?re in KC MO. You have to buy a can of Mac C?s.? She being a LOTR fan said I should try Grey Havens. I was apprehensive. I didn?t like burley, being a fan of matured Virginias and VA Perique blends. The tin wasn?t cheap either. I?m not really a fan of the burley because of disasters like Cherry Mixture # 79 or various drugstore blends that I loaded into a Dr. Graybow when I was a teenager and pipe-smoking neophyte. Have no fear; this is NOT one of those blends. Upon opening the tin it had MacClelland?s signature ketchup/fermenting fruit aroma and revealed dark orange and mahogany ribbon. The blend is a bit wet and needs a few minutes or in very humid areas a few days to dry out. If you are a fan of burley blends, try it. It?s a nice change of pace from aromatic blends and is a great transition to non-flavored tobacco. If you absolutely can?t stand burley blends, try this one, you?re in for a treat. The VA?s provide a great top note; the Perique is piquant and the burley lends a nutty flavor to the blend that rounds out the whole.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-04-16		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Thumbing through the recent reviews,I came across a review of this blend. I totally forgot I had a tin of this in my humidor. I got it out and looked at the date of production on the bottom. 1999! I was excited to try this again. I had originally purchased this because in my opinion it smokes extremely well in a meerschaum. So I opened the tin and..WOW!!..one of the things I love about this blend is that "rotten fruit smell", which seemed to have strengthened with the aging process. I then filled a very interesting meerschaum I have (which is a bust of President John F. Kennedy!) with the tobacco and lit up. All I can say is once again WOW!! My recommendation is buy some tins of this and put it away for 6-7 years...this in my opinion is one of the finest blends in it's category! While I am not a fan of the other blends this firm produces..this is fantastic! I will soon be buying more and putting it away...Highly Recommended!!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	caddad (53)	2006-04-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I purchased two 100 gram tins of this in a row a couple of summers ago, and I truly enjoyed this blend. A saw a negative review on this blend by Serad and it surprised me very much. I think that this tobacco smokes very much like 2015 only it is already rubbed out for you. The only problem I had with this tobacco was that the tin emptied very quickly. It was not packed in the tin very tightly and as you filled several bowls the level dropped very fast. The 2015 is bulk blend and seemed like the wiser choice in the future. However if you like Virginia -Perique blends this one should not go untried.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2005-12-21		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is an ok tobacco I don't know why it hasn't gotten better reviews than it has. I have a hard time tasting the Perique. But it is there. It could be nicer than it is. If your looking for a Burley/Virginia/Perique blend Kingfisher & Junkyard Dawg are much better than this.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-08-11		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

The only Grey Havens I have tried has been aged five years, so my impressions may differ from the others due to the aging.

The tobacco was a bit damp, but a bit of time sitting out solved that.

The first 1/3 of the bowl was Burley all the way, until the Virginia got going well. The Va seemed to like to pop up boldly, then run back into the background. The topping was very mild, and the Perique? well, I had to double check when I first started smoking this blend. I was sure there was supposed to be some. It just stayed so far in the background that it was hard to tell if the taste I was getting hints of was Perique or the topping. McC says it?s a hint of Perique ? and they speak the truth.

Overall, this is an interesting smoke, and I enjoyed it. It smoked cool, and other than the finish which left a bit to be desired (bitter), I would not turn my nose up at it. But I doubt I would buy it again either.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-08-11		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

A very bland tobacco that has the right componets, but at what I believe are wrong levels. I really like Burley tobacco,but the burley here is tired,and faint. The Perique is somewhere in there,(so they say). The Virginia componet is way back in the background,and can barely be heard. Try again Mc.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2002-07-30		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I was surprised by the understated yet satisfying character of this tobacco. It's a little like herbal tea, sweet and light.

The initial tin aroma leads one to think of mashed fruit, though not overwhelmingly sweet. It smokes moist (which I personally like) and that mild sweetness comes through nicely. The room note is also sweet and understated.

This blend would not appeal to lovers of strong english blends, I don't think, but mild tobacco lovers who are put off by the heavier aromatics should like GH just fine.

The Rev

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2002-04-02		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I was not too terribly impressed with GH. Although it smoked evenly and quite cool, I found the taste a bit flat for a blend that's supposed to have perique ("a hint of perique" is accurate advertising).

I found GH extremely moist out of the can, almost damp. I had a lot of very unpleasant & bad tasting condensation while smoking, to the point where swabbing with a cleaner did little to counteract. In the end, I had to manually drain the pipe! Suggestion: after initially opening the tin, leave it exposed for a few days to dry it out a bit.

Although I liked the "hint" of perique, it's an even toss-up between Gray Havens and Deep Hollow.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2001-03-28		Medium to Strong	Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

OK, I said "Recommended" but it comes with caveats. First off, it's downright wet. It smells like ripe fruit juice mixed with fine tobacco. Open it when it arrives, air it for a few days before you smoke it or it won't stay lit. Once past the moisture and nose, it really is a nice tobacco. I'm afraid to ask what it's flavored with, it might scare me away.

I think the fact that Frodo, et al., now live in Grey Havens pulls me into the mystique of the mixture and I will continue to smoke it on occassion. Buy the 50 gr tin first, make sure you like it.

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