I will certainly try to maintain a stock of both Beacon and Beacon Extra (along with a tin or two of St. James). If I was ever restricted to just 3 VAPERs, these would likely be my choices. But if I was restricted to just one, WELL......

NOTE: I recognize that this is a fairly free discourse forum, but I do not understand the near obsession in many McClelland reviews with dissecting the tin aroma. IMO tin aroma does NOT directly translate into the flavor of the smoke.

Rich and pointed light VAs take center stage with a supporting background of perique strengthening their presence and ratcheting up the richness a notch.

A vaper composed of primarily golden virginias, this spryly pointed and meandering blend fills a long-vacant hole in the McClelland portfolio. SImultaneously rich and youthful, Beacon is simply a gem.

Chamber Gauge: Narrow

Until I tried Beacon, I never really knew how hot a blend could burn. This mild VaPer flake will singe the hairs from your tongue if you're not careful. This blend will make an acrylic mouthpiece too hot to handle.

If you smoke it slowly, you will have a tolerable, and somewhat bland VaPer. The Virginias are too young, not the aged or stoved stuff you see in so many McClelland's. Not one of McClelland's best.

But I love VaPers, and there is a generous amount of Perique here. I bought several tins, so I'm putting them away for a while. Maybe in 2016 I will find that it has aged into the great blend that others have experienced.

take it slow with beacon and you'll be rewarded. at first try I was carried away, so yes, it can bite :) for me the cube cut works better than fully rubbed.

EDIT: I've done a little experiment with beacon and dunhill london mixture. With both blends I was having similar problems and I thought It takes a thief to catch a thief :P so I fully rubbed some beacon and mixed it with LM. 50% first. results were promising but mcclelland virgina was overpowering. so I changed the ratio to 1/3 beacon + 2/3 London mixture. WA-A-O-OW! improved burning qualities, cooler, less to no bite and the flavor profile is much more complex now. I just invented my own --medium-- nightcap :P okay I didn't but give it a try if you can, I suppose this ratio will work with several latakia/oriental or latakia/turkish mixtures

Rub, rub, rub - pack and light.

Bright Virginias, fresh and sweet, oat flour and rising dough. Lemongrass tanginess, feed grains and cut hay. Autumn leaves, incense-like notes, dry cocoa. The whole thing has a feeling of depth and earthy richness. Sweeter and richer as the smoke progresses. Peppery spice slips in halfway down the bowl, this only seems to cement the balance rather than upset it.

This is a top quality flake. Don’t rush the bright tobaccos or they can bite, not really too much of a problem at first, seemed to get worse halfway through the tin, seems like I had to be more and more careful to avoid a burnt tongue. Still masterfully done. Perique is nice, just a whisper. A balanced, tasty Virginia flake of depth and complexity.

A solid 3 ½ Stars

This is the smoothest VAPer with the best virginia flake that I've smoked to date. I like milder blends (i.e., lower to moderate nic strength) ideal for multiple and relaxing smokes, and this one is it for me. It bumps down the blends that were at the top of my list, which I thought hardly possible until today. This very rich and flavorful tobacco is ideal for me, a lover of virginia blends. Those who like heavy nic blends beware.

Yes, there is some whiff of vinegar/catsup in the tin aroma but none in the smoking, and even then subdued in comparison to other McClelland virginia tin notes (added to the fact that this is a 2 year old tin). I didn't fully rub out the flakes, just broke them down into strands. It filled the bowl well although there was some need for relights in the first half. This is just niggling, however, and maybe rubbing it out completely will fix that "problem".

I found this to have a bit milder taste than I was hoping - certainly not strong. The perique was applied delicately, as the tin actually states, and the wonderful McClellands virginia flavor was the dominant one. The tin aroma was the usual McClellands fermented tangy VA smell... the kind that makes me overanxious to fire up a bowl. I had zero problems keeping this lit, even straight from the tin, but I preferred the flavor when I dried this out overnight, as is typical for me with VA's. The room note was very nice indeed.

I finished this tin in record time. Even so, it wasn't a perfect smoke, and not nearly as good as their Bayou Slices, a blend that is close in lineage and looks similar in the tin. That blend had a bit heftier dose of perique and was sweeter as well as spicier. This one, surprisingly enough, was smoother than Bayou - I say surprisingly because the toasting process in the latter was to smooth it out, I thought. It seems to me that Bayou uses red VA as a base while this one uses more lemon and orange, and that may be why I prefer Bayou. Nevertheless, Beacon is a great smoke and I will probably buy more to age but I prefer other McClelland vapers.

Given a choice I would opt for 2105, but feel the Frogs are far smoother and easier to deal with. For me it is not sweet enough. If you like Blackwoods flake with perique, this is the stuff. Buy a blow torch to keep it lit.

Bottom line, only wasted $7, could have been worse.

This blend is for long term aging, and smoking anytime!

Just hoping McC keeps the good thing going.

Handling: Needs to be rubbed out like any flake. Difficult to get lit and burns slowly. With the tobacco very well rubbed out, a much more savory smoke is had.

Smoking: Similar to other offerings in this genre: Aurora, McCranie's My Reserve II; sweet VA, but with a terse edge to it.

With the tobacco very well rubbed out, Beacon is a more complex smoke.

Nicotine: mild to medium, closer to medium

Room Note: tolerable

Overall: In that there are similar offerings in ribbon form, two stars; well rubbed out, 2.9 stars.

Beacon is part of the 6-member Collector Blends produced by, and labeled as, McClelland. McClelland originally made it available for the Pipe Collector's but McClelland no longer puts PCCA on the label.

This is by far in twenty plus years of pipe smoking the best Virginia flake that I have smoked.

It is best fully rubbed out.

Treat yourself to this blend,you want be disappointed.

The tobacco flakes rub out easily into fine ribbon strips. I chose to gravity fill the pipe, but I am sure this tobacco would work great for the air pocket method as well. Packing was easy and the blend lit well after an initial char lighting.

My first few puffs of this blend were very sweet. Sugar and perique with a hint of Virginia were dominate for the first 10 puffs. After the initial puff the sugar sweetness subsided to a nice matured virginia sweetness and a solid virginia taste came through. The balance of Virginia and Perique is very nice. The perique never seems to dominate the matured virginias. About 1/4 of the way through the bowl the lemon virginias start to play on your tongue. A nice lemongrass flavor is apparent but like the perique, it never overtakes this blend. !/2 way through the bowl the flavors seem to meld into a sturdy, cool, and slightly sweet virginia. The Perique kicks back in towards the end, with the occasional note of lemon virginias.

This blend burns down to a fine ash. I never had much of a problem with moisture. I ran a cleaner through the stem of my pipe once, and more for good measure then out of necessity. I did not notice an extraordinarily strong nicotine content in this blend, and feel it is on par with most Vaper blends.

In my opinion this is a surprisingly good Vaper blend. honestly I didn't have real high hopes for this blend, but I ended up being very satisfied with it. If I had to compare it to another Vaper I would say it is reminiscent to Solani 633, but subdued on the lemongrass virginia and a higher sugar content. I would heavily emphasize the word reminiscent though! My experience with this blend was in a medium to large billiard shape Stanwell pipe. I feel this is a great offering from McClelland and would not hesitate to recommend it or purchase more. *DGT Update* I went ahead and set 1/2 a bowl aside for DGT. The flavors seem to have melded. Medium in virginia flavor with a spicier note of perique in the foreground. Once in a while the smallest whiff of lemon will appear. Personally I cared more for it before the DGT, but just one mans opinion.

I am new to pipe smoking, ex cigarette smoker, started our hobby in October 2008. I ordered three tins of Beacon along with two others (Haddos Delight and Waccamaw) to be honest to the other brands I have not tried them, and I am not to sure that I will, unless my woman burns me. Beacon I think is my holy grail of pipe tobacco.

When I open my first tin I was put off by the smell. From reading the blender review of their products I expected this. So after the initial opening I let the tin sit for an week at the office. Then I open the tin and let it sit for an half hour trying to get the initial smell out of my tobacco. I also rubbed some of the Beacon tobacco out on a paper towel from the coffee room and let it set out for an hour. I packed my pipe using the three step method. The pipe I used was a Dunhill group 4 Dublin. This was the best smoke that I ever had. Upon the first puff after the charring light there was a citrus overtone to the tobacco which in my opinion is perfection. Beacon is highly recommended.

Burns easy, sweet and savory to the taste, but can have a trace of an edge (not bite or hot per se), if smoked in a large bowl. Smoother if smoked in a smaller or medium bowl I feel.

Taste reminds me a little of the flavor of McClelland's Honeydew flake tin, but not as sweet and certainly not as potentially hot as that one. I don't think this blend is scented; it just has well aged virginia.

If you like sweet virginias (but not real sweet or aromatic) and are into flakes, this is a good choice. Recommended.