A Newbie Reviews: McC 5100 Red Cake

hmhaines · Sep 17, 2016

The Ketchup Tobacco, through and through. A classic, none of you need a Newbie Review for this.
Too bad.
Packed it into my briar, once again amazed by the smell of ketchup. Lights nice and easy. Pre-light is, predictably, ketchup.
Start smoking, it gets creamy and smooth, a little sweet. Some bite, probably my fault.
I snork and get a nice little bit of spice, not peppery though.
Enjoying the whisps of hay and grass that sometimes wiggle through the smoke.
A good tobacco. No brainer.

josephcross · Sep 19, 2016

Im still a newb myself and have not tried the 5100 yet. I just bought a tin of St James Woods and was surprised at the ketchup smell. I have heard of McC's ketchup but having only tried Frog Morton Cellar, and FM on the Town, I didnt really pick up on the ketchup thing. Mostly Basma/Latakia and FM Cellar topping. I wasnt sure about it at first but after smoking a few bowls, I have found that the ketchup is not offensive to me at all.

hmhaines · Sep 19, 2016

Never smoked any of the FM stuff, or the St. James Woods. 5100 is definitely worth a try, seems like a good, solid, standard tobacco.

josephcross · Sep 19, 2016

Yea, I bought the FM stuff when I first started out. I like latakia, but soon found that I love virginas and va/pers. They are not bad, but are not anything that I am reaching for.

balkisobrains · Sep 19, 2016

5100 Red Cake is a great stand-alone or blending tobacco.

skraps · Sep 19, 2016

You are on a blending tobacco odyssey, HM. Good for you. Smart to try out tobaccos on their own that are often components of other blends.
This one is another classic. I know plenty of guys that smoke this straight all the time and love it. Now take some of this, mix it with a little of that Black Cav, throw in a few pinches of C&D Cigar Leaf, and a pinch of Perique and you might have yourself something special!!

hmhaines · Sep 19, 2016

Thanks guys! I am having a lot of fun, I'm glad you folks are getting something out of it too.
More soon!

mso489 · Sep 19, 2016

hm, nice job. You keep it simple (and short) but pick up a lot of the central features of the various tobaccos you review. From the smell, you'd think 5100 was some kind of outlier specialty leaf, but once you smoke it on its own and use it to mix with other tobaccos, you realize what a staple it is.

cossackjack · Sep 19, 2016

As mentioned, very good alone or blended. I like a 50-50 mix with McClelland Perique.

hmhaines · Sep 19, 2016

Mmmmmmm, McC Perique.

I'll have to try that!

tmb152 · Oct 24, 2016

Fresh, 5100 doesn't do a whole lot for me. I need more flavor and strength. I consider it better for blending, I usually put some cheap tobacco on the bottom of the bowl and save my better more valued tobaccos up top where they will burn.

mso489 · Oct 24, 2016

tmb', I think like most Virginias, 5100 responds well to aging, especially if you want to smoke it as a single leaf.

styler · Oct 25, 2016

It's odd, I never really get the ketchup smell/taste that others find so prevalent in McClelland Blends. I get that there's possibly some kind of vinegar based preservative, but no tomato element!
I love 5100, I have been smoking it straight quite a bit recently. While it is a mild tobacco, I don't think it's one dimensional. There's notes of dark fruits, sugar cane and something slightly woodsy that reminds me of dried leaves. It's making a lovely autumn smoke. Going to get a 16oz bag, split it over a couple of jars and try to let it age for a while.

mortonbriar · Oct 25, 2016

A pinch of almost anything to a bowl of 5100 seems to work, thats one thing I like about it

bigpond · Oct 25, 2016

@Styler
I think the ketchup phenomenon is simply a reaction to the combination of the aromas of acetic acid, with the earthy, tangy notes native to the leaf all filtered through the lens of expectation. The first stop for many is ketchup on other boards it may be HP sauce or fish sauce, toe jam, etc.
PS Obvious post, but hey it's early here in ketchup land.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 25, 2016

I don't get any ketchup in the taste at all, not even the initial light up. It seem to translate for me to straight up sweetness. This one also has hints of baking bread in the aroma also.
I get hints of that vinegary smell from my own homegrown as the tobacco sweats out the ammonia greenness, the vinegary smell creeps in., But, I have yet to be able to get the smell of my own tobacco to be as strong as McClellands. I don't know what they out in their Virginias, but I do know that the vinegar smell is a natural part of fermentation. They may or may not enhance it with something.

tmb152 · Oct 25, 2016

tmb', I think like most Virginias, 5100 responds well to aging, especially if you want to smoke it as a single leaf.

I'm counting on that.

cosmicfolklore · Oct 25, 2016

TMB, I have some of this going back six years old. And, it does not increase in flavor or robustness. It just tends to mellow out even more, which is what happens to Virginias with age. So, this may not be one that you will want to set back.

tmb152 · Oct 25, 2016

I think you're right. My 5100 will be at least 6 mo to a year aged when it come back up in cue, so, it was a nice mellow smoke and I'm sure I'll use it for something, maybe throw a pinch of other things with it. I rarely smoke a tobacco just as it came from the factory.

balkisobrains · Oct 25, 2016

Does 5100 grow age-crystals eventually?

A Newbie Reviews: McC 5100 Red Cake

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