Christmas Cheer - A Vertical Flight

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Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
I am very pleased with my Christmas Cheer cellaring endeavour. I finally managed to find a 2011 tin. As a result, I now have at least one unopened tin from every year from 2000 through 2013. I doubt I will be able to go back any farther than 2000 - just too hard to find the stuff.
1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2000

1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2001

1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2002

2 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2003

1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2004

3 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2005

2 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2006

4 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2007

6 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2008

1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2009

5 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2010

1 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2011

12 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2012

12 McClelland Christmas Cheer 2013

 

northernneil

Lifer
Jun 1, 2013
1,390
1
Impressive collection sir. Now the real question, are these to smoke or to collect? If they are to smoke, do you have an anniversary date in mind? For example, when they turn 10 years old.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Cool beans, Dean. It should be pointed out that some of those vintages were well aged when they went into the tin. The 2004, for example, is from the '94 crop. So those leaves are 20 years old, already.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
Definitely to smoke or trade. I had three of the 2003, so I smoked one of those at Christmas. I will probably keep smoking a tin at Christmas of the oldest stuff of which I have multiple tins in order the keep at least one of each year as long as possible.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
Good point pitch. It was the tin of 2003 that you gifted me that I smoked at Christmas. It was so delicious that I bought 2 more of that vintage from Dick Silverman (may he RIP) just before Christmas. I do wonder where Dick's stock of old tins will end up.

 

escioe

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 31, 2013
702
4
Personal experience leads me to believe you should start in on this rather than waiting for some special occasion that is never going to happen.
My buddy built a 1993-2013 vertical of Sierra Nevada's Bigfoot Barleywine, a beer we all love, and we never could find a day to sit down and do the huge tasting it would require. He ended up trading it away.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
The 2008 was my first CC, it wasn't selling at my local B&M at the time and collecting dust so they popped it and sold it in bulk. It's very good. But yeah I'd start with 2000 and work my way through one each christmas season.

 

yazamitaz

Lifer
Mar 1, 2013
1,757
1
I plan on doing this going forward with MANY tobaccos. I bought 4 of the 2013, popped one and will let the others age. I will buy 4 of each going forward and do the same. I have ( very lazily I may add) looked for 3 or so of each going back to 2010 but it didn't seem cost effective to do so.
Congrats on that collection Dean. It might be cool to have 4-5 bowls one day over the holidays and smoking 4-5 different years and do a vertical tasting, much like I do with wine.

 

derfargin

Lifer
Mar 3, 2014
2,028
28
Kennesaw, GA
I noticed that peck when I was looking at your celler online. I was planning on doing that too starting with my 2013 tins I picked up. While it's not quite the endeavour you've accomplished, you gotta start somewhere..I've just got 2 to keep at the moment, and one to smoke. I'll pick up a 3rd because I like to have things in three-zees. Helps with the minor OCD of mine.

 

andrew

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,042
400
It's a damn good smoke as it is, and already has 5 years of age on it. I've always popped the tin when I got it, but now that I'm ordering online I have a lot of tobacco going, so I'm more waiting to finish other stuff then letting it age more. It's always top notch Va, I'm sure it will age great but it's not like I'm going to wait 10 years before I smoke it. Hopefully though I'll have tins that will reach 10 years of age. Even if I were to quit buying tobacco and my cellar was complete, the one tobacco I couldn't pass up would be the yearly christmas cheer offering.

 

elliott

Might Stick Around
Apr 21, 2014
99
0
Just picked up a tin of the 2013 CC and when I get paid I'm going to grab 2 more for my very small cellar, since P&C seem to be the only guys who have it to my knowledge and I want to pick up a few before they sell out also.

 

troutface

Lifer
Oct 26, 2012
2,328
11,362
Colorado
It's always a straight Virginia from a hand picked crop. McClelland doesn't try to blend it to keep the exact same flavor from year to year, like you would with a typical blend. That being said the flavor is somewhat similar year to year. Like most tobaccos, it is already 4 to 10 years old before it is pressed and tinned.

 

northernneil

Lifer
Jun 1, 2013
1,390
1
I have also been collecting the Christmas Cheer blends dating back to 2004. My game plan is to smoke each one when they turn 10 years old. I have one for each year, with a healthier stockpile of the 2012 and 2013 blends.

 

fmgee

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 26, 2014
922
4
I finally picked up my first tin today, a 2013 vintage. My local guy has a number of tins at a pretty good price (for Canada! $74.95. His 2014 is priced at $86.95) I have yet to try any straight virginia and it was a toss up between Christmas Cheer and Blackwood Flake. The fact that he had the 2013 sold me on trying this first. So I am pretty excited to give it a try later this evening.
He told me had started to collect it right from 1992 and then a couple of years ago he finally started smoking it from tin 1 all the way to the present and he is only left with empty tins.

 
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