McClellan Christmas Cheer

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finmgr

Lurker
Mar 9, 2014
3
0
I look forward each year to McClellan Christmas Cheer. Now that that is no longer an option, does anyone have an alternative tobacco to Christmas Cheer they can suggest?

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,859
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
McClelland's red Virginias were unique to them. I don't know of any substitutes for Christmas Cheer. McClelland's 40th Anniversary Blend was in the same vein, but it's also out of production. There's a huge vacuum in the available flavor profiles caused by the loss of these blends.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
The last year CC was offered was 2016 when the 2016 and 2017 iterations were released simultaneously. As stated above, it can still be found for a premium, but as many other favorites I've seen vanish over the decades, it's better to mourn their loss and find a new favorite.

 

ccdeere

Might Stick Around
May 15, 2015
80
2
Phoenix, AZ
Make some friends at.a local pipe club...Im sure someone has some stashed...I know I do. Will break one of them out this Christmas....no substitute for McClelland however...they were an entity unto themselves.

 

noseflute

Lurker
Jun 25, 2018
44
1
Mike McNeil said he stopped McClelland production because of his unability to find VA according to his standards anymore. I understood he was specifically mentioning the Red Virginia.
Could someone tell what exactly happened to red VA ?

Is it a change in the production? Is it due to a climate change (this regularly happens)?

Why does this affect only red VA and not other VAs?

 

whiteburleydude

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 4, 2017
144
13
I'm not sure if we will ever know McClelland's whole story. Something seems left out of the explanation of why they closed up shop. C&D is still putting out 200+ blends, many with red Virginia, and I haven't heard anyone complaining about their quality. Did they get outbid and loose their supply chain? That's my guess.

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,150
32,928
Detroit
There is a long article about McClelland closing up shop, with whys and wherefors,in the current issue of Pipes & Tobacco magazine. It has nothing to do with losing their supply. If you read the article, you will see what is going on.
I doubt if you can compare C&D - they do a lot more with burley than McClelland.
There are several Christmas blends out every year that are worth trying.

And none of them is a single crop red Virginia. Comparing them to Christmas Cheer is like comparing apples and oranges.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
And none of them is a single crop red Virginia. Comparing them to Christmas Cheer is like comparing apples and oranges.
Agreed, CC is a lost gem.
img_20171225_011939.jpg


 

Civil War

Lifer
Mar 6, 2018
1,552
396
And none of them is a single crop red Virginia. Comparing them to Christmas Cheer is like comparing apples and oranges.
Agreed, wasn't trying to make that comparison.
but as many other favorites I've seen vanish over the decades, it's better to mourn their loss and find a new favorite.
Just noting that there are many other types of "fruit" out there come Christmas time.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Any quality Virginia blend is specific to a year's harvest and will age with its vintage over time and provide a Christmas Cheer experience, although perhaps not that special McCellands version that was their trademark. Blends are annual and seasonal and always come with that once-in-a-lifetime dimension, despite the intended consistency.

 

sablebrush52

The Bard Of Barlings
Jun 15, 2013
19,632
44,859
Southern Oregon
jrs457.wixsite.com
Any quality Virginia blend is specific to a year's harvest and will age with its vintage over time and provide a Christmas Cheer experience, although perhaps not that special McCellands version that was their trademark.
It's a comforting thought, but I don't believe it's accurate. Most commercial blends aren't single crop. Christmas Cheer varied from year to year. Most commercial blends are made from a blend of crops from several years in order to reduce variations. Christmas Cheer was a made from a particularly good single crop of Red that went through a long period of aging before it was tinned. No one can do that anymore thanks to the FDA Rules. C&D has some good reds, but they're nothing like McClelland's.

 
Jan 28, 2018
12,955
134,678
67
Sarasota, FL
There was a time, not so long ago, that I thought the only tobacco worth smoking was made by McClelland. Now, if the brand suddenly came back, I'm not sure I'd buy much of it (if any). If you like Virginias, buy any number of excellent Samuel Gawith blends. Get some F&T CVP, Vintage or Brown Flake. Capstan gold or blue. Numerous Mac Baren blends. GLP Union Square. That's just to name a very few. It's a waste of time lamenting over tobacco blends no longer available.
IMHO, is silly to spend big money chasing those unicorns when there are so many superb blends available. With that said, having been a McClelland fanatic, I understand. I'm simply sharing my own experience where, by branching out, I enjoy pipe smoking so much more now.

 

uperepik

(Oldtown)
Mar 8, 2017
533
14
Embers, I love that pic. I only smoked Christmas cheer once, good stuff, I think that’s the best looking Weaver in your collection.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
Thanks! I commissioned that one expressly for a Christmas pipe, and all that gets smoked in it is CC and Red Cake.

 

whiteburleydude

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 4, 2017
144
13
I just want to say I'm a fan of McClelland tobacco, I did read the article about how farmers no longer will hand pick VA tobacco, and that leads to machine harvested unripe leaves. It seems McClelland is blaming most of their problems on the government not supplementing tobacco growers and the new FDA regulations. Weren't those FDA regulations put on hold? Also, I read that governments involvement in tobacco farming, and the payments to supplement growers, was eliminated in Sept 2004. There's been a lot of Christmas cheer smoked since 2004.

 
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