McClelland Christmas Cheer 2006 – Pipe Tobacco Reviews
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Bob - Dec 2, 2009
- 2 min read
By Bob Tate
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This excerpt is taken from the paper insert inside of the lid of the tin:
This 2006 blend is made with a special selection of ripe orange-red flue cured Virginia from the Old Belt crop of 1999. Picked at its peak, it is rich in flavor and naturally sweet and mellow.
The tin aroma of this blend has a really tangy vinegary scent. I do agree with a lot of other people about the tin aroma smelling a lot like ketchup or BBQ sauce. The moisture level is a bit on the moist side and some drying time would not hurt. This blend is a broken flake (Fig. 1). I took a few of the chunks and fully rubbed them out (Fig. 2) and loaded my pipe.
On the charring light, I was greeted by a nice sweet Virginia taste with a hint of tang to it. The aroma was also of a nice high quality tobacco smell. There is no evidence of the vinegary, ketchup tin aroma to this once it is set alight. I finished lighting the pipe and settled in for a nice relaxing smoke.
At the start of the bowl, there is a really nice natural sweetness from the Virginias. There is also a very faint hint of tanginess to it. The tanginess is hardly noticeable with the sweetness being predominate. It seems to be there just enough to break up some of the sweetness a little bit. By the half way point, the sweetness faded out some and the bowl became a little more balanced out between the sweetness and tanginess. The two mingled together very nicely and the taste stayed the same throughout the rest of the bowl.
This blend is amazing! It already has 3 years age on it and I can tell that this blend will age amazingly well for many more years. It smokes cool and doesn’t bite and has a great flavor to it. I love this blend and have some more cellared away. If you love Virginia blends, you will definitely love this blend. If you can still find Christmas Cheer 2006 buy as many tins as you can! You won’t regret it. I Highly Recommend it!
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Fig. 1 |
Fig. 2 |
Brand: McClelland
Blend: Christmas Cheer 2006
Description: Handblended, premium pressed Virginia flake tobaccos. A fine vintage, naturally sweet, in limited quantity.
Country: US
Cut: Broken Flake
Tobaccos: Virginia
Strength: Medium
Taste: Sweet, Tangy
Room Note: Pleasant to Tolerable
McClelland Christmas Cheer – Click Here to Order Current Version Now!
McClelland Christmas Cheer – Click Here to Order Current Version Now!
Written by Bob
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