McClelland Dilemma - To try or Not?

[Chalaw87]

Short story - Ive never smoked any McClelland blends: should I try the McClelland tins I have or not?

So I didnt start exploring different brands, blends, or varietals, and I definitely didnt start cellaring, until after McClelland closed up shop. I didnt know much about any brands or blends so I wanted to try as many different things as I could to see what my likes and dislikes are. Ive found Im much more of a Virginia, VAPer, and quality vanilla aromatic fan, although I do like some orientals and rarely an English blend. Ive heard nothing but rave reviews of McClelland since they stopped production, especially about the magic McClelland had with Virginias.
Ive managed to snag 6-8 different different tins of McClelland since they stopped production. This brings me to my dilemma: should I start smoking my sparse stash of McClelland, knowing that I will unlikely be able replace what Ive got, or not smoke any McClelland ever (ignorance is bliss type mentality)? Ill be curious to see how many replies I get along of the lines of "dont smoke your tins, send/sell the tins to me". Ha
Im leaning towards smoking what Ive got, and trying to collect more McClelland tins, when and if, I could find/afford them. My to-try list for McClelland includes: 5100, Avenue Blend TQ, CORPS Vanilla, Deep Hallow, and Vanilla Black Cavendish.
Any insights or suggestions would be appreciated. Im thankful to be a part of this awesome community.

 

[TheIronMonkey]

I would say smoke them and enjoy them. We never know if we'll see tomorrow.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Avenue Blend TQ, CORPS Vanilla, and Vanilla Black Cavendish are unremarkable aromatics though they are decent. 5100 Red Cake is a straight Red Virginia blending tobacco that can add some pop to other blends but is okay by itself. Deep Hollow would be my favorite of what you have. A nice semi-aromatic with a bit of apple and vanilla going on. I say smoke them all.

 

[DanWil84]

Wait, you have tobacco and you question yourself smoking it? What is happening to the world!? On a serious note, smoke the tins. You can always decide to smoke it now and then, 2 bowls a month when you smoke doing absolutely nothing and you can concentrate on smoking itself.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The longer I smoke, the more I find that I can enjoy just about any blend... except aromatics... most aromatics anyways. Smoke them. How will you know whether they improve with age, if you never smoked them to begin with.

 

[sablebrush52]

Smoke them. I've smoked plenty of last tins of out of production blends over the years and have no regrets.

 

[coys]

I know nothing of McClelland, sadly never got to try them. I would sell them to someone who appreciates them, and use the proceeds to stock a very nice cellar. There's a lot I still need to try and developing my personal taste and palette will provide more enjoyment over the long run than just a few tins that someone else will love more, to me.

 

[AJL67]

Are you looking for validation to sell them or for samples to try, definitely one of those odd vibe threads.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'd smoke them. It's not like you can sell them for enough to retire on. Open a tin and have a pint mason jar or mylar bag handy to transfer the contents to. That way, you can take as long as you wish to smoke and enjoy the tin.

 

[SBC]

I think that to suggest an answer, it would be good to consider
(a) your financial situation
(b) your priorities

If finances are tight, and if you'd rather have many available tobaccos than a few unicorns, then that might incline you one way.

If finances are not a concern and you've got (or can get without stretching) a well stocked cellar, well then that might incline you another way.

If at this point you're wanting to build a cellar but are low on funds, and if you got these for close to MSRP and could now get $100 a tin for these, then I could see selling them and using the profit to stock a guilt-free (because functionally free) cellar.

That's what I did with some of my McC tins. But that reflects my financial position and my priorities.

If you do decide to smoke them, then (as others have mentioned), there's no need to burn right through them. They'll keep for many years in mason jars -- save your favorites for special occasions.

I keep a few jars of Christmas Cheer, FMC, as well as almost equally unavailable non-McC like Penzance and Pelican, etc. for special occasions only: Birthday, Christmas, Easter, etc. At that rate, I'll have these tobaccos (which are otherwise above my pay grade) for years to come.

 

[Chalaw87]

Are you looking for validation to sell them or for samples to try, definitely one of those odd vibe threads.

I dont mean to be odd. Im actually just wanting some opinions. I dont have many friends that are into smoking pipes, so its hard to find people to bounce ideas off of. As far as the blends I mentioned, I was hoping to get some comments to determine how much time/money/effort I should put in to trying to find them. My original question about smoking my McClelland tins came after I listened to the McClelland episode on the Country Squire podcast.

 

[mortonbriar]

Just smoke the ones you have, and then find things in production you like to smoke. Enjoy each bowl for what it is.

 

[bullet08]

If you got 'em, smoke 'em.

 

[prairiedruid]

Smoke them and see if you like them. If half way through the tin you don't like it you can still sell the remainder for more than you originally paid for it.

 

[fireground_piper]

At least try them. You might even find out you like your other blends more. That’s what’s I found when I was given a sample of one that I wanted to compare to a C&D favorite of mine. It made me pause jumping into the secondary market for more.

 

[strave19]

My advice, and I sometimes remind myself of this when it comes to rare/expensive tobacco:

Sometimes the hype and the build up to it gets out of hand. "If only I could get a tin of this or that!", whether it is esoterica, mcclelland, whatever. Crack one of them, whichever you think will be the best for you, smoke a couple of bowls. I can almost guarantee that you will chill out about it, and realize that it is just tobacco. Sure it might be good, or unique, but it isn't going to be some life changing experience. At that point, you will be able to take a more reasonable approach to this decision.

If I were you, I'd crack the deep hollow, realize that its good, but it isn't going to change your life one way or another whether or not you ever find or smoke more, and then probably sell the rest and get a dozen tins of something else to try. Break the spell by just lighting it up, that's what it is for anyway.

 

[jpberg]

Smoke them, and discover for yourself why so many McC blends sat on shelves for so long.
You have the opportunity to slay a rather large dragon.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I dont mean to be odd. Im actually just wanting some opinions. I dont have many friends that are into smoking pipes, so its hard to find people to bounce ideas off of. As far as the blends I mentioned, I was hoping to get some comments to determine how much time/money/effort I should put in to trying to find them. My original question about smoking my McClelland tins came after I listened to the McClelland episode on the Country Squire podcast.

McClelland made lots of excellent blends but the ones that set them apart, at least IMHO, were their Virginia blends. You didn't say what you already had but I would recommend trying the 40th Anniversary, the Christmas Cheers (whichever years you have or can lay your hands on), the numbered Virginia Blends (Virginia No 22, 24, 25, 27), possibly Blackwoods Flake and St James Woods (IMHO, one of the top 2 or 3 VaPer blends ever). 3 Oaks and Tudor Castle are also rather special but that's just MHO.

 

[Ahi Ka]

start a box pass

 

[BriarsAndBottles]

I’d say smoke em. I got into the hobby after McClelland shut their doors, and my fomo got the best of me. I’ve accumulated probably 100 or so in the last couple years, and on the hunt for more. I use TR as a resource and was able to get pretty much everything rated 3.5 or above.