Ah, That McClellands Smell

[verporchting]

Opened an old (circa 2008?) tin of Royal Cajun Ebony and got that never forgotten ketchup smell that we all loved so much.

I miss McClellands but I’m sure happy to still have the chance to enjoy some from time to time. In a few days I’ll be opening a vintage Christmas Cheer tin from my cellar. Haven’t selected which one yet but I’m sure it won’t disappoint whichever year I choose.

Hope you are all having a great day! Happy holidays.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I too miss that smell, and thankfully I still have some Christmas Cheer along with a few other McClelland blends left in my cellar. This time a year I like to enjoy a few bowls of Christmas Cheer, and appreciate each bowl I smoke.

 

[andrew]

Royal Cajun series was very underrated. You never heard about it

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

I'd heard others describe the ketchup smell and when I finally got my hands on some Mcclelland it was exactly as they described. Didn't translate into the taste, though. It was some Christmas Cheer 2014 and it tasted amazing. I've still got a little bit left in the jar

 

[Zamora]

When I was determining whether I wanted to try pipe smoking or not I watched a lot of YTPC stuff and started putting together a list of stuff a wanted to try, Frog Morton and a few other McC blends were high on there because of how much they got praised by different YTPC channels. I was very disappointed to learn it was already a few years too late by then.

 

[Sigmund]

I get a ketsup flavor from it but its subtle enough not to be a bother and it fades during parts of the smoke. I dont know if my 2009 Beacon is so good because it was orginally or because its aged so much. I cant remember it originally.

 

[BriarBrook]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but what is a currently available blend that comes closest to matching this aroma/taste...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but what is a currently available blend that comes closest to matching this aroma/taste...

Unfortunately NONE… don’t let them fool you into thinking that Sutliff stuff is close, because they just spray vinegar on it.

@Sigmund Pebble Cut and Beacon were my go to’s for years. As well as the whole Blackneys’s process line.

 

[tmc]

Unfortunately NONE… don’t let them fool you into thinking that Sutliff stuff is close, because they just spray vinegar on it.

@Sigmund Pebble Cut and Beacon were my go to’s for years. As well as the whole Blackneys’s process line.

Is it possible that McClelland also used vinegar in their process, or is that signature aroma exclusively the result of fermentation during aging? If the McClelland aroma was consistent enough to be a defining characteristic it seems likely that it was a result of their recipe and not a byproduct of a natural process, which I would think would have a lot of variation.

Sorry if this has been discussed in the past, I’m not interested enough to search the archives.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Is it possible that McClelland also used vinegar in their process, or is that signature aroma exclusively the result of fermentation during aging? If the McClelland aroma was consistent enough to be a defining characteristic it seems likely that it was a result of their recipe and not a byproduct of a natural process, which I would think would have a lot of variation.

Sorry if this has been discussed in the past, I’m not interested enough to search the archives.

According to interviews on the PM radio show, discussions with Greg Pease, and what Mike has said… the acetic nature of their tobaccos comes from a curing of the reds and aging with a bacterial infection (similar to what causes natural vinegar) and fermenting of the leaf. Mike was very hands on with the special crop he had hand picked. He was involved with it from the green leaf till packaging. Whereas most places buy already cured leaf and start from that.

The difference between what McClellands made and the stuff Sutliff was giving us, is very different. You know how there are different vinegars? Apple cider vinegar is infected cider, rice wine vinegar uses the rice as food for the infection. Tobaccos that are the food for the infection taste and smell different than just spraying an acetic compound on already cured leaf.

But, if one has no other comparisons, then the Sutliff stuff is a good C- replacement. But, I find the Sutliff stuff can have an obnoxiously overwhelming aroma, similar to used cat littler, fresh from the factory. I would advise letting the Sutliff RC stuff air out and dry a bit before jarring it up. If, one just had to try it.

 

[Sigmund]

For me the vinegar or ketsup vibe isnt yhe attraction. I like it despite that. I imagine its part of what gives the depth and complexity

 

[cosmicfolklore]

For me the vinegar or ketsup vibe isnt yhe attraction. I like it despite that. I imagine its part of what gives the depth and complexity

Yeh, I don’t actually taste the aroma at all after the bowl has gotten going, but I do with the Sutliff stuff. The McClelland stuff translates to a sweetness in the smoke.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Pickles, originally made with a brine that gets a bacterial infection, so that the vinegar of pickles comes from the pickles with no vinegar added. But, then grandmas started canning their own pickles and chow chow and peppers in actual vinegar, distilled vinegar mostly. After a few generations people forgot that these canned foods originally didn’t need or have vinegar added. And, the taste is different.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I'm sure this has been asked many times, but what is a currently available blend that comes closest to matching this aroma/taste...

Several claiming, none close.

 

[LeafErikson]

I switched from cigarettes to the pipe a year or so after McClelland closed up shop and never tried any. The resale market is too darned expensive for the stuff.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Smoking through a tin of McClelland 40th Anniversary right now. The smell from a McClelland Virginia's tin is the best there is in the tobacco world. Nothing else even comes close. I bought some Sutliff 2024 Cringle Flake and have smoked a few bowls. Comparing it to McClelland is like comparing a Yugo to a BMW.

 

[tmc]

According to interviews on the PM radio show, discussions with Greg Pease, and what Mike has said… the acetic nature of their tobaccos comes from a curing of the reds and aging with a bacterial infection (similar to what causes natural vinegar) and fermenting of the leaf. Mike was very hands on with the special crop he had hand picked. He was involved with it from the green leaf till packaging. Whereas most places buy already cured leaf and start from that.

The difference between what McClellands made and the stuff Sutliff was giving us, is very different. You know how there are different vinegars? Apple cider vinegar is infected cider, rice wine vinegar uses the rice as food for the infection. Tobaccos that are the food for the infection taste and smell different than just spraying an acetic compound on already cured leaf.

But, if one has no other comparisons, then the Sutliff stuff is a good C- replacement. But, I find the Sutliff stuff can have an obnoxiously overwhelming aroma, similar to used cat littler, fresh from the factory. I would advise letting the Sutliff RC stuff air out and dry a bit before jarring it up. If, one just had to try it.

Thanks for the info. I’m still working my way through the back catalog, but only 2 episodes away from the Mike McNeil episode. That’s what I was getting at. The use of acetobacter applied to the curing tobacco to start/aid fermentation resulting in the acidic vinegar aroma vs. a sugar and vinegar casing sauce. This sounds like the process Lambic brewers in Belgium use to “infect” their beer during the fermentation process.

I have had some modern red Virginia blends that are clearly topped with vinegar that I don’t really care for. I need to spring for a few tins of Christmas Cheer to calibrate my palette and see what I missed out on.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

Currently smoking some 2017 Christmas Cheer. It will be a sad day when I'm out of it, so I smoke it sparingly.

As for comparisons with Sutliff. No there is nothing that matches with McClelland. McClelland 5100 Red Cake was one of my favorite blends; while Sutliff 515RC-1 isn't a match, it's the closest thing I've tried, and I do enjoy it. It's one of my go to blends now days, but it sounds like it to will be gone in the future.

 

[verporchting]

It’s been wonderful smoking this tin, sadly it’s almost gone. Definitely enjoyed this one! In a couple days I’ll open and smoke a tin of 2014 Christmas Cheer to follow the last few pipes of this one. A nice way to end the year.

 

[wyfbane]

I am blessed to have a bit of McClelland stashed away. Not enough, but more than many. It is magical stuff. I never tasted one of their blends I did not enjoy.

Somehow I don't imagine people waxing nostalgic as much for Sutliff, though they do make some fine blends.