It's worse than that. That tang in their red virginia crumble cakes is sodium diacetate. It's a food additive that gives slaty-sour flavor and also a preservative. It was ubiquitous in the tobacco industry and Sutliiff used it liberally. Ever notice that metallic sour note in their aromatics cavendishes?
Ah, That McClellands Smell
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Nothing made directly by Sutliff anyway, but if any SPC, Kramer's, or such go away I'm sure people will. People are probably really going to miss Hearth And Home
Interesting. It’s probably safe to assume all leaf is treated with this or similar preservatives/fungicides by the farmers. You say it was used, is something else used now instead of sodium diacetate?
Sodium Diacetate
Sodium Diacetate | C4H7NaO4 | CID 23662384 - structure, chemical names, physical and chemical properties, classification, patents, literature, biological activities, safety/hazards/toxicity information, supplier lists, and more.
pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
No, not the farmers. It's added in manufacture.Interesting. It’s probably safe to assume all leaf is treated with this or similar preservatives/fungicides by the farmers. You say it was used, is something else used now instead of sodium diacetate?
View attachment 357834
Sodium Diacetate
Sodium Diacetate | C4H7NaO4 | CID 23662384 - structure, chemical names, physical and chemical properties, classification, patents, literature, biological activities, safety/hazards/toxicity information, supplier lists, and more.
I see Pipestuds all the time selling Christmas Cheer for $100. This is certainly more expensive than when it retailed. But, when you look at the cost of some of the higher end cigars out there, $100 for a big tin isn’t so bad.
And the Cuban Cigar prices, talk about some extremely high prices, it makes the $100 tin of McClelland's seem like peanuts.
@hoosierpipeguy I thought the 2024 Cringle Flake was made with McClelland VAs?
And the Cuban Cigar prices, talk about some extremely high prices, it makes the $100 tin of McClelland's seem like peanuts.
@hoosierpipeguy I thought the 2024 Cringle Flake was made with McClelland VAs?
Yeah Cuban prices keep getting more and more outrageous, for some brands a single stick costs the same as a box of non Cubans. By most accounts Cuban quality control has gone down the drain in recent years but they prices because people will pay a premium for a legacy. So while McC tins are still more than I'm currently willing to pay they're pretty reasonable especially considering they're long discontinued.
That's the rumor but there's a lot more to the McClelland tin note than just the raw ingredients.
The one thing they definitely did a superior job at was packaging. The recent post of a tin of Christmas Cheer on the opening a tin thread makes me miss that level of care and attention in packaging. The descriptions and illustrations on the cards in the tins seem to be a thing of the past. All of the tins I’ve opened have been sloppy, at best, and you’re luck if you get a partially accurate description of the contents.
I knew I should have ignored this thread. All this carrying on about magic in a tin is going to cost me a couple hundred bucks…
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It was their processing that was the secret sauce and delivered the unique tin note. That's the primary reason nobody else has come close to duplicating McClelland though many have tried.
That’s interesting. When I first bought 5100 I found it fairly flat and tasteless. I couldn’t figure out what all the hubbub was about. Move forward ten years and I decided to revisit a jar that I had put away while packing up my cellar for the move to Oregon. The flavors had exploded with depth and tanginess! It was a completely different experience.Interesting. It’s probably safe to assume all leaf is treated with this or similar preservatives/fungicides by the farmers. You say it was used, is something else used now instead of sodium diacetate?
View attachment 357834
Sodium Diacetate
Sodium Diacetate | C4H7NaO4 | CID 23662384 - structure, chemical names, physical and chemical properties, classification, patents, literature, biological activities, safety/hazards/toxicity information, supplier lists, and more.
@cosmicfolklore grew some Virginias a few years back that turned out bright yellow with a heavy vinegar note. No added chemicals, it just cured that way.
I had cured it in a large jar in a cockpot. It was supposed to simulate color curing in a stack, like cigar leaf. I really liked how it turned out, but I had read about someone else that had done it on a growers blog.
I’ll just be over here crying into my 515-RC-1 that I’ll never have known the true 5100 tang…
I really wish that I could have tried the original Baltic Sobranie and the original Three Nuns.
Smoking on some 24 year old McC no.24 right now, when this tin is gone I’ll pony up $100 for another, nothing comes close. I have a 20 year old tin of Hal O’ the Wynd that comes pretty close actually. Tobacco was just better then I guess. So addictingly sweet and the oils from the smoke just stay pleasingly on your palate for awhile making you want to smoke another bowl.
5100 was kind of okay. It was just a blender but when McClelland used it in their blends is when it really shined.