Good evening fellow pipers. My mind has been set on trying some McClelland Christmas Cheer recently since I've never had the pleasure. Honestly, I never favored McClelland Virginias until I smoked 40th anniversary, so I was unaware of their quality. My experience with red and black and other virginias wasn't up to par. I don't have a lot or money, so I was wondering if you could make a suggestion on which Christmas Cheer was the most memorable, and then I'll try to find it on. Any help is much appreciated. Thank you.
Calling All Christmas Cheer Experts
- Thread starter erhardt85
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That's not the easiest question to answer. Fresh, these blends are good, but they can be a little monochromatic. They need aging to bring out their best. At 20 years of age, these Reds develop an almost caramel-like sweetness. So the older tins, which cost more, will deliver a multilayered flavor. If you don't need to smoke it right away, go for one of the later years and put it away for 10 years. That should be a little less expensive. If you don't want to wait, then look for 1999, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. If you can wait, go for the last two releases, 2016 and 2017.
Or, you can try to find more of the 40th Anniversary blend since you already know that you like it. With some age on it, 40th Anniversary blend is going to be a true monster!
Or, you can try to find more of the 40th Anniversary blend since you already know that you like it. With some age on it, 40th Anniversary blend is going to be a true monster!
Good advice and well received. Thank you. I agree that 40th anniversary will be amazing with time. For my tastes it was pretty amazing fresh. Now I regret not purchasing more than the scant two tins that I did. I have some somewhat rarer McClelland blends, among other things. Maybe I'll attempt a trade once I'm able. Or simply snag what good deals I can find. I'm making an effort to stock my cellar with my favorite GH blends at the moment, but that can wait if opportunity presents itself for more rare finds haha.
Were I to wager a guess, 40th Anniversary was likely meant to be 2018's iteration of CC before the FDA silliness was looming. In 2016 both 2016 and 2017 were simultaneously released and I suspect the crop put up for 2018 was released as 40th.
I wasn't much of a McClelland smoker, with the exception of their Reds and the Reds they produced for McCranie. And boy did I load up on McCranie's, some Christmas Cheers, and later on, the 40th! One taste of their 40th and I knew I had the Red that was perfect for me, the one that I'd been hoping to experience. Good luck with your quest.
I knew about the McClelland closure well before it got announced, but had promised not to say anything so that their regular customers could buy in peace before the hoards of speculators swooped in. It may have been the worst kept secret in the pipe world.
I was already well stocked on McCranie's and Christmas Cheers. But when I got my first couple of tins of the 40th, I was awestruck by it and decided to put some away. Then I heard about McClelland and decided to put more away since it wouldn't be around for very long. Glad I did. I bought it to smoke, and that's what I intend to do with it.
2013 was very enjoyable, and I wish I had more. I smoked my 2013 in 2015, so it had two years of age and it was fantastic. The 2016 blend was okay right out of the tin, but a year later it was much better. I'm hoping it improves to be like 2013 when I get a few more years of age on it.
There are always two sides to a coin. I'm sure that benefitted some people and hurt others. I sure see a lot of people desperate for frog Morton and other blends that didn't get the chance to stock up because of short notice. Of course, that would probably be mostly newer pipe smokers that were unaware of how quickly some things can go away. I have doubts about how many pure speculators there really are. Even with Esoterica I haven't seen that many people with large quantities. Maybe they're just getting better at combatting them. I'm not sure. I've only been around for a couple years.
I really enjoyed Christmas Cheer, and wish I had bought more. But there are lots of good blends out there to try.
That is true. McClelland may stand unique in flavor, but I'm still finding new blends i love. Ennerdale, Glengarry, and Grasmere flakes I'm intent on stockpiling at least a half kilo of each. Glengarry gives me a lot of that sweet bread Carolina flavor I enjoy, without masking of flavor by topping. Need to break into my cr flake and see which I like more before ordering. I don't know what blend would be reminiscent of 40th anniversary, but im happy to have a little. I was lucky enough to load up on the Dunhill blends I favor, which include Elizabethan and dark flake. I suppose the loss is less keenly felt when surrounded by such delicious blends haha.
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