MClelland Cellars

[Chasing Embers]

I've got one tin of 2009 Christmas Cheer, and it's the only McClelland I plan on buying especially with prices now. Eventually I'll break into it on a rainy day and get to see what all the hype was about, but I think that day is still a few years down the line.

Don't wait too long, the older the Virginia, the faster it degrades after opening.

 

[tmcg81]

I started smoking a pipe shortly after McClelland stopped operating, and being so new to pipe smoking, I had no idea about anything pipe tobacco related. I remember seeing something about their Navy Cavendish and really wanting to try it, not knowing that they were out of business. I looked on the normal couple of sites for it, and couldn't even find traces of McClelland. I thought "man, this stuff must be RARE, you can find anything on the internet." After a few days of searching I found a tin for sale, and though I don't remember the price, I remember thinking "That's way too much money to spend on pipe tobacco, especially since I can buy a lb of bulk for less than $50," so I didn't buy it. I'm intrigued by all these out of print blends, and wouldn't refuse a bowl if offered, but, you can't miss what you never had, so I'm not really sweating it. I have more blends than I know what to do with, and I have favorites that I can't get enough of that are for the most part readily available. So, I guess more for you guys. One less dude driving up the prices of some leaves in a can.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Those of us on pipe forums is a very tiny minority of pipe smokers. not everyone who smokes a pipe stays informed on brands and blends that come and go. So, we still get an occasional new member that comes here to ask about what happened to McClelland.

 

[karam]

I just had a look out of curiosity at McC tins in a well-known US pipe tobacco shop. All i can say is i spent the same amount for a McC 100g tin on upwards of a kilo of Gawith plugs and ropes just today. I’d have to be far far more well-off than i am now to even consider paying 10x the price.

It really is a cost-benefit analysis, 50g can give me 20 hours of smoking pleasure, so a kilo of tobacco i like means 400 hours.

 

[mortonbriar]

@smokeymo if you ever see a box pass thread I will say this is an excellent way to sample a bowl of something obscure, unavailable or aged. I remember smoking Stonehaven from a box pass and thinking "Well that was a nice smoke, but not something I need to spend any time chasing when I can get other nice virginia flakes much easier". Don't look to me to start a box pass though, I am all the way down in New Zealand so would not be very helpful for most of the forum.

 

[lawdawg]

When I'm smoking FVF, BBF, CVP, Capstan Blue and Gold, and many others, tears aren't running down my face because it isn't Mcclelland. And I get your point and agree with it. You're most often extremely rational.

Well thank you. Of course I consider that a great compliment. I make an effort to stay grounded in my hobbies and remember what they are about fundamentally. The rest is icing on the cake. The unicorns are fun and interesting tangents, but I try to avoid making them the central focus, whether we are talking pipes, bourbon, etc.

 

[krizzose]

I’m happy to have what I have, and it should last me a couple of decades based on my current smoking rate, maybe more. That being said, I wish I had a bit more Navy Cavendish and Classic Samsun, by far my favorite McClelland blends.

 

[Worknman]

The cost of a tin and what one is willing to pay is all relative. People will happily smoke a $12 cigar but think paying $2 for a pipeful of great tobacco from a $80 tin is dumb. That's because they can buy the same amount of tobacco for $10 a tin. But it won't be the same tobacco of course.

So its all relative. If I only had $100 to spend on my cellar, I would buy ten tins at $10/tin, or possibly buy even more in bulk. But if I have $5-10k to spend, I would definitely throw in a few $80-100 tins if I thought it was worth $2 a smoke and the remaining money bought me enough tins at regular price to suffice.

And I happen to think that some of the Mclelland offerings are indeed worth that price. They are unique, no longer in production, and very high quality. It wouldn't be a daily smoke, but definitely worth having on hand for special occasions and when you want to treat yourself.

 

[Swiss Army Knife]

I've got one tin of 1996 McCranies Red Ribbon, one of 2000. I've also got one tin of 2005 Anniversary I bought second hand for about $40 and an empty tin of 2012 Christmas Cheer. I bought it in 2012 when I was practically a child and thought the packaging was nice. It was the first good tobacco I ever smoked. I then proceeded to lose interest in pipes, let the mostly full tin sit on my shelf for years. It had probably dried out completely but I figured it must have gone bad so I trashed it.

Christmas Cheer has been my white whale ever since getting back into the hobby last year.