When Nothing Tastes Good - Open a McClelland Tin

[saltedplug]

Guys willing to chat about unobtainiom. Makes me smile.

I was aware that MC put out good tobacco but never got on the bandwagon except for a tin of Christmas Cheer, which provided some of the best VA smokes I had; which experience faded given distractions.

 

[Papamique]

In around 30 years of smoking a pipe I NEVER tried a McClelland blend. I guess I’ll never have to know what I’m missing. Sometimes it’s good to be ignorant.

 

[logs]

I NEVER tried a McClelland blend. I guess I’ll never have to know what I’m missing. Sometimes it’s good to be ignorant.

Their blends certainly had unforgettable character. I guess the question is how much do you like good Virginias and how much do you like vinegar on them? If the answer is "a lot" then it might be worth locating a few tins. For me they were always an "only if I'm in the mood" type of brand. Yeah I miss them but I miss Dunhill more.

 

[jaytex1969]

I am slowly working through a tin of Tawny Flake that sable claus gave me for Christmas.

My first experience with McClelland's as a noob was horrid. Now that I almost know how to smoke, I'm appreciating it much more.

Ad they say, smoke 'em if you got 'em.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Something about that stale ketchup really moves me.

No one quite nailed Virginias quite like McClelland's.

Coincidentally, I just found a secret stash that was almost too secret for myself. In a broken freezer in my basement, a hamper was found.I guess good things happen when I get off my ass and finally get my spring cleaning done.

 

[BarrelProof]

Something about that stale ketchup really moves me.

No one quite nailed Virginias quite like McClelland's.

Coincidentally, I just found a secret stash that was almost too secret for myself. In a broken freezer in my basement, a hamper was found.I guess good things happen when I get off my ass and finally get my spring cleaning done.

Hey man,

I think I accidentally left my hamper in one of your freezers. Crazy story, I know. But, if you could go ahead and mail it back to me with the contents still inside, I’d really appreciate it.



BP

 

[Chasing Embers]

Something about that stale ketchup really moves me.

No one quite nailed Virginias quite like McClelland's.

Coincidentally, I just found a secret stash that was almost too secret for myself. In a broken freezer in my basement, a hamper was found.I guess good things happen when I get off my ass and finally get my spring cleaning done.

Newbie.

 

[coming to_falling too]

Newbie.

View attachment 29100

That's where I put my stash. Thanks for finding it, embers, You're a good guy!

 

[Chasing Embers]

That's where I put my stash. Thanks for finding it, embers, You're a good guy!

You should see the rest of it.

 

[coming to_falling too]

You should see the rest of it.

I can only imagine!

 

[dino]

At least once a week I have a bowl of Samovar, my personal Nirvana. I have enough of Mike and Mary's blends and blending tobaccos to last me. And, though I have many other brands in my "cellar" I always return to, what I think were, the best.

 

[Saintwilliam]

Lol I don’t know why I read these threads....

 

[Saintwilliam]

I'm a 95% Virginia smoker, and have been struggling to get good taste this week. Don't know if it's allergies or abrupt increase in humidity, but my reliable blends started tasting rough for lack of better words. I even deep cleaned all my regular pipes on Monday. I branched out to some DFK and burley blends, but they were even worse.

So, I said fook it, and revisited the Mothership by opening a tin of McClelland's Butera Golden Cake. Straight from the tin humidity, light it up and I'm met with wonderfully sweet, tangy, and smooth smoke. One less tin in my cellar now, but I bought them to smoke. Reiterates to me that I have found new blends I enjoy from many brands, but nothing yet that matches my old McClelland favorites. (I know, cry me a river).

Just lamenting the loss of my favorite brand for 20+ years and celebrating the genius of Mike & Mary. Feel free to pull up a stool, crack open a saved tin, and join the party!

The OP is a wonderful reflection of appreciation

thank you

 

[saltedplug]

Yes, MC VAs do have a significantly vinegar/ketchup nose. But although the vinegar smell and the taste of the tobacco work in concert, if smell dominates taste, if the smell of vinegar dominates the tobacco smoke, the smoker is concentrating too much on smell.

 

[Casual]

I’ll just reach into my McClelland stash and…

 

[logs]

Yes, MC VAs do have a significantly vinegar/ketchup nose. But although the vinegar smell and the taste of the tobacco work in concert, if smell dominates taste, if the smell of vinegar dominates the tobacco smoke, the smoker is concentrating too much on smell.

Concentrating too much?? I don't know about that. The smell was entirely unavoidable. Vinegar was the Achilles's heel of their blends.

My thought is that tin note is an important part of the pipe smoking experience. Part of that joy is smelling the different constituent tobaccos and their topping when you open a new tin. None of that was possible with McClelland. With the exception of a few their oriental blends, every tin smelled the same. Vinegar masked everything.

It's like a waitress telling a restaurant patron they can order chocolate cake or boiled lobster but either way it will only taste like onions.

 

[gervais]

Concentrating too much?? I don't know about that. The smell was entirely unavoidable. Vinegar was the Achilles's heel of their blends.

My thought is that tin note is an important part of the pipe smoking experience. Part of that joy is smelling the different constituent tobaccos and their topping when you open a new tin. None of that was possible with McClelland. With the exception of a few their oriental blends, every tin smelled the same. Vinegar masked everything.

It's like a waitress telling a restaurant patron they can order chocolate cake or boiled lobster but either way it will only taste like onions.

Do you think it was a casing / topping they added, or somehow naturally occurring

 

[logs]

Do you think it was a casing / topping they added, or somehow naturally occurring

I don't know enough about tobacco production to say for sure but my guess is that it was casing.

 

[jeff540]

Concentrating too much?? I don't know about that. The smell was entirely unavoidable. Vinegar was the Achilles's heel of their blends.

My thought is that tin note is an important part of the pipe smoking experience. Part of that joy is smelling the different constituent tobaccos and their topping when you open a new tin. None of that was possible with McClelland. With the exception of a few their oriental blends, every tin smelled the same. Vinegar masked everything.

It's like a waitress telling a restaurant patron they can order chocolate cake or boiled lobster but either way it will only taste like onions.

I did detect some wonderful tangy BBQ like overtones (or faint ketchup) in some of their blends, but I always attributed it to the red Virginia fermentation once the blends were canned. I never really noticed it in the bulk offerings, nor in those blends with a greater portion of bright or lemon Virginia. But, it could be just my taste buds.

 

[renfield]

As much as people used to rag on the ketchup/vinegar nose I’ve never noticed it in the taste much beyond the charring light. Sutliff 515RC-1, on the other hand, tastes like vinegar well into the bowl.

The distinctive aroma when cracking open a McClelland tin causes a Pavlovian drool response in me.