When Nothing Tastes Good - Open a McClelland Tin

[Chasing Embers]

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

Cosmicfolklore sent me some of his Virginias a few years back that had a heavy vinegar taste and smell. Definitely natural.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Vinegar was the Achilles's heel of their blends.

It's why I bought so many of them.

 

[logs]

Cosmicfolklore sent me some of his Virginias

Where is cosmic these days? Haven't seen him in a while.

 

[sablebrush52]

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

Some of it was fermentation. Some of it was acetic acid used as a mold inhibitor. The vinegar generally evaporated off when smoked. Or you could open a tin a week or two prior to smoking, and vent it for a minute a day to remove the vinegar and reveal the fine Virginia underneath.
I didn't jump on the McClelland bandwagon until fairly late. I liked some of their Grand Orientals and their red Virginias. So I don't have a lot of McClelland cellared, around 30 lbs, but that will do just fine. There are a few of their bulks that I wish I had stocked, or stocked more, but I'm not hurting.

So many other great blends to smoke.

 

[kcghost]

No casing or topping on their Virginia blends, but they did produce a lot of aromatic tobacco. Pipestud.com usually has a few tins for every week. Unfortunately pipestud is down for the next weeks so he can get in compliance with state law for selling tobacco.

 

[saltedplug]

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.

Vinegar or whatever was part of their aging process and to my mind was part of their recipe for success with VAs. Fermentation? I guess some were more sensitive to this. This complaint has been on the forums forever and seems no more justified than bashing Lakelands and pipesandcigars.

 

[logs]

This complaint has been on the forums forever and seems no more justified than bashing Lakelands and pipesandcigars.

I agree it's been going forever and It's a boring debate.. that much is certain. Not imaginary or unjustified but definitely boring. I'll leave it at that.