PCCA Boston 1776

Take your pick of McClelland's Christmas Cheer, mix 50-50 with McClelland's N. 27, and bingo - you have your own personal mix of PCCA's Boston 1776.

It is a Virginia Flake with some Oriental leaf to offer spice and balance. It smokes cool for a Virginia Flake and because the blend was tinned in 1993, the aging made for an incredibly deep and satisfying smoke. One of the Best (hey, maybe the best) Virginia Flakes I've ever put into one of my pipes!

The lead component is the deeply rich, fermented. tangy ripe dark fruity, earthy, woody. lightly citrusy red Virginia which also has a touch of floral and spice. The lighter Virginia provides some tart citrus, light grass and straw, very mild spice, and a rough edge or two. The woody, floral, earthy, spicy, dry Oriental produces an accent of flavor to the mix. The “vinegar” disappears rather quickly. The strength is medium, while the taste level just passes that mark. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. Won’t bite, but a harsh note may await a fast puffer. Needs a light dry time. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a mostly consistent sweet and lightly savory taste from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. Not quite an all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

Typical McClelland but stouter than some of the similar blends from this company. It is very similar to Christmas Cheer, but 1776 has just a wee bit more of everything.

Upon opening the tin, that vinegary aroma almost knocked me to the floor, so I let it dry for a couple of days to get rid of those ethereal oils. It rubs out, packs and lights well, and when lit 1776 will reward you with a full, sweet, tangy VA-aroma; none of that vinegar is present during smoking - thank goodness.

I guess, as a European one has to get used to the McClelland-aroma, I know I have, and therefore I recommend this. If you like Christmas Cheer, I am sure you will love this one - It's hard to get though... Recommended

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark

I got most of a tin of this as a gift from someone who didn't like it. I'm a fan.

The tin note is very pungent of fermentation. Some people say it's vinegar, some ketchup, some bbq sauce. To me it just smells like fermented stuff. The broken flakes were pretty dry in my sample, which is how I like them. It took some work to rub this out. I tried stuffing some flakes in and smoking it like that, but I got much better burns with rubbing it out. The taste is noticeably tangy in the nice way that red VAs can be tangy, which I much prefer to the sweeter end of the VA spectrum. There is apparently a little bit of some oriental leaf here, which I'm guessing contributes to the slight spice that comes through as background radiation.

It'd be nice if this were still around, but I'm not crying about it. Check it out if you get a chance, because it's really good.

My first tin of 1776 was back in 1998 and the blend already had 5 years in the tin. Upon finishing my first bowl, all I could conjure up as a taste comparison was tiramisu with raspberries.

Over the years I've acquired more tins of this wondrous blend and enjoy each bowl as much as that first. Thank you Bob Hamlin and McClelland for creating this and sharing it with us.

Hello all, this is my first review on Tobaccoreviews.com! Let's get to it, shall we? this is a typical McClelland flake blended for the PCCA. it smells like tea in the tin and tastes like tea also. it is a subtle taste but heavenly. my tins were from 1997 and the age contributed to the blooming of crystals and that leather like feel to the tobacco itself. this is a memorable smoke and i wish i had more of it! Unfortunately i smoked them all! If you come across a tin, by all means acquire it and smoke it. it is one of the best all virginia blends i have ever had, not too heavy, not too light, just right.

Just got hold of 3 tins of this venerable weed and it's one where age hasn't completely changed the original flavour line up but deepened and intensified it. The aroma in the tin is still redolent, as an earlier reviewer stated, of McC's Christmas Cheer...that sweet plum, damsons and blackberry scent which just makes my mouth water. The broken flakes are dry enough to load up and light; I have rubbed them out because the rewards are a richer fuller smoke so I have found. And it's when you have lit and started puffing that the true glory of this blend comes through....wafts of intense sweetness, together with a depth rather like a beautiful Burgundy, I could easily get carried away here by my own rhetoric! It is a lovely, lovely smoke....no bite, no roof of the mouth soreness. I guess this is one of those blends that you stumble across that you will always remember with a smile. I don't suppose there can be many tins left if any, but if you are lucky to see one, it'll be worth it I promise.

This is a flake-cut virginia with about 3% turkish, just enough for a little extra spice. Most of the flavor comes from the virginias, which are extremely high-grade (e.g. Christmas Cheer grade) bright red and yellow. This blend is made by McClelland to Hamlin's specification.



My tins are nearly 10 years old now, and the tobacco has darkened considerably -- it's now mostly brown and black, with some light blonde strips (the turkish?) remaining. The flakes are crusted with sugar crystals, almost glassy in parts. The tin aroma is spicy and jammy, with none of that McClelland ketchup aroma.



It rubs out with a little difficulty; after ten years and what with all that sugar, the flakes tend to tear into thick strips. I load the coarser strips into the bottom of the pipe, and rub the rest vigorously between the palms of my hands, which seems to do the trick.



It lights fairly well, again the sugar causes a bit of difficulty. Once it settles down, 1776 becomes a smooth, spicy smoke. It tastes a bit like Christmas Cheer '94, with a bit more spiciness provided by the turkish, almost a sour gingery flavor that nicely balances the sweetness of the virginias. It burns fairly cleanly, but needs a few relights towards the bottom of the bowl. The plummy, figgy, orangey flavor gradually intensifies as well, although it never gets harsh.

Not to be confused with McClelland’s GKCPC Boston 1776 (although McClelland crafted this blend), due to the addition of some light oriental as a condiment (which does indeed add a bit of spice). Upon opening my now 25 year old tin, the odor of figs and raisins wafted up from the now sugary dark brown Virginia flakes (a quarter century of aging will do that to a Virginia). ‘Kind of a mixture of full flakes and broken flakes, I loaded up my pipe and started sipping. This is a delightful, full bodied Virginia flake, less sweet than other blends, and easy on the palate. Light nic hit, and pleasant room note make this a fine all day smoke. Hard to find due to obvious reasons, but I’ll treasure my smokes from this quality Virginia blend.

I'm confused. I have a tin of 1994 PCCA flake that is as described in many of these reviews . . . looks, smells, tastes delicious . . . winey, rich, and definitely McClelland flake-ish. However, the tin label reads 'PCCA Boston 1996,' a title I've not seen reviewed at all. I'm wondering if I have a misprinted label on a tin of what is really 1776.