McClelland Christmas Cheer 2005

Like the 2004 version, this is a chestnut brown broken flake with the wonderful McClellands tin aroma. This is an orange virginia, unlike the 2004, and also unlike the 2004 version, this one is nothing short of absolutely amazing!

This is one of those blends that I knew was going to be incredible from the first few puffs. The very mild citrus sweetness was offset by a malty spiciness that melded perfectly. Reasonably but not too complex, this improved as the bowl progressed, and the final 1/3 was absolutely sublime, with a toasted oat flavor amidst the very light citrus. Like all the Christmas Cheers I've smoked, this is virginia in its purest form (at least, it's purest that is ready to smoke!) with no added flavors or artificial sweeteners. Yet, it's sweet enough to be satisfying to an aromatic fan as well as the Virginia aficionado. McClellands has the finest virginias in existence, bar none, and also the ultimate method of processing the leaf, to my tastebuds. In fact, I would have to rank this as in the Top 3 of all straight virginias. Naturally it's as rare as hen's teeth, and I only have one more tin. So here's hoping that those who call McClellands virginias "ketchupy" or "vinegary" will stay away from any sales of this incredible blend and leave them for me! 🙂 I'm going to buy whatever I can find. This one is that good... as good or better than any straight virginia in existence.

I purchased a tin of this back in 08. I refrained from leaving a review after the first few bowls, as I was just not that impressed, but I could see this gaining quite a bit with some age. I would smoke a bowl every 5-6 months, and see how the aging process had progressed.

The first few years left an ashy-cigarette coating in the mouth, along with unbearable tongue bite. The flavors were getting there, but the tongue bite had restrained any definite flavor profiles.

I smoked a bowl of this today 7-27-11 and I must say, these tins are now ready. I have every single year starting from 1999 cellared, and plan on smoking a tin, and keeping a tin. With today's economy, you never know when you may have to sell off your prized collection to pay the bills. hahaha

Pairs well with bourbon and Tanzanian Peaberry coffee.

The red Virginia is a little earthy with a deep dried, ripe dark fruit and a little citrus; tart and tangy. Has mild bursts of cinnamon and nutmeg, but it’s a smooth smoke with a little sugar. The "vinegar” smell and taste lasts longer than other years, and sublimates the tobacco flavor more than some other years. It’s a little stronger and deeper in flavor than it is in other productions. Burns slow and moist, and needs a slight dry time. Requires relights, and leaves a little moisture at the finish. Has a mild nic-hit. No bite, no dull or harsh spots. Has a smooth and consistent flavor with a nice after taste that pleasantly lingers. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

Just finished one of my tins of Christmas Cheer 2005 after letting it age over a year in my cellar. This has to be as good as any, if not better than any Christmas Cheer McClelland's has produced.

The pressed cake was simply delicious. Sweet, a bit of strength, and a complexity not found in other years.

I think McClelland's tried their best to make Christmas Cheer 2005 a bell ringer, and they succeeded.

I picked up a couple of tins at the 0808 NASPC and boy oh boy am I glad. It is a great looking dark red and brown broken flake Virginian. It looked overly moist straight from the tin. I found that if I place tobacco on the back of my hand I judge the moister content better; think of checking the baby?s bottle for excessive heat. So I rubbed the flake first then aired it for 30 minutes. Vinegar schminegar who the heck cares how the pouch aroma smells, it is when oxidation occurs we are rewarded. There is no doubt that this is prime leaf and not over-burdened by excessive topping. If McClelland said it used Hawaiian Punch for topping I say, bravo, because I don?t taste the Punch just great tobacco. This leaf is simple and subtle in that it?s only Virginian leaf, yet sweet and spicy. Its flavors magnify as I advance down the bowl-Oh yeh! At different smokes I?ve noticed various waves of nicotine, and each were quite pleasant. The room note is exquisitely Virginian.

I spent a long weekend comparing CC 05 with Dunhill Lt Flake and McB?s Virginian #1 with Lt. Flake my overall favorite. See, for years I?ve reached for Lt Flake when wanting a Virginian smoke. Christmas Cheer 05 though is one superb tobacco and I highly recommend it to all Virginian tobacco lovers.

For me to understand and appreciate and choose a tobacco I must smoke it exclusively over a period of time, such as a week or two. So prior to the weekend of multi sampling, as mentioned above, each of those tobaccos was smoked exclusively. I simply cannot smoke multiple tobaccos one after another and form an opinion on one, let alone all. I simply get sensory overload. Anyhow, McClelland makes some fine Virginians.

For my review of this blend, I will share a post I made on this blend on pipesmokers2, a group on Yahoo. I had just received two tins of CC2005 when I made the post. Apologies to those who may not be familiar with the friends to whom I make reference in the portions of the post that I copy here.

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One of the tins of 2005 will be smoked in December of 2010. The other however, was for this year. Even though this is the current year's offering, it is already 8 years old, as it is the 1997 crop. My only other experience with CC was with the CC1999 that Jeff shared with me last year.

For those who may be unfamiliar, Christmas Cheer is a single crop, single leaf tobacco. To call it a blend would be a misnomer. It is selected and aged, and when the gurus at McClelland feel it's ready, it becomes the CC of that year.

When I opened the tin, I was greeted with a wonderful aroma of a freshly cut field with undertones of rasins, and of course the trademark McClelland 'ketchup' aroma. 🙂 I rubbed it out a bit and set it aside to dry.

I stood before my pipe racks for a while, this is an important decision! I needed a well-broken-in Va pipe, worthy of what I anticipated in the tobacco. Finally, I decided on a hand-made Kirk Bosi. This pipe has always done a wonderful job on the Va type blends.

From the first charring light, I knew this was a winner! A wonderful Va flavor, representative of the genre. Hard to imagine that this tin was only sealed about 5 months ago.... but then the tobacco had already aged about 8 years before it went into the tin.

As the bowl progressed, the flavor increased, as expected. By mid-bowl I was in a state of altered consciousness. This is wonderful stuff. Very subtle nuances, and a thoroughly delightful flavor throughout.

Before I finished the bowl, I rubbed out the next bowl. I'm still trying to decide which pipe this will grace, but right now I am leaning toward the Oom-Paul that was gifted to me by Bishop Ivan.

Well, I just checked - the second bowl seems to be dried to perfection, so I have a pipe to load!

Merry Christmas everybody!

Well, could be four stars but I can't give everything four and there are some McClellands I like better. Just seemed to have slightly less character (only slightly) than Blackwoods, Brindle Flake (Ashton), or Dominican Glory Maduro. No one else detected the aroma in the tin of nutmeg, so maybe it's just an overtone of the aged Virginia. This is the only Christmas Cheer I have tried, so I'll try to find some more, especially the older ones.

11-2-2022 Well, I'm sure I would give it four stars now, but won't tamper with my original review, and this is long gone...

11-7-2022 Yes I will. It's been a while since I smoked this, and I sure do wish I had some more, and even though I don't have another bowl to smoke, and it's highly unlikely that I will ever see it again, I'm upgrading to four stars. Not sure why I gave it three in the first place, and at this point, would give McClelland's worst blend four stars just out of respect.

I smoke mostly English, Balkan, and VA/per blends, but whenever I get a brand new pipe, I like to use a straight VA to break it in. Cut Virginia Plug, Marlin Flake, and Full Virginia Flake, for example, are three very tasty blends that have done a wonderful job of breaking in some of the best pipes in my collection. But despite how tasty those blends can be, I eventually end up dedicating each pipe to something else. I'm afraid the same will be true this time around, but not for the same reason. This is the first pure VA that has ever captivated me from the beginning to the end of each bowl. It is nothing short of spectacular. Simultaneously spicy, sweet, and earthy, it manages to impress me equally with its first sweet puff and with every puff thereafter, as the flavor becomes progressively darker and deeper. Alas, I am almost done with the only tin I've got, so this Castello is likely to see nothing but Fillmore or Embarcadero soon. (Not that I mind Fillmore and Embarcadero, but I already have multiple pipes devoted to each.)

After being opened for about a month or so, this tobacco might be one of the best VA's around. The tobacco is absolutely a must try. It is a bit unique because it does not taste as sweet as I thought it would. I liked the fact that it burns a bit cooler than some of the Christmas Cheers do. It also burns down to the very last flake. It has some really nice subtle earthy notes and has a delicious tin note. I think this one might be it, I will gladly buy the rest of what the tobacco store has and keep it for a long time. I bet this will only get better with age.

I am a Virginia lover, yes I am, I loooove it, and I can say I just loved this tobacco!!! The tin aroma allready tells you that this is a special tobacco. It burns well, it stays lit all the way, it's just perfect. For your concern, in my modest opinion, this one is better than my Old Golrie and my Hal O' the Wynd. This one I'll take with me to the Heaven. THANK YOU LORD!!!! Best regards from BRAZIL!