PCCA Noel

The red Virginia offers very tangy ripe fermented dark fruit, light citrus and grass, lots of earth, some wood, and a little sugar and spice. The “vinegar” essence weakens in short order. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit hovers around the center of mild to medium. No chance of bite or harshness, but a touch of a rough edge appears every so often. Needs some dry time. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a mildly nuanced, consistently deep flavor from top to bottom that translates to the pleasantly lingering after taste. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and a needs a fair number of relights, depending on how long you dry it. Not quite an all day smoke.

-JimInks

If people had known this was a McClellands product, I think the price I paid would have been much higher! Lucky me! It appears this one was a precursor to McClellands Christmas Cheer series, as it looks and smells a lot like those, and the name is a dead giveaway. Heavy heavy McClellands fermentation smell in the tin... more than enough to make the McClellands "Ketchup Brigade" run for the hills. Nice broken flake, again reminiscent of the CC's.

And yes, in the bowl, the ghost of CC's past haunts! This is a tenaciously delicious red VA with all the tang and mellow crispness you'd want. Some mild spiciness as well. Definitely brings to mind an early 1990's Christmas Cheer. This came still quite damp in the tin and required a lot of drying out to hit its stride. Straight out of the tin, it was predictably mediocre. Comparing this to the red Virginias of today is terribly unfair. Noel is, like CC, the quintessential straight, un-manipulated Virginia pipe tobacco. If you want to experience red Virginia at its finest, grab a tin of this or any Christmas Cheer.

Noel was a PCCA original that simply exploded with flavor and good body. It was one of the real PCCA memories for me and while I enjoyed it fresh, I enjoyed it even more when I stole a tin off eBay. A very naturally sweet Virginia with sugar crystals displayed over the dark leaf (much darker than when originally tinned). And I wish I could tin the smell alone and sell it. I'd be rich!

Pipestud

As a "puffer" I don't often seek out straight Virginia's but a few bowls of Noel was gifted to me and boy I'm glad it was! Sweet, and smooth. I'm am not one that compares tobacco to food, but buttery comes to mind went speaking of Noel's texture. As with the prior reviewer, I too find that Noel burns for a very long time. Sixteen years in the tin has only served to make Noel a must find for those seeking an old, high quality tin of matured Virginia.

Another great PCCA blend.Deep, dark, sweet with a very mild if not ephemeral top note, strong in vitamin n. the top note was something like marshmallow but it is so lite that the only reason i smelled it is because my girl said it smelled great, so i billowed big puffs, walked out of the room for thirty minutes, walked back in and smelled wisps of heaven. Aging for 15 years I am sure had something to do with this incredible blend but imho Age is king. The taste starts off like a deep dark virginia, then it morphs to dark chocolate covered cherries. mmmm good! At halfway mark, all sorts of fruity tastes come out like pears, green apple, a touch of plum. The chocolate taste strengthens then all of a sudden a spicy dates taste comes out and then Bam! Vitamin N in spades!! By this time I am in a reverie.One of THOSE moments! I slow my smoking cadence to a barely lit state and enter Nirvana. Two hours later the bowl is still not done so I continue barely puffing! All of a sudden I swear a perique like taste comes to the fore and I find my body is buzzing. I know I am having a very special smoke indeed. I look at the clock and just over three hours have passed and I am amazed. Not one re-light.wow. Get yourself some and covet it like gold.If you can find any.