McClelland No. 401 Darkest Caramel

There's a very slight vanilla note from the black cavendish. The rest of what you will taste is a very rich, smooth and creamy caramel. Has a touch of nicotine. Won't bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at a moderate pace, though slightly moist, with a very consistent flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. The flavor never weakens, leaves a very pleasant after taste, and the room notes will make you a lot of friends. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

This one may quickly hit my top five aromatics list. I'm a fan of caramel flavoring and this dark Black Cavendish blend is loaded with the stuff! I opened the tin and immediately started salivating. At the match, wowsers, a strong caramel taste (frankly, almost overwhelming), washed over my palate but then settled down and became manageable. And typical of McClelland aromatics, #401 smoked mostly cool and the dottle at the bottom of the bowl was not overly moist. A very nice smoke that I think may become a really good friend!

McClelland - No. 401 Darkest Caramel.

Although it's badged as being a ribbon-cut, it's a very coarse and chunky mix, and brilliantly hydrated. The smell from the pouch reminds me of a sweet, syrupy, pancake; this sets the mood for a decadent smoke perfectly. And that's EXACTLY what happens.

There's not that much to be said regarding the flavour: it's sweet, very sweet! The caramel is the main flavour, with a fairly standard Black Cavendish attribute behind it; way behind it! Something else that doesn't require many words is the temperature: very cool. There's no nicotine in #401 D.C., well that might be a bit dramatic; it's VERY mild. Finally, it doesn't bite me, and the room-note's adorable.

This is one seriously indulgent blend.

Highly recommended.

Right off the Truck... This is my first all cavendish blend, so I’m not sure what to expect. It is starting to warm up, so outside smoking is once again pleasant. This tobacco lights up after a quick char light, and stays lit after that. There is a lot of pops and sizzles as it smokes, but I don’t experience much in the way of tongue bite. The smoke is rich, sweet and pleasant; not cloying. The caramel is definitely there and does not go away. It is a little one note, but good. I found myself wondering would it would taste with a dash of latakia in it, to give it a smoked/salted caramel edge. I’ll try it out again when the wife is around to see what she thinks.

Time passes...

Tobacco is 4 or 5 months old now, and has been sitting sealed up for most of that time. The initial flavor reminded me strongly of Karo syrup (the clear one). Soon after I tasted a solid flavor of Buttered popcorn Jelly Bellys. The smoke is thick and creamy with a faint sharpness sitting on the edges. After a short while, the flavor died down to a muted, buttery sweetness. I never really got a strong caramel flavor. As the smoke progressed, an acidic tang started to build; not unlike the tang of a sharp virginia. Next, the smoke got boring, with little flavor to hold interest. I kept wondering if the flavor was from the tobacco or from the cob. I will say I never had a problem with it staying lit. Once I got it going, it stayed going.

All in all, not a bad smoke. I'm not partial to aros, and this one doesn't blow me away either.

This is a very nice Aromatic Tobacco that is sure to please lovers of BCA, Molto Dolce, Caramel Rush and VBC.

Cool smoking, lots of Caramel flavor - not overly sweet but done just right.

Like Msr. Pipestud this tobacco moves to the top of my Aro list. Definitely worth trying.

Now here’s an aromatic blend that I would recommend to someone brand new to pipe smoking.

The pouch note suggests the possibility of overwhelming sweetness. But the actual flavor of Darkest Caramel No. 401 somehow avoids disaster and instead smokes lightly sweet and delicate, yet rich to the senses but not at all in a heavy or cloying way.

Darkest Caramel combines good performance with fine flavor clarity. The taste of the caramel casing remains through out the bowl, even when smoked at a faster clip. It burns cool & bite free with no waxy off-flavors.

A very enjoyable & well executed bulk Black Cavendish blend.

Lovely stuff all the way around, it's a dandy on its own but I find it a bit too mild in the vitamin N dept so its a tad unsatisfying for me in that regard. Due to its mildness, I tend to use it as a blending condiment as the flavour can mix with darn near anything. Quite frankly Darkest Caramel can spruce up even the most unpalatable blends and make them delicious. I still find McClelland's Caramel Rush to be superior but Darkest Caramel is damn good and a regular on my tobacco order. Should impress even the toughest critics and bystanders.

I can't believe I have failed to review this tobacco. I smoke it at least once a week. The caramel taste combined with the always exceptional McClelland tobacco makes this one of my favorites, and the room note is a winner ith everyone I have smoked around. If you like aromatics, you will love this!

Very rich and sweet caramel smell in the bag as well as smoking it. If you are looking for an aromatic that tastes as sweet as dark caramel, this is it. I did get a slightly salty taste with it - will have to re-review when I have some more to see if it was just that particular pipe.

McCelland Bulk No. 401 - Darkest Caramel

Star Rating = 4

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst

Pouch Note = 8

Room Note = 8

Flavor = 9

Bite = 8

Burn = 9

After Taste = 8

Raw Score = 50

Rated Percentage = 83%

Comment = Smooth, Mild, Mellow, Nice Pouch Note, Nice Full Rich Flavor, white ash burn, nice smoke