McClelland No. 5115 Old World Classic Cake

A couple years of aging has given the jar a strong note of fermented Virginia tobacco that I see people describing as the McClelland "ketchup", but I smell it in so many well-made Virginias from other manufacturers that I am suspicious of any VA that doesn't have it (looking at you, Cornell & Diehl). As a baker, maybe I'm just trained to think fermentation smells good? I also smell cloves ... go figure.

The blend of yellows and reds is excellent, a perfect mixture of high notes and backbone. On first light, sometimes I'll see the larger flakes getting that glassy cooked sugar look to them - lots of natural sugars here. I've taken to breaking this up into a ready-rubbed consistency, which I don't do with many broken flakes, but this leaf is so sweet that I find it helps the burn.

It burns clean and flawlessly all the way down, and tastes like tobacco, the topping doesn't ever detract from good clean Virginia flavor. I think it's misclassified as an aromatic here.

In view of the great loss of McClelland having stopped manufacturing their sublime Virginia Flake tobaccos, I am so grateful that early on I stockpiled a good amount of this. Most of it was purchased in 2016 as I often smoked it blended with some 2010 Classic Virginia but then left it alone for McCl tinned Virginia Flake, and their most excellent bulk 2015 Virginia~Perique Flake. As are all McCl flake tobaccos, it is delightfully slow burning. I can tell it has really improved with over 2 years, but it remains to my palate anyway, a one dimension Virginia which has little depth or complexity. Perhaps that is why a "fruit essence" was added to it. Nevertheless, all in all, a worthy smoke of some excellent Virginia tobaccos which McClelland knew how to find.

Nice looking broken flake with a bag aroma (1 oz sample) of basic Virginia overlaid with a Lakeland-type essence. Very light on the scenting which is almost just that... a scenting rather than a flavoring. However, the flavoring does come out in the taste, but it's very light while the scenting is rather heavier (but not heavy in the least).

This smokes like a straight Virginia... sweet and robust in the way only McClellands seems to deliver, but with that light sweetener. I can't place the flavoring/scent and it's considerably less noticeable than their #2000. While that one is noticeable for having excellent flavor and a flavoring that lasts down the entire bowl, this one is wispier on the casing. The virginia is top-notch and this would be a blend that those looking to break away from the goopy aromatics might try. This might be McClellands answer to the Lakeland style blends, although it's more of a gallant effort than an all-out success. Worth a try but not destined for my rotation, as I prefer the more fully realized #2000 as my cased broken flake Virginia of choice.

Like others, this reminds me a bit of a Lakeland -- the topping seems to me to be a bit like GH's Louisiana Flake -- but only a bit. The topping itself is on the mild and sweetish side, the N is even lighter. There is a bit of a bite to this, but fortunately just a bit. A pleasant summer smoke, when something light and a bit different is called for. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is not often.

Looking back on my reviews over the last few years, you will read about McClelland blends always biting my tongue horribly. I must be learning to properly smoke these blends. Although I do get a bit "stung", it's not really bad at all.

5115 is a nice mild VA that is a great morning smoke. I do not detect much casing in here as stated, but it is a bit more sweet than some. Rub, lights and packs fairly easy, just be careful to slow your puffing to reduce bite. This can burn fairly wet, but a few hours of drying will remedy that. All in all, not a bad choice for an everyday VA.

Pairs well with my morning coffee.

9/11/11

I have smoked about 4 oz of this, and is a great all day VA blend. Fast becoming a favorite of mine!

Others sing the praises of McClelland's 5100 as their all-day smoke. And I've recommended 5100 to enough people, enough times, and have purchased enough of it, that I readily agree. But if you get too caught up in it you'll miss this delightful blend! I know I almost did. As often as I've heard people rave about 5100, I‘ve never heard mention of 5115; I bought my first half pound of it merely because I liked the description.

5115 arrives as a broken flake, with some large flakes and a lot of smaller ones, as well as some that appears rubbed. In color it is an orange-yellow-brown tone. The aroma is less tobacco-ey than 5100, with an undertone of citrus. And that undertone makes all of the difference in the world when put to flame.

From the first light, the tobacco has a delightful, citrus taste on the back of the tongue. But the hint of citrus is neither intrusive nor, I hesitate to say, "aromatic." It's there, but is there just like it belongs. And it contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the tobacco, providing a pleasant tang.

If I had to choose between 5100 and 5115 as my lighter Virginia, I think I'd go with this blend. 5100 is, of course, wonderful. But this one seems to play more nicely with other tobaccos. I sometimes mix it 50-50 with 2035 with nice results. Of course, I'm thankful that McClelland hasn't caused me to make a choice – I can have both!

McClelland - No. 5115 Old World Classic Cake.

It's a very coarse broken flake, half the pouch needed a full rub because of being whole flakes. The other half wasn't without want for attention, either, but this half was a little more 'broken'. Moisture was good the day it arrived, two weeks after placing the order (I'm U.K., this was a Cup O' Joes order), and it had a subsequent two week wait once it had arrived.

The smoke from it is one that's clearly from high quality Virginia. It tastes 'developed', more than fresh, if that makes sense; I identify a matured sweetness, instead of fresh hay. The added fruit topping makes up for any missing citrus from the Virginia, but in all fairness, would mask it anyway. From the topping I get only citrus fruit, I can't taste the coffee. The smoke has a cool temperature, I get no bite, and it burns well.

The room-note: nice enough, just not 'my thing'. Nicotine: mild.

I think 5115 is a good, well made blend, but it falls a little short of four stars, for me.

Recommended.

If someone had given me this tobacco and told me it was a Lakeland blend I would have believed them. This is not your typical straight American Virginia blend - it tastes scented (but not sugary sweet). Something about the "casing" reminds me of (of all things) Bob's Chocolate Flake. It has a certain perfume-like quality to it that reminds me the tobaccos offered by English blenders with the name Gawaith in them. This is a good "every-once-in-a-while" blend that I can see myself having when in the right mood. The flavor pairs very well with a cup of tea.

A big positive for me is that the nicotine level is VERY mild. If it were not for the unidentifiable scent (I detect nothing fruity about its "fruit-essences") and the need to carefully sip this (it will bite badly if it is not totally dried to a crisp) I might argue this could be an "all-day" blend due to its mildness.

If you like Virginia-based Lakeland blends (e.g., SG Grousemoor) give this a go - you may like it. If you want a lot of nicotine or are bothered by having to carefully watch temperature of your bowl you'll be disappointed I think.

For those of you who believe that McClelland is incapable of producing virginias without their trademark "ketchup" topping, this may be the tobacco to try. Before I go further, I wish to offer one caveat; this tobacco is only for experienced virginia smokers, those oh so patient puffers (that's puffers, not 'poofers').

This medium brown virginia flake, available only in bulk, has a clean virginia smell to it. The natural fruit essences have been added with a light touch, and are just barely detectable once the tobacco is properly dry. The flavorings complement the natural citrusiness of the virginia so well, that hard to tell there is anything other than tobacco in this flake. Some people find straight va. flakes boring, bitey, or just too difficult to work with. 5115 is no different than most virginia flakes in terms of ease of use. It's a thick flake, and takes some work to rub out fully. And it simply will not burn well if just broken up into chunks, and stuffed into the pipe. But patience is rewarded. Once fully rubbed out, and carefully loaded, this baccy shines. The first half dozen or so attempts at a charring light are the most critical; this is where you are most likely to ruin your tongue, so take it easy and be patient in lighting. Once lit, the stuff burns slowly of its own accord, and does not require a lot of puffing to keep it going.

I have learned that most McClelland virginias do have a slight cigarette like quality to the smoke, and that is something I have just had to learn to deal with. And 5115 definitely has that cigarette like acrid quality when breathed up through the sinuses, but this is forgivable given the quality of the tobacco. The flavors range from oaty/hops to citrus. The sweetness is more a background note in this particular flake, so you will not be overwhelmed by it. I find the flavors to be very well balanced, maybe a little too much so, as this may lead some to believe that it is a boring/bland smoke.

It's not overwhelming, but it's not boring. And I find that the different virginia flavors vary depending on the pipe I smoke it in. A dublin will cause the higher citrus notes to come out, as well as the sharpness of the tobacco. A group 4 or 5 bulldog is my favorite pipe to smoke this in. Does not smoke well in a chimney, and it is just to sharp on the tongue to smoke in a really small pipe. But, in a medium billiard or bulldog it smokes very well.

As I stated, this is a tobacco for experienced virginia smokers. If you have smoked MacBaren's virinia #1, and liked it, then this is another tobacco for you to try. It's richer than Va. #1 but is very similar in terms of flavor. It does require one's full attention, as becoming sidetracked while puffing can result in a scorched tongue. Load it carefully, light it carefully, and smoke it slowly. Do these things, and you will really enjoy this tobacco.

I first smoked this at the Atlanta Pipe Club smoking competition. I won the competition, smoking this blend for 100 minutes in a Randy Wiley bent dublin with only two matches used in the first 5 minutes. The competitors were asked to guess the blend. Not one pipe smoker guessed the blend. Our tobacconist told us that she hardly ever sells any of this bulk blend. That same day she must have sold at least 5 pounds of it. A gentleman came to the shop much later in the day after the competition and bought a gorgeous Rinaldo Fiamatta. He asked what tobacco to use to break in his new pipe. The consensus was McClelland 5115. After several sips, he purchased a pound of this fine tobacco.

Zesty is a fitting description for this blend. Yet, I found that the zest developed into a subtly sweet and fruity (very slight and unoffensive) taste. The VAs harmonize perfectly in this blend. It rounds out on the finish and becomes sweet and smooth. Never complex or demanding, this blend is a delight for all day smoking.

My oil-cured Wiley is currently dedicated to this tobacco. I have smoked it in other pipes (Brebbia, Matzhold, Castleford, and Ardor), yet I find that the Wiley is best suited for this tobacco. I suggest smoking this blend in an oil-cured pipe, as I have had much success in the same.

Enjoy!