McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2000 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 9 of 9 reviews of this tobacco
RMP	05/16/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
I place McClelland's 2000 Christmas Cheer in the same group as PCCA's Millenium. Orange/Red VA's just don't get any better than these.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
The Gentle Smoker	12/02/2009	Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
KETCHUP!!! hahaha, wow, McClellands always has a bit of a ketchup smell to the tobacco, but man is this one strong. Nice broken flake that rubs out quit easily. It lights after 2 times and I'm smoking away. The taste is very mild at first, but after a bit of a tamp 1/4 bowl down it gets heavier and quit on the nicotiny side of things. slow smoking is the key and I press on. It's good. I love the fact that this is some serious stuff as a Christmas blend. Nowadays you get all those flowery/Fruity Christmas blends. Okay also, but this stuff is potent. It is quit good and I love this. As it is a 100g tin, I will smoke this on occasion. It would not be my everyday smoke.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Oouder	01/04/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Alright so I will be totally honest here. I have always been and will always be a VA smoker first and foremost. I just opened this tin from 2000 and it's from the 96 crop. This stuff has a bit of age on it and I really like it. Very smooth with all the wonderfull taste. no it's not as in your face as a tin of the 08 is but that is not the point when opening an aged tin. This stuff is easier to smoke and you do not have to worry one bit about tongue bite. not one little bit! so good. IMO worth every penny of the $40 price tag I see around. I would recomend buying two or three of each year as they come out and lay them back. Buy some FVF too. Age it and enjoy!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Half-bent	04/03/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
There's not much to add after the other fine reviews. This is simply one of the absolute best VA flakes I have ever smoked. It's a light to medium bodied virginia (broken) flake with plenty of natural sweetness. I've just finished off another tin and have only one more aging, which makes me sad. All of the Christmas Cheer offerings are excellent, so pick some up, let them age, and enjoy! According to McC, this is an orange-red flue cured VA from a 1996 crop harvested near Danville.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Glorfindel	11/27/2007	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
A soft, round VA with plenty of tang - not weak mind you - and possesing that light sweet creaminess of a premium VA. A broken flake that does burn better when fully rubbed out. I have tried many a straight VA and VA dominant blend (being a huge VA fan myself). This blend - for my tatstes and opinion - I confidently declare,,, The perfect VA!!!!! Love it!!! Merry Christmas all.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
woodsman	11/05/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
I purchased a 100 gram tin 4 years ago and opened it several months ago. This is a fantastic tobacco and i will buy all the Christmas Cheer I can find here in Canada of any vintage year. I have only enough left for one more pipeful. I noticed that some reviewers said it was costly. I would like to say that if they would buy it in Canada they would have a real understanding of the cost if they could even locate a tin! I paid $30.00 for my tin 4 years ago - plus tax. I just located a tin (2006) vintage, and the price is $50.00 plus tax! Now that is costly. I will buy it, because a great tobacco is priceless. I would love to hear feedback on this. The way things are going now, my tobacco collection is surpassing the price of my pipe collection which includes Dunhill's, Cooke and other fine pieces.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
RebelPipesterII	05/02/2006	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I fear this is a repeat of Sceny's review back in '02, so this does not change much over the years; however, it did not turn very "dark" at the end of the bowl which is a plus in my book. This is a very refined pressed/broken flake blend of sweet red Virginia that has mellowed well in the tin. (Purchase date 10/02) The sugar content is low enough not to cause an undo amount of tongue bite. CC 2000 is a pure delight to smoke on particularly cool days. I can smoke this bowl after bowl and find all kinds of sweet citric notes with volumes of smoke that I just want to waft into the nostrils to tickle my senses. If you can find a tin of this delightful mixture, enjoy! Packing is easy, just crumble some in a pinch and stuff it into the pipe. Of course leave some spring to it, but if you don?t, no fear because upon lighting it springs up and with a couple firm lights it burns right to the bottom with a fine grey ash.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Pipestud	11/15/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Well, I just couldn't help myself fellas. Maybe I'm in the Christmas spirit early. I was going to save my McClelland's Christmas Cheer 2000 for the next millennium, but my body is telling me I am not going to make it. So, I busted out my only tin of Christmas Cheer and this was it. Sure tastes a lot like Christmas Cheer 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Well, it is a little mellower due to the aging, but the light and naturally sweet tasty is pretty much the same. I like it. An early Merry Christmas to me.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Sceny	01/16/2002	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Well, the long wait is over: after more than 12 months of anticipation, on December 25th at 11:30 am, I cracked open my first tin of Year 2000 Christmas Cheer. What could be better than smoking well-aged Virginia tobacco, on Christmas day, in my new Tinsky Christmas 2001 pipe?? Very little, indeed: the wait was well worth it. This is, hands down, the finest Virginia flake I have ever smoked. The aroma on popping the lid is heavenly. It is immediately obvious that this is a McClelland Virginia, but the most delicious such I have ever smelled. There are sharp, tangy, and sweet notes, all overlaid with that classic vinegar aroma. Unlike some other McClelland flakes, however, it remains fairly mellow in tone, with round, mature undertones balancing everything perfectly. I could just sit and inhale this all day. The flake is partially broken but still mostly whole, medium in length and average in cut width. The tobacco?s color is mainly mottled dark brown, with a few stripes of lighter leaf providing a visually pleasing contrast. The moisture level is medium to somewhat high, making the flake soft but not sticky. A fan of C&D or GLPease tobaccos may wish to rub this out and let it sit prior to smoking. The flake does rub out easily, making packing via this method not overly difficult. I, however, prefer to smoke the flake as-is, the extra effort in loading a bowl being well worth it for me. As a straight flake, lighting is initially challenging, requiring (at least in my case) several matches and repeated strong puffing. Once lit, however, the tobacco burns very well, requiring a minimum of relights, straight to the bottom. The first 1/3 of a bowl is as varied as the tin aroma: bright, sweet, and complex. The sweetness is dominant, but so well blended that I almost forget it?s there at times. The smoke is overall much smoother than that of most VA flakes, totally bite-free and with only hints of sharpness. The overall effect is ?brown?, about as far from boring and one-dimensional as possible. There is a bit of moisture at the start, but a pipe cleaner or two is all that is required to clear it up. Into the second third, the disparate flavors continue to meld and interact, eddies of higher and lower notes mixing together in near-perfect harmony. The blend has become deeper in taste, though still staying far away from English/Latakia darkness; and the sharper tones have completely mellowed into the overall flavor. I have noticed no further moisture, and the smoke is still remarkably bite-free. If you have problems with McClelland Virginia blends attacking your tongue, I certainly recommend you try this. In the final third, the flavor has become darker yet. The wonderful complexity remains, smooth and balanced on the palate, the subtle interplay of notes requiring the smoker?s full attention to appreciate. It is a surprisingly satisfying smoke, rich enough for after dinner yet smooth enough for an all-day blend. This is an obviously high-quality, fully mature tobacco, with none of the usual McClelland problems. It smokes clean, dry and good straight to the bottom of the bowl. Overall, what more can I say? This is the best McClelland Virginia flake I have ever had the pleasure to smoke. I am very glad I waited to try it; the benefits of aging are readily apparent here. I highly recommend this, and am sorry only in that I stocked but two tins when it was available.
Showing reviews 1 through 9 of 9 reviews of this tobacco