McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2001 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 11 of 11 reviews of this tobacco
MDP	03/17/2012	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
2001 has turned out to be magical and yes, complex. The fermented aromas promise a smoothness and richness I have come to expect from aged McClelland Virginias. Gone are the thin, watery tang, grassiness, or sooty offense associated with young-ish straight Virginia tobacco. What is left in CC 2001 after a decade of sealed aging are an amalgam of deep spice notes and refined, dark sweetness. The spice is not from chilis or salsa, but those old fashioned "back of the spice cabinet" containers that come out for baking on high holidays, along with subtle confiture flavors of liquored, preserved fruits, unlike bitter maraschino, candy corn or lollipops. There is flavor migration akin to having a dollop of fine confection melt on your tongue. This rubs out, burns, and turns to dry ash effortlessly, leaving the walls of my pipes cleaner than before smoking CC 2001 and dry. Pipe puffing paradise.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
SirLoirn	09/14/2008	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Tin: Initially mahogany; then dark brown and blonde mottled in a 7:3 ratio, pressed into a partly broken flake. Strong fruit, something akin to banana bread, sweet hay-oats smell; the typical McClelland ketchup/raisin odor is not present. After all these years sealed, it is still supple; it does not feel overly moist. Under sunlight, it sparkles with minute dots of sugar. The speckles of sugar were mistaken for mold until I read the reviews. Tin date: 072001. Packing & Lighting: Takes 1 or 2 matches to get it lit, then it stayed all the way to the bottom. It really burns well. The only concern is the accumulation of condensate in the stem--the bowl remains absolutely dry--the stem has to off occasionally and condensate blown out. At one point, the unsealed tin, left in a room at 80 degrees, had light moisture on the inside of the lid. Taste & Aroma: Light scented roasting fruit. It gets richer and deeper towards the bottom, adding a scented wood quallity. CC 2001 has quite a sweet taste. The aroma changes with the intensity at which it is smoked. Multiple bowls smoked back-to-back, does elicit minor bite or tongue tingle. Nicotine: Between mild and medium Room Note: A pleasant, mild, roasting fruit scent. Overall: Now that's a sweet tobacco. I have to agree with Danno in the CC 1999 review concerning humectant and an unfamiliar flavor. I get get a consistent and disagreeable amount of tongue tingle(bite). Mparker, in their CC 94 review, lists a variety of flavors which I also found to be elicited, depending on the burn temp. of the tobacco. A leaflet inside the tin gives the rationale for the CC series and the method of making this 2001 blend, "...sun dappled Middle Belt orange leaf of the 1995 North Carolina crop..." 3.4 stars.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Glorfindel	04/04/2008	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant
UPDATE: 4-4-08 This stuff keeps getting better and better. I can't say enough about the entire Christmas Cheer series. Another HUGE bonus I want to share with you is that this blend will make your pipe smoke sweet. No, not like artificial sweet, I mean that thing we all call a "sweet smoke". No bitter charcoal or burnt briar taste. No matter the blend you like, smoke this stuff once and a while and your pipe will smoke noticeably better. It is doing wonders for breaking in my new meerschaum and making it taste great. This series is KING of the unflavored VA flake genre - hands down no questions or excuses. ORIGINAL: 4-1-08 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). Again, a perfect VA flake, wouldn't change it if I could. I could smoke this stuff all year - and probably will no matter what year vintage I find to buy. This entire series through 2007 is modern classic in the pipe tobacco world. Thank you McClelland, you remind me frequently of why I love pipe smoking. :)
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
NapaWineLover	07/14/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
What a delightful smoke !! This VA flake is sweet and soft and holds interest throughout the bowl in any size pipe one would find suitable for a VA flake. I'm also quite surprised at how easy going it was from the first time I opened the tin. Understandably - 6 years of age on the sealed tin was ideal and no surprise that it was good - but this was great. Subtle complexity - wonderful rich flavor without being powerful - and never - repeat never does this get hot - despite the sweetness. One char light, easy tamp and then a good light and begins the pleasure. This has the longest zone of any VA in my line-up. Damn near almost from second puff to second to last. Exceptional stuff. Cheers, VC
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RebelPipesterII	01/11/2007	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
Aye, this is the blend of finest tobacco weed to be found! My tin purchased 12/02 just opened 12/06 has aged well with sugar crystals abound within this fine pressed Virgina. Not many finer than this with a California Merlot and watching a favorite movie from the 50's or 60's. A bit of bite if smoked more than one bowl at a sitting, but very pleasureable with very little nicotine hit. Lovely, sweet tang with citrius and spice, if you can find this, stock up. I fully rub this blend out and pack with a slight spring and with 3/4 of a tin to go I'm having a merry new year indeed!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
JulioJustice	12/18/2005	Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Bought and smoked December 17 2005, Consistant, in a supurb way. Rally rather good. I let it dry for about 5 hours before I lit it up. But man what a treat. I can't wait to try its brothers. Really very very nice.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Devonshire	09/08/2005	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant
This is definitely a blend for the holidays - warm and spicy notes, without overpowering the natural sweetness and flavour of the Virginia. A great smoke in cold weather, but a little stifling in the summer. Like many Virginias, this one ages very well too. If you can get some, cellar it for a while.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Mephisto	01/04/2004	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A limited tobacco and different every year...this year is quite good and tends to the richer veriginias. A worth while treat and since it is limited you may not be ble to find this year however do give it a try and you will be pleasently rewarded. Smooth and slow with unique sweetness. The tobacco used is of great quality and produces unique taste. Mery Christmas!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Mike Castello	12/07/2003	Very Strong	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is one of the few McClellans that I will give high marks to. The aroma is not as objectionable as most from this company. The baccy is not too moist, but I did air it out for two days before smoking it. It crumbled nicely for packing. Very nice into a large mouthed bowl. Here's the best part. The flavor is wonderful. True Virginia with almost as much taste as the strong ones I prefer. This may be the nicest Virginia I have smoked coming from McClelland. Certainly smokers who like McClelland tobaccos will enjoy this one if they can find it. Cellering would be in order if several tins can be had.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Pipestud	12/24/2002	Extremely Mild	None detected	Mild	Very Pleasant
I really do not have a review of this blend. I did smoke it, but frankly, cannot remember much about it and I didn't log my impressions into my personal tobacco diary. Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of my fellow reviewers and especially to Jon Tillman for the great job he does in making www.tobaccoreviews.com one of the hottest sites on the web for us pipe & tobacco freaks. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year! Pipestud
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Flyersfan_92	08/27/2002	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I got this as part of a pass and couldnt pass up on the chance to try some, the tin aroma was wonderful, rich musty-sweet virginia with less than normal McClellend Ketchup smell. the tobacco was mostly dark brown broken flakes which were a tad too moist and had to be dried out a bit, I packed it somewhat loosely into my new dark ringblast billiard, without braking up the flake any further. It took to flame rather nicely and tamped down evenly and took only 2 relights too keep it going. The initial flavor is what remained throughout, rich sweet deep virginia, the consistancy didnt change much throughout the smoke, which may bore some, but which i found somewhat comeforting. I think this would make a lovely fall/wintertime smoke hence the name. I look forward to when i can grab a cople more tins of this one to smoke and one to age, and also to Christmas cheer 2002. Overall i would rate this a 4.5 out of 5. Highly reccomended.
Showing reviews 1 through 11 of 11 reviews of this tobacco