McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2004 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 12 of 12 reviews of this tobacco
Kilmarnock Piper	05/12/2013	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
I love smoking Christmas Cheer, but hate reviewing it. I love the pure Virginias, and love McClelland, but have a hard time distinguishing among the 5-6 CCs I've tried. The only one I think I could pass a "blindfold test" with is the 2002, since to me it seems to be even purer and more austere of a "single malt" Virginia than the others I've tried. No exception here. As I have come to expect with this series, a lovely, pure Virginia best suited for slow sipping. 2002 is my favorite so far, but only by a little. This one does seem to have a slightly fuller flavor to it than 2005, 2007, 2010, and certainly the very subtle 2002. Yes, maybe I could pass the blindfold test with this one, for different reasons than with the 2002, but 2005 and 2007 taste almost the same to me! I've only tried CCs from the 2000s, though I do have a sealed tin of 1999 (don't think I'll crack it anytime soon, though I would like to try some of the older ones).
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Big bad Jon	01/09/2009	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant
I finally got up the nerve to open my tin. What awaited me was the very faint smell of vinegar and mildly sweet yet earthy Virginia flakes. Great I thought, the moisture content was good, and things seemed to be aligning them selves well after a good rub out and light packing I went to light and wait, where is the flavor??? This has to be the mildest straight Virginia I have ever tried. I was hoping for something a bit stronger in the nicotine department too. The flavors were not bad, but just lacking in strength. If there was a way to concentrate the flavors this one would be a winner. It burns extremely well and exhibits no tongue bite. I guess this is a good first pipe of the day Virginia.
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gnossos	02/16/2007	Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
A great, great flake. I got the last tin at my tobacconist this past December '06 and I'm only a few short bowls away from never tasting it again here nearing the end of February 07. It will be sorely missed. If you like McConnell's Scottish Cake you'll love this stuff. I don't know why I'm even bothering to review it any more as I imagine most of the tins are sold out by now. There's a solid flavor throughout, very woodsy and sweet, reminiscent of a campfire. I'm not too poetic when it comes to describing flavors sometimes, but I know that this is one of the best flakes I've had in my pipe, for whatever it's worth.
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GeoLogger	12/20/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable
This is my favourite of the Christmas Cheers thru '05. It is a very sweet, almost tart and perhaps sharp Virginia. Brassy is a word I sometimes use. Grampa oftened complained if a tobacco was too "bright". I think possibly the terms are for the same concept. But everyone I ask thinks bright is a different thing than the next guy seems to think. Well, brassy is to me the ability to find that bit of bite, a sharp dose of tangy, that is your tongue warning you of a Va that would bite if you let it. And I think this is a bit brassy. A little brass is a good thing. I smoked this mildly and evenly and often. I smoked the first three tins of my original four tins without even realizing the risk. But I got back to town and got some more. I don't know what there is to not like in Christmas Cheer 2004. The stuff was ten yrs old before you ever got any - but age it if you like. If I have any left by the time '06 comes out it will be a miracle. If you have any left in ten years or so look me up.
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Pipestud	07/28/2005	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
I have enjoyed many of the McClelland's Christmas Cheer tobaccos of years past. My 2004 vintage tin had aged a bit in my "cellar", and being in the mood for a pressed Virginia Flake, I grabbed it. Well, one reviewer here claimed to know how best to smoke this flake to make it shine brightly. So, I gave it a try. I used a well broken in pipe, I rubbed the flakes out somewhat, and let the 'baccy sit for 20 minutes to dry just a little bit. Finally, I gravity fed the leaf into the pipe without much tamping down. Out came the Carona Old Boy and I set fire to the leaf which promptly released all kinds of wonderful flavors onto my tongue. This one burned just a tad warm so, I smoked slowly. It is long on flavor and light on strength. It's hard for a Texan to enjoy Christmas in July (Predicted high today in my neighborhood is 102 degrees), but Cheer '04 did the trick!
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Halfpipe	07/21/2005	Very Mild	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This blend didn't really do it for me at first. I could smell a bit of a cinnamon from the tin, but it tasted too tart (almost bitter) for my palate. After smoking about a third of the tin, I decided to stove it. The result was fantastic! It really matured the smoke, and the bitterness all but disappeared. If you didn't like it, stove it. You might be surprised.
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peacepipe	03/23/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I wish to respond to a few of the above reviews, as I've found that there is an art to preparing this flake before enjoying it's true bounty. Not that any of you are wrong, boys (at least, I think you're boys/men, not too many female pipe tobacco reviewers out there, seemingly ... ). Taste is such a personal thing; whether you enjoy the finest Balkan, or ground up hay soaked w/ cheap bourbon, is up the individual. That being said ... First off, select a pipe that cools/softens the flavor -- it would seem that any Ashton or the right Dunhill would do the trick, to name a few possibilities. Or a long clay (Xmas Cheer was great in my new clay Dutch clay, bought here in NY at the historical Keene's Chophouse). Then, rub it out somewhat carefully/thoroughly, and let it sit for 20 minutes to dry just a little bit if you have a freshly-opened tin (unless you are in a very humid room/space--if so, skip that part). Finally, gravity feed without much tamping down. Gentle tamping can happen later once the blend is cooking right. Smoke this baby easy & slow and she'll reward you big-time. Some of that magical VA 'toastiness' that I've come to look forward to is in there, as well as some fruitiness and spiciness; and after a somewhat harsh beginning, Xmas Cheer '04, like all the others I've tried in this series, rewards your patience and care.
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bigjonburley	02/16/2005	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant
I believe that this VA has not been given enough credit for its composition. I agree with POUNDER's review, in that the beauty of this blend lies in its potential. Although this tobacco is already ten years in the making, there is still so much unmetabolized sugar remaining, that this VA will age to perfection. I really can't get over the amount of sugar that must have originally been present in this leaf but, this is what allows most VA to age so well. Stock up on this one boys, the future of this blend is bound to be legendary.
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Pounder 5000	02/04/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
This stuff burns the mouth and tastes like No. 27 and The Navy cavendish had a kid that couldn't live up to his poor parents name! So why the high rating ? Because I believe in this flake. I have utter faith that given a few years of aging this stuff will be remarkable. Opening a new tin right now and tasting it is an exercise in what is to come. Greg Pease is one of the most esteemed blenders in America today. His only problem is his typically American trait of impatience. All of his wonderfully blended tobaccos are sent out to the consumer far to young. If you taste a Pease blend that is absolutely no good, simply put the remainder in a mason jar and wait a year. The transformation is amazing. Now this is a problem that the McNeills have never shown us before and I hope this doesn't become a habit. How many smokers around the world have been informed that Mr. Pease is one of Americas best only to pop the top and taste an unsmokeable tobacco that is merely lacking age? Do you think they will ever buy anymore, much less take these American tobaccos as seriously? Hopefully so, but I still think that all of these young blends would sell better and make a much more favorable impression if they were sold when they are mature and ready. Perhaps they were just in a rush to find a special leaf for this years Christmas blend and had to release it. But don't you think they would have been better served by keeping it in good aging conditions and releasing it as next years blend? At the very least they could put a note with the tin description with the advice to open and put in jars for aging awhile before partaking. I think the public would appreciate this and would end up buying more. Oh well, enough rambling- go ahead and stock up on this stuff- just be more patient with it than its blenders- and in time I think you will have a heavenly smoke!
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emmbee	01/13/2005	Mild	None detected	Mild	Unnoticeable
I sampled a bit of this at a local tobacconist; He had an open tin. It?s a festive can, and the description of the contents courtesy of McClelland?s own extensive product brochure, makes this out to be a truly unique designer blend full of the most unique cuts of tobacco culled from a variety of vintages. Alas, it did nothing for me. The tin aroma is flat. The thick cuts of Virginia are broken into small, chunky bars. It?s not an easy slice to rub out, nor is it easy to pack. Like other experiences I?ve had with matured McClelland Virginias, it?s next to impossible to keep lit, requiring half a box of matches for one pipeful. The taste is static and doesn?t seem to develop into anything. I smoked about half the bowl, became disinterested, dumped it out and tried something else; Frog Morton Across the Pond, I think it was. Fortunately, Frog was magnificent and I?ve been hooked ever since. Cheer is a holiday gimmick with the kind of marketing hype one gets too familiar with at Yuletide. Save your money and buy something else. Luckily, this blend, like Christmas, comes but once a year. One of five stars
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Darth 69	01/10/2005	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I agree on many points with the previous reviewer. In my own words this is a wonderful qualilty in a virginia flake. A somewhat mild, yet profound complexity to be experienced by the smoker. Spice notes that accompany a higher than average natural sweetness with a noticeable coolness than one usually finds in a straight VA flake. There is also that characteristically McClelland vinegary tang upon opening the tin. The only one complaint I have is like with many of McClelland flakes and blends the tobacco is cut to wide. This makes it troublesome to keep lit. However, what a fantastic example in natural tobacco qualities can be achieved with top quality leaf and extended aging. In this case 10 years. - Recomended
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Luke_Wyatt	10/30/2004	Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant
I look forward to Christmas Cheer each holidy. It doesn't really vary much from year to year except that i would say that 2004 is a bit stronger than the previous one's. Tin aroma is like Russion Tea minus the cloves. Cinimin, apple, and tea are the main complements on top of a good virginia. I smoke this stuff on a regular basis. Even though it's seasonal, there's even Christmas Cheer to go year round.
Showing reviews 1 through 12 of 12 reviews of this tobacco