McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2008 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 33 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
Mickey	04/29/2010	Mild	None detected	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
At first after purchasing 15 tins of Christmas 2008 it was hard to light and smoked very slow and needed to be re-lit. So I left it alone for 2 years. Now it is easy to light and very enjoyable puff with lots of natural flavor. It just needed time to age, I guess.
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happy jack	04/13/2010	Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I agree with quantumboy 100%, I think with time," and it has already been to bed for 8+years" this will only get better, smoked a 100g can, and put 2 100g tins to bed, Its Virginia man, sweet, sweet Virginia.
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quantumboy	09/16/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is the only Christmas Cheer I've tried. It's very good stuff, good enough to justify my buying several tins when I first tried it. It just does not dazzle me with complexity or richness so I can't give up that fourth star. Certainly recommended, but by a guy who prefers English or Balkan blends (I do, however, love Blackwoods Flake, FVF and Union Square).
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Ismokeadapipe	03/27/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
As N7COF stated below me, he gave the blend to a fellow pipe smoker...I was that pipe smoker LOL. Thanks sir for the blend. I tried a bowl of it...not bad...but not good either. The catsup smell is a real put off for me as well. This won't be smoked anytime soon. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth my friend. 10/26/2009: After letting this blend age for about 9 months, it is a great tobacco. Yes, the smell is still rather catsup or vinegar...but when it burns it is all the better. I stand corrected.
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Brian	03/27/2009	Medium	Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This one of those blends I discovered what I don't like & gave it to a fellow pipe smoker. I'm sure it's a good blend, it turns out I don't like as mentioned in a earlier review the typical McClelland ketchup/vinegar smell.
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Fly ticky	03/22/2009	Medium	Mild	Very Full	Pleasant
Yum Yum Yum on Christmas day on Christmas day in the morning.Gentelman this is top shelf.If you like virginian tobacco this a good year.It has been aged eight yrs already before you even get it,so realy all ya need to do is smoke it.A very smooth and great tasting blend.Not realy sure how to describe it.Ill say this its worth the money.
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periqueguy	03/01/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
I figured that the holidays would be a good time to try this tobacco and I regret the purchase. In my opinion this doesn't belong in the same sentence as several of the other virginia flakes on the market like Rattray's Marlin Flake or any of the Gawith flakes.
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peacepipe	01/30/2009	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I've 'sampled' (as the packaging suggests one treats this) each Christmas Cheer edition since about 1999. They all seem to share that pungent, slightly fermented sweet-and-tangy scent on opening the tin (not like any catchup I've ever had, don't know who started that dang "catchup" business...), and they all have that moist, broken pressed flake presentation and fortunately, all of that is present in the 2008 The main difference for me in 2008's edition is that the bite of years previous was gone; this one is smooth and sweeter than many of the others. A large-bowled pipe, mixture well rubbed out, and not too tightly packed was the winning combo for me but you can enjoy this in whatever you've got handy. It doesn't seem to evolve/change much smoking down the bowl to the heel (perhaps getting a bit fuller- flavored near the heel?), but this is not an issue for me. An enjoyable smoke for sure.
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Latakia	01/20/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A nice VA flake. Similar to the Christmas 2007 but I gave the 2007 a higher mark...not sure why and I don't have a 2007 to compare to. Typical McClelland ketchup scent when opeing the tin. Beutiful cut flakes that as a result of the sweet VA would age well. Moist and could use a bit of drying out before smoking but never seem to wait long enough. This is my current VA on rotation since I usually have one VA, one Aromatic and a few latakia blends always open. If I buy another tim, will store it and smoke in a few years. Nice for a break for a latakia smoker. If I was a hard core VA smoker, would rate it higher.
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Pipe4ever	01/14/2009	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is a typical McClelland Virginia with ketchup aroma; this is a fruity and naturally sweet tobacco, tasty and deep, easy to smoke directly from the tin and will get much better after few years, overall good investment and great stuff. Buy some now, enjoy them later!
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Big bad Jon	01/09/2009	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
With only two exceptions Christmas Cheer has never even slightly disappointed. This year is great. After trying this at the last pipe club meeting I am off to cellar a bunch of this stuff. After only few years this stuff is going to be like gold. The flavors are matched very well, but not as bright as some of the past. McClelland seems to be moving away from the super sweet Virginias. I really like the almost smokey taste in this one. No tongue bite no thermal nuclear meltdown in the pipe. As most all have already said this one is destined to be a classic.
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smokinitnatural	01/08/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I just needed to throw my 2 cents in on this outstanding tobacco. Not too much to add other than this stuff is VA done right. Pure natural tobacco. If you love VA tobacco you owe it to yourself to try this stuff. As far as the catsup smell (I personally think it smells like a good worcestershire) You either like it or you dont.
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Gran Grifón	01/05/2009	Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
I recognize that got high expectatives on this tobacco. I would recommended this blend just for VA lovers. It´s funny the vinegar-ketchup smell when you open the can, but it tastes flat for me. Anyway is an high quality tobacco.
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Quick_nick	01/04/2009	Mild	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Christmas cheer confirms my suspicions that Most any straight Virginia needs at least a year to develop and mellow. I was expecting a great straight Virgina smoke and was looking forward to a seasonal blend. I was disappointed; it is harsh and not as pleasant as other virginia's, I've smoked about half the tin and will have to force myself to smoke the other half. This was my first stab at CC but I don't think it will be my last I may get another tin and let it sit for some time. One plus is that it does have a nice unadulterated tobacco taste and essence but I can't give it 3 stars.
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Pseudo Nim	12/26/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Having read that the tobacco's for this were chosen in 2000, an eight year old flake sounded like a dream come true. Sadly I was a little dissapointed, this tobacco wasn't as rich and tasty as I had beleived it might be, that being said, this is a tobacco that I beleive will age beautifully in two or three years, thus my purchase of three tins, one for now and two more for two or three years time. Having got past the ketchup smell, I found this to be a mild almost monochromatic mild smoke of a good quality virginia, no huge burst of taste or flavour. I was unable to distinguish anything special at all, but for some reason, I have this unshakable (suspicion if you like) belief that in a year or two, or maybe even three, this will be a tobacco I will regret not having bought by the pound.
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Pipestud	12/25/2008	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
What better way to start Christmas morning 2008 than with a bowl of McClelland's 2008 Christmas Cheer loaded up in a new Christmas pipe? (1970s Peterson's Shamrock Canadian estate piece that I purchased for the occasion). I should have taken the time to let the leaf dry after popping the tin. It was too moist and made the full rub out difficult and the blend had to be re-lit often. I smoked slowly to avoid tongue bite and was rewarded with loads of Virginia flavor. The McClelland's Christmas Cheer series is always top-shelf each year. Always similar in taste, this one's flavor is near the top of the ladder. Get you some. Merry Christmas to all at tobaccoreviews.com! Pipestud
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kkurilj	12/23/2008	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Silent night, holy night... Magnificent Blend! Highly Recommend!
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BigBear	12/15/2008	Medium	None detected	Mild	Unnoticeable
I decided to purchase a tin of this because of the great reviews and am sad to say that I either expected too much or appreciate it too little. I don't understand the fan fair this blend gets. After repeated attempts my opinion does not change on this tobacco. It rubs out nicely and after a few hours of drying out still has a hard time staying lit. It starts to bite if you attempt to keep it smoldering and I just was not impressed with the taste, room note or the flame outs. I tried to be objective and introduced it to my pipe club cohorts and the jury had the same verdict. I doubt I will finish what is left in the tin and will revisit this in a few months to see if something changes. I really don't know if this was just the hype that got to me or what. Sorry guys whether its catchup or ketchup I would go for something else in the future.
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krg1000	12/13/2008	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
After popping open the tin, I got the usual McClelland catsup smell which seems to stand out more than usual with this than other blends from McClelland IMHO. Packs well after a little rubbing out. One of the best tobaccos I have had the pleasure to burn. This burns to a nice fine ash at the bottom of the bowl. I may just horde a tin or two for later consumption just to see what time does to this fine weed. I can only imagine it will get better with time.
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Benjamin Button	12/08/2008	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Tin Aroma: Typical McClelland ketchup/vinegar smell, but really rich and smokey. Appearance: Broken pressed flake, dark brown with hints of lighter tobacco pressed between the darker flakes. Moisture: Out of the tin it was too moist, but I laid a pipeful on a paper towel for about 2 hours and it was perfect (our apartment is very dry due to the New England winter weather and having the heat on). Packing: I cut the flake into cubes and gravity filled the bowl about 3/4 of the way then rubbed out some flakes and packed on top to light. Lighting/Smoking: Lit fine, went out a few times but always re-lit with no issue. Tobacco was a nice rich VA blend, with a nice sweetness left on the palate. I tried to smoke it as slow as possible, as I could feel a bit of bite when puffed harder. A lot of subtle characteristics (mostly different sweet /spicy notes) with this but I think I am going to give this a week or so since opening and see if it changes. This blend should age very well, and I have another tin that I will leave unopened for a few years at least. Room note was hard to gauge, but my girlfriend, who was on the couch next to me, said it did not bother her at all, and wasn't bad. Definitely recommended if you are a VA fan.
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 33 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >