McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2012 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
Darth Vader	04/22/2013	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
A little darker than 2011 and less of the citrus taste that makes X-mas cheer so distinctive. Still a very good Lighter flake. Mr Big below nailed it with his brown flake comparison.
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ArchtopBill	03/13/2013	Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
My local tobacconist is out of Frog Morton's Cellar, so I grabbed a tin of this to tie me over. I have always enjoyed a flake cut Virginia. and this is rather good. Burns slowly, but it does seem a tad hot at times.
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Blue Bayou	03/13/2013	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Very pleasant notes of wood fires, easy to puff, and delicious flavor. Copious white smoke, no bite.
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430pat	01/25/2013	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Just not for me to mild no wow factor when I smoke it.
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Informative	01/12/2013	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Just cracked a 100g tin and upon opening, the smell of a spicy, rich ketchup came flowing out into my nostrels. Ahhh the smell of a premium aged Virginia. A nice dark broken flake was appealing to the old eye but as for the quantity, well; them bastards cheesed me ! 75g no more, no less. The flake easily rubbed out and went straight into my bowl damp as an 18 year old girl in the spring. A couple charring lights and the baccy was roaring. A rather strong flavour came upon that third light and a decent milky smoke. Now I tried puffen her lightly and hard and found that each had no bite and was really rather pleasent on the palate. Smoked well throughout the bowl with no relights and burned down to a nice white ash. Overall a good relaxing smoke that I will be coming back to with a bit of aging. Rating would be a 4 star out of 5.
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nitramretep	01/03/2013	Medium	Mild to Medium	Full	Tolerable
I also think this blend needs time to mature. I tried a pipeful and it was hard to keep burning and had a rather "tight" flavor. McClelland is one of my favorite brands and I was a little dissapointed by this exotic blend. I will let it sit for a few months and see how aging might improve the blend. I must say a friend of mine thought it was great...so maybe it's like a single malt; some people prefer different casks!
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CRDesertpipe	12/13/2012	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant
I have always felt that Christmas Cheer should be enjoyed both as a fresh blend and aged. This year I am enjoying the 2012 blend in early December, and will open a 2000 tin for Christmas Day. This year's offering I rate as outstanding, and have put up several tins for aging. Dried slightly before packing, it burns well and I am trying it in different bowls to see what the optimal shape is to get the most out of the excellent flavor offered this year. So far, a narrow tall bowl is my favorite. Unlike some other years, the flavor and taste start off strong, with a rich helping of Virginia sweetness. So much so, that I can only imagine what this blend will bring in a decade. Excellent room note for a straight VA, and a desire to grab another pipeful later in the afternoon add to my recommendation that you try this one now, and squirrel away a tin or three for later Holiday enjoyment.
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spidermonkey	12/11/2012	Mild	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I cracked my tin tonight, and was pleasantly surprised. I can be a little sensitive to VAs and their potential to bite. I tend to smoke a little quickly and have noticed no ill effects yet. Great when exhaled through the nose and those wisps that curl back up into the nose while breathing between pulls are delightful. Great aroma to me... the Mrs. says it's not bad. Some citrus notes and quite sweet in my opinion. Great tasting, yet light-bodied tobacco. Needs a bit of time in the open air for my preference. Go slow for more flavor. Push it and it can become flat - as can many tobaccos. Have some aging in a jar and a tin in reserve... may have to make that a few more tins. Delicious. Edit I have noticed that if I pack it as tightly as I would a ribbon, the experience is not as grand. For me, it really shines with a very light pack. If it is too light, you can always adjust through careful tamping.
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Mr. Big	11/24/2012	Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I want to not come across too negative on this blend, as it is real good. That said, I like my Virginias sweeter and less mature. I really liked the 2011 edition, as it had a lot of interest. This one starts out interesting, but quickly fades into more of a "Brown flake"or has some Kentucky . Brown flakes I like to smoke at a smolder and this seems to be hard to keep lit at a smolder. Consequently, I smoke this faster and it seems to lose all sweetness and gets ashy. I would take "my review with a grain of salt " , McC still makes a quality Virginia, just don't expect a 5100 Red Cake type blend.
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kaywoodiecanuck	11/01/2012	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I ordered as quickly as I could when I seen this become available and as said before me was like a kid at Christmas. I waited though... I opened the tin and packed on of my favorite pipes and put it sigh... back in the stand to sit and excruciatingly long time... took a few good pinches out to air a bit and put the lid back on the tin. While I waited I sniffed this stuff over and over and the Ketchup mentioned (i did say that at first too) moved more towards something oddly familiar yet distant. I asked anyone so inclined to stick their nose in to see what they thought (quite a fun game for me :)). It struck me finally one evening... Fruit cake!! I swear that is what it reminds me of. I gave some to a good friend of mine to to try and we usually catch time to sit and chat and share a good puff and expecting him to wait some like I did he popped into my office the next day singing its praises (I was appalled - and now had a good reason to break my waiting period)! Long story to say this is a very lovely blend and I am going to get second tin to have as a treat even after the holidays! Great room note (for me ;)), great tasting smoke that deserves to be enjoyed slowly with a good beverage! Highly recommended.
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Wiseguy1982	10/25/2012	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Just got my tin of Christmas Cheer 2012 this evening, and naturally, like a kid on Christmas, I had to open it and have a bowl right away! There is a plentiful amount of broken flake chunks in the tin, this should last a long while. I didn't bother letting it sit out, loaded 5 or 6 pieces into my bowl and went at it. That was a mistake, only because the tobacco is moist enough to not stay lit for too long. However, I can only see this getting infinitely better with drying time and cellaring! The flavor profile of CC2012 is as if Irish Flake and FVF got drunk and had an unprotected one night stand leaving CC@012 to be their love child! It's a wonderful marriage of the finest VA's plus the McKetchup. I love that smell, and I'm glad it doesn't transfer over into the smoke. This, naturally, since it's a VA blend is meant to be sipped and savored. Being such a limited release, this is perfect to accompany those treasureable moments with your loved ones, or if your in need of a well deserved treat. 4 stars is simply not enough. From now, until Christmas arrives, or when websites run out, I will be buying a tin every week.
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Wawalsh	10/10/2012	Mild	None detected	Mild	Pleasant
2011 was a great year for this blend. The 2012 needs some more cellaring time in my opinion to reach that level. Still a good smoke and I suspect it will become great in time.
Showing reviews 1 through 12 of 12 reviews of this tobacco