McClelland - Christmas Cheer 2005 pipe tobacco reviews

Review

Please log in to add or edit a review. If you do not have an account yet, you can sign up for one here.

Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 25 of 25 reviews of this tobacco
Kerdy	12/26/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is the first time I have tried Christmas Cheer. I have been buying tins since 2003 and putting them back. This year I decided to get an extra tin and try it out. I am glad I did, but I have to say that if you arent careful, your tongue will pay the price. It was a nice tobacco. No special flavoring added. I rubbed it out and let it dry a bit before I smoked any. The things I like best about it was that it burned clean all the way to the bottom, produced good hearty volumes of smoke and once it caught and took off, I never had to relight which for some reason tends to be a problem for me. If I could have kept from having my tongue singed, I would have given it 4 stars. I hope that aging it will take care of that problem. Good experience!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
CaptnDan	12/24/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
For my review of this blend, I will share a post I made on this blend on pipesmokers2, a group on Yahoo. I had just received two tins of CC2005 when I made the post. Apologies to those who may not be familiar with the friends to whom I make reference in the portions of the post that I copy here. ************ One of the tins of 2005 will be smoked in December of 2010. The other however, was for this year. Even though this is the current year's offering, it is already 8 years old, as it is the 1997 crop. My only other experience with CC was with the CC1999 that Jeff shared with me last year. For those who may be unfamiliar, Christmas Cheer is a single crop, single leaf tobacco. To call it a blend would be a misnomer. It is selected and aged, and when the gurus at McClelland feel it's ready, it becomes the CC of that year. When I opened the tin, I was greeted with a wonderful aroma of a freshly cut field with undertones of rasins, and of course the trademark McClelland 'ketchup' aroma. :-) I rubbed it out a bit and set it aside to dry. I stood before my pipe racks for a while, this is an important decision! I needed a well-broken-in Va pipe, worthy of what I anticipated in the tobacco. Finally, I decided on a hand-made Kirk Bosi. This pipe has always done a wonderful job on the Va type blends. From the first charring light, I knew this was a winner! A wonderful Va flavor, representative of the genre. Hard to imagine that this tin was only sealed about 5 months ago.... but then the tobacco had already aged about 8 years before it went into the tin. As the bowl progressed, the flavor increased, as expected. By mid-bowl I was in a state of altered consciousness. This is wonderful stuff. Very subtle nuances, and a thoroughly delightful flavor throughout. Before I finished the bowl, I rubbed out the next bowl. I'm still trying to decide which pipe this will grace, but right now I am leaning toward the Oom-Paul that was gifted to me by Bishop Ivan. Well, I just checked - the second bowl seems to be dried to perfection, so I have a pipe to load! Merry Christmas everybody!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
GeoLogger	12/19/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Unnoticeable
I like Virginia tobacco. I like McClellands. I love the Christmas Cheer offerings. The Christmas Cheer selections are given as designed to feature a single crop. So this year we get Middle Belt flue cured 1997. How wonderful, I can now say a bit about what I think of "Orange Middle Belt" Va. This is pretty nice too; the cut is great, the colour is great, and the flavour is fantastic. I personally don't pay much attention to room note; it usually smells like tobacco. I also don't do much tin-sniffing. But taste is another matter - and this is one fine tobacco. It is a very smooth mild and extremely friendly version - but it is Virginia. So I won't promise that tongue-bitten nonVirgina sorts will be converted but this one isn't all that brassy. If you like Virginia, and especially if you already know you like McClellands, then I feel comfortable in predicting you will enjoy this immensely.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Joseph Durham	12/06/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
I have been smoking pipes for four years. I have smoked the same blend for the period of time never trying anything new. I received a sample of this years Christmas Cheer, and I had to try it. I rubbed the flakes, leaving only little clumps. Tamp lightly, but enough that it will stay burning. Burns wonderfully, no tounge bite, absolutely wonderful. Bought one can, however, I will have buy more and cellar them. I can only imagine how wonderful this will taste in about five years. For my first time at trying a Virginia blend, and not an aromatic, I can't wait to try more.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Tubalcain	12/03/2005	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Very Pleasant
Let me start by saying that I find a little of everything I like in this tobacco. A little pungency, medium to full body, and straight-forward. The flakes are broken up a little and are dark brown and black. The tin has the famous/infamous McClelland ketchup aroma. I find it best to fully rub out, let sit for 1/2 to 1 hour, pack a little on the loose side, and smoke away. Absolutely no tongue bite no matter how hard it is smoked. As far as the flavor is concerned, this stuff is absolutely sublime. It is highly recomended and is unique unto itself. I will be buying a couple more tins to stow away for a later time. Do yourself a favor and enjoy a can for the holidays.....I will be thoroughly enjoying mine.
< PREVIOUS Showing reviews 21 through 25 of 25 reviews of this tobacco