McClelland Christmas Cheer 2016
(3.63)
Handblended, premium pressed Virginia flake pipe tobaccos. A fine vintage, naturally sweet, in limited quantity.
Notes: From tin insert: We are proud to offer our 2016 Christmas Cheer pipe tobacco, an exceptionally fine vintage tobacco, hand blended and aged in pressed cakes to develop natural mellowness. This 2016 blend is made with a special selection of ripe, red, flue-cured Virginia from a beautiful 2010 Middle-Belt crop. Superb leaf picked at peak ripeness, it is naturally sweet, rich in oils. It should age with distinction. Each buying season, we look for tobaccos of exceptional quality and distinctive character. In various combinations, their flavors, aromas, textures, contribute to the overall excellence of all our products.
The leaves of different crops and regions are combined to maintain consistency from year to year.
With Christmas Cheer pipe tobacco, we treat our discriminating customers to the singular pleasure of a tasting of the very finest in tobaccos of a particular vintage, not worrying about maintaining the flavor and appearance of this product into future years but actually striving instead to present the unique character of a single crop and area.
That's what Christmas Cheer pipe tobacco is all about. Happy Holidays!
Details
| Brand | McClelland |
| Blended By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
| Manufactured By | McClelland Tobacco Company |
| Blend Type | Straight Virginia |
| Contents | Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Broken Flake |
| Packaging | 100 grams tin |
| Country | United States |
| Production | No longer in production |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 26, 2017 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Very Pleasant |
Looks like a typical CC in the tin... medium brown broken flake with the classic McClelland fermented sileage. I alternated bowls of this with the 2017 crop, mostly because that was the only way I could pinpoint the differences between the two. They were very close, and any diffs I detected could very well have been my imagination.
Once properly dried (and again, for those who don't like the signature McClellands smell, dry out the tobacco and it will go away. It'll also smoke a lot better!)... and they both took a pretty fair investment of time to do so... this tasted like it smelled - a fairly typical McClellands CC. That's not to say these vintages weren't very good. They were. They just didn't stand out from the rest of the pack like many of them do. This seemed more along the lines of the 40th Anniversary substitute rather than a full monty CC. The 2005, for example, is a classic Virginia that I'm happy to have found multiple tins of, at no small expense. The '16 and '17 would have been excellent if I had never sampled some of the other vintages. These seemed ordinary by comparison. That said, ordinary for McClellands is better than most blenders can ever aspire to when it comes to straight Virginia. The '16 seemed to have a bit more spice to it and more upper range while the '17 seemed to have a hair more depth. It was consternating to try and distinguish these. I tossed in a bowl of 3 other vintages just to make sure I wasn't going bonkers and those 3 were quite different, both from each other and from these two. I have no doubt these will age magnificently and I have an extra tin of both. But as of now, they aren't the classic, mortgage your house for a tin, perfect example of straight Virginia blends. If you're a red VA fan, you need to try these. I'm saving my other tins for at least 10 years, and we'll see what I have to say then.
Once properly dried (and again, for those who don't like the signature McClellands smell, dry out the tobacco and it will go away. It'll also smoke a lot better!)... and they both took a pretty fair investment of time to do so... this tasted like it smelled - a fairly typical McClellands CC. That's not to say these vintages weren't very good. They were. They just didn't stand out from the rest of the pack like many of them do. This seemed more along the lines of the 40th Anniversary substitute rather than a full monty CC. The 2005, for example, is a classic Virginia that I'm happy to have found multiple tins of, at no small expense. The '16 and '17 would have been excellent if I had never sampled some of the other vintages. These seemed ordinary by comparison. That said, ordinary for McClellands is better than most blenders can ever aspire to when it comes to straight Virginia. The '16 seemed to have a bit more spice to it and more upper range while the '17 seemed to have a hair more depth. It was consternating to try and distinguish these. I tossed in a bowl of 3 other vintages just to make sure I wasn't going bonkers and those 3 were quite different, both from each other and from these two. I have no doubt these will age magnificently and I have an extra tin of both. But as of now, they aren't the classic, mortgage your house for a tin, perfect example of straight Virginia blends. If you're a red VA fan, you need to try these. I'm saving my other tins for at least 10 years, and we'll see what I have to say then.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 04, 2018 | Medium | None Detected | Medium | Unnoticeable |
This is a beautiful medium brown flake that I was lucky enough to try at my weekly pipe club. The tin note has the typical McClelland vinegar smell but not very strong. This is one of the smoooothest blends I have smoked in some time. I have a small amount that was given to me which I will save for the weekend. At least I got to try this limited edition.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 01, 2022 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
The red Virginias offer a burst of tangy ripe dark fruit, earth, wood, sugar, bread, some tart and and tangy citrus, mild floralness, light spice and vinegar. The strength is a slot past the center of mild to medium, while the taste level just reaches the medium mark. The nic-hit is in that center. No chance of bite or harshness, and barely has a rough note. Burns cool, clean, and slow with a very consistent flavor that extends to the lightly lingering, pleasant after taste, and room note. Requires some relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl; less than many other years. An uncomplicated all day sweet smoke; one of the creamiest, sweetest entries in the series. Three and a half stars.
-JimInks
-JimInks
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