McClelland 40th Anniversary

I simply cannot believe that Mike and Mary made a blend this good . Even by their very high standards this is exceptional . This is a complex Virginia that delivers simply the smoothest smoke that I have ever had .As the smoke progresses it goes from Virginia highlights to a deep and mellow flow with earthy overtones . Although it was freshly tinned this tobacco smoked like a xmas cheer that had a chance to ferment for a few years . I will wait a few months for the tobacco in my unopened cans to ferment a while and it will be even better . I cannot imagine where they got this Virginia but it might not have been on Earth . The tobacco is cut in little squares and rectangles and real easy to prepare for the pipe . The moisture level is perfect . A bunch of us opened this tin in Chicago this year . We had been smoking Four Square Red in a cutter top can . It was great . The Mc Clelland stood up to it very nicely . In my 55 years of smoking I guess that I have smoked it all . Nothing beat this .

Mild to medium body Virginia Flake. Ready to be smoked from the tin, though air drying for a few minutes wouldn't hurt. Lights up easily and burns slowly and evenly to fine ligh gray ash. Tin aroma of dry fruit with a touch of citrus. Very mild and pleasant smock with not even a hint of tongue bite. Very pleasant natural sweetnes of Virginia, slightly tangy with touch of citrus and grassy overtones. Just enough spice to add complexity to the smoke. I am huge fan of Christmas Cheer and tried all of them for at least last 20 years, but this is even better. Probably the best Virginia Flake ever made!

This is my favorite blend I've smoked so far. I'd had my share of vapers before this, but never a straight Virginia and though I like my Vapers, this is just something special. There is jus something savory about it. It's not peppery like a vaper, but it has this tang of spiciness that is amazing. From the first puff to the last. It's a really flavorful fully tasteful Virginia. After enjoying it so much I picked up some 5100 red cake, hoping it would be a close enough flavor that I could not have to worry about the "limited edition" tag this has, and be able to enjoy that taste in bulk forever, but it just wasn't happening. I enjoy 5100 red cake, but the label on this isn't lying. It's a whole lot richer than the red cake. 1/2 a bowl in on the red cake, I taste a hint of similarity, but while red cake is kind of airy, this is rich flavor all the way. I really hope they find a way to keep this stuff around a while longer than "limited edition" would indicate. No tongue bite, just great taste.

...a very nice offering from McClelland...after several bowls, it has quickly become a favorite...More to follow after a few more bowls...I don't get any of the ketchup or vinegar smell or taste and this could be an all day smoke for many...

More to come...

Wonderful and it should only get better with age. 40th Ann. reminds me of the level of leaf that McClellands uses for Christmas Cheer, but this has more heft and less tang. If you enjoy Virginias at all, you will love this.

Exactly what it says on the label. These broken flakes burn slowly with beautiful, and mellow yet rich Va flavour. Aside from the signature acetic McC note, this really is in the tradition of British flakes of years gone by.

It's not complex, but nor is it linear. There is plenty of flavour, and it is all ripe Virginia.

The flakes are thick and rubbery and they will not rub out completely by hand. Go with the flow and stuff and go. As others have noted, absolutely bite free and mellow till the last ash. Lasts an age in the bowl. Good for anytime, but well worth making this a 'down time' smoke.

As a final note, I found it did far better in briar than cob or clay, which is always a surprise to me when a tobacco does that.

Yes, this really is a great tobacco. It has the same DNA as the Christmas Cheers offerings which are my favorites. Less ketchup smell than the CCs but as with them that note soon disappears and does not come through in the smoke. A little less tangy than the Christmas Cheers also. Seems to be pressed fairly hard so took a little more rubbing out than normal for this cut of tobacco. Perfect moisture straight out of the tin. Cellar some for sure, this will be a classic.

Yet another elegy for yet another tobacco from Christmas Past . . .

McClelland's 40th Anniversary (Limited Edition) Straight Virginia (Red Virginia Flake) is but another fine example of a uniquely classic McClelland blend, now lost forever.

I didn’t pick up the pipe until 2013. Initially, I didn't want anything to do with straight Virginias. I was naturally drawn to English blends, Balkans, Orientals – and even though those blends contained Virginias – I wanted something deeper, darker, fruitier, more leather and campfire and fig. To me – as a complete neophyte – the idea of smoking a straight Virginia, at that time -- well -- the first thing that came to my mind was a Marlboro cigarette. (Hay? Grass? Citrusy? Are you kidding me? If I wanted a chardonnay, I’d have asked for one – I wanted big, fat, chunky, chewy cabernets and Barolos).

So, by the time I first encountered this Straight Virginia blend back in the Spring of 2017, I was just learning how to really appreciate Virginia tobaccos, and I was naturally drawn to this particular Virginia blend. I don’t know if it was simply the name McClelland (the name that sort of gave it a “Ford Motors” of pipe tobaccos cachet) or whether it was simply that marvelous, marvelous ketchup smell when you popped the tin – I just thought to myself then that “this McClelland is the benchmark Virginia by which I will measure and evaluate any and all other Virginias by.”

Had I known then what I know now, I would have hoarded every little blue-and-white tin of this heavenly substance I could have laid my greedy little hands on. (Mike and Mary McNeil announced in a letter dated February 28th, 2018, that they were going to be shutting down, but, unfortunately, I didn’t get the memo until it was way, way too late).

I only have 400 grams of this stuff remaining, with perhaps another 75 grams in a jar. I’m going to let those four tins sit for a good long time before opening them (I’m thinking 2030 or so; I’m saving at least one for the launch of the first manned mission to Mars, currently planned for somewhere around 2034).

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UPDATE: June 4, 2019

I just discovered clay pipes, and what a difference they make -- all the difference in the world when it comes to straight Virginias. Smoking this McClelland VA out of a clay is like tasting the tobacco for the very first time. Indeed, the same can be said for EVERY Virginia I have smoked. The difference between a clay and a briar is simply ineffable. THIS is how Virginia's are to be enjoyed, in a clay pipe. All you get is the true taste of the tobacco, and nothing more. Cool, very dry smoke (no moisture at all). Started smoking pipes back in 2013, and have just now discovered I've been doing it all wrong when it comes to straight VAs. If you have never smoked Virginias out of a clay, spend the $14-$20 and check it out -- the results will be utterly priceless.

Tin Note: The famous McClelland Ketchup smell is here. It is not appalling. Underneath I can get some hits of the sweetness of the Virginia. Moisture Content: Perfect out of the tin. Visual Note: Beautiful flake with a dark red color and bright spots throughout. Smoke: Wonderful flavor of sweet hay and grass. Dried fruit notes through out. Very pleasant and mild smoke. No bite. Got a tad more bitter as the bowl got low.