McClelland Christmas Cheer 1995

(3.75)
Hand-blended, premium pressed Virginia flake tobaccos. A fine vintage, naturally sweet, in limited quantity.
Notes: From tin insert: We are proud to offer our 1995 Christmas Cheer, an exceptionally fine vintage tobacco, handblended and aged in pressed cakes to develop natural mellowness. This 1995 blend is made from a special selection of the finest 1992-crop lemon-orange Carolina leaves of the Piedmont region. These have only now mellowed adequately to be used. This is a bright, sweet, light-bodied broken flake, cut thin for easy packing. Smoke it slowly and savor the flavor. Each buying season, we look for tobaccos of superior quality and distinctive character. In various combinations, their flavors, aromas and textures contribute to the overall excellence of our entire product line. The leaves of different crops and regions are blended to maintain consistency from year to year. With Christmas Cheer, 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 future generations of this product but actually striving instead to present the unique character of a single crop and area. That's what Christmas Cheer is all about. Happy Sampling.

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
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.75 / 4
6

2

0

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 11, 2017 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
The lemon and orange Carolina Virginias offer a range of flavors: A deep, rich fermented tangy, earthy (more than some other years), a little wood and sugar, a hint of tart lemon among the other more obvious citrus aspects, and a little grass/hay. The fermentation causes the spice notes to sport a “cinnamon and nutmeg-like” effect. The “vinegar” mostly disappears after the early puffs, but hints remain here and there as you go along. Seems to get a little tangier after the half way point. The taste level is a little closer to mild than it is to medium. The nic-hit is mild. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool, clean, and moderately smooth at a slightly slow pace with deep richness all the way to the finish. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a very pleasant after taste. An all day smoke.

-JimInks
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 05, 2011 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant
Finished the tin I first cracked in 2007, smoked occasionally over these 4 years. It was interesting to note the changes in the blend over that time, however I never smoked a fresh tin so I can't compare. On the other hand, any tin you might find is obviously not going to be new!

This was a beautifully sweet blend, but also dark and rich and tangy. Tin aroma was fairly robust with the smell of aged and fermented virginia leaf. Room note was excellent. The flavor of this matured over time and became even more rich and tangy, while becoming less sweet. Baked bread and plums overtook hay and citrus. This leaf really seasoned! Burn characteristics improved as well. The tobacco was fairly moist upon cracking the tin and I mason jar'd it in that state, drying out only the amount I needed to fill a bowl each time. It required a good hour plus to dry sufficiently and 2 hours was optimal. Not the finest virginia I've ever smoked but still excellent. I bought the tin when it was new but would pay a premium price for another. Well worth it!
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 28, 2012 Medium None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Please take this review with a grain of salt as I was only able to smoke one bowl of this from a friend at a recent pipe event. Having said that, this was an amazing smoke! Great depth of flavors with prime Va. sweetness and spice. Wish I could find a tin somewhere, as my oldest CC is from 2000!! If you can find it, it's wonderful right now!!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 24, 2006 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
To my regret, I've none of this in my cellar. To my good fortune, I've got a friend who shared some of his with me. The tin note quickly faded, the leaf was a little dry and the smoke was sublime - rich, complex and satisfying. This was certainly a good year and time has been generous to it's development. This is rare and fine smoke. If you get the opportunity, get some into your pipe.

Meerschaum Man Smoking an Altinok Smooth Canadian
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 13, 2006 Mild None Detected Medium Pleasant
This was a special tin that I found just for Christmas 2005. I had a "pipe buddy" visiting that I hadn't seen for a while, and being Christmas I figured it was the perfect time for this tobacco. This being the oldest pipe tobacco that I had yet aquired, I wasn't sure what to expect. What I got was WOW! Even after 10 years this was definitely a McClelland tobacco. You know that heinz 57 smell that some of us hate, some of us love, but is in all MC tins? It was here in full force. The next thing that I noticed was the beautiful bloom on the tobacco. These little, greenish-blue crystals give every pipe full a natural sweetness that only age could create. All in all I really enjoyed this tin, so much so that I'm having a hard time finishing it... I just don't want to see it go. So if you ever find one of these "early tins" of Christmas cheer pick it up. If you don't like it, I'll be happy to take it off of your hands!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 21, 2015 Mild None Detected Mild Pleasant
I received an ounce of this as a gift from a friend. It came in a baggie, and there was no discernible ketchup or vinegar pouch note, so it may have "aired" a little after being opened or unjarred. One way or another, this is a Virginia with 20 years of age. The tobacco was slightly dry and is a very narrow ribbon with a few pieces of mostly rubbed out flake.

It smoked like a good Virginia. It was slightly sweet with a grassy note or two and some tart/citrus. I did not get much complexity. It reminded me of a lighter Red Cake. I am claiming there is no topping, and the flavor is unassisted tobacco.

This is easy to recommend. It was a good smoke, and if I found a tin at a good price I would be happy to buy it.
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 25, 2006 Mild None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
I got lucky in being able to smoke some of this over the season. Very lucky.

Beautiful aroma, wonderful, full VA taste. If you can find some of this, smoke it and savor it!
1 person found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 25, 2005 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
Merry Christmas to all my friends here at tobaccoreviews.com!

1995 Christmas Cheer was the oldest one I could find in my cellar. I popped the top of the tin last night and took a whiff. Nice, deep, rich and tangy smelling. I removed about a pipeful and set the broken leaf aside to dry a tad, then stuck it in my pipe and let it sit overnight.

The first thing I did this morning was remove the tobacco from the pipe and put it in a brand new Ruthenberg sandblast that Santa had left under the Christmas tree for me. What a pipe and what a first smoke of the day!

Christmas Cheer 2005 is similar to the others; sweet, tangy, a tad on the bitey side and mellow. Marvelously aged and most certainly recommended to the Virginia Flake fans among our group of hobbyists.
1 person found this review helpful.
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