McClelland Christmas Cheer 2001

UPDATE: 4-4-08

This stuff keeps getting better and better. I can't say enough about the entire Christmas Cheer series. Another HUGE bonus I want to share with you is that this blend will make your pipe smoke sweet. No, not like artificial sweet, I mean that thing we all call a "sweet smoke". No bitter charcoal or burnt briar taste. No matter the blend you like, smoke this stuff once and a while and your pipe will smoke noticeably better. It is doing wonders for breaking in my new meerschaum and making it taste great.

This series is KING of the unflavored VA flake genre - hands down no questions or excuses.

ORIGINAL: 4-1-08

A soft, round VA with plenty of tang - not weak mind you - and possesing that light sweet creaminess of a premium VA. A broken flake that does burn better when fully rubbed out.

I have tried many a straight VA and VA dominant blend (being a huge VA fan myself).

Again, a perfect VA flake, wouldn't change it if I could. I could smoke this stuff all year - and probably will no matter what year vintage I find to buy.

This entire series through 2007 is modern classic in the pipe tobacco world.

Thank you McClelland, you remind me frequently of why I love pipe smoking.

🙂

I really do not have a review of this blend. I did smoke it, but frankly, cannot remember much about it and I didn't log my impressions into my personal tobacco diary.

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all of my fellow reviewers and especially to Jon Tillman for the great job he does in making www.tobaccoreviews.com one of the hottest sites on the web for us pipe & tobacco freaks.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Pipestud

Christmas Cheer is always good, so this one is no exception. Most reviews capture the flavor and tin note profile very well so I will keep this short, with one minor addition.

I have noticed this with all McClelland tobacco's, but especially their VA's. No matter how old they get they do not show any bloom. This is a 19/20 year old tobacco, and I believe it is from a 1995 crop. High sugar tobacco with no bloom? Odd and I am sure it has to do with the use of vinegar in the processing which gives McClelland's tobacco's the famed aroma. I wish this was a site that had comments, if anyone else has seen it I'd love to know. The very best leaf and processing goes into this rich, complex, spicy smoke. I also notice a nuttiness after I fully expel the smoke from my mouth, which is a nice add. Great stuff. Merry Christmas!

Mostly chestnut brown, which is typical of this series once it ages for awhile, and this one is 19 years old. Very deep McClellands fermented Virginia smell in the tin, more than most other years. But fear not, you won't taste this if you dry it out sufficiently, and you'll get the added bonus of having a much better smoke overall.

This seemed to be one of the more complex in the series. Toasted elegance, along with multiple different spice flavors, this is a perfect Christmas blend. No artificial flavors that you normally see with Christmas blends, this is a natural version with more tobacco flavor. This is a very smooth yet punchy blend, something McClellands is very good at producing. Rich flavor but mellow. No overabundance of "grassy hay citrus" and in fact this is deeper and darker without going overboard. It doesn't match the 2005 version nor most of the 1990's blends but it is a cut above the norm to my tastebuds. If you're tasting ketchup or vinegar, you're doing it wrong! 😉 It tastes of good, un-fritzed with straight Virginia that only McClellands can (could) do. If you find a tin at a reasonable price, go for it. Or let me know and I'll take it!

2001 has turned out to be magical and yes, complex. The fermented aromas promise a smoothness and richness I have come to expect from aged McClelland Virginias. Gone are the thin, watery tang, grassiness, or sooty offense associated with young-ish straight Virginia tobacco.

What is left in CC 2001 after a decade of sealed aging are an amalgam of deep spice notes and refined, dark sweetness. The spice is not from chilis or salsa, but those old fashioned "back of the spice cabinet" containers that come out for baking on high holidays, along with subtle confiture flavors of liquored, preserved fruits, unlike bitter maraschino, candy corn or lollipops. There is flavor migration akin to having a dollop of fine confection melt on your tongue.

This rubs out, burns, and turns to dry ash effortlessly, leaving the walls of my pipes cleaner than before smoking CC 2001 and dry. Pipe puffing paradise.

What a delightful smoke !! This VA flake is sweet and soft and holds interest throughout the bowl in any size pipe one would find suitable for a VA flake. I'm also quite surprised at how easy going it was from the first time I opened the tin. Understandably - 6 years of age on the sealed tin was ideal and no surprise that it was good - but this was great. Subtle complexity - wonderful rich flavor without being powerful - and never - repeat never does this get hot - despite the sweetness.

One char light, easy tamp and then a good light and begins the pleasure. This has the longest zone of any VA in my line-up. Damn near almost from second puff to second to last. Exceptional stuff.

Cheers, VC

Aye, this is the blend of finest tobacco weed to be found! My tin purchased 12/02 just opened 12/06 has aged well with sugar crystals abound within this fine pressed Virgina. Not many finer than this with a California Merlot and watching a favorite movie from the 50's or 60's. A bit of bite if smoked more than one bowl at a sitting, but very pleasureable with very little nicotine hit. Lovely, sweet tang with citrius and spice, if you can find this, stock up. I fully rub this blend out and pack with a slight spring and with 3/4 of a tin to go I'm having a merry new year indeed!

Bought and smoked December 17 2005, Consistant, in a supurb way. Rally rather good. I let it dry for about 5 hours before I lit it up. But man what a treat. I can't wait to try its brothers. Really very very nice.