McClelland Pal O' Mine

I've never met a McClelland I didn't like, and the 2 stars doesn't mean I don't like Pal o'Mine, it just means what it says - "Somewhat Recommended." McC aromatics certainly fill an important niche: if nothing else, they are indispensable for introducing our gentle art to the novitiate; they are tasty and fragrant, they are quality tobacco, and they are nigh-ubiquitous. E.g., I have a friend who had been turned off by the nasty experience of trying the Cheapest Aromatic Possible in a lousy pipe, who has been steered back onto the True Path by convincing him to spend a little extra on a tin of McC aromatic and a Bjarne.

Pal o'Mine here is a solid blend tasting of creamy peach and nutty burley. It burns relatively clean and dry. Still it leaves me kind of - "enh" (actual technical term). I whittled away at my tin little by little for more than a year, and then, well... aromatics don't keep well, do they? Whenever I get that hankerin' for aromatic I find myself preferring Trout Stream or Solani Sweet Mystery (cf my other reviews). So, Pal o'Mine, I must only Somewhat Recommend you.

100 % of aromatic peach. He is the one. It will leave his flavor on the used pipe, since its perfume of peaches is very strong. A beautiful perfume, also for those around the smoker. Burley makes this mix, a success. It also contains Cavendish. It is difficult to smoke only him, but you can smoke it when you want something light but surely it gives to the blend, a very special sweet taste.

If you like mild aromatic blends then you will love this one. This is one that I can smoke in the house with the approval of my wife and son. It has a satisfying sweet taste and isn't too goopy. It burns smooth and cool.

But it is rather mild which I like for after dinner but not all the time. I will likely keep a tin of this around to please friends and family.

I tought this was a very good aromatic. The first few bowls were only so-so, but after the tin had been open for a couple weeks I really started to like it. By the end of the tin I can say this is an aromatic I'd buy again. It burned fairly cool, had a mild, pleasing taste, and left no goop in the bottom of my pipes.

Four stars for fans of Aromatics, Two stars for the rest of us. That is why I put three stars on the rating. Smells excellent! Not a tobacco in my top twenty, maybe in the top ten American Aromatic category.

After Mellow Mack and Captain Cool, this was the last one of the line to try: most of what was said for the other two is still valid, but Mellow Mack remains the winner thanks to its biscuity taste. This one, peach-flavored, is not as tasty as I would have hoped: not bad, but not memorable either. Flavoring goes away quite a bit during the bowl, and there is not enough tobacco taste to support it.

I like to try this type of aromatic so I know what to recommend to a beginning pipe smoker. As its name states, it is a pal-o-mine. The room note is very sweet and unobtrusive. There is no tongue-bite and for me it was so mild I had to check my pipe to see if it was really lit. I definitely will use this for apprentices....

I haven't tried this yet, but P&T said: "Well, this is a cherry blend that is respectable...the smell is cherry, but a dark and rich cherry, nothing like hard cnady here, nor maraschino, more like the aroma from a dark-chocolate-covered cherry. This lights easily, burns coolly and with ease, and is exceptional for its genre. If you are searching for the perfect cherry aromatic, give this a try. Highly recommended for seekers of this sort."