McClelland Town Topic

I recommend this only compared to other aromatics. The maple flavor was very pleasant (fitting for me living in NH). My wife loved the room note which helps. I would put this above my other aromatics in CB Gold or White.

I don't have a lot of experience with McClelland aromatics as this only the second one I have smoked. Town Topic is a solid, straight forward blend with no bite and best of all, no chemical taste. The maple flavor extends somewhat over to the sweet smoke. One of the things I really don't like about McClelland blends is the heavy dose of PG that is often used. I don't know if this blend actually has less of it, but I was able to dry it fairly quickly. As tinned maple blends go, you can't go wrong with TT. I personally prefer Vermont Maple Cavendish from Pipeworks & Wilke as it's made with pure VT maple syrup and is sold in bulk. Recommended

I'm not usually a fan of aromatics, but after reading the reviews on this site I decided to give Town Topic a try. I'm glad I did, as this particular blend will be a regular in my collection. As soon as you open the tin you're greeted with the distinct smell of maple syrup, the tobacco is moist but smokable out of the tin which is good because I was too anxious to let it dry for very long.

From the first light I was greeted with the subtle tastes of maple flavoring, the smoke was light but the weed burned cool and had a minimal level of relights. There was none of the characteristic aromatic tongue bite. That superb flavor lasted for the first two thirds of the bowl, unfortunately for the last bit of the smoke the baccy became very sweet, almost like flavored coffee syrup.

This is a perfect blend for a post-breakfast smoke with your morning coffee, or even a great after dinner dessert smoke. I am already looking forward to tomorrow morning so I can spark up another bowl of this wonderful blend.

This blend suits me better than C&D Autumn Evening. It smokes much cooler, and the maple flavor stays through til the end. It may smoke somewhat wet if smoked hard or not dried a bit.

The wife loves it, so that makes it even better. If you are looking for an all day aromatic that will please the crowd and your palate, this is the one.

4 out of 5 stars for Town Topic!

In my opinion, compared to McClelland's Tastemaster, Town Topic is an improvement. Didn't have any problem with moisture or packing. Much easier to keep lit than Tastemaster. No chemical taste to speak of. Not quite as sickeningly sweet, either. Room note is commented on favorably - my son walked in and said, "It smells like pancakes." However, I can not smell nor taste the maple flavoring. It was very evident upon opening the tin, along with a beautiful appearance, but there it stops. As with Tastemaster, if it wasn't written in the description, I wouldn't have guessed it was Maple.

Although there was ample sweetness present (sugary and not maple), there was also a slight bitterness that presented itself at mid bowl and remained throughout (granted that it was smoked fresh from the tin) and left me with mild agita, but never any moisture in the bowl. I smoked it in a medium-sized billiard Meer. No tongue bite, but for me, not much in the way of real tobacco flavor. If you want tobacco flavor as well as the taste of the aromatic casing, try Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut (see my review for it on this site).

All in all a somewhat pleasurable diversion from headier blends, but not a daily one for my tastes. It's too much like the typical aromatic. I'd rather have smoked the high class tobacco McClelland claims to have used for this one without the casing - I'm sure it would have been better. A notch above Tastemaster so I'll rate it 2.5 stars out of 3.

ADDENDUM to my original review on 1-23-09: I left the tin opened overnight. I smoked it today in another Meer, and also in a Ropp Cherrywood pipe. No bitterness but the agita was there again. Still not much in the way of tobacco taste, but I actually tasted the Maple which was quite pleasant and still didn't become sickeningly sweet. Although I still prefer Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut over this one because I can still taste the fine tobacco along with the vanilla, I'm changing my rating to "recommended" and giving it 3 out of 4 stars. Won't become an every day smoke for me, however.

What do they think they are doing? This is simply a one notch upscale in generic cavendish with a premium price attached. I expect a lot more from these people in the realm of aromatics than "Captain Black-like products." They are rooted in the taditions of English and Scottish tobacco houses, they should be developing aromatic products along the lines of the ones from the Gawith firms and the like when marketing and charging a premium price. For me on most occasions it is not about the price. A base of that awful green river black cavendish, which tastes like a sweet, burnt marshmellow in base flavor, with a much lesser amount of sweetend viginias that seem to be rough-cut. On top of that the added sweet flavoring that is barely detectable as maple. What can I say but...Blahhhh!

- Not recommended

​Sweet, smoked, heavy on aroma and tongue biting. Despite all flaws, sometimes it's delightful, but not for long. I can recommend it to only a true aromatics lovers.

When you open the tin your assaulted with a sublime maple scent. The tobacco is moist but lights well and stay lit. A very mild unassuming smoke. It won't bite even if you huff and puff. However, if you do that you'll miss out on the very subtle maple flavor. The room note is the best aspect of this blend. Reminds me of Sunday pancakes. If your looking for a mild smoke then this blend is for you.

Very nice aromatic with a nice maple flavor. Mild aromatic with a nice mild smoke and room note. I'm giving it 3 stars, because I prefer chocolate or Vanilla aromatics over over maple ones. But, if you prefer maple, this is a good one. Mom will like the room note, too.