McClelland Town Topic

Amazing smell in the room, soft in the palate. Very liquid when you open it. It needs a procedure of drying, for a few hours. Very pleasant, it has the flavor of tobacco without being covered from maple. Maple that perfumes it, is very discreet. Cavendish, Black Cavendish, Virginia, all of them very nicely smashed in heavy snowflakes. Although I filled in the first bowl ? so, liquid enough, it didn?t warm up the bowl. I don?t know whether it would make me sick, smoking it continuously, like a baklava full of syrup. It will get his place of my all day tobacco. Perfect combination with Sir Walter Raleigh or Carter Hall

Much better than the two stars I have handed out, so it earns a three. The tin aroma defiantly says maple to me, just like the label mentions. When smoking it, however, the maple isn't so pronounced as you would expect. Without being an expert at describing the flavor in depth, I would say it was ok but lacked pizzazz.

I'm not a big fan of aromatics, but I like Town Topic. Some aromatics are very very sweet and sugary. Town Topic is not sticky or cloying at all. The flavor is tobacco that tastes like maple, rather than maple syrup that happens to be smokeable. I give it three stars because it strikes a nice balance between tobacco and flavoring. I don't give it four because I'm just not an aromatic fan, not because it's inherently flawed or incomplete.

This is a very mild basic aromatic tobacco. upon popping the top you will be greeted with a maple/pancake aroma and a moist tobacco. My tobacco was tinned in August 05 and I had some trouble getting/keeping it going. Considering the moisture level of the product going into the pipe the results were fairly dry with no real nasty cleaners resulting from smoking. The taste of the tobacco was flat at best with a much more pronouced aroma than taste. Typical aromatic I guess. Considering the townsman line at 16.00 for 8 oz this tinned version is overpriced. I paid 10.00 for a 50 gram tin at the local B&M

As with Tastemaster, this another one of my favorite aromatics... and for the same basic reasons. However instead of chocolate/honey you get a hint of maple. As I noted with Tastemaster, there is nothing earthshattering about this blend however it's room note is sure to please and make you the town topic.

10-22-2004 The quest continues!

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Typical dark to light brown cavendish in a medium ribbon cut. Smells wonderful, pancakes anyone?

Packing and Lighting: Despite the casing, packed and lit well, just a couple of relights and then burned to the bottom with no fuss.

Initial Flavor: Well, this is where it lost me. The cavendish in this blend tasted green to me, could not shake it! The maple cannot be tasted too well, but it sure could be smelled by those around you.

Midbowl: Same, the cavendish still tasted green.

Bottom of bowl: Some improvement in the taste of the cavendish, the bottom of the bowl was cosiderably dry for an aromatic.

Overall: When I look for an aromatic, I prefer one that is sweet (like P&S Premium or Peterson's Luxury). This one was not sweet in spite of the maple casing. The cavendish in this blend did not go well with my tastebuds. Also, this blend was a little hot on the tongue. Pros: the room note was wonderful and the odor on your person and clothes after smoking was pleasing, even to my family.

Rating: 2 out of 5 points

Town Topic will be the the talk of the town! I just tried my sample of this Monday nite, and It was a very nice smoke. Its mild and burns cool and smooth. Has a nice roomnote and has a nice maple aroma. Town Topic will be a staple in my stock. Peace! M.O.Z.Z.M.A.N.N