McClelland Honeydew

This one caught me completely by surprise. I am not a fan of aromatics in general, but when a friend offered me a tin curiosity got the better of me.

I like the cut, color and smell of the leaf in the can. The semi-rubbed leaf has a wonderful color and looks quite rich, and the smell is earthy and fragrant. The topping is very lightly detectable, but not at all unpleasant. A little on the moist side, but nothing that a day or so of drying out won't cure. So far, so good.

Upon lighting, the taste and aroma is that of a good Virginia plus the slight fruity addition of the topping. Contrary to my expectations, I find that the topping adds some depth to the blend. The tobacco is easy to light and tends to stay lit even when moving about. The flavor stays fairly consistant throughout the bowl; slightly stronger and less sweetness towards the finish.

I started by fully rubbing out the coarse cut leaf, and I still do occasionally for a smoother smoke. But now I mostly pack the leaf as it comes out of the can or only slightly rubbed. I think that it smokes a bit better sweeter and holds a light better this way. This is a wonderful blend to smoke while up and about. I often light up Honeydew while tending to the Barbeque or walking the dogs.

This blend has changed my (formerly) solid resistance to aromatics. No, I'm not going to give Blue Note another try, but I do enjoy this mild Virginia blend.

This is a very pretty broken flake in the tin. Neatly arranged, like little golden bricks. Enough for aesthetics already, but an admirable arrangement. No need to rub out much if at all.

Unlike the other 221B series, which are very cool english/virginia blends, this is a bright flake.

The flavoring, honey or whatever, is light and it enhances the natural sweetness of the bright virginia leaf used. A very nice, dry smoke for a scented flake. But very tasty and sweet.

They say Irish flavors, which may sound like it is in competition with Erinmore Flake, but this blend does not have that level of intensity in sweetness or flavors. More body (and flavor) than Germain's Medium Flake but not as cool as Dunhill's Light Flake.

All in all, a delightfully, sweet smoke. It burns steady once you accomplish the initial surfacing lighting. However, a warning. Don't break it up much, smoke slowly in a medium bowl, and don't rush doing things while your puffing this one, or else it can nip and get hot.

A few smokers have complained about the potential heat, and with reason as this is a bright virginia flake, but you can control it by a very deliberate puffing or sipping pace. This is a quality, aged blend. It burns well, so don't fear it going out. But you want it to stay relatively cool so you can enjoy the flavors. It is not as hot as some other bright virginias which I can't control as well, but I can only smoke a bowl a day of this. (The tobacco stayed fresh the three weeks in the tin while I smoked it occasionally.) I don't know if more aging will cure that potential problem, but you can control it pretty much on you own.

A unique blend for a golden virginia, and I liked it but not all of the time. It's worth a try and a tin or two in the cellar, like me.

This nicely prepared mix of medium brown VAs is in my view a partially rubbed out flake rather than a course cut. I packed all bowl sizes without any further rubout and a cool, sweet and effortless smoke resulted. The tin aroma had only the slightest hint of the typical McClelland vinegar and it and the room aroma were most inviting. It's probably one of the better lightly aromatic VAs to smoke in consideration of others but lacks the punch of my preferred VA and VA/Perique blends. The light casing did not overpower the tobacco taste but was tastefully present in the background and faded as the smoke progressed. If you're in search of a milder VA flake, give this new release from this renowned blender a try.

I found this blend to be sweet and pleasant, but temperamental. It was best enjoyed when I prepared the pipe the night before smoking; otherwise, it seemed to have difficulty staying lit and gurgled (I smoke a meerschaum, so gurgling, while possible, should not have been pronounced as it was with this tobacco). That said, it did produce a nice Virginia flavor with an antiquated sort of feel to it.

Another blend for when the sweet tooth strikes. Casing is light and hints at the moniker on the tin. Good quality Va. leaf in here which is the most important thing. The sweetness of the leaf blends nicely with the light melon casing. A great choice for the summertime out on the patio.

This is the third in the series I have tried and I think this may well be the best of the three. Upon opening the tin, got a weird smell. Not the usual McClelland ketchup smell, almost a vinegary type smell. The broken flake is easily rubbed out and this blend lights up easily enough and stays lit with no real thought to it. The taste is quite nice and the room note seems to be not too offensive to those around. It produces a decent amount of smoke and burns down to a nice ash at the end of the bowl. I would definitely recommend this to all.

Mild and soft.

Beautiful, thick broken flakes of light-medium colour.

Nice honey tin aroma that does not interfere with the tobacco taste.

Well suited for a beginner wanting to venture towards non cased/topped mixtures.

Just finished a 2005 tin of Honeydew. The tin indicates this as an Irish flake which I suppose includes some casing. If so, the casing is mild. Basically, Honeydew is a Virginia flake with a bit of a nutty flavor detected as well. It smokes cool once it is sufficiently dried. Not an everyday smoke for me but a pleasant change of pace on occasion.

Give this some air! I smoked this one right from the newly open tin and got the gurgles. After drying this little jewel shined through. Easy light, soft draw, pleasant side stream. Nice indeed.