McClelland Honeydew

I've been trying to enjoy this off and on for a couple weeks now, and I must say that I just don't get it. It tastes nearly like a totally unflavored tobacco to me, with only a mild sweetness mingling with the typical McClelland tanginess. It is not, however, ketchupy or vinegary in any way.

It's not bad at all, just not good enough in my opinion to warrant the price. If were available in bulk at a good price, then it would be easier to justify this tobacco. I may, or may not, end up finishing the tin, but smoking it isn't something I particularly look forward to. I'll stick with the real Irish flake, Erinmore.

Though I don't believe this is a four-star scorer, its worth at least three but I still "highly recommend" it, resulting in the four star rating.

This would be a great introduction into Virginias...I find even the best straight VAs to be boring and unsatisfying in comparison to the usual richness of my light or medium English blends. This is neither straight VA nor aromatic though it does have some aromatic properties. The sweetness seems to come more from the tobacco than any flavoring, and the flavoring is indeed transient as some other folks said.

I am a die-hard McClelland fan and I did not initially think I would enjoy this blend, but it is now high on my list of occasional or moody smokes. This and Arcadia are outstanding.

Hmmm...What I don't like about McClelland flakes is that "keptchupy" smell that welcomes you upon the opening of the tin. Fortunately, the smell does not transfer in the actual taste of the tobacco. That smell takes a while to vanish, though. Weird...

Honey Dew is a nice flake, composed of medium brown leaf, golden brown and some shades of black. The flakes themselves are average in size,but a little ticker than usual. It needs to be rubbed out a bit to be easier to smoke. The tobacco feels nice in the hand as you break it, it reminds me of MacBaren's Golden Extra in the cut and feel, but they have no common ground for the rest. Honey Dew is a bit hard to light up and maintain, so this tobacco needs attention. The taste is good, it's rather sweet and mild, but still tasty. The flavouring is definitevely not too pronounced, which is good for me because I like to smoke VA's/Périque blends, I'm not into aromatics at all. My wife says the room note is rather weird, not exactly pleasant for her, but tolerable - and she always remains objective.

Honey Dew builds up a bit stronger in taste as I go down, but not much...the bowl is left clean and dry, which is important.

Besides the fact that the tobacco is a bit hard to light up and maintain,and that ketcupy smell, Honey Dew definitely remains a half-decent tobacco. The flakes are nice looking. It is not extraordinary, doesn't culminate in a unique smoking experience, but I've smoked many tobaccos not worthy of this McClelland blend.

I just wonder if Holmes would have smoked such a tobacco, though - I know, I know, he is a fictional character, but I'm just playing the game; for some reason, I picture him better with a stronger blend. But even Holmes, I guess, needed something milder every once in a while...

I think this tobacco would be a good beginning for anybody who wants to start exploring the Flakes world.

This blend is great, but you definitely need to concentrate on it to understand it and fully appreciate it. when you open the tin it smells of molasses, the coarsely cut leaves pack easily into a big bowl and burn very thoroughly. there is a slight sweet taste to the tongue and the smell of the honeydew is much more prominent in the smoke. I wouldn't call this a full aromatic but more of a semi-aromatic blend as the dominant taste and smell are of Virginia. give it a try.

Previous reviewers have done a good job of describing this blend, so I'll just say that Honeydew is a delicious smoke, if:

a) you dry it well

b) you smoke it slowly with concentration

c) you smoke it in a clean pipe

d) you don't mind a subtle honeydew taste that comes and goes as you smoke.

This is not at all a walk-around-and-do-things blend. This is a pay-attention-or-you-miss-it blend.

I made the mistake of breaking up the flake and stuffing my pipe with the stuff. It got way too hot. As other reviews here suggest, the best bet is to keep it more-or-less intact in the bowl. Once that is done, it's a fairly pleasant smoke. Of the 221b series I don't like it nearly as much as Arcadia. I'm going to let it dry out under the plastic lid for a few weeks and approach it again. Like a lot of McClelland's it's somewhat damp and may benefit from a little airing.

An even, steady tobacco that doesn't really stand out. Its a good, traditional flavour, but I was looking for more of a honeydew taste. I would recommended Orlick's mild honeydew over this.

WARNING! This is not a Virginia Flake! It is a Honeydew! Now that we got that out of the way, this is a fine example of an Irish honeydew. The Virgina tobacco has a additive, that gives a more syrupy sweet flavor to the already nutty sweet Virginias (this is the Irish style, the English and Continental Style are not quite so cloying). This particular example always puts me in mind of a sweet corn pudding. Smoke if Viriginias are not sweet enough.

It took a while to get the hang of this tobacco. A small bowl, lots of time to smoke very slowly. This method yielded a very tasty smoke. Earlier attempts were less sucessful. Especially while driving, I think the stress of dealing with freeway driving causes rapid or too deep draws on the pipe and unleashes a harsh and even sour taste. When you have the time to do it right, this is a 3 star smoke. If you are in a hurry skip this blend.

Update: 6/12/2005- There are too many tasty Virginias available to waste time on this. Two and one-half stars.