McClelland Tawny Flake

The appearance and aroma of this tobacco in the tin has been well described, below. At the match it is soft on the tongue and tingly in the nose. The McC Va. tang is in the smoke but substantially muted. After a few puffs it settles down and the spiciness in the nose disappears. The up side is that there is no hint of bite. Toward the end of the bowl, the smoke becomes exceptionally mild, but still maintains its flavor. This has excellent, straight Virginia flavor, although light and subtle, and could probably be smoked for hours on end while yielding constant satisfaction. The down side is that the smoke lacks the depth of flavor I am looking for. This is a tobacco I could smoke often as a change of pace from my regular Virginias. I think this would be a great tobacco for those who are just getting acquainted with straight Virginia tobacco. After smoking a 50g tin, I have no complaints. I give it three stars. Well recommended. Paddy.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Little 1x1 flakes, mostly brown in color. Smells like a lightly stoved VA.The MC typical ketchup aroma is very subdued, almost non-existent.

Packing and Lighting: I prefered to rub the flakes out gently and gravity feed into the pipe with only the lightest tamping before lighting. 2-4 re-lights max.

Initial Flavor: light to medium VA, nothing extraordinary.

Mid-Bowl: Tastes burnt! stoving done too quickly? Not much flavor for the amount of puffing I am doing.

Bottom of Bowl: Doesn't build much strength, ash is grey and dry. Still tastes burnt!

Overall: This is a beginners VA and not a great one at that. It is very difficult to get tongue-bite with this blend though. Some like the "toastiness" of the blend, but to me it tastes burnt! I much rather recommend "Brown Clunee" for a beginners VA. This blend just did not do much for me.

A bright flake, maybe some red, toasted a little darker. Not as dark, deep, or strong as a dark flake or a true deep stoved virginia.

Small flakes best rubbed out some to aid in burning.

Straight virginia , no scents. No "ketchup". No lakeland here.

Think of MC's no. 27 with the citrus and sweetness toasted out. A somewhat darker flavor results but with a steady bead of tang. Very tangy in fact. Sort of English flake in character (e.g., F&T Cut blended virginia), but more robust.

Wonderful dark, toasy aroma.

Stronger than Pease's new Montgomery, but you really can't compare flakes to ribbons or strings. Montgomery has more subtle complexities; TF is plain no nonsense tabak flavor.

An all day flake. Cool. Dry. Tangy with some body. Not stout.

Recommended as an all day flake for a straight virginia smoker, with a little added body.

The tin aroma of these medium-cut, partially broken flakes is of caramel and nuts, along with a very light touch of the usual McClelland tang.

The toasted flavor of this gold VA blend is very unusual. Butter, caramel, and peanut brittle replace most of the flower-fruit nuances of conventional virginias. It is rich and sweet, almost completely lacking in the edgy, fermented character of typical McC matured types, being replaced by a smooth, uniform, and steady flavor.

An amazing accomplishment, this is both unique and, somehow, familiar. Comforting, yet complex, the flavor is rich without being tiring. It goes best in a narrow gauge chamber.

I was at my local B&M last week and decided to pick up a can of Tawny Flake. I have smoke VA for many years, mainly Mc Clelland bulks. This one of the finest VA flakes I have smoked in years. The sweetness of the VA comes through along with a caramel toastiness flavor. For me, it has no bite at all, and I am fairly fast puffer. This is definently an all day VA smoke. I see other reviewers feel the flavor is a little too mild for them, but this is a nice change from heavier VA with perique. I gave some to a friend of mine who likes heavy English latakia blends, and he just raved about the taste. He is adding this blend to his rotation. Another fine creation by Mc Clelland. Recommended!

I really, really wanted to love this tobacco. Alas, this is just too mild of a taste to really do anything for me. This blend is a far cry from the deep dark VA blends from McC Tobacco, and although I loved the scent of the smoke, the taste itself was just not there. I'm not so sure that the stoving process that this tobacco had undergone was not lost on me. It may have removed one of my favorite elements that makes McC's Virgina blends special to me.

Once again, I will hold this tobacco and try it again in various pipes, etc., but as it stands, this is a very neutral blend in my book.