McClelland Christmas Cheer 2006

(3.60)
Handblended, premium pressed Virginia flake tobaccos. A fine vintage, naturally sweet, in limited quantity.

Details

Brand McClelland
Blended By McClelland Tobacco Company
Manufactured By McClelland Tobacco Company
Blend Type Straight Virginia
Contents Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Broken Flake
Packaging 100 grams tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.60 / 4
16

8

1

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 25 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 20, 2014 Medium Extremely Mild Medium Very Pleasant
The vinegar/ketchup smell was in the taste of the tobacco, though as often the case, it didn't stay long. The Virginias are very ripe and dried dark fruit sweet, a bit tangy with some earth; perhaps more so than some other years. I got some spice and sugar notes, maybe more than some years, too. The actual taste of tobacco is sublimated by the fermented sweetness to a fair extent. Has a mild nic-hit. No bite, no harsh or dull moments. Burns slow with some moisture, even when dried a little. Has a consistent flavor all the way through. Needs relights, and leaves some moisture in the bowl. The after taste and room notes are pleasant. An all day smoke.

-JimInks
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 12, 2016 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
I was recently in the mood for a top rate, smooth and sweet Virginia and decided to crack open an old tin of Christmas Cheer. I chose the 2006 edition and went through the top half of the tin in a period of just a few days. This vintage seemed a little more dry than others, but the contents were every bit as delicious. A sweet, almost honey like flavor seemed to flow from the broken flakes as I puffed slowly. As is the case with every vintage, the quality was wonderful, there was no bite and the strength was very manageable although I do normally enjoy stronger Virginia leaf.

Pipestud
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 12, 2015 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
A red VA but darker brown in the tin, the usual broken flake with the huge fermented virginia scent that only McClellands can achieve. This needed some drying out and I gave it a couple of hours in the free air, after which it was close to perfect.

As with all the Christmas Cheers, this is a pure and natural unflavored single crop, made in small quantities. Taste-wise this leaned in the direction of the 2005 tin, which was an orange. This was naturally sweet but not citrusy. I found it sweeter than I was expecting but still a tangy red VA. No excess nicotine and, once dried properly, no problem to keep lit. It also improved as the bowl progressed, with a moderate amount of complexity. It was nearly the equal of 2005 but not quite, that one being one of the best 2 or 3 straight virginias I've ever smoked that didn't have 20 years of age on them. But I could be very happy with this one, and of course I only have one more tin! As always, McClellands sets the bar very high with Virginias and this is one of their best. As with 2005, if the "ketchup" thing bothers you, send it my way! 🙂
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Dec 02, 2021 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
When you pull the ring, the blast in the air seems to signal how long you have been struggling to get out of your confinement. The tobacco appears with an intermediate cut between broken flake and crumble cake and with an intense aroma of vinegar, ferment and spicy. Time and fermentation have endowed virginias with olfactory characteristics somewhat similar to those of the perique. The blackness of the tobacco makes the shine of the sugar stand out even more, which over the years has crystallized and is everywhere. Looking at it through a magnifying glass, I am spellbound by such a spectacle for a long time.

Once the pipe is lit, the flavor is of sweet dark fruits, a little spicy and some of the vinegar that was caught cold also appears during the beginning of the smoke. In a short time it becomes quite citric, almost lemony, but this nuance gradually softens towards the end of the pipe. I was a bit surprised not to find any allusion to this citrus flavor in the reviews. In short, each palate is a different world. It is so good that sometimes I find myself blowing too fast, but even then it does not bite.

I don't think that at this point in the review it goes without saying but in my opinion… it is highly recommended!
Age When Smoked: 15 years
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 15, 2011 Mild None Detected Mild to Medium Very Pleasant
10 Jan, 2011 Today I decided to break in my new “strawberry” from Liskey pipes using Christmas Cheer 2006, since I had a tin that had cracked open in shipping and had been transferred to a glass jar for keeping. Upon opening, I found an aroma reminiscent of McClelland's pressed Virginia blends. I immediately thought of blend 2010. 2006 is a very welcome change from the English blends that I have been smoking. It has the sweetness of a well aged pressed Virginia as well as the ability to burn very slow. I am most impressed with the flavor that is coming from this. I don't really pick up on a “tobacco” taste, just a very smooth, nutty; almost caramel-molasses-fig taste that includes hints of cherries and is quite refreshing. I smoked 3 bowls of this in the strawberry and could have done a 4th.

11 Jan, 2011 I am smoking more of this today, only in my large bowl Radice. I have truly missed the flavors of a pressed Virginia from time past, and am glad I decided to smoke this for a change of pace. I will switch between my Radice and my Liskey and possibly finish this tin by week's end. It is “that” good. I can only hope the other Christmas Cheer's are equally as good. One word of caution… If puffed hard this does get hot in the Radice, so care must be taken. In a large bowl pipe I have been finding this to be a little on the sharp side (spicy). This was not noticed in the smaller bowl of the strawberry yesterday, but it could be the rate at which I am puffing or the English blends that have been smoked prior in the Radice. I also suggest rubbing out as much as possible. A partially broken half rubbed course bowlful might be the cause of the heat on the bowl. I have determined, after 2 ½ hours, that this is not a “LARGE” bowl tobacco as it seems to lose its flavors the farther down the bowl you get, starts getting a tad bitter and just does not cut the mustard at this point. This is no better than Star of the East while working down the bowl. I smoked another bowl in the strawberry today. What a delight in this pipe. It is smooth, sublime and it does not ever get bad. Gotta kinda watch how hard I puff to keep the temp down so I don't burn my new pipe, but I really like this pipe/tobacco combination.

12 Jan, 2011 Hit the strawberry again today. I am truly enjoying this pipe/tobacco duo as it seems to be a match for each other.

14 JAN, 2011 Another bowl went on it's marry way today. I am really enjoying this blend. Something about it just hits the sweet spot on my palette. This makes 6 bowls since the 10th of JAN. Smoking the entire tin by the weekend won't quite happen, but it has been a very nice adventure.

I have every year in my cellar dating from '95. I can hardly wait to break open another tin...
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 04, 2010 Mild to Medium None Detected Full Very Pleasant
Another home run from McClelland!

I bought a few tins of the 05' and o6' CC back in 2006. When we moved into our new home, I lost some of my tobacco tins and just now recently found them.

Needless to say, the opened CC was a bit dried out, but amazingly easy to salvage and rehydrate. I just opened the tin, put it into a large zip lock bag, put some distilled water in a kettle, let it boil, and then allowed the steam into the bag for about ten seconds. I then sealed the bag up (leaving the lid off of the tin) for about 2 hours.

PRESTO!

Anyway, this stuff has aged VERY WELL.

It is a pressed flake, which allows it to taste the way it does, and so MIGHT be a problem for the novice in preparing and loading.

Just take your time, sit down, and patiently rub out, seperate, and enjoy preparing the tobacco! That in itself is VERY rewarding.

Anyway, using a light gravity load and very gentle tamping to load my pipe, I did my two charring lights.

When I finally lit up and started smoking I was rewarded with an EXTREMELY TASTY, SWEET, CINNAMON LIKE FLAVOR that blew me away! I know some folks like the goopy, drug store cased aromatics. I can't understand WHY, though, when such a SWEET and TASTY and NATURALLY AROMATIC tobacco is available! My wife even complemented me on the smell in the room! That's a big deal, folks!

I also got a very faint but wonderful evergreen note, which was awesome as well.

I only wish I had 10 more tins of this.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 26, 2006 Mild to Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
NATURAL TOBACCO FLAVOR, DRIED FRUIT,SWEET

This blend makes me want to change all my other reviews to less- I have never bought McClellands Christmas Blends (The best of the year of processing-in this case I believe 1999) Its SMOOTH, woodsy, and ever so slightly sweet. BUT ITS NOT WHATS THERE!! ITS WHATS NOT THERE!!! ABSOLUTELY NO FOUL AFTERTASTE, No Asheyness, No Sourness, None of the bad ciggarette like whangs that appear transiently in other VA blends...

I must say, I have yet to find a bad can of McClelland.

several tins later, MAN this is the BEST VA!! Its so smooth, yet packs a nice whack of nicotene!

Many, Many tins later- some tins are smokier than others...or i burned out my taste buds....
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 18, 2010 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Medium Pleasant
Thus far I've had the pleasure of smoking only the '06 and '09 Christmas Cheer, so I'm a bit limited in knowledge related to this collection. I loved the '06 however. Just smelling the tobacco I picked up a lot of evergreen. Flavors of cake, cinnamon, and a hint of evergreen fill your mouth upon lighting. Medium sized clouds deliver a treat for the senses. I've gotten so many compliments from people as they pass by. My only complaints with the '06 Christmas Cheer are it's a tad difficult to keep lit, but that could be a user error, it bites the tongue a tiny bit, and it's a bit of a pain to break apart the flakes, however I know they wouldn't age as well had they not been pressed into flakes. Overall an amazing smoke! I only wish I had more tins.
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 20, 2006 Medium Medium Medium to Full Tolerable
It took me a few bowls of this to realize that it needs to be dried a bit before packing. It bit quite a bit if I didn't dry it out first. This is my first vintage of the X-mas Cheer, but I do have a few other years cellared. Smoked slowly, this is a great VA blend. Cheers to McClelland!
2 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Sep 24, 2009 Medium to Strong Mild Medium to Full Pleasant
As a year-round smoker of the C.C.,2006 is without a doubt one of the very best.
1 person found this review helpful.
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