McClelland Beacon

Popped new tin to the scent of tangy-sweet McClelland Virginia. Then add a little hint of black pepper, and strong hard cheese (Perique). Cured hay, malt flour, dry oatmeal, surrounded by the sweetness of the bright Virginia. Delicious aroma. Nice Perique, chewy and tasty Virginia cured as only McClelland can.

Rub, rub, rub - pack and light.

Bright Virginias, fresh and sweet, oat flour and rising dough. Lemongrass tanginess, feed grains and cut hay. Autumn leaves, incense-like notes, dry cocoa. The whole thing has a feeling of depth and earthy richness. Sweeter and richer as the smoke progresses. Peppery spice slips in halfway down the bowl, this only seems to cement the balance rather than upset it.

This is a top quality flake. Don't rush the bright tobaccos or they can bite, not really too much of a problem at first, seemed to get worse halfway through the tin, seems like I had to be more and more careful to avoid a burnt tongue. Still masterfully done. Perique is nice, just a whisper. A balanced, tasty Virginia flake of depth and complexity.

A solid 3 ½ Stars

After reading the previous review, all I can say is "Viva la Difference!". I have no doubt that the reviewer wrote what he experienced; it's just that my experiences were wildly different.

I found this to have a bit milder taste than I was hoping - certainly not strong. The perique was applied delicately, as the tin actually states, and the wonderful McClellands virginia flavor was the dominant one. The tin aroma was the usual McClellands fermented tangy VA smell... the kind that makes me overanxious to fire up a bowl. I had zero problems keeping this lit, even straight from the tin, but I preferred the flavor when I dried this out overnight, as is typical for me with VA's. The room note was very nice indeed.

I finished this tin in record time. Even so, it wasn't a perfect smoke, and not nearly as good as their Bayou Slices, a blend that is close in lineage and looks similar in the tin. That blend had a bit heftier dose of perique and was sweeter as well as spicier. This one, surprisingly enough, was smoother than Bayou - I say surprisingly because the toasting process in the latter was to smooth it out, I thought. It seems to me that Bayou uses red VA as a base while this one uses more lemon and orange, and that may be why I prefer Bayou. Nevertheless, Beacon is a great smoke and I will probably buy more to age but I prefer other McClelland vapers.

I love the tanginess of McClelland's VA. I don't know if it is the Lemon VA, but this blend left a tangy note in my mouth that makes it water still. The smoke begins mild but, after you get to about half of the bowl, it begins to show its true colors. Complex, bodied and soothing, this blend was the first one for a friend who wanted to know what all this pipe-nonsense of mine was about. He loved it! I expect to have more tins of this in the future but, as much as I liked it, it won't enter my rotation. Hence the three stars.

The tin date was in 2009 when sampled in 201I. I stoked a bowl after drying & rubbing it out some. I didn't think I was going to like this but I persevered. It was a little sharp initially but quickly faded. After a little burns off, you're left with pure VA/Per tobacco flavor.

This is a good VA/Per blend that burns fairly slow and stays lit really well. The Virginias in this blend are very sweet and my overall impression was... a blend that anyone partial to VA/Per blends would enjoy.

For me, this mix seemed a little too light on the Perique & became a little bland after mid-bowl. I like VA/Pers & this is a pretty good one. Escudo is still the number one VA/Per in my rotation along with Salty Dogs which is as enjoyable as Escudo with slightly more strength.

A mellow, sweet smoke with a bit of spice. Throughout this tin I've had trouble drawing a lot of flavor from the flakes even when rubbed out. Seems to burn hotter than other VA flakes.

Don't think I'll try this one again as there are so many other VAs out there.

Tried almost all PCCA blends except tudor castle and I like jubilee more.

take it slow with beacon and you'll be rewarded. at first try I was carried away, so yes, it can bite 🙂 for me the cube cut works better than fully rubbed.

EDIT: I've done a little experiment with beacon and dunhill london mixture. With both blends I was having similar problems and I thought It takes a thief to catch a thief 😛 so I fully rubbed some beacon and mixed it with LM. 50% first. results were promising but mcclelland virgina was overpowering. so I changed the ratio to 1/3 beacon + 2/3 London mixture. WA-A-O-OW! improved burning qualities, cooler, less to no bite and the flavor profile is much more complex now. I just invented my own --medium-- nightcap 😛 okay I didn't but give it a try if you can, I suppose this ratio will work with several latakia/oriental or latakia/turkish mixtures

I like VA/Pers & this is another quality presentation. Pungent tin aroma similar to other McC's VA & VA/Per blends that has been well documented, so, no need to go into that. This tobacco is quality leaf blended to perfection with excellent smoking characteristics. The broken flakes are very moist from the tin and require some drying time before stoking. It is sharp & a bit harsh upon initial lighting, but after a few puffs it settles into a smooth, pure, tobacco taste that is easy on the palate.

I prefer this VA/Per blend over McClelland's St. James Woods because it is slightly easier on the tongue/palate. Other than that, it's hard to discern the difference between the two. However, neither blend tastes as good to me or satisfies as well as my two favorite VA/Pers...Three Nuns & Escudo. Therefore, IMHO, Beacon merits three s***s!!

This is a great, somewhat broken, bright flake with a touch of perique. I really don't taste the perique, so it must be in there mainly to cool the blend. Plenty of natural flavor from the get go. North of medium. Not wet.

Burns easy, sweet and savory to the taste, but can have a trace of an edge (not bite or hot per se), if smoked in a large bowl. Smoother if smoked in a smaller or medium bowl I feel.

Taste reminds me a little of the flavor of McClelland's Honeydew flake tin, but not as sweet and certainly not as potentially hot as that one. I don't think this blend is scented; it just has well aged virginia.

If you like sweet virginias (but not real sweet or aromatic) and are into flakes, this is a good choice. Recommended.

Heinz participates in this mixture too. Especially when you open the tin, finding dark black colored flakes, with some brown and golden shades among them. It is most fortunate that gradually this aroma fades away, and all that remains is the natural taste of Virginia. It is a strong tobacco that tastes real good, and the Perique just adds a spicy note, without bothering me at all, as I am not a big fan of it. A big disadvantage of this mixture though is how it lights up. It is very difficult, and equally hard is to keep it lit for long, especially if you fill the bowl with whole pieces that you haven't rubbed or cut into cubes. I will keep the second tin, that my good friend “Hetfield” brought me, and smoke it after 2-3 years. I'm sure that the results will be more than impressive.