McClelland Aurora

I recently smoked a 12 year old tin of Aurora (original PCCA version), and was super pleased with the depth of flavor this fine blend provided. The Virginia leaf had darkened considerably and there were sugar crystals all over the place. I smoked slowly and was rewarded by a host of tremendous flavor variations as I worked my way down the bowl. Yummy stuff! I hope to one day find another old tin.

Pipestud

Tin: Familiar, sweet, rich McClelland VA scent. Overall chestnut hue having a small amount of light tan and brown-black. Standard medium ribbon cut. Tin date on bottom: 2009. At just the right moisture level, supple to dry, leaving no residue on the fingers. Left out to dry for 2 hours, it is not completely dry.

Taste & Aroma: Full, rich, deep or dark, red VA. Soft and mellow. The smoke coming out of the bowl is likewise nice, soft and rich. There is a mild salsa effect on the tongue. I notice a mild, nice sweet tone. A little tangy, red VA, note is interspersed in the smoke, from time to time.

Nicotine: Mild to medium, closer to mild

Room Note: Pleasant sweet scent

Overall: Aurora is part of the 6-member Collector Blends produced by, and labeled as, McClelland. McClelland originally made it available for the Pipe Collector's but McClelland no longer puts PCCA on the label.

Another good variant of McCranie's Red Ribbon. An all-day, indoor smoke. 3.8 stars.

There is also an uncanny resemblance between Aurora and McCranie's My Reserve. McClelland produces blends for McCranie's under their guidance. A reviewer mentioned that MR is 5100 with the addition of stoved VA's; a similarity between First Light and 5100 has also been mentioned. Many have likewise noted the confirmation between RR and 5100. I use the bulk MR for a quick smoke and age the tinned Aurora.

My tin was dated 1 year old. Upon opening, the tobacco was of perfect moisture content, however, anyone that does not like "McVinegar Virginia " will not like this tobacco . I happen to LOVE McVV and think McClellands Virginia is the best, it has a sweet and sour flavor that I crave. From the newly opened tin, I had a difficult time distinguishing it from "5100 Red Cake", which I rate at 4 stars . Aurora has slightly more "N" and flavor but only slightly, 5100 RC beats this on price.

After a few days of opening and closing the tin ,I found that the McVV had dissipated and you could really pick out the nuances of the Virginias. Some sour lemon, a hint of cocoa ,maybe even a pinch of Oriental Five Spice, it reminded me of the base of "Jubilee" without the Latikia, very tasty and totally smooth and without bite. This had developed into a very complex blend, especially for a straight Virginia. I realize that Perique is not listed , but I seem to detect a hint of that "basement" taste that I like from Perique.

As far as straight Virginia's go, I like this better than C&D's "Opening Night" as ON has a slight bite and not as complex. I will keep this in stock

On a few occasions, I have fallen madly in love with a blend at first light. A couple of times, the romance faded as I got into the second or third ounce. A couple of times, the tobacco has proven only to get better with the passage of time. This is one of the latter group. As excited as I was when I first lit a bowl of Aurora, it only gets better and better.

My first tin was just under a year old. Like all Virginias, it must be smoked slowly to avoid bite and get all the flavor and sweetness. There are more flavors when a little moist, so don't dry it out too much. It is perfect straight from the tin. The excellent ribbon cut makes it easy to pack, and it smokes great.

There is only a very mild ketchup aroma from McClelland's aged Virginia process, and it is not detected in the smoke. It is right up there with the best Virginias in terms of taste. Nicotine is not too strong. A great blend. I plan to purchase as many tins as I can afford, to smoke now and to age for my retirement.

As one who is passionate about Virginias, I can say that Aurora is one of the very best, and presently is my absolute favorite.

Update: newer tins are more on the savory end of the spectrum. With a year or more in the tin, this blend becomes sweeter and much more complex.

Update, April 2014: Time has not dulled my enthusiasm for this blend. It is worth repeating that, like any all-Virginias blend, it must be sipped slowly to avoid unpleasantness and fully enjoy the wonderful flavors.

Unlike those blends containing Latakia, Aurora leaves the breath relatively fresh: you might actually be able to get a kiss from your sweetie after Aurora!

A note on the nicotine: Aurora has an undeserved reputation for being light on the Vitamin N. Not so! But the nicotine comes on slowly. Instead of making your head swim and your guts churn, Aurora induces a strong sense of relaxation, and leaves you with a very mild but long-lasting buzz, and a mellow mood that stays with you long after the bowl is finished.

Aurora embodies my feelings about McClelland. When their blends were good, they were absolutely world class. Like the majority of McClelland Va blends, Aurora is sweet and delicious, but thin on flavor and body. Aro smokers looking to get into straight tobacco are perfectly suited for the majority of McClelland's catalog and will likely enjoy Aurora and its ilk. But for Va lovers and flake smokers, outside of the handful of McClelland blends that rank with the world's best, they're going to leave you wanting for something with more flavor and backbone.

Undoubtedly high quality, don't bother unless you like very light tobacco.

I can only say that this is a real treat, its sweet, spicy along midway, full hue of misty smoke,..Not overbaring in any degree. Well done!!!, I filled my number 3 Nording and smoked an easy hour.There is an old ad we all know from maxll house coffee, ( good to the last drop), smoke this till the last ember, get aquanited with it, if you have a smoking room and are watching TV or reading, my guess is that you will be filling another bowl.Again McClelland reigns in the world of pipe tobacco. I rarely can finish a tin a week, but I buy one every week and down to the cellar it goes. I do want to say that I have never got a ketchup or vinager aroma from any tin, where that came from I'll never understand, after 35 years of pipe smoking I should like to think I know a little about pipe tobacco, and after eating all my life I know what ketchup smells like, and it ain't tobacco. 5 stars in my " I love McClelland book of smoking".

Whoda thunk leaves could taste so wonderful? I am utterly amazed at how McClelland created this absolute treat of a pipe tobacco. To me, this blend leaves other pure Virginia blends such as Dunhill Flake, and Orlik Golden Sliced far behind in terms of complexity, and so many dimensions of delectably sweet, creamy smooth & rich flavors. And they did this with no toppings. Remarkable. Just pure tobacco! It is celestial.

Edit: March 17, 2018 Only very few knew at the time of my above post that McClelland Tobacco Co. would close its doors. If I had known I'd have tried to find 100 tins. But now I will try to make the 19 I do have last as long as possible. I am thankful I have it. One of the reasons stated for their closure was that the Red Virginia in this blend had become nearly impossible to find anymore.

Here on Jan 25, 2019, it's not been quite a year that McClelland closed shop, and I sure do miss them. I still have a dozen more tins of this splendid Virginia blend in my cellar, and I have one opened now that I've been enjoying.

Plenty of flavor in this tin, the strength is perfect for an all day smoke. A sophisticated Virginia mixture, a smokers delight. The preservative smell is quite strong but does not mix with the rich taste while smoking. It does what it says on the tin. Burns flawlessly without drying. Nice after taste and no bite.

Virginia lover

UPDATE 12/16/14

This one has always confounded me because it looked like a McClellands, it smelled like a McClellands but it didn't taste like one. McC's virginias may be a lot of things but flat is not one of them. Well, apparently 4 years of age opens this one up considerably. I stumbled upon what was left of my 2nd tin which had been jarred and fired up a bowl. It was much better this go 'round...richer, deeper and just a bit more complex. The various VA leaves seem to meld better. Still not a world beater but very smokable and enjoyable. I doubt I'll buy anymore but I smoked 4 bowls of this over a couple of days and all I can say is if you buy it, you might want to let it sit for several years before smoking. Three stars.

UPDATE 4/28/12

As I suspected, Aurora does a bit better with some cellar time. But only slightly. This is still a very simple blend, lacking any real depth, a trait I find odd for a McClellands virginia. But the flavor asserted itself just a tad more. There was more tang and a hair more sweetness. But 2 stars is still plenty. I'm with Ruffinogold on this one... perfectly fine, no glaring faults, but this is one that could have stayed in the recipe rolodex. It still doesn't distinguish itself the way most McClellands VA's do.

ORIGINAL REVIEW

This may be the first McClelland virginia or Vaper I've smoked that didn't score at least a 3. Most of them are pushing 4 stars for me. This one didn't do so well.

Beautiful looking tobacco with that gorgeous McClelland fermented virginia aroma! McClelland VA's supplant new car smell as the finest smell in the world for me. Unfortunately, the look and tin aroma of this blend were its two best features. This isn't a bad blend by any means; it simply doesn't distinguish itself in any way. The flavor was much too light, bordering on flat. No red VA richness present and very little tang. This tasted like a subdued Rattrays Dark Fragrant, which by itself is subdued enough, thank you very much. Red VA, in particular, typically has a lot of character, but this blend failed to realize its potential. Soft and mellow, to be sure, but no underlying richness and about as much depth as a puddle. Blowing smoke out the nose helped but didn't elevate this one beyond mediocre.

I think our friend Aurora needs more time in the cellar, as I smoked a tin marked 2010. To be fair, I will update this review in a year to see if this blend has improved with age. By all rights, it should.

Tin: Familiar, sweet, rich McClelland VA scent. Overall chestnut hue having a small amount of light tan and brown-black. Standard medium ribbon cut. Tin date on bottom: 2009. At just the right moisture level, supple to dry, leaving no residue on the fingers. Left out to dry for 2 hours, it is not completely dry.

Taste & Aroma: Full, rich, deep or dark, red VA. Soft and mellow. The smoke coming out of the bowl is likewise nice, soft and rich. There is a mild salsa effect on the tongue. I notice a mild, nice sweet tone. A little tangy, red VA, note is interspersed in the smoke, from time to time.

Nicotine: Mild to medium, closer to mild

Room Note: Pleasant sweet scent

Overall: Aurora is part of the 6-member Collector Blends produced by, and labeled as, McClelland. McClelland originally made it available for the Pipe Collector's but McClelland no longer puts PCCA on the label.

Another good variant of McCranie's Red Ribbon. An all-day, indoor smoke. 3.8 stars.

There is also an uncanny resemblance between Aurora and McCranie's My Reserve. McClelland produces blends for McCranie's under their guidance. A reviewer mentioned that MR is 5100 with the addition of stoved VA's; a similarity between First Light and 5100 has also been mentioned. Many have likewise noted the confirmation between RR and 5100. I use the bulk MR for a quick smoke and age the tinned Aurora.