McClelland Tudor Castle

The ketchup which is so strong when the tin is first opened diminishes after about three weeks. It's now only slightly noticeable if I hold the tobacco next to my nose and take a good sniff. I could go on about the play of flavors between the Yenidje, the Virginia and the Perique but there is no need: this tobacco is great, that's all that needs to be said.

Tin: Stoved to a dark brown with spots of light tan. A pressed flake, sliced then broken up. Light vinegar scent. Tin date stamped on bottom is 2008.

Packing & Burning: For me, rubbing a flake out is a chore-I'd just as soon it was pre-cut as a ribbon. The rubbed out chunks have to be stuffed fairly tightly to get it to draw well. Well-stuffed, a bowl lasts quite a while. Not as much puffing is required to keep it lit, if TC is allowed to dry out for a few minutes.

Taste & Aroma: Aroma is of scented wood and sandalwood; and perhaps honeysuckle would not be out of line.

Taken from the top, TC has a mild Red VA tang, soon followed by the Yenidje, with the VA then receeding into the background.

Room Note: Excellent, even for the most pedestrian of bystanders' noses.

Overall: A soft mellow smoke that compares favorably to McClelland's Blending Oriental and Robert McConnell's Oriental, though different varieties, in overall quality of smoke.

TC exemplifies the qualities of the Yenidje variety of oriental, doing it well, subtly. TC Arcade, having the same namesake, is not even in the same category or quality. In the Collectors Series, TC ranks with Aurora in overall quality of smoke. All of the tobaccos in TC are well-married, with the Yenidje on center stage. 3.9 stars.

Fast becoming a favorite of mine, and only a half tin gone. Excellent taste, sweetness is highly noticeable, although not totally dominant. Good anytime of day. Will become a classic IMO.

Well...It surprises me that any pipe smoker wouldn't like this stuff. The Yenidje tin note is very prominent. I didn't detect the usual McClelland aroma from my tin as others have noted. The tin note to me was mostly Oriental...Yenidje, as it were. For an Oriental blend, this stuff if admirable. Thouroughly enjoyable! I liked it and that's all that matters. Enough said!

Well, I guess I should review this blend, now that I'm staring at my last bowl, still sitting in that nearly empty tin. I'm about a foot away now from that tin, pecking away at the keyboard, and I can easily smell that McClelland tang, which happens to be particularly strong in Tudor Castle.

I've enjoyed every bowl, each one a pleasure to smoke, just gobs and gobs of flavor. Tudor Castle seems to me very similar to Black Woods Flake. Super sugary but with an inseparable contingent of Perique. They say there's Yenidje in this, and I fault myself for having detected none of it. Still, I enjoy seeing blends out there that shy away from a reliance on Smyrna and move in another direction. I suppose McClelland set a standard with the Grand Orientals series, hopefully pushing other blenders to diversify.

Since it's damn near impossible to order a tin of Full Virginia Flake at the moment, I'd suggest trying something different. And you can't go wrong here. Tudor Castle is open--I say move in.

Five of Five.

A fantastic blend for those who do not regret Perique added blends. This blend has McClelland's specific sweet-sour flavor. The Yenidje addition gives its sweet-spicy flavors all the way you smoke and this fantastic flavor is enhanced with the high quality real tobacco tasted Virginias. Perique is added just to fix the strength of this fine blend.

This tobacco packs well and burns even offering a nice dosage of nicotine and some enjoyable flavors for the real pipe tobacco seekers. If some good Perique addition does not bother you, give it a try, you won't regret.

I've recently taken up pipe smoking again after a long absence. Originally, I was a regular 965 smoker, and I loved the latakia kick. Now, my taste has evolved to VaPers and perique ... a whole new, and delightful world. When opening the tin of Tudor Castle, I immediately sensed the familiar McLelland "ketchupy" smell, of which I am not a great fan, but which, thankfully, does not come through with the smoke. This blend smokes like a dream. The Virginias, perique, and exotic Yentidje are blended in just the right proportions so that none are too dominant but instead produce a harmonious smoke which is complex and exquisitely satisfying, leaving you wanting more. And I will order more, as it is in limited supply.

Tudor Castle is soon to be a legend. World class. Best New Actor is a cinch, but this one will be anything but a flash in the pan. This will probably kick off a genre. (you want to get a pencil - remember I told you so). Like Balkan Sobranie, the eventual additional players will be compared to this one. Luck to them. This makes me wonder why Yenidje isn't already part of the standard so that it would be Va/Per/Yen as the familiar term we now all tossed about. Everyone who has had the misfortune to read my other reviews knows I like Va and Turkish. To get good compliments for quality flake Virginias I usually have to mix my own Turkish. I'm too big of a chicken to mix my perique or I'd do that too. Lots of folks' next call to PCCA will be to get some more of this, so you better write this on your shopping list and get some while the getting is good. PCCA does run out of the good stuff on occaision - supplies could get iffy.

My three favourite tobaccos are all here: (1) Turkish - Yenidje; goes with everything - dress or casual. (2) Perique - done to scale perfectly here- perhaps light if you really want the perique to punch, which I usually do not. (3) Virginia - which everyone knows is done best by the company that crafted this for PCCA.

I am so pleased to find this I could just kiss somebody. Not Bob, but somebody. A mellow Va flake like no other on one side, and that lovely Yenidje on the other, with a spinner down the lane of perique picking up the spare. I should tell you to get some in April or May and concoct some sort of story for it. That way I can have the rest of March to beat you to the checkout counter.

Love At First Puff. This was easily my favorite at about the 170th blend mark, and that right out of the tin. Absolutely delicious! It has a distinct and incomparable bouquet I look forward to. High quality aged leaf in small unique batches really does seem to make a big difference. And the RC Hamlin formulation is outstanding.

Now into my fourth tin, I am currently smoking it in a Paolo Becker Stack: Loaded with the Frank Method. Layers within layers within layers of flavors. A big puff exhaled very slowly through the nose and catch a wave, leave it on idle and coast along in delight, let it go out and start over in a better place. No burn, no bite, no gurgle, no rough edges all the way to the bottom of this 2 ½ inch Stack. Nice. Very nice. I feel even better when I grin about how much of this I put into the cellar.