McClelland Tudor Castle Arcade

This tobacco has a topping that is obvious but not overpowering and the usual Cider Vinager smell from McClellands is not present. It does not effect the flavor. This tobacco is fantastic. I have tried blends with Syrian Latakia only from another blender and the subtleness of that rare tobacco is obvioius here. Those looking for the smoke bomb flavor of Cyprian latakia will be dissapointed as Syrian Latakia is not quite so one dimentional with the "smokey" smell and flavor. If you like Va/Per blends then try this and the fuller flavor that sets this one apart is due to the Syrian Latakia. I like this a lot and will put this one in my rotation this coming Winter.

***adendum 12/20/2009*** I smoked 1/2 of the tin after I first opened it up. I put the rest away for later. Today was that later day. I can't believe I wrote what I wrote before regarding the smell. I can't detect any topping at all and now there is a very slight cider vinegar smell along with the syrian smoky mustiness. I can only guess that there is a natural tobacco smell in here that came out flowery when oxygen was first introduced to the tin. I let this dry out a little more and I think I like this one even more than I liked it before. Yumm Yumm.

*** 1/19/10 *** Just keeps getting better each time I smoke it. Truely a masterpiece. The review after me suggests drying this out a lot and I must agree. My tin was opened 6 months ago and has dried a lot. Perhaps that is why it just seems to get better.

This review is based on the now widely distributed version that has just hit the market recently.

I must say that I am quite impressed. It is not a krumble kake but instead a small cut flake. It is dark with strands of light intermingled. There is a faint and pleasing clove/cinnamon aroma that greets you each time you open the lid, I can only assume this is imparted by the Katerini for no flavoring is detectable. The touch of Syrian Latakia apparently means they touched the other the tobaccos and then removed it! But I'm not complaining. If you're not a latakia fan you can safely try this flake. The perique is delicately handled and provides just enough zip for interest.

Overall I find this to be a well balanced blend and extremely pleasing. It does (IMHO) work best in a smaller bowl. A prince or squat bulldog have worked for me.

The proof of how well I like a tobacco is a simple enough equation -- how quickly did I go through my initial supply? I have gone through this first tin of Arcade and am about to open the second. If it is as good I'm in trouble cause this stuff is not inexpensive!

The rather tangy, “vinegary”, ripe dark fruity, earthy matured Virginias also sport a light sugar note, and form the base of the blend. The fragrant, woody, very floral, tartly sweet, sour and spicy Katerina is a supporting player. The spicy, raisiny, stewed fruity Louisiana perique is an ever present condiment. The dry, wine-like, smokey, woody Syrian latakia adds a touch of a flavor push to the blend, and occasionally does slightly more than that. The strength level sits squarely on the medium, while the taste is a step beyond that. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. No chance of bite or harshness. Burns cool, clean, and a little slow as broken flakes will do, and has a very consistent, rich taste from start to finish. Will burn to ashes without stirring up the bottom of the heel. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs some relights. Has a pleasantly, lingering sweet and lightly floral after taste. Not quite an all day smoke, though experienced smokers in this genre may consider it to be one, depending on the size bowl one uses.

-JimInks

I feel bad for disagreeing with all the positive reviews for this blend, but I just do not appreciate this offering from McClelland at all.

Like all McClelland offerings, the quality of the leaf is top-notch. It sounds like just the kind of blend I would most enjoy, but the whole is less than the parts in that the various ingredients do not come together for me in anything resembling a balance. Indeed I don't taste any sweetness from the virginias, the perique comes across too spicy and peppery, the oriental is too tangy, and I don't detect any of that syrian latakia I was looking forward to. Overall this blend is way too sharp, tangy and astringent for me. Smoking it very slowly reveals some interesting nuance, but those delicate tones are drowned out by the negatives of ingredients that don't harmoniously cohere.

I really expected to like this one, and wanted to, but I'm surprised how much this one disappointed me. I'm glad that other reviewers here appreciate it as much as they do, but I just don't see what they see in it. It saddens me to give a McClelland blend just one star, but I honestly can't recommend this one.

I preface this brief review with the fact that I tried this tobacco in 3 pipes; a Zulu, a large straight Billiard and an Author. I had the best smoke in the large bowl Billiard. I don't know if this flies in the face of convention, but there you have it.

Upon opening the tin, the 'signature' McC ketchupy (or barbeque saucey) aroma wafted into my nostrils. Rightly or not, I have always attributed it to nicely aged, mellow and sweet Va's and, frankly, I truly relish the aroma.

My tin was a combination of flake and broken flake. It requires rubbing out (okay, fold it if you prefer) and a little drying. It fired up promptly and stayed fired up for most of the smoke. The VAs and Orientals predominate, and the interplay is rewarding. Oddly enough, while I could not taste the Latakia that's contained in the blend, the resultant room note told me that it was in there somewhere. And, I could not definitely taste the Perique, but my taste buds may have confused it with one of the zesty Orientals. However, I had a bit of a peppery aftertaste in my mouth towards the end of the bowl: perhaps the Perique has greater mass (joke).

All in all, another great blend from McClelland, and a very enjoyable smoke.

Tudor Castle Arcade has always been a crowd pleaser. The way the old style Katerini Orientals blend in with the smokey and rich Syrian Latakia is a must try experience. And the supporting Virginia and Perique are constantly battling to be the lead player. It's a wonderful battle going on inside the mouth with every puff.

Pipestud

My favorite currently produced Syrian.This blend must be dried to a near crisp otherwise it wont taste the way you want it to. Sometimes i will take out a couple of flakes rub them out and leave them for weeks at a time. i come back to it when there is almost no moisture left in the tobacco, to the point you would think the flakes were ruined. fear not that is when this superb blend shines.for me, this is almost as good as the late Bohemian Scandal. different but still wonderfully rare and good. perfect for fall weather and antique calabashes. Awesome off of an amber stem.I'll cry if it disappears. if you havent " gotten" this blend dry it. a lot. best after a steak dinner.

I finished my sole tin of this blend about a week ago and am just getting around to reviewing it. My tin carried a tin date of 2009, and since I had never tried the blend before I cannot comment on how 8 years of age effected it.

The blend is a broken flake and the smell from the tin is primarily of McClelland Virginia, or ketchup as some would say. I found the taste of Syrian Latakia to be absent in both the tin note and the smoke as it must have been used sparingly in this one. I also could not detect that Katerini in the tin note, but I found it nearly dominated the taste of the smoke itself. The Oriental has a sort of floral quality to it that I just found to be OK, it does, however, smell fantastic as it burns. So much so that I would say that I preferred the side stream aroma to the taste.

As this is a McClelland tobacco that uses Syrian latakia as a component, I am sure this is now as hard to find as any of the others. Where the thought of this made me sad after trying my only tin of Wilderness a while back, I will not have the same feelings of regret as to this one.

I would be remiss to not mention the Perique. It was there, but a minor player in flavor as the Katerini really steals the show. Where the perique is felt is in the strength of the blend. This is not what I would call a strong blend, but it is for a McClelland blend. Don't get me wrong there is a spiciness that dances throughout and I am sure the perique is the reason for that.

I put this one between 2 and 3 stars and will round this one up to 3 for its exceptionally good side stream aroma and sufficient nicotine content.

McClelland - Tudor Castle Arcade (Collector Series).

The tins contents are quite dark, only half broken, nicely hydrated, flakes. The aroma from the blend is slightly tangy, sharp, and a little vinegary. The flakes are a medium thickness so are easy to fully rub if you choose to; I do.

The Orientals give a clear taste, it contains the spicier type of Perique, and there's a lot more spice than dark fruit. The Latakia seems to have been applied in only a small quantity, there's a slight woodiness but nothing overly pertinacious from it. The Virginia behaves in the way I'd usually expect: nothing ostentatious, but it forms the base. The burn from Arcade is good, although the smoke can bite a little if it's pressured.

The room-note's pleasant, and the nicotine's above medium.

This is good, very sharp, but good. In fact, I found the first bowl a little too caustic, but after a few more summarised it would make a brilliant go-to for the mornings, and went on to have three bowls in succession!

Highly recommended.

Tin: Bottom of tin, date stamped 2008. Broken flake in wide chunks: a sliced cake partially rubbed out. Mottled dark brown and black, with an overall dark reddish-brown mahogany tinge. Standard McClelland ketchup aroma. Not moist, but on the dry side of supple.

Packing & Burning: Packing is obviously a chore due to the wide flakes needing to be rubbed out into smaller pieces. To keep it lit, it needs to be forcefully stuffed down into the pipe, beforehand, and likewise takes a lot of puffing to keep it lit.

Taste & Aroma: Pleasant, not bad. I sensed the labeled components as a combined group. The individual components do not stand out. If anything, the Latakia and Perique combine to give a moderate smoky walnut flavor.

Strength: Moderately strong

Room Note: Moderately pleasant, for a pipe smoker.

Overall: An also ran, pleasing, but not exemplary in the individual components, but an overall mellow smoky effect. Will not be buying this again. A mild 2.7 stars.

Update 08 FEB 11: Having previously experienced Aurora, and Tudor Castle after, smoking TC Arcade, though in different genres, I have to downgrade Arcade from three to two stars. The overall quality of smoke of Arcade is comparatively harsh.