McClelland Jubilee

Lightly sweet, delicate and complex. If a full, dark English blend is Baroque, Jubilee is more rococo - light and playful, exuberant without being full of itself.

The Latakia here is fragrant and floral, the merest touch of perique adds a subtle bass note. The oriental note is hardly identifiable on its own, but it's there providing a nice counterpoint. What perfect harmony! If Haydn were a pipe smoker, he would have smoked Jubilee.

Similar to orient 996 but much balanced, therefore much better. Though you have to go through "open the lid, forget for a couple months" ritual, the result is very very rewarding. for details you may want to read my orient 996 review.

Lets wrap. I want a pool full of jubilee and play the scrooge mcduck. That's it.

WOWuzela!

The blend is a winner and with the nice sugary Virginans, will age well. As someone mentioned, the Virginia's used definitely have that McCLelland tang. The latakia is there and adds nicely to the blend but does not feature prominently. The oriental and perique add complexity. This is a good smoke for a "vaper" smoker who wants a bit of latakia now and then or a latakia smoker wo wants a more upfront vaper experience. It's sweet and for me, goes well with an ice tea on the porch on a hot day. Going to buy two cans for my long-term stash. Also bought this with Oriental 969 which is similar. At this point in my testing, I am leaning towards Jubilee due to the latakia.

This is simply one of the best latakia blends ever. If you are looking for a power house latakia dominated blend then look elsewhere. This blend delivers in all categories,sweet,smooth,flavor packed.

Bye Bye Early Morning pipe. Try it boys it will not disappoint!!

A very nice "light" English mixture, with mostly Virginias and a touch of Orientals, Latakia and Perique. I guess the mildness of the flue cured leaf make the others tobaccos stand out more than I expected from the look in the tin. Anyway, by mid bowl it tends to flatten and get a little bit boring for my taste. Great tobacco, anyway.

This is one very classy blend. The aroma from the tin tells you that you are in for a very special treat. My tin had two years of age on it. The flavor is soft and silky. All the condimental leaf is used sparingly, but the taste is well-rounded and flavorful. Burns very cool. A very refined blend like nothing I've experienced before. I'm tempted to compare it to other blends, but I think it's in a class all it's own. The virginias are slightly sweet and the turkish and perique play off each other. The latakia is further in the background. It has an inordinate amount of flavor for such a mild blend. This is best sipped like a fine wine. Holds your attention from start to finish. A wonderful example of the art of fine blending. Thank you Bob Hamlin.

color and cut are great and this air pocket packs very nicely. the taste is pure, sweet, and unique. this obviously is choice tobacco of all the types in the blend. i thought that i would like it before opening the tin simply becuase it was a mcllelands vaper, i just didnt know how much. i have it sitting next to a tin of frog morton on the bayou and find that i prefer the jubilee. the only thing negative that i would suggest is that the tin artwork is somewhat plain when compared to many of the offerings today, don't let this deter you, buy it for what is inside.

Freevito pretty much covers it, but i have to say how good this is. To me it tastes like buttered cashews that have been dug up from an ashtray from lasts nights party. sounds bad but oh is it good. this blend screams to be smoked in an old calabash pipe with an amber stem. If you are fortunate to own a turn of the century barling, pack it with jubilee and enjoy!

A mixture of brown, chestnut, black, and tan broken ribbons with a nutty, caramel aroma that is slightly sweet. A bit on the springy side, the mixture packs with moderate ease and burns well.

Structurally, Jubilee is a complex mixture comprised of bright and matured Virginias, Turkish leaf, a pinch of Perique, and a dash of Latakia. Somewhat bright with a nutty tang, in the bowl it offers alternately sweet and earthy notes of sugared pecans, dried apricots, marmalade, and wood. Although the fragrant Orientals remain in the forefront for much of the bowl, the Virginias, unmistakably McClelland, are sweet with a mixture of zest and depth which provides an interesting counterpoint. While the Turkish leaf lends an overall sour-savory character to the mixture, a certain tartness from the Perique appears now and again. Applied with a very light hand, the (Syrian?) Latakia sits shyly in the background, its role ultimately unclear. A nutty, pecan-like note persists throughout the bowl. Medium bodied with a soft and somewhat creamy mouthfeel, it offers a dry, semi-sweet finish.

Jubilee is a blend which confounds, and in all honesty this reviewer stands at a loss when it comes to the question of how it might be situated among other Virginia-Oriental preparations. Its particular components place it in general range of the other post-PCCA McClelland offerings, especially Tudor Castle / Arcade and Orient 996 Vintage 2007 (with the Virginias of Aurora being citable as well), and those who have experience with McClelland offerings will find a number of the flavors it offers quite familiar. At the same time, however, Jubilee clearly stands out as a mixture all its own which has, in this reviewer's experience, no immediate parallel in overall effect. While it will not become an everyday smoke in these parts, a small stash will duly be cellared for future sampling.