McClelland Christmas Cheer 2009

(3.48)
Handblended, premium pressed Virginia flake tobaccos. A fine vintage, naturally sweet, in limited quantity. This 2009 blend is made with a special selection of beautiful, sugary, deep orange South Carolina Border Belt flue-cured Virginia from the 2003 crop.

Details

Brand McClelland
Blended By McClelland Tobacco Company
Manufactured By McClelland Tobacco Company
Blend Type Straight Virginia
Contents Virginia
Flavoring
Cut Flake
Packaging 100 grams tin
Country United States
Production No longer in production

Profile

Strength
Mild to Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

3.48 / 4
15

10

2

0

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 27 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 14, 2010 Medium None Detected Medium Pleasant
I grab a tin from this gratefully appreciated annual series each and every year. A reliably fine, quality straight-up Virginia pressed flake tabak.

The 2009 edition smokes a bit sweeter than in years past, even with a bit of drying (in my case, sitting in my Rotator pouch for several days). A wee tad goopy for a natural, unsauced blend due probably to the sugar content, not a bad thing as it's all naturally occurring.

The flavor does develop down the bowl, getting richer and more intriguingly complex as you get to the heel; a slightly herbal intro moves into territories of toastiness, caramel, coffee and probably other things I've run out of words for. Also, leave time for this one, it's not a quick bowl; small to medium bowlfuls have lasted me close to a full hour (though admittedly I'm a pretty gentle puffer). -PEACEPIPE
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 30, 2014 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Very Pleasant
Once you get past the vinegar smell, which is mildly noticeable in the taste of the tobacco, you get a very tangy ripe, dark fruity, slightly sugary sweet straight Virginia blend with some earth and grass. Burns well when dried just a little, though I recommend not drying it. Burns slow when you don't with a cool, rather consistent flavor from start to finish. Needs some relights and leaves a little moisture in the bowl. No bite or harshness. Has a mild nic-hit. Thought it lacks some complexity, it's a very flavorful all day smoke with a sweet after taste and room note.

-JimInks
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 17, 2010 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant
Christmas 2009 was a very sad time in our family, the kind that stings the heart. This year my wife and I are going the extra mile to make Christmas 2010 alive with joy and happyness. So, I had 4 large 100g " Christmas Cheer 2009 stored away, normly I would wait @ minimun 2 years or more, but I just wanted to smoke these tins up and rid my self of any reminder of last years Christmas,... Mmmm, Good decision. When I opened the tin to allow it some time to breath and dry I was taken back by the wonderfull aroma,. Sweet and pure. It took only 2 days before this got in a bowl and an Eric Nording did justice to this flake. I rubbed and folded, filled to a good spring without it being too tight or loose, 09 is behind me, and this 2009 cheer has to be the very best Iv had, O yea, its Virgina baby sweet and done to perfection, bravo, a masterpiece indeed, 4 stars, happy jack, and happy holidays to all my brothers of the pipe.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 04, 2010 Mild Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
I rubbed this one out very well. I packed it kind of loosely and charred the top. I did not get to puffing on this bowl with any force, just smoked it real casually. It is a sublime smoke! It has a deep somewhat sweet, nutty butterscotch flavor to it, but it's just a hint of that flavor. It's earthy and wonderful. This is the most complex Virginia that I've yet sampled. My tin is a year old at the time of this writing, yet I think that probably makes a difference with this blend based off of what I have read in other reviews of this annual project. At any rate, I am a very satisfied customer. Please treat yourselves to this tobacco if possible.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 15, 2009 Medium Extremely Mild Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
This will be my first review here so bare with me.

Let me start by saying that I love this stuff and have been smoking it anualy since 2005 whenever the holiday seasons begin to descend upon us. As with the majority of McClelland Va's, this is a high quality tobacco possessing excellent smoking qualities and flavor. I have smoked other Va and do enjoy them. However, McClelland seems to treat their offerings in such a way that hits my pallate in all the right places giving me that naturally sweet, smokey note that a good Va should grant it's owner. There's not a great deal of unique notes I can add to this review that haven't been already said by others. I will say though, that I reveived a small surprise with this year's vintage. In about the last 1/4 of the bowl, the aroma changed from a sweet, somewhat fruity note which is common with this tobacco, to a subdutle hint of vanilla/caramel which is something I've not experienced in the last few production years.

All in all a very good tobacco that should be ejoyed slowly in a relaxed atmospere.

Happy Holidays!
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Nov 11, 2009 Mild to Medium None Detected Mild to Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
This years Christmas Cheer crop seems very similar to the 2004. It is very wet in the tin and has a rather profound ketchup smell that does diminish when drying out. I only mention the ketchup smell (which it is assumed that all McClelland have to some degree) because it is the strongest I can remember for a while. The tobacco once dried is very enjoyable and does not bite in the least. The broken flakes do a very good job rubbed out or just shoved into a pipe, its personal preference here gents. The taste is a bit less sweet than in years past, but is rather a grassy, earthy and almost immature flavor. The room note and strength are pretty consistent with what I have come to expect with this seasonal favorite. I think all this blend needs is to be aged for a few years.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jul 07, 2020 Medium Medium Full Pleasant to Tolerable
Got back in to pipe smoking recently after a 12+ year absence, and broke back into my big jar of Christmas Cheer. Imagine my surprise when my local pipe shop told me McClelland is gone! My jar is a much more closely-guarded treasure now.

Needs smoked slowly and gently, but is truly a sublime, comforting experience.
Pipe Used: Bones Straight Cauldron
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes
Age When Smoked: 12 yr
4 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 03, 2010 Mild to Medium Extremely Mild Mild Pleasant to Tolerable
I was looking forward to trying CC2009, since few years of age makes such a big difference in how a virginia flake tastes. It's typical McClelland--ketchup smell in tin (which I love), needed a few weeks to breathe a bit, etc. However, I'm most of the way through the tin and the taste hasn't really impressed me. It's not exactly bad, but it's kinda monochromatic. It also has a flavour-to-heat ratio that I usually associate with "green" virginia, a quality that persists in freshly cleaned bowls of various sizes. I like Dark Star, Blackwoods Flake, and some of the McClelland bulk tobaccos quite a bit, but this one doesn't quite do it for me. Still, it's the thought that counts. A single vintage, well-aged, limited production Christmas flake is a darn good idea.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Jan 19, 2010 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
You can imagine my surprise when I found a can of this stuff under the tree on Christmas morning--with my name on it no less. I've always been a wee bit leary of gimmicky pipe tobacoo (so-called special editions which are usually factory seconds in a pretty can), so I partly suspected this blend might make me feel a bit like Clark W. Griswold when Cousin Eddie shows up at the door. I kinda thought it would be hard to get rid of if you know what I mean. But of course that was when I had no idea what was in store upon opening the tin. Wonderful aroma...I wish I could smell that opening aroma again. Sugarplums? No. Gingerbread? Not exactly. Balsam fir? Keep guessing. Catsup--a wonderful, vinegary catsup kind of smell that filled my nostrils and stirred my imagination (talk about a fish and chips craving...) Anyway, smoking this stuff was of course the best part. Go slowly--Christmas only comes once a year. Don't hurry this one and you will be rewarded. My only complaint is that Santa didn't bring nearly enough 2009 Christmas Cheer for me. Shame on you, Mr. Claus. I hope you have more foresight next year, because this tobacco is special.
3 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Oct 28, 2009 Mild to Medium Mild Mild to Medium Pleasant
I finally decided to try something other than Presbyterian Mixture (my ol' reliable) and other aromatics that I prefer. So, I bought a tin of Christmas Cheer 2009. Upon opening the tin, I was surely enough greeted with a ketchup smell that was intriguing. If McClelland made ketchup that smelled that good, I would buy it!

I decided to rub out a few bowls worth and store in the original container and mason jar the rest for later. I packed a Kaywoodie slow smoking apple full and let the pipe sit out for about two hours. I then took it with me to the sporting clay range for an afternoon jaunt. It was a very nice smoke and a great introduction to Virginia. Delightfully spicy and definitely a hint of the Season to come.

I love the smell that it leaves behind in the pipe. My father, who is not a smoker, described the room note as what he imagines "Santa's" shop to smell like..........

Merry Christmas 2009 folks.....in a few months.....
3 people found this review helpful.
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