McClelland Christmas Cheer 2009

All Christmas Cheer I've tried are pretty similar, and I really hope the rest of them are too. After 3 years in the cellar, every pipe of these sweet red Virginias were a pleasure to smoke from top to bottom, and I wish I had bought more tins for years to come.

A nice virginia (I usually smoke 1792 or #24) when puffing virginia's. It starts out a bit hot to me but settles down about 1/4 of the way through. It really starts to smoke well at the 1/2 way point with a little peppery taste but no biting just a rich flavor all the way to the end. Smokes down to a white powder with no moisture. As all virginia's to me it smokes best in a wide bowled pipe like a pot shape or something with a similar bowl style as well in a meershaum. Glad I opened it up!

This is a special tobacco. Very mild nicotine, good taste, grassy aroma. But, I am updating my reveiw to medium/strong nicotine. It really hits me hard. Maybe I'll try a smaller bore pipe.

I went down to virginia, seeking shelter from the storm....

But seriously I will be trying bulk virginias and kentuckys to see if anything is like this or better.

Ketchup, Ketchup, Life is fowing like ketchup on....

Four stars for sure. McClellands is great.

If you drink green tea with a few drops of lemon it greatly negates the effects of smoking. Good for your lungs and for your health in general.

I am normally partial to latakia-infused blends but every Chritsmas, I get a can of thee XMAS blend andd save it for the following season. One year aged, this tobacco is fantastic. Very sweeet. It does have that ketchup scent when opeeniing the tin but the smoke is really a nicee change from latakia. I like to match Christmas memories with the pipe tobacco that went with the season. This year it is XMAS Blend 2009 and the recently returned to the market Dunhill 965. A perfect combination...a daily pipe or two of each and Christmas 2010 has the potential for great memories.

This tobacco is rich with sugary VA andd that makes it agee so nicely. Absolutely no tongue bite as I have experienced with some VAs. Burned well and left the bowl with a nice little cake. Already got the 2010 and looks like this is a yearly ritual

Like many VA flakes/broken flakes, if you don't prep it right, you'll miss the flavour and risk burning your tongue. Prepping it right for me was drying it out slightly, rubbing it out almost fully, packing somewhat lightly and gently sipping. With a little care, it comes alive and changes as it burns down to a grey white ash.

Most McCelland virginias need to mellow in a closed, unsealed tin for months before they're any good, and Christmas Cheer 09 is no exception: I bought and opened a tin of it before Christmas and it's only now starting to be smokable. Medium strength, with a sweet, sharp edge. A vanilla note does emerge near the end of the bowl, but it's a naturally occurring flavor, not a casing or topping. The McClelland ketchup smell is present in abundance here. I find it compliments a stoved virginia but in Christmas Cheer it's a bit too much. I can't taste it in the smoke, but I can taste it in my pipe afterward.

I like Christmas Cheer 2009 and will finish my tin, but I don't think I'll buy any more of it. There are other McClelland products I like better, like No. 21, 2015, Blackwoods Flake, and Dark Star, and better broken flake virginias on the market (Old Gowrie) as well.

Out of all the McClelland 'Christmas Cheer' blends I've only tried the '06 and '09, so my knowledge on this collection fairly limited. Therefore, I cannot compare to many other of the blends, but in comparison to the '06 it's not quite as good. The '09 blend is extremely sweet, something I welcome in my tobacco. This tobacco is a blast of figs and dates in your nostrils, and a mouthful of lemon pie and a bit of mint while smoking. However, it does bite the tongue a tiny bit. I would highly recommend this tobacco!

Much more mild than I had expected but not disappointed in my purchase. When you first open the tin, you can really detect a fig/molasses scent but that seems to dissipate during smoking. I was under the impression that the taste would linger a bit longer on the pallet but it did not. It is definitely a smoke for the cold weather and I would encourage anyone in the holiday spirit to grab a tin each year it is produced. The room note is more than the taste but the taste is good. These two combinations translates into everyone enjoying this tobacco during the Christmas season.

Santa put some of this in my stocking this year, and I was expecting a "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire" tobacco, instead was treated to a balanced blend of a very nice Virginia's. I'll savor mine all year long. The tin description says it all. Can't wait to try next years blend!