McClelland Oldchurch

It's been awhile since I've smoked an aromatic, but I decided to try this one. Let's just say that the name "Oldchurch" caught my attention. The tin describes this tobacco as being of "incredible delicacy," and I would have to agree. Not being much of an aromatic fan, I preferred this blend being "light." Wanting to spare my good pipes, I used my bulldog basket pipe. It smoked cool. This would be a good tobacco for the "last smoke of the day." The room note is pleasant enough to be smoked in a well- ventilated room, without offending a wife.

I sometimes wonder about my maturity level. Let’s go back a few days. It all started at the Sunday pipe club when a member had a tin of Old Church dated 2010 practically full and I asked to try a sample. Low and behold he gave me the tin, I practically jumped out of my seat and let out a whoop. I know, worse than a spoiled kid in a candy shop and I probably accepted a little too greedily. A huge thanks to one of our veteran pipe club members for the gift and I made sure to pass this one around to anyone who also wanted to try it. This goes without saying but a few of the guys I know do on occasion read my reviews and for the record I do not use names out of respect for privacy. That’s just one of my quirks, I guess. They know who they are and a big thanks as always for the samples. I can’t pinpoint the tin note but I sensed a liquored fruit, berry scent maybe. Here are some of the descriptors from other reviewers based on tin note and/or taste: honey-sweet, caramel, band-aids, warm pecan pie, scotch, butterscotch, cocoa, blackberry, incense, vanilla, marshmallow, and last but not least chemical. Anyway, it smells good and tastes good, (that’s all that really matters) appears to be high quality leaf and I enjoyed it immensely in a corn cob. I find it interesting that the flavor profile is listed as none. Kind of odd for an aromatic, maybe a secret ingredient? Unknown? Of course, with McClelland sadly out of the business it makes this gift all the more special. I do not plan on letting this one sit for long as I enjoy it in the afternoon after work sitting on the porch and having my coffee.

McClelland - Oldchurch (Ashton Revival).

Perplexing. Listed as an aromatic, no casings specified, yet just the nose from the tin implies a sweet, and ambrosial topping? C'est la vie!

Although the cut classifies this as a broken flake, apart from a few coarse pieces, it's mostly ribbons. The blend includes more brown Virginias than black Cavendish. My tin had good moisture.

The flavour's concordant to the tin-note; there's a notable, honey-sweet, slightly fragrant, topping. Nothing 'heavy', but a definite enhancement. As is the case with all the McClelland blends I've had, the Virginias are top notch; tangy, sweet, sharp, and delicious. They give a little more flavour than the black Cavendish; but, the BC gives a soft, mellifluous, character to the smoke. It burns well, needing the occasional relight.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: nice.

Oldchurch? A good smoke, worth a recommendation:

Three stars.

Unlike the original, there is a much lighter caramel top coat (that I could taste anyway), in this revival of the original Oldchurch. Lemon and stoved Virginia of good quality play softly throughout the smoke and it was a keep to me. Not a rich and deep Virginia base, but one that keeps me interested, especially with the flavor enhancement.

Intrigued by the name and already a fan of Old Dog from McC, I gave this a try. Good clean taste but the aroma was magical to me. Not a huge aromatic fan but I will be adding this to my stable of regular blends.

A very pleasant tin note. Possibly earthy like a good rich scotch. Packs easily as it's a nice ribbon cut. Initial light gives a very distinct taste of honey. The solid honey taste melts around 2/3 of a bowl into a mixture of honey, pecans and cocoa. These flavors last through the entire bowl balancing off of each other. A nice easy smoke when taken slow and easy.

I may imbibe in a bowl or two before bed. This Rev. occasionally appreciates the Old Church. The Mrs. even likes the room note, though she can't identify it. The tin note is wonderful and I'm not an aro guy.

Update, been mixing with G/H unscented Dark Flake, 50/50. Gives it some Nic strength and all the Lakeland essence I can handle. One of those blends that works, has become one of my go-to's every day...

I can't put my finger on the flavouring in this aromatic; its not fruity, and while it doesn't smell like any church I've worked or worshipped in, I suppose one might call it incense like. The component tobaccos work well together and occasionally shine through. The sweetness of the virginias nicely complement the added flavouring. As is expected, this McClelland aro is of high quality despite it's sweetness. I don't smoke a lot of aromatics, but this one is a nice change of pace. I have an old Brigham bent billiard which doesn't have that great a draw, but for some reason this blend really shines in this particular pipe. This blend is hard to find in Canada so I have another tin on the shelf. Age doesn't seem to hurt it.