McClelland Brindle Flake

McClelland - Brindle Flake (Ashton Revival).

For the past month or so my morning smoke's been St. Bruno Flake but today I fancied something a little 'plainer', something without the St Bruno floral addition. Brindle Flake: a blend where the majority of reviews mark 'no added flavour', I thought that seemed like a good choice.

The tin contains quite dark flakes, which aren't very broken. The moistness? It's one of the better hydrated flake blend's I've come across. This makes rubbing, my preferred way of loading, easy. The aroma from it's the usual McClelland ketchup one.

The moment I lit my first bowl four stars jumped to mind. Several bowls later I still won't go any lower! For starters the moisture makes igniting a doddle. And then the smoke's fabulous. It emanates sweet and tangy flavours. The sweetness comes through stronger for the initial part of a bowl, getting overtaken by the more piquant, and tangy, side, after a little while. I don't get much of a grassy, hay, flavour, or much of a freshness, it tastes more matured. The temperature's nice and cool, and I get no bite.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: nice.

Easy to rate. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

I just decided to try this one based on a whim and I really like the design on the tin. My expectations for this one were pretty low because you hardly ever hear this one come up in the forums or inner circles of the community. This one swoops in low under the radar... I'm kind of hoping it stays that way. This is a delicious, sweet flue cured VA flake that is up there with the best I've ever had. It's tangy but that fermented character (most refer to as catsup) does not translate to taste, it's got a bread-like character with hints of citrus, the nicotine is mild but when a blend like this tastes so good I don't really mind that it's not laced with a good amount of nicotine. It just means that I can load up bowl after bowl without overdoing it, I am overly joyed with this find. I'm not a big fan of McClelland's ribbon cut or "English" mixtures but there is no doubt that they have mastered Virginia Flakes and with such a huge and successful line up it's no surprise to find a sleeper such as this.

Essential (for VA Flake lovers).

comparing between different McClelland Virginia blends, I find, is like splitting hairs. I like them all and the differences between them are minor. I would say this was one of my favorites of the bunch. A lot of natural sweetness is in this flake. It is a great putz around and work smoke as well as a great sit and contemplate smoke.

It is not one that will bowl you over with a lot of complexity, just good sweet Virginias on the lighter side in color than many of the other McClelland. This, like all the other MCC Va's has that scent that many refer to as ketchup. If you don't like this scent, then you are probably not even reading this review. I love it and this is one of the better ones I have had.

I think a neglected blend from McClelland. This is one of the many Virginia blends that they produce, and for some reason it seems sort of forgotten. I think its actually among the best. Its not as heavily stoved as say Blackwoods Flake, or even Butera's Golden Cake, though it resembles the latter a bit. Let alone as stoved like dark star. Its also not particularly sweet -- in comparison to Blackwoods or Black& Red. But its sweet enough and quite rich and smooth and slow burning. Its also not as wet out of the tin as some of McClellands tobaccos. It is probably a combination of brown virginia (slightly heated as i understand it) and not a lot of red or black. Some lemon or orange, too, I imagine. The description says flue cured, but that could meaning anything honestly. My guess is based on the fact that there isnt a LOT of sugar in there. Its a nice pungent virginia with a bit more nic hit than you might expect. Also....its rather a purist blend in that I suspect only two or three varietals are used (unlike say macbaren HH Pure Virginia that has a dozen). Its good stuff...very good.

I have just finished my first tin of Brindle Flake and thoroughly enjoyed my experience with it even though I find it somewhat difficult to completely nail the description of it. As the name indicates it is indeed a flake tobacco which was very easy to work with. It is light to medium brown in color and a light aroma. Under the category of Flavoring I selected Extremely Mild, the description gives no indication of flavorings added but to my tongue I seem to detect some extremely faint something which I have not been able to identify. But don't be afraid of that because it is quite pleasant. It burned great straight to the bottom of the bowl and was deceptively flavorful. This is one bear that is friendly.

I cannot with authority compare this to the original version so I will simply say it's worth a try it might just surprise you and I would certainly recommend it to new smokers.

I had forgotten how good McClelland Virginias were…. Tin note is intense, pungent and vinegary with deeply sweet stewed fruit notes. The flakes are brown in color with some bright specs, mostly broken. A little bit thick for me to fold but rubbing is easy. Just a few minutes of drying time are enough. The smoke is excellent! Earthy and savoury, with mild honey sweetness, slow-smoking with a nice bittersweet finish. A medium strength smoke for relaxation truly.

A well-aged straight Virginia flake of the highest quality. About 65% high sugar bronze leaf and the balance lemon leaf, this has a brighter, sweeter flavor profile than the typical McClelland Virginia blend. Tangy but without bite, medium in body and nicotine, as one smokes a bowl down to ash, the flavors nicely deepen. The last half hour of a bowl can be immensely satisfying. A largely unheralded classic.

This is an atypical McClelland blend that processes fine qualities and is more similar to English tobaccos than the McClelland Virginia's. It's zesty and earthy with a mild sweetness and gets stronger as the bowl progresses. Honestly reminds me of Wessex Brown virginia flake towards the bottom of the bowl but doesn't have the hotpressing qualities unique to English tobaccos. Molasses like sweetness that is mild with a earthy darker virginia flavor and some zest. Excellent blending that I look forward to trying years from now.

When I first open the tin, it smelled ok, then, it smoked ok. I place the tobacco in a mason jar for a year and it was a different tobacco altogether. After a year or so in a jar, it was sweeter, smoother, and great.