McClelland Christmas Cheer 2011

To me, this smells like HP steak sauce in the can and tastes of it in the pipe, along with a good, lightish Virginia flavour. I found gentle background flavours of hay and citrus along with oats and soft spices (cinnamon, nutmeg etc.).

Not sure why this is marketed as "Christmas Cheer", as there was nothing about it which seemed particularly Christmassy to me except, perhaps, the light hint of sweet spice. I think that this would be better suited to summer smoking, which is probably when I will finish the tin I have.

As good a straight VA as you will find. I prefer Dunhill flake, in this genre, as it has slightly more backbone but there is nothing at all wrong with this. In fact, it exudes quality with evey puff.

On a side note, I really like these American style cans. They seem to keep the opened tobacco fresher for longer than the European style tins. If, like me, you do not reside in the land of the free, you may want to check out 4noggins.com for low prices and hassle free international shipping.

***UPDATE***

It's 6 months since I first smoked this tobacco and it has developed really well in this time. The Steak Sauce taste has mellowed and integrated into the main flavour. It now seems a somehow more robust experience with a full, tangy, sweet & velvety smoke.

Still not sure why this is marketed as a Christmas tobacco, it really shines in the warmer weather.

McClelland's 2011 Christmas Cheer is the finest Virginia flake I have ever put in a pipe! And, yes, I have a few years of pipe smoking behind me. Here is my first piece of advice: run, don't walk, to the closest computer. Get on the Internet and order as much of this as you and your pocketbook can handle. It is a superb. In fact, I would say, like single malt Scotch, this is a rare volume, a vintage that is ethereal. This hand-blended limited edition is aged in press cakes, according to McClelland's tin information. It is “a special selection of ripe, orange-red, flue-cured Virginia from the 2007 crop grown near Wilson, N.C..” 2007 was a very, very good year. These beautifully dark chopped flakes with light specks is rich, sugary and provides a plume of creamy smoke. Oddly, there is little to none of the “McClelland” ketchupy hint upon opening the tin. But there is the rich, deep earthy smell of a great Virginia. I smoked this in an ancient briar and a meer, both about size 4s. It was excellent in both, if not just a touch better in the meer. The meer allowed the real Virginia flavor to run right to the forefront. My palate detected nothing but the sweet these extraordinary Virginias. McClelland says it should age with distinction. I believe it will be a legend after a year or two on the shelf. This leaves an affectionate adieu on the tongue. There is absolutely no harshness, no bite, no bitterness. How could there be with this quality of Virginia? This is one amazing Virginia. I highly recommend it, and hope to buy more tins before they disappear. For me, this is the best Christmas Cheer McClelland has produced in several years. Outstanding!

McClelland Does Virginia's right! I don't know of any other brand that seems to hit the nail on the head with VAs.

I noticed I hadn't reviewed this tobacco though I've smoked this blend several times over the years. I just, literally, opened one of my tins up again and smoked a bowl. With age, it's superb! When opening the tin you can smell the sweetness with a hint of earthy tones and a bit of vinegar. This tobacco does have a bit of difficulty staying lit sometimes, but behaves well. It can bite if you don't learn to sip. If you do sip this tobacco the nuances of flavor become even more pronounced. Sweet, tangy virginia flavor mixed with earthy tones with just a hint of spice. I often wonder what this blend would be like with a bit of perique, but it is wonderful all on it's own. It can have a little bit of a kick, but hasn't ever been overpowering. Love this blend and hope to try some other years of the same blend....just for comparison and enjoyment.

McClelland Christmas Cheer 2011- McClelland got a hold of a glorious crop of Orange-Red Virginias in 2007 IMO . Tangy sweet Virginias that break apart with ease for loading in the pipe . Moisture is perfect after 11 years in the tin . Loaded with flavor of sweet sugar and spice . Cinnamon and nutmeg with citrus and cranberries. A little bit of raison bread . The perfect smoke on a hot spring day . 4

I usually get several tins of CC each year, as this style is one I can enjoy almost year round, barring the worst of our southern New Mexico summer heat. By comparison to other years...this one's well flavored but smooth and easy to smoke right now. I'd argue against clove; to me, that's a darker, heavier flavor. Or, at least, straight clove. I get the orange, but something closer to Chinese 5 Spice. Just ordered the last 2 cans from smokingpipes, along with a few other things that I hope can serve as fill-ins until FVF becomes available again...the fact they were down to 2, tho, suggests fast action may be necessary. It's usually easy to get more CC through the following summer, but that may not be the case this year.

I opened a tin of this now as I couldn't stand cellaring all the tins I purchased for a future time. You know what? This is amazingly smokeable now. I load it by stuffing the bite-sized flake bits into my dedicated flake pipe and it lights easy, giving off a wonderfully pure white cloud of smoke even without drying time.

I'm one of the group of people who actually enjoys the "ketchup" flavor present in a lot of McClelland blends. This tobacco, however, does not have any of that flavor. If it does, it's too subtle for me to pick up. Instead, you get a wonderfully pure Virginia flavor: grassy, a bit earthy, and a slight suggestion of citrus when "snorking" the smoke. The flavor is fairly consistent throughout the bowl and is very satisfying.

CC 2011 may not be overly complex in its composition, but it is well worth purchasing as much as you can afford. It's great now, so I can only imagine how good it will be in years to come as it ages.

Happened upon a tin of this just before McClellands called it quits, so the price was very reasonable. Looks like most of the other CC's I've smoked and had a similar tin aroma. As is my custom, I smoked a bowl of this at tin moisture and it was pretty bland. Most Virginia flakes and broken flakes need serious drying time to perform at their best and this one was no different.

This is not up to the 2005 standards or many of the 1990's versions that I've smoked within the last few years, but it is one of the best of the later offerings. Along with the orange-ish sweetness and crispness typical of thie type of leaf, there was a "zestfully mellow" spiciness underneath that popped out when this blend hit the zone. Zestfully mellow seems a contradiction in terms but that's the best way I can describe it. It was kind of playful, that amidst this underlying smoothness that lasted the entire bowl that an occasional spice rack flavor would pop out. It would last for awhile and then go back into hibernation, only to rear its head again. This crop was further interesting in the fact that more authoritative puffing made this spiciness come out more often, stay longer, and change the presentation quite a bit. Unfortunately, it caused the last portion of the bowl to take on a slight bitterness. So I tended to stick with my usual sipping and snorking. Speaking of the latter, snorking truly showed this blend at its best. This is, of course, typical with pipe tobaccos but it was particularly revealing here. I saved back close to an ounce of this for special occasions, as I doubt I'll be able to find much more of this at an affordable price. Excellent leaf, and McClellands were the masters of Virginia fermentation to show the leaf in its finest light. As with all McClellands Virginias, if you're tasting "ketchup" or "vinegar", you're not preparing the tobacco properly. Dry it out more! Excellent tobacco, and in the top echelon of the CC's, in my book. Improves as the pipe is smoked in the spirit of all great Virginias!

I remember smoking this. I remember it well. Last Christmas, actually. It was good, specifically because I smoked it after I had actualized my revenge upon all of Whoville. Thats right, Whoville. That propaganda that you watch every Christmas about me is all BS. I didn't "Steal Christmas"... I destroyed it. Of course I didn't want to destroy it, but my hand was forced. It was that stupid idiot of a Mayor, Mayor Who. He hated me. He turned Whoville against me. The "Grinch" they called me. My name is Regenald Smithers. But I bet they didn't tell you that in their Nazi style Propaganda. I'm also sure they failed to mention the part where their favorite past time was to catch me each Christmas Eve and torture me in the village square. For 15 years this went on, until I put a violent stop to it.

The "Grinch Team" was the Special Operations team tasked with catching me each year. Every year they came up the mountain, broke down my door, tied me up and took me down Mt. Crumpit to the village square. I remember the day I put a stop to it like it was yesterday. Mostly because the faces that each member of the Grinch Team made as I killed them is burned into my mind like a brutal scar reminding me of that fateful Christmas Eve. I remember them marching like men, and me slaughtering them like animals as they came through my door.

Unfortunately one of the Grinch Team managed to radio in what was happening before I could club his brains in. But this ended up being their downfall. I knew that soon more men would follow, so I laid in wait. As the other team advanced I destroyed them too with my advanced knowledge of Who-Fu and Who-Kwon-Do. I then took the gear they had on them and headed down to Whoville under the cover of dark, planting all the explosives I had around the city of Whoville.

I made my advance into Whoville and set up a top a commercial building on the west end of the village square, facing the backs of the Whos as they listened to the Mayor try to explain why I wasn't there being beaten for the Christmas festivities. Then I opened up fire with the high powered rifle that I stole from the W.H.O Spec Ops team. The City was in panic after I shot their precious leader's head off. The other Whos scattered as I picked them off... men... women... children... I didn't care, I had no more mercy left in my bones; only revenge. Eventually I ran out of bullets and resorted to killing as many Whos as I could with my bare hands. To this day I still cannot count the number of necks that I snapped or the number of Whoville nuts (testicles) that i roasted over an open fire.

In the midst of the chaos, I detonated the explosives, sending half the city away in a glorious ball of fire. At this point the Whoville PD had located me and sent all they had at me... but it wasn't enough. I was too much for them and made certain that they wouldn't live to unwrap another present. I remember one cop in particular that almost got the best of me, but in the end, I drowned him in his own urine.

The Whos should be rewareded for their bravery. Many of the city's men tried to take me down, but none suceeded. At the climax of the chaos the Whos attempted to bring me down with whatever they had: Chairs, Butter Knives, Stockings, Christmas lights, Gingerbread Men, Candles, Roast Beast,,, but in my rage I made certain that I impaled them all with their own sad weapons. It was rather sad seeing the men of the town killed with their own cookies lodged into their heads.

Their bodies stayed in Whoville, but their faces stayed in my minds forever.

When all was said and done I put a Christmas wreath made out of their dismembered arms and legs on the city hall and lit my pipe of Christmas Cheer off of the flames of burning Who coprses..... It was lovely weather for a massacre. My revenge was complete and all the remaining Whos mourned. And there was no Christmas Cheer singing loud for all to hear. From that day forth, children were not regarded as naughty or nice, for they were all in danger of my might. No more Santa to tell good or bad, just Regenald to choose which life will be had. No more letters asking for whirley twirls and spinney tops, only letters begging me to STOP! They treat me as if I'm God, but I'm no god... for God has mercy.

This is my first experience with the Christmas Cheer collection. I am sort of a McClelland fan and enjoy many of their offerings. I've pleasantly worked my way through my first tin of CC 2011, and now have three more tins on the way if that tells you anything. This is a very very good virginia. Burns easily without much attention and provides loads of flavor throughout. I highly recommend this leaf for anyone wanting to experience a true virginia.