McClelland No. 2010 Classic Virginia

I have been working my way through a a 2 oz. sample of this over the past couple years. as other have noted below, it gets better with age. It has a nice spice to it that reminds me a bit of Perique. Tasty stuff but has a tendency to bite even if dried.

In my "never ending journey" down the Virginia super hiway I decided to stop at the 2010 McCelland Rd. A pleasant stop it is. I have sampled, and reviewed several of McC. bulk blends lately. All have been good/great. 2010 comes as a broken flake.......mostly brown, some golden/red. As with most Mc blend, I find that drying, and fully rubbing out this blend benifits it greatly. Flavor is semi-sweet, mild, and yes.....zesty. This may not be my #1 choice, but it is amoung many that I like. Will it get better with age..probably. I have enough faith that it will. that I will be cellaring some. At this price I don'y beleave that I can go wrong. For now I rate This at * * *

With a pouch aroma of this broken flake exhibits a typically fermented scent.

The flavor runs from gold to red virginias with orange in between. It starts off sharp, but smoothes out a bit as the bowl runs out.

Fresh from the blender, this is a flavorsome, if simple, flake.

Chamber Gauge: Narrow

While this is not my favorite McClelland, I like it pretty well. Sometimes, I find that just stuffing it into a pipe without much concern does best, although I've tried rubbing it and drying it as well. Nice flavors, nice strength, nice natural tobacco. I can't complain, especially for the price.

update::: just smoked the last bowl, and decided that this is really better than I thought, though I'll leave my rating as is. Detected a little onion powder and soy sauce after thinking about it a little, around midbowl. This will have you wondering whether you're eating dim sum or smoking a pipe at times, but the tobacco won't leave you hanging.

A very nice straight forward virginia. Typical McClelland aroma due to their fermentation process. 2010 ages very nicely and quickly, so I recommend putting some aside for a few months or more. The aging brings out a sweeter fuller smoke; the "new" stuff is a little weak. Also, allowing the batch to air seems to make a difference. Mixing some perique produces some great Cajun Half-n-Half.

aj

McCelland Bulk No. 2010 - Classic Virginia [small cake cut]

Star Rating = 3

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst

Pouch Note = 6

Room Note = 7

Flavor = 8

Bite = 8

Burn = 5

After Taste = 8

Raw Score = 42

Rated Percentage = 70%

Comment = Smooth, * Ketchup Pouch Note, Good Flavor, lots of BTU's needed to ignite

* Foot Note: McClelland famous "Ketchup" aroma and / or taste comes from the natural fermentation of unstoved / non flue curded Virginias that are aged in cakes.

Wonderful flavor and typical ketchup aroma a la McClelland for this top quality virginia flake. this is one of my favorite McClelland virginia blend along with red cake and BWF.

No one can make virginia like McClelland. its unique and original.

Like several others in here, I've noticed that 2010 improves with a bit of aging. Even a few weeks will improve this one.

My sample arrived as very thick, broken flakes. The flakes are a tough rub out but the best smoke seems to come by stuffing some chunks into the bowl.

This is a nice, mild, sweet smoke. Nothing earth shaking but a pleasant enough virginia experience at a bargain price. Could be an all day smoker for the budget minded mild virginia fan.

2010 might also be a good blending virginia if you want to work hard enough to break it up.

* * *

A fellow smoker sent me a 1 ounce sample that is a couple of years old. I'm used to latakia blends but I do smoke an occasional Va. This one is very good. Pleasant taste and smell. I didn't rub it out -- just packed the bowl and lit it up. It did take a couple of tries to remain lit but then it stayed lit throughout. I will probably purchase some more when I smoke up the rest of my sample.