McClelland No. 2010 Classic Virginia

This is actually pretty good for what it is. pipesandcigars.com was so kind as to send me a half pound with a Jeppesen pipe purchase for me to puff on. It is exactly as others described so far as the flavor only hitting the highest end of the spectrum and in a very light way. I smoked this after drying and rubbing and I would advise at least drying. Beginners might think it is plain tasting but there are nuances and hints in the flavor that vets will appreciate. However the flavor does not build or change much at all. Could be boring to some. I do not sense red va flavor, just very mild orange and yellows.

This smoked extremely well and dry for me in a couple different pipes and was mild enough to keep me wanting more. It requires minimal relights and is one of only a few tobacco's that will smoke dry all the way to the finish. So while it may be very ok for a all day smoke it is not going to give you a rich satisfying flavor. I think this makes cake VERY fast for a va flake, making it an excellent new pipe break in tobacco.

I disagree with a previous review that it is like the christmas cheer. Not true in my case- this is much lighter and nowhere as sweet or rich. How that reviewer figured that eludes me at the moment, perhaps mine will develop flavor with age?

The nicotine level was much higher than I expected and it hit me about 15 minutes before the bowl was done. It will not floor you but had more umph than I expected as mild as the flavor is.

The pouch aroma on this is very nice, much like a good fresh bag of brown sugar would smell-only better. The ketchup odor was very hard to detect and very subdued on this one. It has more of tobacco smell. It rubs pretty easily and smokes even easier. I found a breath smoke technique works well. In fact this was very much one that likes to be sipped constantly with a few breaks occasionally as it warms up. Very easy to smoke. Not nippy at all- this one gives you plenty warning when to slow down and smooths right back out.

I will be keeping some of this around and will age some, although I am curious if much age would cut the twang down which is so fitting and controlled in this blend- it could use a little smoothing and I suspect at least a couple months age will make a nice soft smoke. I will be sampling and reviewing more of the Mcclelland bulks as this one is fantastic. I just finished a bowl and could go for another real soon. Thats a good thing when you get tired of having to wait a while for your palatte to refresh after smoking it up all day on stronger blends.

Mcclelland must have simillar tastes to mine as I love most of their bulks and tins. You can pick almost anything they make and find something you like about it.

For an all day smoker this one is great, It leans more towards a cigarettish like smoke I think but in a good way. I like it for the fact it is about as simple and straight forward as flakes get. Also it leaves my mouth in shape for whatever I want to smoke in the evening. Try some just know what it is.

This could be a good blender as well. Update: I aged some for a year and it turned into something very close to christmas cheer. I was very surprised when I opened the jar. Wow it is so much more flavorful now, I see where other reviewers found it this way now.

This straight Virginia has a very "different" aftertaste. It also had a citrus type flavor while smoking that I found to be tart rather than sweet, indicating a mix of bright and Red leaf. Light flavor rather than strong. Nice room note.

The various Virginias offer some tangy, ripe dark fruit, wood and earth, some sweet and sour, tart and tangy citrus and grass along with hints of spice, very tart lemon, and bread, and a touch of floral. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of mild to medium, while the taste level falls a step or so short of medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, and has few rough edges. Needs to rubbed out and dried a little. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a mostly consistent, mildly sweet, fairly smooth, lightly sour and tart flavor from start to finish. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste, and room note. Not quite as complex as my description reads as some nuances are fleeting. An all day smoke that can be used as a mixer, too.

-JimInks

In going thru my cellar, I found about half a pound of this and noted that for some reason I hadn't shared my thoughts on it here when I bought it a few years ago. Mottled broken flake and with age, much of the signature McClellands aroma that so vexes a lot of smokers was diminished. Dry this stuff out as you would any Virginia flake and most of it goes away anyway.

This is a Virginia blend and reaches all the higher notes of mild citrus behind the red's sweeping tang and orange's clean spiciness. As it's purported to be a less aged version of #22, this one with some age on it bridges whatever gaps there may be between the two. It's a nice smoke but not one of my favorites, as it lacks the dark spice of #25 and the huge depth of #24. But for the smoker that prefers more lighthearted fare, this fills the bill. It improves nicely with age and down each individual bowl. Sufficiently dried out before smoking, it flirts with several flavors and has moderate complexity with no wet steamy taste. A very serviceable Virginia. If you enjoy #5100 but want some extra joie de vivre (and in flake form), you are likely to love this one. Even so, it lacks the focus and depth of 5100, especially when the latter is aged. Tradeoffs abound in the tobacco world! Recommended as a nicely priced and fully acceptable Virginia broken flake.

I like just about every VA from McClellnd, and this is no exception. The pouch aroma is that sour Mc Va, which I absolutely love. Of all the bulk offerings from McClelland, this is by far the easiest to rub out. Also packs well, without a lot of springiness some can have. Lights fairly well, can use a few minutes dry time after it is rubbed out. Has a very bright flavor, and a pleasant toast-like room note.

This stuff still wouldn't bite even if you lit it on your tongue. Very mild mannered, I'd even recommend for a newer Va flake smoker. A very predictable blend, and one I will keep stocked in my cellar

My enjoyment of this blend was not unexpected, as I typically appreciate anything touch by McClelland. That said, the comparisons to McClelland VA No. 22 caused a bit of hesitancy as it's my least favorite of their VA's.

I had a 1/2 pound of this sealed in 2oz tins by the Bufflehead shop in 2004, and am now working through my second tin. Visual: A dark brown flake, with some yellow and gold streaks throughout. My tin contained mainly broken flake, no full "sheets". I also noted a few substantial stem sections. Unusual for McClelland...

Texture: Less moist upon opening than what I often experience with this company. Probably as it was a tinned bulk blend.

Pack/Pipe: I smoke this fully rubbed out and paper dryed. Gravity fed with a half-hearted Frank Method bunch pressed on top into a number of my VA pipes. (Peterson Billiard, Moretti freehand & others, all having a typically narrow tobacco chamber). No problems smoking this to bottom of the bowl with no to minimal relights and two pipe cleaners to catch moisture.

Lighting/Burn: Two matches to char, one to light. Burns slowly to bottom and leaves a white/grey ash with a few bits of charred tobacco. Really generates some heat in the bowl. Not a problem, just noted.

1st 3rd: The citrus component of this tobacco is just spectacular! Sharpening the taste buds and ecouraging frequent puffs. I tamp this a bit more often than others to keep up the consistent burn.

2nd 3rd: Smoke becomes a little cooler here but maintains citrusy zest. No real depth, and none expected. Needed a pipe cleaner to catch heel moisture. More tart than sweet for sure.

Final 3rd: Loses just a bit of tang here. No pronounced ashiness, and still producing a bit of moisture in the heel.

Notes: Glad that this has not lost it's pronounced tang with 7 years in the tin. Like all McClelland flakes, fantastic quality. If you enjoy the citrus element of Lemon & Orange Virginia varietals - this will deliver by the ton.

Stogie rating of: 7 Heavenly Hoyos

ORIGINAL REVIEW 6-16-2015

A very solid Virginia offering from the Virginia masters. I was given a generous sample of 2010 from a forum friend and immediately knew I would be reordering.

The Virginias are a bit rawer and less refined than the flagship tinned Virginias offered by McClelland, but still carry that taste that is unique to McClelland Va.'s. Call it ketchup or whatever you want; I like it. I found this to be a little lighter in that essence than those blends. I also found 2010 to be a little earthier. My sample consisted of about five bowls and I really enjoyed all of them.

Whether it be Blackwoods, Christmas Cheer or 27, I find it difficult to point too much difference between the varying McClelland straight Virginias. I find 2010 to differ more drastically from these and in a good way. I plan getting a pound of this to cellar as I bet that with some age, this will be out of this world.

UPDATE 1/22/2019

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder and I just experienced this. I just finished up a two ounce bulk sample of this I jarred shortly after I reviewed this about three years ago. I used the jar as my truck blend, so it lasted a while.

Popping this was the first McClelland Virginia that I have opened since they stopped production. At opening I was immediately me with that familiar smell that I come to expect and it excited my senses with what was to come. At light up, the sweetness of the Red Virginias was like heaven. That first bowl was one of those transformative type of smokes that just seems to elevate you in ways in which you wish would last forever.

Now, I will say that it did present the common characteristics of a McClelland broken flake Virginia such as being a bear to rub out, properly pack and light up. But for this smoke those things never crossed my mind. The thought that kept going through my mind was that it is a damn shame that the next generation of smokers will not have the opportunity to buy as much of this as they want. Another thought also went through my mind, "how in the hell did I just give this three stars?" This is heavenly. Manna. Fruit of the gods.

To bring myself in proper focus, a hole in my regular rotation opened up for a Straight Virginia and I had to check myself. So I decided to pop a tin of Christmas Cheer 2017. On my first bowl of that, I had my answer. This is why I gave 2010 three stars. Both, in a world that truly lacks of good Red Virginias to smoke, are incredible, but in the world of McClelland, the 2010 is still an inferior budget friendly alternative.

So the three star rating does remain, but if you have not tried a McClelland Virginia, then this is a four star blend for you. Not worth selling your kidney over, but if you are at some B&M that still has some 2010 in a jar, by all means, buy it. Even the 2010 bulk Virginia is a better Red Virginia than any other that is available today.

A nice straight-forward VA. The broken flake is easy to deal with and burns nicely. No complexity. If that's what you are looking for, this deserves a chance. It's not for me, however.

Jar note of ketchup, spices, and tangy fruit. The tobacco brown flakes have flecks of tan in it. Tobacco is damp, drying out may be needed, but rubs out easily enough. Burns slow with many relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and super consistent, with notes of tangy sweet grass, lemon zest, spicy, mild sour bitter fruit, earth, wood, spiced dark fruit, mildly floral, orange peel, a mildly sweet bready background note, and a fairly peppery retro. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is great