McClelland No. 2025 English Cavendish

...this "English Cavendish is a pleasant, rather light, broken, small flake tobacco made with lemon Brazilian and orange Middle Belt leaf seasoned with enough Xanthi to be satisfying throughout the day without becoming tiresome to the smoker"... straight from McClelland and I couldn't agree more...

I've smoked this off & on since the late '70's and it is indeed one of my "go to" tobaccos...fairly straight-forward as a tobacco and not overly complex...yet interesting enough that I've never become bored with it.

If a Virginia flake is what you enjoy...this is worth a try to keep things interesting...an all day smoke for me, I enjoy it whenever, especially in the morning with hot tea...and at night with a fine single malt...

Appearance: Mostly medium red, orange and brown, with traces of dark and light leaf. Small flakes of moderate thickness, mostly broken (common to most bulk blends).

Aroma: Sweet yeasty aroma of matured Virginia, trace of vinegar to let you know it?s a McClelland blend. The tand dissipates with a little airing out.

Packing: In larger pipes, folding the larger pieces into a roll works fine. For smaller pipes, I need to rub the flakes out. Fairly typical flake in this regard.

Lighting: Takes a charring light well. A few puffs, some tamping and a relight has it going at a good pace.

Initial flavor: Lots of taste right from the start. All the elements I expect in a McC Va. are there. Good mixture of high and low notes, with a little spicy and nutty note from the Xanthi. Good layering of tastes at the top of the bowl.

Mid-bowl: Continues to delight the palate with a range of flavors, The Oriental is subtle but noticeable. Stays cool at the right pace, stays lit well, and smokes dry.

Finish: A bit more strength at the end, but not objectionable. Clean gray ash, no soggy mess.

Summary: A real delight, comparable to many tinned blends at much higher prices. I should cellar a pound or two for a year (or more) to see how well it ages. I suspect it will be extraordinary.

Pouch Aroma: If this isn't a McClelland's 2000 series, I'll eat a meerschaum. It's got that lovely fermented, acidic smell (some folks describe it as 'smelling like ketchup') and it makes my mouth water. It seems to be a Virginia flake with little or no perique judging from the smell.

Appearance: Thick broken flakes made up of tobaccos that vary from yellow to dark brown. It looks like #2015 but is just a tad lighter in color.

Packing and Lighting: I rubbed this up just a little and put it into a Savinelli Punto Oro, shape 803 which smokes great with flake tobaccos. The pre-lighting taste is a little more subtle than #2015 - sweet and musty, but not in a sugary way. This is classic matured virginia sweetness...

The first puff tastes quite sweet and sharp, but again lacking in that signature perique 'bite' when blown out of my nose. Tasty and mellow, and each following puff gets more mellow and flavorful and is developing the usual McC's taste.

Exposition: I have gotten in the habit of letting flake tobacco go out and rest after I get a good burn going. This seems to accent the fuller flavors and tone down some of the sweetness. The re-light is heavy and spicy, as expected, and the smoke feels cool on my tongue. The smoke itself is on the thin side, but is a lovely blue-grey. There is quite a bit of sharpness here; I'm assuming it's from the lighter virginias. Overall, a very savory smoke which I'm enjoying immensely.

The Story: Once I got going fully the sweetness is subdued to the point where it's a subtle counterpoint to the sharp woodsy taste of the heavier virginias. The room aroma is leathery and spicy, and I'm tasting something suspiciously oriental that I can't quite place.

Denoument:These last few puffs are quite dark and creamy-tasting, with the sweetness is coming back nicely. A great finish indeed!

Pros: This is rich and creamy-tasting, with wonderful earthy undertones. The Virginia sweetness never faded, but the way it presented itself changed in unpredictable ways throughout the bowl. There is a spicy-sweet aroma left in the room and a definate 'tobacco' taste lingers on my tongue. This would be a great reading tobacco, or one to smoke unrubbed in a large pipe while taking a walk.

Cons: Some folks may find this to be a biting tobacco, as it must be puffed very patiently to allow the flavors to outweigh the sharpness. The flavor also intensifies quite a lot toward the bottom which may put some folks off if they're used to a milder smoke.

Why so many poor reviews of this marvelous tobacco? These guys are smoking it fresh from the bag. You gotta let this tobacco age and dry slowly. I wouldn’t give it a good report either, it being fresh. After some aging and drying you have a fine tobacco that will satisfy your senses! Tangy, creamy, sour, slightly sweet and the oriental gives a mystique to the flake that is just mouth watering. Rub some completely out, chunk a little, and top off with completely rubbed out, light tamp re light and lean back! As Andy Griffith would say, “ emmmmmm goooood”. Update: I just found out McClelland has closed down. So sad.

Not actually an English Cavendish, but quite literally a mix of an English blend, Va and Orientals, with the McC Black Cavendish. I do not like this plum flavoured black Cav and the three blends I have now smoked that contain it I have found vile.

This is a crossover blend that fills a niche that will remain a total mystery to me. If you feel the need to smoke a fruit flavoured English, then this is your ride.

I am astonished by reviewers who have marked this as unflavoured or not containing Cavendish at all.

Edit Jan 2018 I came back to this after 2 months and initially thought I had not reviewed it because it wasn't like anything I thought I had tried recently. I can only say that this tobacco had been tainted in packing or transit by the Cavendishes I had ordered with it. Two months later and all trace of that nasty aroma has dissipated. I am pleased to say I entirely misjudged this baccy and my earlier notes can be dismissed as total bollocks.

It still isn't a particularly good tobacco imo. It is a rather ordinary Va blend spiced with Orientals. I'm STILL not sure how this can be properly called either an English or a Cavendish and I still think it lacks interest. But upping my rating to 2 stars out of reconsideration and fairness.

I learnt a lesson here. Never order bulk aromatics in the same delivery as other genres.

of the three popular McClelland bulk blends..dark navy flake, 2015 and this.....this is probably the least successful. However that doesnt mean its not good. Its just a bit less balanced and the flavor is less consistent. But its got quality virginia (its mcclelland after all) and the oriental is pretty mild and in the background. Its the poor man's version of Pebblecut in a sense. I like it but its not something I smoke nearly as often as 2015 or dark navy flake.

McClelland - No. 2025 English Cavendish.

Well, this couldn't be any more different to what the name implied! The name Cavendish instantly led me to expect a trip down the sweet/honey/too much vanilla road, but there's a load more actual tobacco traits building the flavour than falseness alone.

The flakes are quite thick and not too broken apart. The colour's a dark brown and the moisture's good. I like my flakes' fairly well rubbed so have to give them a little extra work to achieve the consistency that suits me.

I find No. 2025 needs a jet flame for the charring light, my standard flame's fine for general maintenance touches, but for initiation it needs plenty of power. The first flavour to leap out at me isn't what I'd expect from a Cavendish blend, and to be straight, I don't like it: it's a kind of aniseed sourness. The Virginia sweetens the profile, as does the Black Cavendish, this could save the blend from a low rating, and to be fair, the acrid spiciness from the start isn't pervasive for the whole bowl long; it fades away once the burn's been established. The smoke also becomes more zesty as the burn progresses: lemony and sharper.

The nicotine's mild to medium and the room-note's a little too much.

I said the sweetness could save this from a low rating, but sadly even though this raises it up a notch, tongue bite reduces it again. I'll often let that that go, but it's just so damn severe I can only give #2025 two stars.

Somewhat recommended.

I really enjoy this Va/oriental flake. After consistently smoking pure Va or Burley flakes the last few weeks, this blend is a welcoming and refreshing change. Probably not something I will smoke every day, but when I reach for it needing a change of pace, it won't let me down!

Fine stuff.Typical Mc Clelland Va flake tamed with the soft and sweet but not quite flavourful brazilian leaf,and last but not least,a wonderful macedonian touch.Splendid blend,full matured and in bulk at a very reasonable price.Perfect in big bowls.Without,perhaps,the refinement of ,for instance,Presbyterian or Royalty,but more solid.In the non so wide field of pure,Latakialess,Va-Or mayhaps the best.