McClelland No. 2025 English Cavendish

This review is based on limited sampling.

Frankly, this is really unusual stuff. It is essentially Tabasco for the pipe -- yes, it is that spicy. I found it hard to even find any sort of Virginia essence in the smoke, whatsoever, though my mouth tells me it's there.

This stuff is spicy enough that I had difficulty coming to an opinion if I was getting tongue bite, or not, from the bowl. I'm still not sure, and it's been a half hour.

My friend Craig, a fellow Seattle Pipe Club member, offered some of this to me a while back and quipped that it is quite possibly the most inaccurately named blend ever. There is nothing English about it -- it doesn't have latakia, and doesn't remind anyone of any Lakeland or Jersey product -- and there's absolutely zero Cavendish of any kind in it -- at least in the sense of some heat treated tobacco that would take the edge off the smoke.

It behaved well in the bowl and was easy to dry out.

This strikes me as one of those one dimensional blends. If you happen to like the dimension, great, but it's not for me.

UPDATE July 2011 After smoking a few more bowls, with the tobacco dried out more fully, the flavor is substantially more tangy, and less spicy. It's still very much one dimensional, but I get a different flavor from it than before. Unusual, and if you weren't told otherwise, I don't think you'd realize that the blend is Virginia based, except for the fact that it bites somewhat when smoked hard.

"Cavendish" is a method of treating tobacco, not a type of tobacco.

"English Cavendish" uses a dark flue- or fire-cured Virginia which is steamed and then stored under pressure, and left to cure and ferment for several days to several weeks. When done well, it can be fine stuff. Its Englishness consists of the fact that it is not cased: i.e., no flavourings are administered to the natural tobacco. The English Cavendish method, then, is a way of altering the flavour of the tobacco, without added flavourings.

English Cavendish is produced out of Virginia tobacco under high pressure. This will give you a dark-hued, "black" tobacco. Well-known English Cavendish blends would be Rattray's Dark Fragrant and Black Virginia.

McClelland's is a fairly good example of the breed, light and delicate?if you can smoke it SLOWLY.

In conclusion, allow me to say that an English blend is not synonymous with a Latakia blend. All "English" means is: UNcased?because the laws of the United Kingdom, until 1986, forbade any and all casings, and permitted only the lightest alcohol-solved toppings. A pure Virginia flake, with or without a light "shaving soap" topping, Virginia & Périque blends such as Escudo or Three Nuns?these are English-style tobaccos, even though they contain no Latakia.

I kind of side with reviewer DK on this one in that this blend, while not bad, just does nothing to really stand out. It is an enjoyable smoke with Virginia and Oriental. I am not sure if both of these leaves are Cavendish treated or if it is just one. It is pretty weak in nicotine content. I think that in this style of blend, I would rather smoke some Sail Yellow than this blend. I would also much prefer McClellands own Virginia Number 24 which is not a Cavendish blend, but a great Virginia/oriental blend.

Still I think there is plenty of people that would like this blend as it is a real cool smoker and extremely easy on the tongue. I could really see smoking this when doing tasks that completely distract you from your smoking pipe. A lot of times when this happens I unconsciously increase my smoking tempo. This blend would be great for that as it will not bite you, nor will it ground you with nicotine. And for all the ketchup haters, yes that smell is present, but it is more subdued in this blend IMO.

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.

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.

The cut of this mixture is different. Is a flake cut, but mixed with Broken Flakes... Despite their broken flake cut, it is easy to fit in bowl and light.

Two Stars, because This mixture is not so bad, but is not for me....

In the pouch, the smell is good, but acidic, rassembles vinegar.

Large Nicotine ammount, too much for me... during Smoking, the smoke have much tobacco taste, too strong to become boring, overhelmed, after a few puffs, no smell ou taste can be more noted...

Not remarkable, many mixtures are better.

The Dark Cavendish tobacco component is,possible, is made from Burley, because "salty" (as table salt) and bitter tastes are noted, in the begin of the bowl. After this, the smoking becomes overhelmed, no more taste and smell are noted.

This was my first McClelland blend, and I ordered it as a one ounce sample on Outwesttobacco.com for one dollar (which is excellent by the way--you can get up to four of them with each order and they have quite a few bulk varieties to choose from--with negligible shipping costs).

I was intrigued by the many, many people who suggested McClelland 2000 series blends have a ketchup-like smell, and yes, they do--although I wouldn't describe it as such if I hadn't heard that comparison. I actually decided to order this because I was interested by the tin description, which marketed this blend as a "Lemon Brazilian" seasoned with Xanthi.

Like the reviewer before me, I'm not exactly certain why this qualifies as a Cavendish. It looks and smokes like a straight Virginia--with an uninspired taste..sugary, but not sweet like a cased Cavendish. I found it to burn very hot and work the tongue when smoked at a fast rate.

Not bad. But nothing remarkable.

One of the lauded (or dreaded) McC. 2000 virginia flake series, English Cavendish is distinguished by the addition of the oriental Xanthi. This is still predominantly a Va blend however.

THe immediate taste upon ignition is very sweet, almost making me wonder if some sugar was added in the cavendishing process. The flavor is clearly one of lemon and orange virgs, with the xanthi poking its head out occasioanlly, especially near the end.

My main problem with this blend is that it smokes hot! I had to be careful, very careful, not to burn a hole in my tongue, to the point of letting it go out and cool down, and then relighting. Too much of a hassle for the taste, what with all the other good Va flakes out there. *** Addendum 6/11/04 ***

After just a few months of aging and a bit of drying, I have found this blend to have lost some of its bite. Still not up there with the best virginias however...

(07-15-2007) The 2025 is a fairly decent offering from McClellands.Dont smoke this to moist because this can bite.The Xanthi adds a real sharpness and spice to the Virginias and at the same time there is a slight earthy/musty tone underneath,excellent when exhaled through the nose.

This is similar to McCllelands 5115 a.k.a. Old World classic but without the bitter and IMO over the top citrus notes the OWC offers.

I prefer to sip this out of a wide and short briar,oddly it doesnt smoke well for Me in a cob or some of my taller bowls.

If it werent for the small broken flake cut and its tendency to bite,this would be a four star in my book,but despite the things I dont like about it,it still has a spot in my rotation.*2.5 stars*

(07-07-2008)Found a mason jar with 18 months of age on it in the cellar,taste is a little more "balanced" for lack of a better word but still bites pretty good,too bad,I would smoke a lot more of this if it didnt bite so much.