McClelland No. 5100 Red Cake

McClelland - No. 5100 Red Cake.

I remember hearing Matches860 describe this as a Religious Experience on one of his YouTube videos. That sold it to me!

The Cake has been rubbed to an easy to manage ribbon, and mine arrived with a good moisture content. In colour it comprises a few dark pieces, a couple of light ones, but is mostly a medium brown.

The smoke: the description does a pretty damn good job of summarising it! I find it an exceptionally easy-going blend. The Virginias give a relaxed and velvety flavour with a definite sweetness. The taste is unadulterated: it's pure, and untainted by extra flavours. I find it becomes EVEN MORE insouciant feeling as the bowl progresses, going from soft, to out-right silky! The burn from 5100 is great, as is the temperature.

The nicotine's mild, and I like the room-note.

No. 5100 Red Cake = highly recommended.

Four stars.

I am not a fan of McClelland´s processing and blending techniques. My first experience, Deep Hollow, was rather frustrating. I mean, who ever thought of concocting a Vanilla and Vinegar blend? Subsequent samples (Brindle Flake, Old London Pebble Cut and B. Hartwell?s Reserve Blend), though better in taste and depth, still had that unexplainable acidic-BBQ tang which, unlike some of the above reviewers, I find it erodes the essential flavours and resins of natural pipe tobacco. So it was with some trepidation that I opened the 3 Oz pouch of 5100 Red Cake that I received a couple of months ago. What a surprise! There is a certain vinegary note in the pouch that somehow lingers in the initial taste?But then, after a few puffs, the acerbic taste dissipates and gives way to a very nice and well behaved Virginia! Following the sensible advise from my fellow reviewers, I proceeded with extra caution in order to avoid potential tongue bite. But again to my surprise, I encountered none. The natural flavours and sweetness of matured red Virginias (in a certain way reminiscent of McConnell?s) were all there, very subtle and delicate. Though visually not a very attractive tobacco, the crimp short ribbon cut makes it very simple to pack. It has a wonderfully slow burning rate (great for DGT), it smokes rather cool and the room aroma is acceptable.

Personally, I still prefer other Virginias (most recently Stokkebye's Navy Flake--with Perique-- and Curly Cut--straight Va). But this one undoubtedly is a very nice and, shall we say, invigorating experience, highly recommended to any Virginia lover.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 12-27-2016

This blend delivered all I expected of it. Straight Red Virginia in a ribbon cut. The tin note of this is the ketchup type aroma one would expect in a McClelland Virginia. The taste is similar to other McClelland Vas as well, but this one is a little earthier than I expected.

I did mix it with some other blends and had some great results, but on its own, this is incredibly monotone and can get boring in a large bowl. I don't really think the point of this blend is to smoke it straight even though many do. It is good quality leaf and it has many uses.

UPDATE 6-19-2019

Just 2 and a half years since my review of this and wow, how the tobacco landscape has changed for our hobby. This no longer being available with the rest of the McClelland line has seemed to skyrocket this one in popularity and lore. IMO, much more than it deserves.

Shortly after my review of this, I purchased 4 oz with the express purpose of seeing how it ages and/or using it as a blending tobacco. I broke this down into two 2 ounce jars, the first of which, I just finished.

I am happy to report that the tobacco did gain in sweetness in just two years time in slumber, but not to the point where I would change my rating of it. It still is what it is: that being McClelland's blending red Virginia. It is the reason the primary focus of the Virginia lovers when McClelland blends were widely available was on blends like Blackwoods, CC, No. 27, et al....

Those blends brought more to the table than 5100, which remains a monotonous experience that is best done in a smaller bowl. So I will hold this one at three stars, but if you see it reasonably priced somewhere, still available, and you have never tried a McClelland Virginia, then I would highly recommend it to you as McClelland's lowest level red Virginia is still better than any Red Virginia on the market today.

5100 is an interesting animal, being an all red Virginia I had read it would age very nicely so ten years ago I ordered a pound and a half from Dave at Bufflehead tobacco, I smoked the 8 ozs and canned the pound. I had intended to age the pound for a couple of years and forgot about it so here I am with a decade old pound of 5100, and you know what? I much prefer the fresh 5100... ah so is life. The fresh 5100 is tangy! oh so tangy, in fact it just makes my mouth water thinking about it, the smell of vinegar and tomato, vegetables and plum, so delicious. The aged 5100 has greatly darkened, mellowed and defiantly smoothed out but removed all the fresh attributes that I love. I do prefer the Orange Virginia's that are used in the Christmas Cheer blends and wish that they would create a ribbon blend of Orange Virginia's but until then I will continue to buy 4 ounces of 5100 at a time since I do prefer it super fresh but YMMV so by all means try ageing your 5100 but understand that you will lose the delicious tang that it is known for when young. I will use the aged 5100 to enhance Haunted Bookshop and other C&D blends that need a better red Virginia or a shot of spice.

I should have paid more attention to the part of the description that reads "exceptionally soft". It is just that. While the flavor is that of fine Virginias, it's just too mild for me. The body is also a bit too mild to satisfy. It's clear that this cake was not baked for me. Having said that, if you prefer mild bodied tobaccos with mild flavor, you will probably really like this.

Mild in body and flavor. Burns nicely.

I've been meaning to review this tobacco for quite some time, and was only reminded that I haven't by the fact that McClelland has now ceased production of tobacco and is closing its doors. What a shame and what a loss for the pipe world!

5100 is a fantastic everyday Virginia. Simple on the surface but there is depth there for those really willing to explore. It is medium in body and strength. It's got a delicious tangy sweetness, packs easy, and burns perfectly. How do I describe the sweetness? Its so natural that its hard to draw comparisons. But I think if I had to describe the flavor, I would say it tastes like a fluffy marshmallow.

And man, I'm sure kicking myself for not stocking up more on this. I have only about a pound in my cellar. It really is such a perfect all-round Virginia. In fact, I can't think of a more versatile tobacco that has ever existed. Great for blending, breaking in new pipes, or puffing on all day enjoying the subtle nuances of the finest VA leaf America has to offer.

R.I.P. 5100 Red Cake. The pipe community mourns your loss.

I've smoked a lot of McClelland tinned products, and this was my first bulk offering. I wasn't exactly overwhelmed.

This stuff looks and smells great, mouht-watering even. But -- as if often the case with McClellands products -- it's way too mild for me. I picked up occasional hints of sweetness and hints of things like plum or apricot. In other words, typical red virginia accents. But I really had to strain to find them.

On the plus side, this stuff smokes very easily and bites less than most straight Vas.

This is two stars to my palate, but YMMV. At the least, I can see how some Va smokers really like it. But when I'm in the mood for this type of mixture, I'll pick Blackwoods Flake every time.

This is probably the most popular of McClelland's bulk blends, and must be one of their most popular blends overall. 5100 is Virginia, straight up, and a wonderful tobacco for do-it-yourself blenders. It's also a great smoke on its own, which is how most people I know use it. The tobacco is sold in various amounts, but I like to buy at least a pound. According to McClelland, the blend starts as a cake, but is sold in a fully rubbed form. The pouch aroma is pleasant, but definitely smells like a robust Virginia tobacco.

5100 packs very nicely into a pipe. From the first light the blend delivers a nice, mild but full flavor typical of Virginia tobacco. There is a pleasantly creamy undertone to it, though not as noticeable as, say, McCranie's Red Flake or 5115. But the overtone is slightly fruitier than Red Flake, too. For my way of smoking, the flavor gets a bit stronger as I get through the bowl, but it remains pleasing and satisfying, never acrid. Like all Virginias, the sugar content of 5100 makes it likely to cause tongue bite if smoked hard, but an experienced Virginia smoker can enjoy this blend as an all-day smoke without worry.

5100 is an extremely pleasing and delicious tobacco. I've blended it with others, such as 2035, with some success, and have also added in a dash of perique. Perique, mixed lightly with 5100, gives it more fruitiness and seems to actually make it milder. I would have to say that this ranks as one of my favorite tobaccos. It's a standard by which other, similar blends may be judged. An amazing value for the price.

I have read the reviews of smokers that smoked a bowl or two to write a review and those who smoke it occasionally. This has been my primary smoke since 1999 and I have smoked it on and off for years before that, beginning in 1987. I was trying to figure out what my friends at McCranie's Pipe Store saw in it. Prior to that I smoked a lot of aromatics and I was a cigarette smoker.

Herein is a commentary that what the tobacconists told me years ago, that in order to fully appreciate one's pipe and tobacco one must quit smoking cigarettes. They were right, and when I finally did, I discovered a whole new world of pipe smoking. The longer I smoke my pipe the more I appreciate this tobacco right here under review. This is my main smoke. There is not a day that goes by that I smoke the pipe that I do not smoke this excellent tobacco. The advertisement that you might have heard is right this is a very rare find in the tobacco industry.

If you invest a pipe to the cause, preferably several pipes and smoke this tobacco more than once under various conditions you will discover that it is complex in flavors. It is sweet without being syrupy. It is mild but full of flavor. The flavor tones are not one dimensional, it is both sweet and tart and the flavor tones are both round and high. In other words there is a full spectrum of flavor. you will, if you give it a chance, discover that there is a full wall of flavor that comes from a natural, un-flavored straight tobacco. It is neutral, inasmuch as you can smoke this tobacco in a pipe that you smoke an aromatic, that if aromatics are your thing, this is a nice full real tobacco change up, that if given a chance could become your main smoke.

It is not overpowering but it is rich in flavor. I personally love this tobacco more than any other on the market today. It is my constant "go to" tobacco. It burns well from the top to the bottom of the bowl, any bowl. Different pipes, different shapes render different characteristics of the smoke, but this tobacco acquits itself wonderfully in all of them.

I recommend this one to everyone, novice and seasoned alike. But you have to give it a chance and throw away your preconceived notions.

This is one of the best sellers most places and for a reason. If you don't like it, that's great as far as I am concerned. Until they kill tobacco absolutely, they will keep making this and that will mean more for me.

On a scale of one to four, I give it a ten.