TOM February - McClellands Bulk #2015

[smokinmojo]

2015 is another good broken flake from McClelland. I lit up a bowl today in the CSFP and was quickly reminded why I always have some of this around.

The aroma from the jar is of course the tangy fermentation known to McClelland VA's. I rubbed the flakes probably more than ever to get a good light, and concentrate on the flavor of the tobacco. The tobacco was a little moist after 1 year in the jar. (stayed balled up after rubbing) I didn't wait for it to dry as i knew 2015 wasn't too bitey. I pinched it into the bowl untill full and gave it a tamp.

I lit it with a kitchen match. A one match light. The smoke was simply amazing from the start. Sweet goodness with a little pepper that to new taste buds could seem a little hot.

To my memory this stuff is a little sweeter at the start of the smoke than when i first bought it. (if that is true, i can't wait to see what a few more years does for it!)

After the first third of the bowl. (which i would love to have every smoke) It settled down and was a little more non descript. Good quality VA flakes at bulk prices. Light pepper throughout with a little sweetness drifting in from time to time.

I smoked most of the bowl, before the one light went out and decided to keep it that way.

I prefer to smoke this in a well broke in neutral tasting VA pipe. (but sometimes its good in a fresh cob)

[Slow Triathlete]

Drying some of this out to smoke tomorrow.

[Slow Triathlete]

Not trying to echo what everyone has said so far but my God this stuff takes a long time to dry out!! I rubbed out the ounce that I got and then let it set out for about 8 hours. I'm still spending most of my time either relighting or jamming a pipe cleaner down the stem to try and dry up the bottom. I find myself agreeing with IHT quite a bit lately, scary huh? I also found this to be an "average" blend that is not worth all of the work. I think that I'm going to try and cut this a bit in the coffee grinder and dry it out a little more before I review it fully.

[buckloner]

I really like McClellands` Va. blends. Having said that , I figured 2015 would be the bulk version of St. James` Woods . It is not [imho]
I left mine to settle in the humidor for a few months before i gave it a try . The very first thing I did , after filling a 2oz tin was to leave the lid off for the afternoon in hopes that it`d dry out enough to smoke it. I don`t know what they put on it at the factory but it makes my hands feel oily , like I`ve spilled prop. gly. while filling a credo . After supper i filled the bowl of a Ben Wade and put the fire to it . Still didn`t want to burn but the smoke was sweet with just a bit of spice to it . It`s ok but i doubt if i`ll replace my all-day smoke Fillmore for this. I`ll check back in a few months and see whats happened with it .

[IHT]

Originally Posted by Slow Triathlete

I find myself agreeing with IHT quite a bit lately, scary huh? I also found this to be an "average" blend that is not worth all of the work. I think that I'm going to try and cut this a bit in the coffee grinder and dry it out a little more before I review it fully.

well, i try not to blow smoke up anyones skirts and only speak from my experiences. good to see that i wasn't crazy and other ppl experience the same thing (well, not good that you had that same experience).

slick idea, trying to chop it up finer to smoke.

it's a solid/good tobacco, but nothing jumps off the charts at me. hopefully after it dries more, we'll all see (taste) great things.

buckloner - fillmore has started to grow on me too. took about 3 tins though.

[Slow Triathlete]

This is taken from a larger review from my VaPer Showdown:

[SIZE=3]Up next was McClelland’s Bulk 2015 blend. Originally this blend was a pain in the butt because it came extremely wet and no matter how much I rubbed it out it never seemed to dry out. Finally, I put my sample on a cutting board and minced it as I do garlic. It finally broke up small enough that it was able to dry out. I did smoke a bowl before it was dried out enough. I was extremely disappointed because I had to relight so many times that I couldn’t take notes well enough to give a proper review. After chopping this blend into oblivion I was able to smoke it almost to the bottom of the bowl. Even though this blend is pretty good for a bulk blend, I feel that the amount of prep work just isn’t worth it to me. However, if you are very patient with this then you will be rewarded with a fine bulk blend. The different Virginias taste very good against the amount of Perique that is in this blend. Taste-wise this was a very good blend but like I said earlier the amount of work to get it there just isn’t for me.[/SIZE]