@Philosopiper - You hit on one of the big impacts that most don't seem to realize. McClelland not only produced all their blends but also did blends for other labels. They also produced the Eric Nording Hunter's Blends for example.
I got 12 ounces of 5100 at Uptown Smoke in Nashville a couple of months ago and it was the very last they had and they charged me their regular price. The guy in the shop actually held it till i got off work and i offered to pay him in advance and he said "no just give me your name and you can come by when you get off. It is yours." That is Tennessee people for you. The best. I just ordered 5 100 gram tins of On the Bayou so i can say a long good bye to my first kiss in Premium tobacco's. Sad. Just so sad.
One can only hope that McClelland will sell or license their recipes to another company like Sutliff or Lane for their most popular blends to continue.
So tonight I may have to sleep in the couch. I went into a B&M on my travels today, and lost control. All of my favorites minus Beacon, Beacon Extra, and Master Penman. I just went through my tobacco budget for the next 7 months.
I ordered 3 tins of FM On the Bayou tonight. One for me, 2 for my brother, in addition to a tin of Perique. He ordered me 2 tins of Dominican Glory and a tin of Mind Meld. The Dominican Glory and FM were all 100g tins.
I also ordered a 50g of Black Parrot from the Country Squire a couple of days ago. That's about all he has left at that point.
We knew it was emotional purchasing, but dang it! The finest Virginia tobacco in the world, and it's gone.
@Woobie agreed. I have their Dominican Glory in my cellar. I love virgina woods and was elated when I saw the three oaks. It was very emotional purchasing. I’m from Kansas City, and I’ve been smoking their blends as long as I’ve been smoking a pipe.
I obviously don't know the McNeils, but they have the highest respect from every source I've read about them. Their passion for quality came through in every puff. The most important bowl of my life was Legends. It pains me to see them not losing, but even more painfully, choosing to end their business which has become so near to so many of us. I hope that the difficulty of this time fades and they are left with the satisfaction of knowing they provided so many memorable bowls to so many folks. This isn't Dunhill flipping off their loyal consumers on their way out. This is a family business tearing itself away from their beloved devotees. I wish them all the best, and I wish me good luck in finding Brindle Flake and Pebble Cut.
@Jayhawk422 what is that you bought in bulk? The shop I went to earlier this week had tins of Balkan Beauty and 3 Oaks. I’ve been fighting the urge to go back and get them, if there even still there. The need to buy more is driving me crazy!!
Much agreed @Woobie. I am a Dunhill fan as well, but when that news came out I didn’t feel the same way. I can find blends to replace Dunhill. I can’t find blends to replace McClellan; the blends and memories associated with them.
@Jayhawk422 I was at a shop in Columbia, SC this week. A couple weeks back I was at Tabac and Cigar in your neck of the woods. I wasn’t sure if that was McClellands VBC that you have in bulk? I love that stuff.
@Ryanmclellansr it is 5100. I bought a pound of it. I honestly would have bought more if I didn’t see the Virgina Woods and 3 oaks. Cigar and Tabac is a great shop too, most of my pipe related purchasing comes from them. They are the best for estates in the area.
The Cigar Merchant is one of my underrated favorite shops in the area, they carry a great selection of current production and have a great tin selection as well of some of the tobacco selection that I tend to find more online.
They question which needs a definitive answer is whether McClelland has closed their doors at this time or whether they still have a warehouse of tobacco which they are going to finish processing and tin? I have heard both said. I have hear rumors to the effect that they have been planning this for a year. Inquiring minds want to know?
My gut feeling is that we MAY see a limited release of more McClelland blends trickle out until their have exhausted their stock. It just wouldn't make sense to be sitting on a warehouse of tobacco and letting it rot.
So, I planned on picking up a few tins of my favorites, blends I didn't think were all that popular. One look on smokingpipes.com though, and it's a ghost town for McClelland blends. Maybe I was a bit naive, but given how long we've known Dunhill has been planning on leaving the PT market, I thought I'd have more time. I guess I should've jumped on it when the announcement was made, but my pipe budget was drained after IPSD. While it's a bit disappointing, it's not like there aren't other blends out there.
For those in SC I found two shops that have a great selection of McClelland still on the shelf. The store is called Towne Centre Tobacco and Wine. One in Columbia, and one in Mt. Pleasant. The latter store has a much larger select to include 2015-16 Christmas Cheer, 2014 Holiday Spirit, Old Dog, Balkan Beauty, Virginia Woods and many many others. I asked if he would ship to people and he said no.
I know of three shops that as of yesterday afternoon had selections of McClelland tins and bulk tobacco in stock. I would tell you but then I would have to find ways to stop you from getting there.
My brother and I found 3 tins each of Pebble Cut and Old Dog last night. We bought them all. The Gentleman had the same story as everyone. After 40 years of dealing with Mary, he was sad it was over. He really appreciated the way they did business. He also told me that McClelland has no inventory back. What is in the stores is it.
P&C, and other popular online retailers are out of most popular blends. I’m still searching for Beacon and Beacon Extra. Compared to that of Dunhill, McClelland’s tobacco stock was limited due to their exceptionally high standards.
Like everyone else is saying I wish their was more time, if I knew I would have gotten more. The only way that we could have know was trough Doc Brown’s time machine. But, we would risk going back to an alternative 2018 where Biff could have purchased them and made it into the Super Value of tobacco..just my own imagination running wild this morning and maybe a little too much coffee.
This is just devastating. It is similar to finding out, that Scotland has stopped producing single malts. I suppose that the golden age of pipe smoking, is coming to a close.
With all the FDA and anti-tobbaco activists, it is easy to think the golden age is coming to end. It’s our job as pipe smokers to keep the hobby alive.
@Jayhawk422, We can always keep the hobby alive by smoking Smokers Pride in a cob, but I can tell you that there is a certain segment in the pipe smoking hobby that prefer aged straight Virginias, and the chances of those guys switching over to a Latakia blend are pretty slim. It would be like me still being able to buy a Speyside or Highland, but no longer able to drink a heavily peated Islay. Honestly if I found myself in that situation, I might give up drinking Scotch all together.
Thank goodness I have managed to cellar around 50 pounds of tobacco, of which at least 25 tins are Christmas Cheer. When I started cellaring around 10 years ago, I really did it so that I would have some quality aged Virginias to smoke. Little did I know that I was also stocking up, on tobaccos that would eventually no longer be available.
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I also ordered a 50g of Black Parrot from the Country Squire a couple of days ago. That's about all he has left at that point.
We knew it was emotional purchasing, but dang it! The finest Virginia tobacco in the world, and it's gone.
The Cigar Merchant is one of my underrated favorite shops in the area, they carry a great selection of current production and have a great tin selection as well of some of the tobacco selection that I tend to find more online.
My gut feeling is that we MAY see a limited release of more McClelland blends trickle out until their have exhausted their stock. It just wouldn't make sense to be sitting on a warehouse of tobacco and letting it rot.
I am waiting to hear from my tobacco sources...
Like everyone else is saying I wish their was more time, if I knew I would have gotten more. The only way that we could have know was trough Doc Brown’s time machine. But, we would risk going back to an alternative 2018 where Biff could have purchased them and made it into the Super Value of tobacco..just my own imagination running wild this morning and maybe a little too much coffee.
@Jayhawk422, We can always keep the hobby alive by smoking Smokers Pride in a cob, but I can tell you that there is a certain segment in the pipe smoking hobby that prefer aged straight Virginias, and the chances of those guys switching over to a Latakia blend are pretty slim. It would be like me still being able to buy a Speyside or Highland, but no longer able to drink a heavily peated Islay. Honestly if I found myself in that situation, I might give up drinking Scotch all together.
Thank goodness I have managed to cellar around 50 pounds of tobacco, of which at least 25 tins are Christmas Cheer. When I started cellaring around 10 years ago, I really did it so that I would have some quality aged Virginias to smoke. Little did I know that I was also stocking up, on tobaccos that would eventually no longer be available.
edm