Col. & Rev. - Review McClelland Beacon Extra

[Col. Kurtz]

0.0 - 2.0 = poor/inferior quality
2.1 - 2.9 = fair
3.0 - 3.5 = good
3.5 - 4.5 = excellent
4.6 - 5.0 = superior






1) Aesthetics: Dark chocolate broken flake. Tin smell of McClelland Virginias is said to be of ketchup or vinegar (no. 22!) Very mild smell of A-1 or worcestershire sauce.

Score for aesthetics:4.0 I prefer larger thinner flakes or coins. Just my preference. Nothing is wrong here.




2) Pre-light Construction: No sauce or PG noted. This seems to have perfect flake moisture. Not mushy, nor brittle. Again, I prefer a larger thinner flake like LNF. I stuffed the flakes and crumbled up some tinder for the top.

Score for Pre-light construction: 4.5




3) Post-light Construction/How it smoked: smooth, cool, dense smoke. Black and grey ash noted. Typical cool smoking flake. There was some gurgle that was easily cleared by passing a cleaner. Required relights and clearing of moisture. I dried these samples about an hour prior to smoking. I'll probably dry this one even more in the future.

Score for post-light construction:3.5

4) Flavor and strength: Strong meaty vaper. This is a full, meaty, chewy smoke. Said to be high in perique content (50% if I recall correctly). Not as spicy as you would think. Very filling smoke. Not a high nicotine content. If Dunhill flake is the champagne, this is a thick porterhouse.

Score for flavor and strength: 4.5

5) Aftertaste/Finish: Reminds me of sweet and sour chicken with a good dose of black pepper. Not terribly spicy, nor heavy. More sweet and full than anything. Fairly easy to retrohale. Not the brimstone you would expect when snorked.

Score for aftertaste:4.5


6) Aroma: Not much aroma noted. Sweet and meaty.

Score for aroma: 3.5

7) General Comments. An interesting specialty tobacco blend. Not for everyone, but a good adventure for Virginia and vaper lovers alike. Mild smokers and English lovers would probably be bored here.

4.1