Tobaccos McClelland - Honeydew (221b Series)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3048)	2016-07-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

McClelland’s familiar “vinegar” note that you smell barely translates into the taste, and vanishes fairly quickly. The Virginias offer some hay/grass and a bit of citrus, slight earthiness, and a little dark and lighter fruits. I notice a consistent mild floral vegetativeness from one of the lighter Virginias. The toppings are hard to define, but among them is a light molasses and fruit. The nic-hit is mild. Won’t bite, and has no dull or harsh spots. A little moist out of the tin, but needs no dry time. Burns at a reasonable pace, cool and clean with mostly smooth consistent flavor, though it does lose just a touch of sweetness toward the finish. Requires an average number of relights for a broken flake, and leaves very little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasant after taste. An easy going all day, mostly uncomplicated smoke that won’t bore you.

-JimInks

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2014-04-20		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A dark-golden broken flake, on the thicker side, with a fragrant tin nose that goes beyond straight Virginia. I found it pleasant smelling but I miss that tangy fermented Va aroma when it's awol from McClellands tins. This came wet and had to be dried out, as do most Virginia flakes. I dried this one to just a few degrees short of crispy for maximum flavor.

In the bowl, this was a fairly mild bright VA with a distinctive top dressing. Much more fragrant in the room than on the tastebuds, this is more of a scented flake than an aromatic. I couldn't place the scent or the taste, and honeydew melon doesn't fit. I'm also not entirely sure what makes this an "Irish" flake. But no matter, this was a mellow, tangy and lightly sweetened mix that required a lot of snorking to get the most from it. It was a bit light for my tastebuds, but it was a refreshing kind of smoke - nice palate cleanser. Reminded me of a toned-down #2000 but this didn't have that one's tendency to bite when enduring anything other than slow sipping. In fact, this one would tolerate a fair bit of puffing without getting too cranky. Nice, easygoing flake with a light flavor. No complexity to speak of, but nice for those times you're too busy to take much notice of what you're smoking and just want a mellow flavor. Not destined for my rotation, but still recommended.

Pipe Used: meerschaum and morta

Age When Smoked: 4 yearts

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2007-05-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A pleasant and simple blend. It is not a biting blend. Honeydew's downfall maybe the simple nature, but in the right context it is a great tobacco. It is nice to sit back and smoke slowly without worrying about complexity.

Roomnote: It is not an extreme aromatic. No one will stay in the area of the smoke to get a whiff. But it is tolerated by most, who will tolerate smoke.

Mouthfeel: It is a moderate smoke. It can get warm. But I feel it bites less than Glengarry flake.

Taste: Sweetness, it does not have the tang of darker Virginias. If the darker flavors are desired, Honeydew probably will not statisfy.

This is an everyday tobacco. I go through a rotation of many varieties of tobacco, from latakia to pure Va. Honeydew is consumed daily.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BostonPipe (84)	2004-07-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A friend of mine had asked me to pick him a tin of this blend my next trip into Boston to see my tobacconist, L.J.'s. Needless to say, upon giving him the tin he insisted on my taking some to sample.

Well, now I find myself having to plan a trip into Boston again this week.

After several months of being on a "Gawith Binge", this blend was a totally unexpected wonderful change of pace.

Much like the Gawith blends, the flavoring in this blend accentuates the high quality tobacco and never overpowers them.

Unlike Gawith, the mildness of this blend is refreshing and a nicotine "zoning-out" does not occur, which I find is often the case with the Gawith's.

This is a gentle, kind, blend with a consistent taste down the run of the bowl. A pleasant, slight sweetness that resounds through the experience and left this smoker wanting more, (hence the road-trip tomorrow, lol).

I pack the blend unbroken and rub out just a little to top it off, to assist in lighting. One false-light, a tamp, relight, and I am off to some quality downtime.

A very nice experience, recommended.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	smgorden (2)	2015-01-10		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I'm on my second bowl of the Honeydew. My first bowl was consumed a little quickly, and I didn't get to taste it as much and it started to bite toward the end. Today I'm relaxed, sitting in my library enjoying Honeydew with a mug of black English tea. Also, I bothered to do a decent pack and light today, which helps tremendously. So that's the first part of my review, this light tobacco wants to be taken slowly. Flavor disappears when smoked fast.

The prep: rubbed out bits of the flake and smelled the tobacco before packing. Mild, but it held a definite cream and honey scent.

The pack: three pinches, packed light, medium and firm. Checked the draw before lighting. Might have over-packed a bit and the draw wasn't wide open but better than when I'm rushing and just shove it tight.

The light: lots of expansion on the false light. Since I had piled it high, had to tamp and settle it back into place before the true light, which expanded more. This left a nice fluffy medium gray ash, which became speckled with light grey as I continued to smoke.

Taste: mild but notably sweet. I like sweet and haven't found many (yet) that remain consistent through the whole bowl, but this one seems to be doing the trick for me (relative to a consistent pace, that is).

Nose: Smelling exhaled smoke was mainly spicy, but still mild. Though most tobaccos do that to me, so I don't know whether it's specific to my selections or just how my nose reacts to smoke.

Room Note: Also mildly sweet. Pleasant.

Seems a reliable choice for those who enjoy a sweet selection with a consistent experience.

Pipe Used: Peterson Suir (River Collection)

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoker's Choice of Bloomington, IL

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2017-09-06		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

McClelland - Honeydew (221b Series).

The cut's a broken flake, over half of the tin is exceedingly well broken. The tin note's perplexing, as many reviewers mention, it has the ketchup note found in McClelland blends, whereas the smoke doesn't. The moisture's good for immediate smoking.

The smoke has just the right amount of sweetness to it for it to qualify as being a steadfast aromatic. The sweetness isn't heavy, but kind of 'sharp', if that makes sense? The Virginia's give a rich fruity note, without being very caustic, and can seem slightly tart at times. The burn from Honeydew's good, producing a cool smoke, without any bite.

Nicotine: quite mild. Room-note: very pleasant.

A top quality smoke. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Freehand

Age When Smoked: One month

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Alhaji (33)	2015-11-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco meets my specs of a mild, sweet, easy-to-puff, uncomplicated Virginia. In spite of its simplicity though, different delightful flavours emanate from the bowl as one smokes along; and they remain consistent through to the end.

It is labelled an Aromatic here though it's connection to being one is only in its sweetness, not even in its fragrance because it has the usual McClelland ketchupy aroma. Even so, I don't detect much flavouring which means little was used to enhance the Virginias though I can't tell what it is with precision.

My tin is newly purchased but has a stamp underneath that reads 230412. Not sure if it means it dates back to 2012. If so, that may have enhanced its taste. If new, no matter - same result: a pleasurable smoke.

It is no less than a three and half star.

Pipe Used: Old Bruyere Garantie and vintage Angelo Real Briar

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2012-04-18		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nice broken flake that is easy to work with. Tin note is standard ketchupy McClelland tin scent. I do taste this in the first few puffs, but do not find it unpleasant. A pretty mild smoke. Not quite as sweet as I was both expecting or prefer, but a nice taste all the same.

As to the room note I am a horrble judge of this as I either smoke in the garage or outside. My wife says this smells like S*&T, but this should not concern anyone because she says that about all of them. lol A friend of mine in the passenger side of the truck asked if I was smoking a cherry flavored tobacco. I took this as meaning it smelled good. Of course, I did not taste anything of the sort.

I find this blend to be more gentle on the tongue than most VAs and this, I find, to be a major plus. Can't say anything bad about the blend, but I do prefer other straight VAs to this one.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-03-24		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Honeydew is a total departure from the Arcadia and Black Shag brothers of the 221B Series. This one is a very thick cut and Bright broken Virginia Flake with a sweetener of some sort that really didn't translate to the palate, but sure made my sniffer happy! Easy to smoke all day due to the lightness of the fare, and very naturally sweet. And finally, typical of all McClelland's Virginia offerings, the quality of the leaf was superior.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2017-01-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Whoever does the marketing at McC must have a good sense of irony or especially enjoy puzzling us mere mortals. Altho Sherlock was written to enjoy pungent, powerful tobaccos, the McC blend in this series dedicated to the character, Black Shag, was a mild and delicate, low nicotine stoved Va. Likewise this blend, dedicated to the literary memory of Dr Watson, proclaims itself as a Honeydew (historically a Va with naturally occurring high sugar levels), and in the Irish tradition. I don't detect either of these inputs. Further, the casing/top note on this tobacco defies my attempts at deconstruction. I haven't a clue what it is.

Here's what I do know, or think I know. It is a broken flake of mostly chocolate browns with occasional bright and dark spots. In the tin it has an ineffable sweetness with some floral notes. These scents are carried thru into the smoke itself. I wouldn't call this an aromatic as such, but others might. As another review has already suggested, this tobacco has most in common with scented flakes. To which I would add, specifically, this is a light lakeland type of tobacco, which would also include such geographic outliers as Erinmore Flake and Mick McQuaid Plug. For the sake of accuracy, I am not suggesting this tobacco tastes like those two tobaccos. But it shares that relationship between tobacco denseness and artificial fragrance additive.

Burns beautifully and is easy to pack and light. Lasts an age in the pipe and is great value. The flavours are rich and complex (more than just puzzling) and there is plenty to enjoy. There is also some pepper and spice to balance the sweetness, especially as the bowl progresses.

A near miss for 4 stars from me.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	McKNooB (35)	2013-04-21		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

My first stab at a flake. A little concerned at the first whiff but I've added this one to my list of favourites. What do I know? I've only been smoking pipes for two months.

Well, eventually I'll want to seek out and make English tobaccos my only species (I've gone overboard with aromatics, really). I thought I'd try something recommended by folks who are looking for something different and distinct from the boat load of cherries out there.

I've tried it half a dozen times and I believe it smokes best after I've rubbed it out and left it overnight. Either way, I've enjoyed this blend very much.

Great, great taste. Love the room note (and so do others 'round me). Easy to work with (once you've figured it out). Goes well with a reisling (discovered by accident).

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	al1 (58)	2008-12-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Pretty good, a weird blend- sort of a lightly aromatic flake. I do get a melon taste here and there.

Tin aroma is for a lack of better terms- appetizing to best describe it. I detect hints of rum and vanilla smell. Mostly mollases.

I will smoke it some but not everyday. If you like sweet light smokes this would please. Not too heavily flavored either. A very nice effort by Mclelland. I might just keep a tin around for when I want something different. I am into heavier Virginia blends though. I like the navy cavendish more than this and you might want to try it if you like honeydew.

I can see this being good in especially hot weather. A summertime smoke for me I guess.

Update: 4-27-08 This tobacco has really become a favorite of mine. Upon smoking it quite a bit more I found that it does not go so well in a small pipe but is excellent in a mid size.

I noticed the flavor became more apparent after some inital drying and that it smoked very cool and dry. The flavor became more robust like a really good mollases cookie. This is not an aromatic by my standards at all but does give a good subtle sweet dark sugar taste. I agree with a previous reviewer that it leaves me wanting for more, but in a very good way as it goes so good I could smoke it nonstop. This has become a regular with me, just wish it was a bit cheaper and came in a bigger tin.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RMBittner (66)	2007-02-22		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

A partially rubbed/broken Virginia flake that provided a mild, vaguely sweet smoke. The addition of molasses (which is what defines a "honeydew" tobacco, not honey) added richness to the aroma rather than syrup to the bowl. This is a pleasant, mild blend that some might consider too mild but which can provide a simple change of pace from more complex blends.

One note: Over the course of 20 pipefuls (1 tin) I never experienced the bite that some others have mentioned. For me, this was always an extremely mild smoke.

Note to Guyrox: Holmes is never mentioned as smoking Honeydew. He is simply shown a container of the tobacco as a clue in one of the stories. The stuff Holmes usually did smoke is pretty distressing.(g)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2004-04-07		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Finally a McClelland I can enjoy! No tongue burning, not the faintest acidic undertone, this tobacco is, to say the least, commendable. Smooth and gentle, it nevertheless retains enough body and tobacco complexion to make it enjoyable, and due to the cut and preparation, it is long lasting, consistent and well behaved. The subtle sweetness and rich flavor are NOT the result of an artificial casing or topping, but of the honeydew ?process?, that is, a means of preparing and maturing the pipe tobacco leaf (by the same token, Cavendish is not a tobacco, but a form of leaf processing), that allows the natural sugars, oils and resins to combine and ferment in such a way they provide a deep and rich bitter-sweetness, in this case to Virginia leaf, and a uniform reddish-brown hue to the flake. There are other similar tobaccos out there, like Gallaher?s Rich Dark Honeydew, J. Fox?s Honeydew Aromatic or Clan Shaw?s Honeydew Cavendish, and they all have this deep rich flavor, slightly sweet and toasted. McClelland?s Honeydew vaguely reminds me of Deep Hollow. But where Deep Hollow is bland and undefined in terms of flavor, strength and structure, Honeydew is unambiguously intricate and dense, yet mellow and temperate. It is an excellent option for those seeking to leave behind artificially aromatic blends, and a great introduction to pipe smoking in general.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gig (15)	2015-08-19		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Tolerable to Strong

In my opinion this is a simple blend, I would say one dimensional but in its own right very enjoyable. Its nice to smoke a blend without having to think about it, just smoke for the pleasure of smoking a pipe and this suits the bill perfectly. It did not smoke hot and smoked to fine grey ash and it did not give me any tongue bite. If you want a blend with little complexity, to smoke when carrying out and activity without any requirement for thought this is it.

Pipe Used: Todd Harris Morta Dublin

Purchased From: Todd Harris

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Winchester38 (11)	2015-01-03		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Cracked open a new tin, and immediately noted the ketchup/vinegar notes in this tobacco. Rough cut flakes, that were relatively easy to rub out and dry slightly before smoking. Flakes seemed slightly damp right out of the tin, so I deemed drying to be necessary.

Packed about 3/4 of a bowl, and went to it. Slightly tough to get a decent light, and required a touch of flame a number of times.

Once lit, there was a definite note of vinegar, and a very slight sweetness to the smoke. The smoke was relatively light, and stayed pretty consistent throughout the bowl. This weed required a touch of flame a few times but eventually smoked completely to ash.

I did note a slight bit of tongue bite with this one, possibly due to it being a bit more moist that it should have been, or possibly due to me having smoked it a bit too quickly. Next time, I'll dry it longer, and smoke it slower. Overall, this one is just ok for me. The vinegar/ketchup doesn't seem to fit my tastes.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2013-08-07		Mild to Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant

This is a somewhat decent aromatic flake... Until it starts biting a bit... The smoke is nice and has a sweet taste to it (too sweet for me)... I really do not have much to say about this flake...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2012-12-31		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Maybe I just want to smell honeydew melon...? This tobac smells very close to a sweet smelling fruit or melon. I find myself sniffing the tin just to get a whiff of this delicious flake. Ok so it's sweet but it's not too sweet or I wouldn't like it. It's a Virginia type sweetness that is mellow and  very satisfying especially later in the day. Another bonus is that my wife loves the room note and is ok with me smoking this inside of the house with the windows closed. When I first smoked this I dried it out for several hours beforehand which I later found out was too long. The second attempt  I let it sit for 10-15 min which was perfect, but I think like all of the 221B series you can smoke them right from the tin which is really enjoyable and quite convenient.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2011-03-01		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried this on the recommendation of my local tobacconist, and upon opening was greeted by a ketchup-like smell that I've learned is common to McClelland tobaccos. I didn't expect much, and the first bowl didn't greatly impress me. It seemed too moist, lit with some difficulty, and required several re-lights. However...

I let the tin dry for about a week and WOW! What a difference! It lit easily, smoked dry, and the flavor is sublime. The strength is medium, which is perfect for me. It has a fantastic Virginia taste complimented by a very light casing, which provides some mild sweetness. This is definitely a tobacco to rub out and let dry a bit, but once you do, you'll be rewarded with a truly sublime smoke.

Also, after several bowls, I agree with the reviewers who say that it's best suited to a larger pipe. It smoked best in my large Peterson spigot, and provided an hour of great, unhurried relaxation.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JohnnyMcPiperson (119)	2011-01-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I really enjoyed this one. This is another of those blends that harkens back to college memories for me. I smoked through a tin of this rather quickly and loved it. At first I wasn't super impressed, but the tin was open and I had alot of papers to get written, so I kept smoking it. This one claimed my Churchwarden for some time, it has a nice soft sweet smell from the tin and a fragrant and mildly enjoyable taste on the pallet. Great smoke to have around when you are working on something that requires thought I think, it goes well with contemplation, however I wouldn't classify it as a late night smoke, for me it was more of a just got home from work, sitting down to work on papers for school in the late afternoon kind of smoke. Goes rather nicely with a rainy day where smoking indoors is available. Give it a try especially if you haven't smoked much VA, this is a nice one to cut your teeth on.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Denevei (58)	2011-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Honeydew is a fragrant Virginia blend, with a nice appearance of golds and browns and a very sweet fragrance. The blend is a broken flake, and so could use a bit of rubbing out, but should be allowed to dry a bit first – it's a pretty wet tobacco. The name is most unfortunate, honeydew being the term for the waste of aphids. I spent a bit of time deciding whether to smoke Honeydew in my Virginia pipes or in aromatic pipes, but finally decided on the Virginia. I think it's the right decision, and the blend is, after all, a topped Virginia. The charring light brings through some excellent Virginia flavor, but also the sweet, interesting flavor used in topping the blend. This flavor also came through once the pipe was burning. Sadly, the blend has a real bite to it, especially early, that reduces, for me, the enjoyment. The first third of the bowl should be carefully smoked in order to avoid a real case of tongue char. Not bite, char. Deeper into the bowl the flavor comes through and the char lessens. At this point, Honeydew becomes a very pleasant, agreeable smoke. The flavor is reminiscent of a honey-topped Virginia, though smoother, butterier, than honey. I'm not sure what the topping is, but it imparts a good flavor. It's sweeter than a typical Virginia, but not diabetic-coma-inducing-sweet like too many aromatics on the market. Somehow I've been thinking of honeysuckle. The end of the bowl finishes well, again atypical for an aromatic. The flavor remains pleasant, and never becomes acrid, and the tobacco doesn't become wet and gooey like some aromatics can. Honeydew is, in my opinion, a pleasant blend. It's not one I'll smoke regularly, but is one I'd never turn down. Aromatic smokers looking for something slightly less sweet than their typical fare should flock to the stores for the blend, and I have to think that Virginia smokers will also find this to be a good tobacco to keep on the shelf. Mr. Holmes must have been disappointed when he was handed an empty tin.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-12-12		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

A balanced blend that is especially suited for enjoying indoors or on hot summer days. The room note of this tobacco is wonderful, including the aromas of figs and spices with an occasional hint of cedar.

Upon opening, the tobacco presents itself as medium brown broken flakes interspersed with a small quantity of ribbon cut tobacco. The mixture appears to be exclusively Virginia tobacco. A dry, fruity tang like raisin or fig with an undertone of vinegar is detected upon opening the tin.

Honeydew burns well straight out of the tin. A charring light produces a strong autumnal scent reminiscent of a cup of hot cider enjoyed outside on an October evening. The tobacco lights evenly, even when there are some larger bits of flake present.

Smoking this tobacco hard in a pipe with a small chamber does not produce any oppressive overtones, although it does seem to smoke a bit wet even in a small straight pipe such as a Dunhill group 2 billiard.

There is no need to worry about this blend causing any ghosting in a favorite pipe. Indeed, it can have an almost cleansing effect on all but the most intractable of Lakeland-impregnated briars.

When enjoyed in a meerschaum, more of the subtleties of Honeydew become apparent, with just a touch of pepper coming into the mix at the end of a drag.

This is one of my favorite tobaccos, and one that I highly recommend.

Pipes used for testing: Peterson XL315, Stanwell Featherweight Poker (245), Stanwell Featherweight Horn (245), Savinelli Dry System Oom Paul 1604, Savinelli Byron's Favorite Churchwarden

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-12-08		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

When I opened the tin I thought hmmm....doesn't smell that great, a little sour, but once I lit up....WOW! Very nice! Very light and mild. Slight melony fruity taste, just a little bit of sweetness. My first broken flake tobacco. It smoked very cool. I'm so motivated to try more flakes, this was a perfect transition. I recommend giving this a try, it won't disappoint!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2009-02-28		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

i was very disappointed by this having high expectations as a result of the pre-introduction marketing. the blend was certainly decent with no real draw backs other than maybe a little tongue bite that was manageable with controlled smoking but it just didn't deliver a lot of flavor to me. i don't know what the honeydew was supposed to add (i don't even know what it is) but whatever it was, i missed it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Noorrmm (192)	2007-05-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Appearance: A nice medium thickness broken flake, mostly medium in color.

Aroma: There is a noticeable but not overpowering top note, on top of some nice sweet Virginia aroma. The characteristic McC vinegar was missing, thankfully.

Packing: It packed nicely as-is into medium to large bowls, needed to be rubbed out for small bowls.

Lighting: About average in ease of lighting.

Initial flavor: Just as it smells, this is a mild/medium Va, with a subtle added top note. I can?t identify the addition, but it tastes right for the blend. No noticeable heat when smoked at normal rates.

Mid-bowl: Very pleasant flavor of VA., very light aromatic. No complexity or layering, making it a good all-day smoke, but not a nightcap. Cool and well behaved at all times.

Finish: No surprises, burned down to ashes in a dry pipe.

Summary: For me, a good warm weather morning and afternoon smoke. Don?t let the slight aromatic quality keep you away from this one. For me, the hit of the 221b series. BTW, many people will enjoy the aroma, always a plus for a sometimes Latakia smoker like me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-11-13		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

My review is based on a three year old tin. This is an attractive pipe-weed, with a wide gamut of brown hues. The inviting tin aroma had some of the characteristic McClelland vinegar-ketchup, which I have come to embrace. It's usually a promise of good things to come in the smoke.

The coarse cut gets one to pondering just how to prepare this pipe-weed for the bowl. I have found the slightest bit of rubbing out works best. Too much, and the heat uncomfortably increases. With a good char, this blend burns evenly and with minimal relighting.

The sweetness is relatively noticable from first puff, decreasing somewhat by midbowl. Mind that this is not the black Cavendish style of sweetness, but a much lighter and more natural touch. Still, it is aromatic, with honey overtones. Fanciers of straight Virginias may well find this cloying, as I did. The bottom third of the bowl is the most satisfying.

Alas, this pipe-weed is a hot and biting experience, if not given attention at all times. A few thoughtless draws, and you'll be nursing your tongue. This is what I find to be Honeydew's undoing. There is insufficient reward for the trouble required. I am forced to slow my puffing down to levels I find annoying.

I'm setting this tin aside in hopes its bite will diminish over time. I wonder if I shall even finish it. I certainly will not be acquiring more.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2006-06-12		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

What a nice surprise!

I feared this tobacco might be too artificially sweet or goopy, but it's not. I usually love McClelland's virginia flakes, but I didn't like the idea of this one to be some sort of aromatic. I was wrong, as the honeydew flavoring perfectly complements the leaf.

In the tin, the usual McC vinegar smell is very subdued compared to some of their other offerings. The impression is of honey, good fermented tobacco, hay, dried plums. Mouthwatering!

So far I have only smoked this tobacco by slightly rubbing out the flakes (not completely, mind you) and it was extremely enjoyable. Sweet and tasty from the charring light to the very bottom of the bowl. No off-notes, no bitterness, no harshness, no wetness, no tonguebite. Pure pleasure. Yes, it IS on the very sweet side, but it's not a "fake" sweetness like the one you get from heavily cased aromatics (which BTW tend to have a sweet perfume but little taste, usually).

Of course it's not a perfect tobacco: tastiness and sweetness come at the expense of complexity. There is not much flavour development: it's simply honeyish and nutty from beginning to start. But I'm not complaining, as it's quite a unique flavor for me. It's probably the only very sweet tobacco I can endure.

Give it a try: you will love it or hate it because of that pronounced honeyish sweetness. I sure loved it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	shakenbake (11)	2006-05-05		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I would concur with most of the reviews presented about McClelland's Honeydew. My additional observations are as follows.

I had decided to buy a tin and to try it, based on my reminiscense of Gallaher's Rich Dark Honeydew. However, it was so long ago that I smoked the Gallaher's flake that I cannot remember how it was. I guess that the nature of Gallaher's Honeydew is not really relevant to the discussion at hand. On to my experiences with McClelland Honeydew!

On opening the tin, ketchup, what ketchup? Many people seem to get put off unneccessarily by some characteristic scent from McClelland's fermentation, I believe. get over it and enjoy the tobacco IMHO! Rather, I found the tin aroma to be pleasant, with a charactreistic fermented Virginia scent. In addition, it smoked as sweet as it smelled out of the tin, which was dated 2005.

I smoked this flake several times already and found that it burned well, either fully rubbed out and loaded into the bowl, or folded and stuffed into the pipe. A medium-sized bowl full lasted about an hour with modest relighting. Smoking it slowly brought out the subtlties that delighted me greatly, once again due to te Virginia content. It is true that this is a tobacco to be enjoyed by smoking slowly.

Each time I smoked it, near the end, the flavour got a bit stronger, but still very pleasant and sweet, without any souring whatsoever. Also, I noticed some components that I would describe as being very similar to a burley coming out into the spotlight. However, this could be the nuttiness of the apparently high grade of Virginias used in this blend IMHO. Near the end of the bowl, in all cases, the dottle that remained was very small and dry, if there was one at all, and not at all syrupy or pipe-fowling.

All in all a wonderfully successful blend by McClelland. Next time, I will try it out in my Peterson's large Kinsale, with a deerstalker cap on my head, for added effect! But seriously, I believe that I have found a new flake to love.

shakenbake

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-06-12		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

It took a while to get the hang of this tobacco. A small bowl, lots of time to smoke very slowly. This method yielded a very tasty smoke. Earlier attempts were less sucessful. Especially while driving, I think the stress of dealing with freeway driving causes rapid or too deep draws on the pipe and unleashes a harsh and even sour taste. When you have the time to do it right, this is a 3 star smoke. If you are in a hurry skip this blend.

Update: 6/12/2005- There are too many tasty Virginias available to waste time on this. Two and one-half stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-11-06		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Honeydew is McClelland's third installment within the 221B series and is aptly described by the blender as being a subtly sweet, fragrant flake tobacco in the Irish tradition.

The aroma of this blend upon opening is light and is reminiscent of sweet biscuit cookies with brown sugar and molasses-like undertones. It is very pleasant indeed. Honeydew is a Virginia dominated tobacco blend with a slight topping that is most likely honey. The color of Honeydew is a handsome caramel/brown with hints of golden/yellow showing through.

Honeydew possesses a coarse broken flake cut and the blend rubs out without much effort. Honeydew is slightly moist but can be easily brought to the correct moisture level with some drying.

McClelland?s Honeydew lights well and has the ability to burn to the bottom of the pipe bowl. The blend?s light room note is similar to the aroma of baking bread and is quite agreeable.

Honeydew has a mild to medium taste that is flavorful yet not overbearing like many heavy-handed aromatics. While the Honeydew pipe blend does possess an aromatic sweetness, it also has a true bright tobacco leaf taste as well. Honeydew can bite, but slow and steady draws greatly minimize this bite and helps yield the best flavors the blend has to offer.

McClelland?s Honeydew is not necessarily an aromatic blend but rather a Virgina tobacco that happens to have some beneficial characteristics of an aromatic tobacco blend. A great blend to smoke during breakfast time.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Horse Bodotes (19)	2004-01-27		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one caught me completely by surprise. I am not a fan of aromatics in general, but when a friend offered me a tin curiosity got the better of me.

I like the cut, color and smell of the leaf in the can. The semi-rubbed leaf has a wonderful color and looks quite rich, and the smell is earthy and fragrant. The topping is very lightly detectable, but not at all unpleasant. A little on the moist side, but nothing that a day or so of drying out won't cure. So far, so good.

Upon lighting, the taste and aroma is that of a good Virginia plus the slight fruity addition of the topping. Contrary to my expectations, I find that the topping adds some depth to the blend. The tobacco is easy to light and tends to stay lit even when moving about. The flavor stays fairly consistant throughout the bowl; slightly stronger and less sweetness towards the finish.

I started by fully rubbing out the coarse cut leaf, and I still do occasionally for a smoother smoke. But now I mostly pack the leaf as it comes out of the can or only slightly rubbed. I think that it smokes a bit better sweeter and holds a light better this way. This is a wonderful blend to smoke while up and about. I often light up Honeydew while tending to the Barbeque or walking the dogs.

This blend has changed my (formerly) solid resistance to aromatics. No, I'm not going to give Blue Note another try, but I do enjoy this mild Virginia blend.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stan (179)	2003-09-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a very pretty broken flake in the tin. Neatly arranged, like little golden bricks. Enough for aesthetics already, but an admirable arrangement. No need to rub out much if at all.

Unlike the other 221B series, which are very cool english/virginia blends, this is a bright flake.

The flavoring, honey or whatever, is light and it enhances the natural sweetness of the bright virginia leaf used. A very nice, dry smoke for a scented flake. But very tasty and sweet.

They say Irish flavors, which may sound like it is in competition with Erinmore Flake, but this blend does not have that level of intensity in sweetness or flavors. More body (and flavor) than Germain's Medium Flake but not as cool as Dunhill's Light Flake.

All in all, a delightfully, sweet smoke. It burns steady once you accomplish the initial surfacing lighting. However, a warning. Don't break it up much, smoke slowly in a medium bowl, and don't rush doing things while your puffing this one, or else it can nip and get hot.

A few smokers have complained about the potential heat, and with reason as this is a bright virginia flake, but you can control it by a very deliberate puffing or sipping pace. This is a quality, aged blend. It burns well, so don't fear it going out. But you want it to stay relatively cool so you can enjoy the flavors. It is not as hot as some other bright virginias which I can't control as well, but I can only smoke a bowl a day of this. (The tobacco stayed fresh the three weeks in the tin while I smoked it occasionally.) I don't know if more aging will cure that potential problem, but you can control it pretty much on you own.

A unique blend for a golden virginia, and I liked it but not all of the time. It's worth a try and a tin or two in the cellar, like me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2003-09-25		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This nicely prepared mix of medium brown VAs is in my view a partially rubbed out flake rather than a course cut. I packed all bowl sizes without any further rubout and a cool, sweet and effortless smoke resulted. The tin aroma had only the slightest hint of the typical McClelland vinegar and it and the room aroma were most inviting. It's probably one of the better lightly aromatic VAs to smoke in consideration of others but lacks the punch of my preferred VA and VA/Perique blends. The light casing did not overpower the tobacco taste but was tastefully present in the background and faded as the smoke progressed. If you're in search of a milder VA flake, give this new release from this renowned blender a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2003-08-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is another first for me with McClelland's 221B Series Honeydew.

The tobacco has a mild aroma upon opening the tin, the cut is a Flake and needs to be rubbed out a little. The taste is not a sweet aromatic like one would be lead to believe by the name of Honeydew.

This one could nip your tongue a bit if not smoked like a Virginia, the gentleness is there if one will take their time and smoke it slow. Honeydew presents itself IMHO as a satisfying tobacco in the Irish traditionand with a delightful aroma, and a subtle sweetness as the tobacco slowly blends the fragrant of the flake into one enjoyable gratifying taste.

Smoke it Slow, Enjoy it Longer

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bobbysmokes (15)	2016-05-19		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I love this smoke when sitting in back yard watching birds. Blend is light but is slightly complex. Reminds me of my days as a boy enjoying honeysuckle on a hot summer day, Blend needs to be smoked slowly as if you go after it too much, it may bite a little. I like this blend a great deal.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: unknown

Purchased From: Old Virginia Tobacco

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Appalachian Scholar (34)	2015-08-11		Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Unnoticeable

What in the world kind of blend is this? Its like they doused tobacco in, well not honey. Pistachios, perhaps? Maybe something else as well. Blend is so bad I can't even taste the tobacco. Only MacBaren's Scottish blend has a somewhat similar taste but I can a least taste the tobacco with that blend.

Similar Blends: MacBaren's Scottish Blend.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2013-02-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I found this blend to be sweet and pleasant, but temperamental. It was best enjoyed when I prepared the pipe the night before smoking; otherwise, it seemed to have difficulty staying lit and gurgled (I smoke a meerschaum, so gurgling, while possible, should not have been pronounced as it was with this tobacco). That said, it did produce a nice Virginia flavor with an antiquated sort of feel to it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-06-08		Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I was a little disappointed with this blend in that it doesn't taste like "Honeydew melon" and itis hot burning and has a bite. It is a quality Virginia, with a light casing that reminds me of the casing on " Distinguished Gentleman", only at about 1/3 the casing strength (there is more to this casing than just honey). Areo smokers should enjoy this as a crossover but I didn't get any "Ooo Wows" from the wife test ! I agree with reviewer, arpie55 02/28/2009

I do like the smaller tin that is easier to slip in a pocket

Updated (/14/2014- I just tried this again after having the same tin cellared ( tin marked 2010). it's still the same ! Maybe no topping to be found ? This is just hot and flavorless but I do find the strength stronger.

Pipe Used: cob

Age When Smoked: 4 years

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2011-09-17		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Another blend for when the sweet tooth strikes. Casing is light and hints at the moniker on the tin. Good quality Va. leaf in here which is the most important thing. The sweetness of the leaf blends nicely with the light melon casing. A great choice for the summertime out on the patio.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2011-05-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is the third in the series I have tried and I think this may well be the best of the three. Upon opening the tin, got a weird smell. Not the usual McClelland ketchup smell, almost a vinegary type smell. The broken flake is easily rubbed out and this blend lights up easily enough and stays lit with no real thought to it. The taste is quite nice and the room note seems to be not too offensive to those around. It produces a decent amount of smoke and burns down to a nice ash at the end of the bowl. I would definitely recommend this to all.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2011-02-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A nice sweet smoke, not an everyday smoke, but a nice change of pace from my normal rotation. I suggest grab a tin or three and enjoy...

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-09-12		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Just finishing my first tin. I'm very happy with this, as an aromatic. The sweet honey taste does not block the natural virginia taste. It gets better with age. Perfect in the mornings. Not ultra-sophistocated, but ultra-enjoyable. Worth having plenty on- hand.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-07-25		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Mild and soft.

Beautiful, thick broken flakes of light-medium colour.

Nice honey tin aroma that does not interfere with the tobacco taste.

Well suited for a beginner wanting to venture towards non cased/topped mixtures.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CPT/VSG (72)	2010-02-27		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just finished a 2005 tin of Honeydew. The tin indicates this as an Irish flake which I suppose includes some casing. If so, the casing is mild. Basically, Honeydew is a Virginia flake with a bit of a nutty flavor detected as well. It smokes cool once it is sufficiently dried. Not an everyday smoke for me but a pleasant change of pace on occasion.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-02-06		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I tried this because I liked Black Shag and Arcadia but this one threw me for a loop. What the heck happened? I remembered thinking. Where is the flavor? All I was able to get from this blend was a bit of sweetness and a pipe full of goo. I was very disappointed but relieved that the tin sample was free.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-12-10		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Give this some air! I smoked this one right from the newly open tin and got the gurgles. After drying this little jewel shined through. Easy light, soft draw, pleasant side stream. Nice indeed.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-11-26		Mild to Medium	Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Picked this tin up from my B&M as a last tin clearance buy. I should have let another bargain hunter pick it up. I like the flake style, but that's it. Melon taste is very overpowering. It tasted like I was smoking a car air freshener.

Not a blend for me.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-09-10		Very Mild	Very Strong	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

It seems to be good quality broken/semi rubbed out flake but the topping is just too much. I have smoke two bowls out of the tin. I will let it sit a while and come back to it but way over the top in the flavoring.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2008-08-27		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Honeydew...and the secret formula is a pinch of Burley and spoon of Molasses? Maybe not, but it might as well be.

Honeydew is a tasty broken flake consisting largely of what I assume is Virginia leaf. It's mild, and it doesn't remind me a bit of melons, despite the name. Honeydew has a sugary taste, that may or may not be all natural. That I don't detect a synthetic taste, however, makes this my kind of "aromatic".

McClelland has applied a nice touch with the nostalgia, going out of their way to craft blends that fit the Sherlock Holmes universe. I enjoy reading their tin notes..and request a blend in honor of the Speckled Band. Unfortunately, I'm not one for details, and as far as I know, they may have already done this. When I get around to reading the story, I suppose I'll know for sure.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-03-28		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a medium thick-cut, partially broken flake of gold VA along with a smattering of light burley, and black cavendish with a curious tin aroma of vanilla and pastry.

Moderately sweetened with a seeming brown sugariness, the typical McClelland VA ferment is evident and is slightly dulled by the burley and the cavendish. The taste is mild yet flavorsome with high grade virginia leaf, and the room note is particularly pleasant.

With quality leaf shining easily through the delicate casing, Honeydew is both elegant and accessible.

Chamber Gauge: Narrow to Medium

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-02-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

It's good, I like it, but it keeps me wanting for more. but in a good way. I smoke this in a nice big bowled billiard, and it never tires the pallette. Very natural sweet tasting. Finishes with a grey dry ash, no dottle, just a grey dry ash. Honeydew is a nice transitional tobacco for the aromatic smoker looking to get into VA's and Englishes. This makes for a nice afternoon smoke. It's a light bodied VA that won't knock you on your patoot! It has a pleasant sweet flavor and no bite whatsoever. The aroma is also very nice for a VA. This would make a good all day smoke, if you could afford it. To all aromatic smokers who are tired of hot, wet, smokes and gooked up pipes but are leery of Virgina and English tobacco's streghth, start of with this then move up from here. Before you know it, you'll be smoking 1792 or Irish Flake like a champ, respectively.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nonpareil (20)	2007-04-06		Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

Update: I have found this works much better for me in pipes with wider bowls. In a full bent Comoy's Gilded Grain, the experience was warm with a pleasent honey sweetness. I'm going to give this an extra star.

Let me preface my remarks, by saying that I am not a big fan of straight Virginia. I have tried a number of them over the years, without being impressed. Honeydew reminds me of the Mclelland Christmas blends, with a barely perceptible topping. The flavor lacks the sharpness of some Virginias I have tried, but has very little sweetness or complexity. I would call the flavor thin and cigarette-like. I did not rub this out at all, simply packing some of the broken flakes into an Upshall straight apple and lighting up. The blend burned cleanly with few relights, but tended to be hot. Perhaps some years of aging would bring out more flavor.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	constantsmoker (65)	2007-02-22		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A mild, albeit disappointing, blend. The gentleness of its tin aroma and smoke fragrance belies the fact that this tobacco has some bite to it if you are not careful. I think that Sherlock Holmes was better off finding two severed ears in the empty box of honeydew tobacco rather than this blend. That being said, this is not a "bad" tobacco, and VA afficionados may take to it far more readily than I did.

On another note, McClelland deserves a lot of credit for its attempt to re-capture the essences of late-Victorian era tobaccos smoked by the literary super-sleuth and his companion.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2006-10-22		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I've been trying to enjoy this off and on for a couple weeks now, and I must say that I just don't get it. It tastes nearly like a totally unflavored tobacco to me, with only a mild sweetness mingling with the typical McClelland tanginess. It is not, however, ketchupy or vinegary in any way.

It's not bad at all, just not good enough in my opinion to warrant the price. If were available in bulk at a good price, then it would be easier to justify this tobacco. I may, or may not, end up finishing the tin, but smoking it isn't something I particularly look forward to. I'll stick with the real Irish flake, Erinmore.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-10-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Though I don't believe this is a four-star scorer, its worth at least three but I still "highly recommend" it, resulting in the four star rating.

This would be a great introduction into Virginias...I find even the best straight VAs to be boring and unsatisfying in comparison to the usual richness of my light or medium English blends. This is neither straight VA nor aromatic though it does have some aromatic properties. The sweetness seems to come more from the tobacco than any flavoring, and the flavoring is indeed transient as some other folks said.

I am a die-hard McClelland fan and I did not initially think I would enjoy this blend, but it is now high on my list of occasional or moody smokes. This and Arcadia are outstanding.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-09-14		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Hmmm...What I don't like about McClelland flakes is that "keptchupy" smell that welcomes you upon the opening of the tin. Fortunately, the smell does not transfer in the actual taste of the tobacco. That smell takes a while to vanish, though. Weird...

Honey Dew is a nice flake, composed of medium brown leaf, golden brown and some shades of black. The flakes themselves are average in size,but a little ticker than usual. It needs to be rubbed out a bit to be easier to smoke. The tobacco feels nice in the hand as you break it, it reminds me of MacBaren's Golden Extra in the cut and feel, but they have no common ground for the rest. Honey Dew is a bit hard to light up and maintain, so this tobacco needs attention. The taste is good, it's rather sweet and mild, but still tasty. The flavouring is definitevely not too pronounced, which is good for me because I like to smoke VA's/Périque blends, I'm not into aromatics at all. My wife says the room note is rather weird, not exactly pleasant for her, but tolerable - and she always remains objective.

Honey Dew builds up a bit stronger in taste as I go down, but not much...the bowl is left clean and dry, which is important.

Besides the fact that the tobacco is a bit hard to light up and maintain,and that ketcupy smell, Honey Dew definitely remains a half-decent tobacco. The flakes are nice looking. It is not extraordinary, doesn't culminate in a unique smoking experience, but I've smoked many tobaccos not worthy of this McClelland blend.

I just wonder if Holmes would have smoked such a tobacco, though - I know, I know, he is a fictional character, but I'm just playing the game; for some reason, I picture him better with a stronger blend. But even Holmes, I guess, needed something milder every once in a while...

I think this tobacco would be a good beginning for anybody who wants to start exploring the Flakes world.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-04-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This blend is great, but you definitely need to concentrate on it to understand it and fully appreciate it. when you open the tin it smells of molasses, the coarsely cut leaves pack easily into a big bowl and burn very thoroughly. there is a slight sweet taste to the tongue and the smell of the honeydew is much more prominent in the smoke. I wouldn't call this a full aromatic but more of a semi-aromatic blend as the dominant taste and smell are of Virginia. give it a try.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-04-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Previous reviewers have done a good job of describing this blend, so I'll just say that Honeydew is a delicious smoke, if:

a) you dry it well

b) you smoke it slowly with concentration

c) you smoke it in a clean pipe

d) you don't mind a subtle honeydew taste that comes and goes as you smoke.

This is not at all a walk-around-and-do-things blend. This is a pay-attention-or-you-miss-it blend.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2006-03-16		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I made the mistake of breaking up the flake and stuffing my pipe with the stuff. It got way too hot. As other reviews here suggest, the best bet is to keep it more-or-less intact in the bowl. Once that is done, it's a fairly pleasant smoke. Of the 221b series I don't like it nearly as much as Arcadia. I'm going to let it dry out under the plastic lid for a few weeks and approach it again. Like a lot of McClelland's it's somewhat damp and may benefit from a little airing.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2005-09-07		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

An even, steady tobacco that doesn't really stand out. Its a good, traditional flavour, but I was looking for more of a honeydew taste. I would recommended Orlick's mild honeydew over this.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lochinvar (78)	2005-08-18		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

WARNING! This is not a Virginia Flake! It is a Honeydew! Now that we got that out of the way, this is a fine example of an Irish honeydew. The Virgina tobacco has a additive, that gives a more syrupy sweet flavor to the already nutty sweet Virginias (this is the Irish style, the English and Continental Style are not quite so cloying). This particular example always puts me in mind of a sweet corn pudding. Smoke if Viriginias are not sweet enough.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2005-05-18		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Revised 05-17-2005

This is an OK Va flake. After trying many other fine VA's, I just can't smoke this anymore. I guess it might be a nice novelty from time to time, but my taste has travelled elsewhere. It does have a nice room note though.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Darth 69 (117)	2005-01-04		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

THIS IS GOD AWFUL!!!!

I am sorry to say but I think McClelland keeps missing the mark on new blend developments. Most of thier blends, especially thier flakes reek of vinegar. I guess it is thier theme. That smell is there to but with an added twist of an addition of a sweetener to a blend of golden brown virgina broken flake. It creates a sort of power play between the vinegary tang and the syrupy sweatness analogous to a sweet and sour dish at a chinease restaurant. It is called Honeydew but it sure does not taste like it was flavored with honey. In fact it tastes like the cheap syrupy sugar sweetness found in generic cavendish. This simply does not work.

-Not recommended

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-07-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I enjoy this when I am in the mood for a light sweet virginia blend. This is sweeter than the tin aroma may lead you to believe. There may be a light honey topping but I think the sweetness mostly comes from the virginias. Even though this is a virginia blend I believe that there may be a small portion of burley in this in that on occasion I detected low notes that were cigar like. I may be wrong on this but I am a fan of virginia based blends with very small portions of burley and many of these style of blends have a very similar low note that occasionally comes through that straight virginia blends dont have. I prefer to smoke this dried out much more than the way it comes in the tin. It bites less smoked this way, however it still will bite with out much provocation. For this reason I give it 3 stars and not the highest rating. Recommended.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-04-25		Mild	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I am a McClelland VA lover, but this is just too sweet for me; I find it cloying. McClelland VAs are naturally sweet, so there is no need for further topping. I will struggle to finish my tin. However, Honeydew might be fine for an aromatic smoker looking to try a Virginia. The base tobacco is high quality and the burn is excellent.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Danno (106)	2003-12-16		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I am just getting 'round to a review for Honeydew. A friend passed over the last half of a tin, which I polished off in good time. I purchased another, which sat for a few months, then was smoked over a week, finishing up today. This tobacco is a rough cut, very pretty in the tin, not much "ketchup" aroma, more peppery to my nose, very "irish flakeish". Lightup is rather uneventful, frail wisps of smoke give way to a gentle taste experience. It certainly is a competent cake builder, and smacks of a quality blend of virginias, mostly sweet but not offputting to the non-aromatic crowd. Room note is pleasant, albeit heavy. I like this blend the most of the Baker St trio, it being welcome reprieve to my latakia inured palate. I will cellar a few tins.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blackhorse (96)	2003-10-29		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I was very pleasantly surprised. This is the first McClelland flake tobacco I?ve tried that is light enough for a breakfast or brunch smoke. I could detect a light topping in the tin aroma?some say honey?it doesn?t remind me of the melon honeydew aroma, but it?s light enough so that I can?t fully get a handle on it - enough to tag it. Neither can I detect it much in the taste of the smoke, but others near me can and several have commented as to it?s lovely quality: ?"like pumpkin bread baking"?"it reminds me of when I was a child and my mother used to bake cookies, and the like"?that from a woman at work. It?s always amazing how powerfully evocative an aroma can be. I was near a hero to that lady, as she walked around with a warm and dear memory for the rest of the day. Be that as it may, this tobacco parts, packs and puffs very nicely and has a fine medium taste. It seems to me to be one of those rare tobaccos (to me NOT an aromatic, per se) in which the light flavoring makes the smoking experience infinitely better than if it were not present. It works with and compliments the tobacco instead of frosting it like a layer of mud. I like this very much as I?m now exploring other light flakes such as Astley?s 109, Dan Pipe?s Hamborger Veermaster, Reiner?s Long Golden Flake, Bjarne?s Flake de Luxe and the like. They all fall into a category to me that is labeled: Excellent Smoking Experience! This is a 4 out of 5.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2003-08-30		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is a light tobacco that is good as an early morning smoke or an all day blend. It smokes smooth and cool. Don't let the name "Honeydew" scare you if your hesitant about aromatics. The flavoring has been applied with with reserve. It has a great tin aroma and room note, but again the flavoring is delicate and remains subtly in the background. It smokes well all the way down the bowl and becomes a little more medium bodied and flavorful as the bowl progresses. Overall I think McClelland has done a fine job with this much anticipated blend. If you like this blend, you may want to try Peterson Irish Whiskey.

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