McClelland Christmas Cheer 2002

Christmas Cheer is McClelland's unflavored Virginia series presenting one harvest as a separate tin each year; 2002 is a release from the series' earlier years. In the series, matured orange-red Virginia leaves dried by the flue-cure method are pressed into cake, aged, sliced, and then partly broken up before being tinned as broken flake. What sets the series apart is that each year comes from a separate crop and the tins change as they age. The tin note carries a sharp, tangy vinegar-like acidity characteristic of McClelland Virginias; in the smoke, the leaf's natural sweetness and a bready line stand out, with no flavoring added. Since the brand closed in 2018, no new release has come out.