Unlike some other reviewers, I tend to break this down by peeling the flakes longwise into fine strands with some length to them, rather than rubbing and crumbling it down into little hard bits. Once it is fine enough to tangle, I pack it more tightly than normal, usually into a low, wide bowl. I then have no issues whatsoever getting it lit and keeping it going, right to the bottom of the bowl. Puts out rich, luxurious clouds of dense, fragrant smoke. This has become one of my frequent evening companions, sitting out over the lake bidding adieu to the fleeting sunset and ushering in the blackness of night, as the balmy breezes rustle the maples. As the darkness descends, Dark Star provides euphoric accompaniment to Lustmord's The Place Where the Black Stars Hang and a quality tawny port. A worthy and memorable experience, now go find out for yourself what McClelland's can do with virginias and carolinas in this savory blend...

UPDATE: It was so tempting I decided to, in fact, throw a pinch of Lane's BCA in with a bowl of Dark Star. The results were predictable...an even more intoxicating smoke, with slight hints of sweetness which counter and balance the tanginess and slight tar-like qualities, to further mellow the smoke and smooth out the taste very slightly. Even more fragrant room note, just as cool smoking, and simply low-maintenance to light and keep lit, right down to the bottom of the bowl, with an occasional gentle tamping. If you like Dark Star, and are also an aromatic fan, try a small pinch of Lane's BCA or some other high quality black cavendish such as Bennington's Raven or McClelland's VBC. You won't be disappointed.

I have had problems keeping it lit, and the best way to handle it (besides obviously drying it out) is to be more aggressive than usual with your charring lights and relights -- counterintuitive for a Virginia. DS requires some patience and determination along the way. I personally have no problems with the latter; it's the former that I lack. But once you get it going, it will reward you, and the last third is sublime. This stuff is vinegary, rich, satisfying and doesn't bite. It pairs extremely well with a good California Cabernet Sauvignon, such as Rodney Strong.

So why two stars? It's too high maintenance for me.

I tried this blend a number of years ago and my recollection is that I didn't like it. However, after reading the praises and at the recommendation of a friend, who was kind enough to give me an aged tin, I decided to try it again and see if my dim memory was correct.

I have a pretty one sided negative view of this blend even still. I don't particularly agree with the negative comments some others offer about the flake itself, which rubs out easily and burns easily enough if dried out to optimum smoking level. In fact, the easy rub and burn is about the only thing I can find here that isn't problematic.

I opened my tin and before I could bring it up for a sniff, the overwhelming funk of the legendary McClelland ketchup and vinegar casing rose to greet me with all the subtlety of being hit in the face with a 2x4. In order to write a review I loaded a bowl into a sacrificial pipe and struggled to smoke it, hoping the taste might eventually become tolerable, which I'm afraid, never happened.

Frankly, I do not understand how McClelland survives, obviously collaborating with the folks at Heinz, to create their signature character that infects all the blends I've sampled. Obviously, there is a population of smokers out there that enjoys this flavoring. I don't.

The ketchup handicap is worsened by the addition of what is euphemistically described as "spice". This seems to also be a topping of some sort and is unlike anything I've ever tasted in a "natural" tobacco.

In summary, I had to cover the tin and get it out of the room in order to escape the nauseating potpourri wafting from the can. There are very few blends that I cannot manage to smoke through 50 grams of and find some redeeming quality. This one is headed directly for the trash, less the one bowl I've suffered through. Uggggh.

This is an aged Virginia that has been pressed and stoved. Now, we are into "real" tobacco! Tobacco that stands completely on its own without any added flavoring. I have a place in my heart for this stuff even though I generally smoke mild aromatics. I can really appreciate this as a treat but not an all day blend by any means. I'll rotate this with my heavy Latakia Blends because I do love non-aromatic leaf, especially matured Virginia. This is exceptional. A little goes a long way in a big bowl. You will need some re-lights and some tamping. I simply folded the slices and jammed them into the bowl. All in all, an exceptional treat.

In the bowl, Dark Star offers a pleasant combination of rich, syrupy spice and semi-sweet chocolate with notes reminding of wood smoke, old cinnamon sticks, molasses, and the caramelized sugar crust of crème brûlée fresh from under the broiler. For this reviewer, allowing the flakes to smolder (accompanied by measured sipping) produced the best results. DGT is delightful as is the second half of a fresh bowl, where the flavor nuances begin to emerge. Dark Star goes particularly well with a cup or two of freshly ground, dark roast coffee, preferably after dinner. On the full side of medium bodied, the finish is long with a savory, woody tang.

Not for the impatient, Dark Star is much quicker to punish inattention than it is to reward persistence. At the same time, however, this reviewer is left with a sneaking suspicion that there is more going on in these odd black flakes than just one tin can reveal. Based on a tin dating to 2004, it is highly unlikely that Dark Star could ever become an ‘everyday Virginia’ around these parts, but it does beckon for more attention and further consideration down the road. Given the constituent tobaccos of the blend, its suitability for cellaring and long-term aging seems obvious.

It's a coal black flake not unlike Stonehaven in appearance. First time I tried it, I tried rubbing it, but it doesn't really want to cooperate with such treatment - the flakes just broke up into small chunks. So I started cube cutting(a very fine cut with the small scissors on my Leatherman) and gravity feeding (my method for almost any flake anymore) and it burns perfectly from the very first light. A lot of people complain about lighting this stuff and keeping it lit, but the cube cut-gravity feed method works great for me with virtually any difficult flake.

I made the mistake today of working in the yard with a pipeful of this in my jaw. Not a good idea, since I can't concentrate on the pipe when I'm hanging Christmas lights. I unconsciously puff too hard and it gets bitter like Irish Flake seems to be all the time for me. This tobacco needs to be treated like a fine Virginia - slow and easy, sipping and savoring. When I pay attention to it, it comes alive.

On sipping, the VA sweetness is very forward in the flavor, while the Carolina (I think just another name for Burley - please correct me if I'm wrong) and dark stoving provide a smokiness that borders on cigar- or cigarette-like ashiness, but if the temperature is carefully controlled this can be eliminated. Then you're left with just a rich, primal, slightly complex, smoky flavor that simply satisfies.

Dark Star fills a void somewhere between FVF and Irish Flake. It's got enough quality Virginia (which we expect from McClelland) to provide a solid foundation of flavor, and enough whatever else they throw in there to create a diversion from your everyday smoke. I'm going to give it four stars because I like unique, especially when done with such high quality constituents. I certainly hope to buy more for long-term aging.

I bought my first tin of this stuff more than a year ago and had no real intention of ever buying it again. But time went on, and like many have also said, there is nothing else like Dark Star on the market.

The second time I bought this tobacco, i decided that there was a simple way of resolving most of the issues involved with it. I took the entire tin of tobacco, and methodically rubbed it out into an old cigar box, spreading it evenly along the bottom. I then let the box sit on the shelf for about two days before transferring the tobacco back to its original tin.

The next day i simply opened up the tin, loaded a bowl of my nice, dry, loose flake, and very much enjoyed the depth and flavors of the stoved Va. Only recommended because it burns much too hot, if i puff constantly for twenty seconds, the bowl becomes too hot to hold and i am forced to set the pipe down.

I have mixed feelings on Dark Star. First, it is too moist to smoke out of the tin - even though you may think otherwise. Second, it is one of the most finicky of flakes to rub out. One has to take delight in having to really work a bit to get this stuff in smoking form. I preferred to fully rub out Dark Star rather than to fold it into the bowl. I use the term "rub" with this tobacco, but you have to physically break it up almost like one would snap twigs. Third, Dark Star is touchy at staying lit. It will take a few matches to get it going consistently, but eventually, it finally does stay lit. Fourth, if you smoke it too fast, it will heat up your pipe to levels you want to avoid.

Now, with all of that said, it is an intriguing smoke. If you take it real slow and just meditate on the flavor, a number of flavors will unfold, the most dominant being dark chocolate and smoke. The smoky taste may overwhelm some but I can guarantee after a full bowl of smoking Dark Star, one's mouth does taste like an ash tray - so much so, you will need a smoky scotch on the rocks to tame the smoke of Dark Star. Fortunately, the nicotine level is low, so the depth of this tobacco can be enjoyed. There is no hint of tongue bite on the positive side.

So, do I like Dark Star? Hard to say - especially when I have Frog Morton to compare it to. When I make the comparison, the ease and softness of the Frog is much more appealing. In conclusion, I'll repeat what the salesman at my tobacconist said about Dark Star: "it's different than anything else on the market and one should try it at least once". Will I smoke it again? Sure, but in a smaller bowl after it has a chance also to age a bit. This one is somewhat recommended.

Dark Star needs a few relights while you're smoking, but in between those relights, what a wealth of flavours! Sweet, Spicy and Smoky. With a few hours drying beforehand, and slow and gentle puffing, I've never experienced tongue bite.

I've heard many McClelland blends described as having a tin aroma like ketchup, but I personally find it closer to the English "HP Sauce."

Dark Star not only has that distinctive McClelland tin aroma, but for the first half of the bowl you can actually taste it in the background. If you're like me and love the McClelland aroma, this makes for a delicious smoke.

Further down the bowl, new flavours come through. In some places it's almost like Latakia, in others - particularly in the bottom 1/3 of the bowl - it's vaguely like licorice or aniseed.

I reckon it's beaut.

All said, not steady fare but some fun stuff. This tin should last me years.

Updated: After a couple of months of fooling with this as a rolled plug in the bowl I fully rubbed out the remaining 3/4 of my tin. The result was startling. The candy-like cinnamon / Atomic Fireball flavor simply disappeared, replaced with an entirely different experience. Smoked with this preparation it is more like MacBaren Plumcake (but better). Still a novelty smoke for me, however.

I fill a pipe or two with folded flakes and then leave them overnight and smoke them the following evening and thsu I never have problems with the burn at all.

Many have accurately described the rich sweetness of the blend; I do not think there's anything else that approaches it by a mile. And I love the tin scent too...wonderful!

I have one quibble and it's this that drops it a star...I have a tin of DS from 2007 open and a jar of 2035 that I stored away also in 2007. I cannot tell any difference, in the look, the smell or the smoke. So while I hold onto my precious tins of Barry Levin DS from the 1990's and the few more recent tins, what I buy now to store is 2035.

to start with I'm predominantly an English and Balkan smoker, so that's where I'm coming from. That said, I knew I needed to overcome my fear of being bitten by VA's, and to be honest the tin design sold this to me. I am a simple soul.

On opening the tin I was hit predominantly by the smell of uncooked Christmas cake, a rich plummy odour. The ketchup smell was also there but expected, and I know it has no bearing on the smoke whatsoever. The flakes themselves were dark, rich, and had a rubbery feel, moist as they were. Being fairly new at contemplating the tobacco itself, rather than the pipe I smoke it in, I was surprised not to see any trace of bright colours, something I found reassuring as a man with VA phobia.

I know that flakes can be a problem, and I prefer dryer baccy, so I gave it 30 minutes before rubbing out and packing a small Kaywoodie Zulu fairly solidly. I then sprinkled some of the "dust" on top as kindling.

I light using the "5,3,1" method, ensuring a deep overall burn, and settled down with some trepidation, praying my tongue would survive this pure Virginia experience.

It did.

Not only that, but I was rewarded with a long, cool smoke, free of any bite. I put this down to the triple ageing and stoving. As always the second half of the bowl produced the most satisfying flavours. The smoke is white and billowy, and unlike many other reviewers I had no trouble keeping it lit, mainly I think due to frequent and gentle tamping, and that good initial light.

This is a great introduction for a new VA smoker, which surprises me as it has the feel of a "high end" tobacco, which I would have initially imagined would be fairly temperamental, as most pedigrees are. I am pleased to say this has been an outstanding introduction for me to the world of VAs, and has given me the confidence to approach VAs as a regular part of my smoking experiences. Highly, highly recommended.

I still have a couple of tins that I'll age for a couple of years to see if it gets any better, but the heavy stoving doesn't make me think so.