Mac Baren Navy Flake

Yes - Virginia, Burley, Cavendish combination, and I think the only MacBared offering I keep coming back to. As with any MacBaren blend, it 'smarts' the tongue just enough to let you know it can and will bite, if it is not smoked with due respect.

If smoked at its own pace this is a very rewarding smoke indeed. Contrary to MacBaren's own recommendation of folding and filling, I find a full rub-out and a loose fill in an oversized bowl really does draw out the full flavour and intensity of this blend; it also, in my opinion, reduces the dreaded bite'.

5 stars MacBaren!

Love the tin, nice design, small, compact. Sparkley foil wrap and lovely tin aroma, sweet as can be. This is the third totaly different blend that I've found under "Navy Flake" and as far as I can tell this one doesn't even have rum in it. I think that the Cavendishes must provide most of the sweetness and aroma here.

The flavour and smoke is nice and spicy, bouyant and lively. A bit of a pick-me-up is this if you ask me. I've found that it can bite and burn hot but if smoked gently it's lovely. Burns very easily so that isn't a problem and the flakes are perfect for packing by just folding and stuffing.

It's nice, I like it.

A solid unsophisticated flake-tobacco by MacBaren. Buy a tin, grab a flake, fold and twist, load the pipe and smoke away. better sip away. It can taste like burnt rubber if smoked too hot. Tobacco has typical sweet honey & raisins smell. Quite a sweet smoke. I give it 3,5 Stars!!!

I smoked this mixture for the first time today. I passed the time by watching a relaxing drama on the tele. I actually forgot about the tobacco due to it really doing its job, relaxing me. At the end of the bowl it gave me a bit of a nicotine hit. Very good baccy. I would buy a tin if I saw it.

This is the first flake that I have tried, and I truly enjoy it. Have received compliments on the room note. Smooth with no bite. A Must Try.

I just had to post a review on this one. Great, great tobacco, it has begun a personal quest to find equally great flakes. Plums, a little rum and a great natural sweet tobacco taste. I smoke outdoors mostly so it is good on the burning side. My lack off experience can not give me the true words to describe how fantastic this tobbacco is.

I tried peterson's university flake, hoping it would be as good, also great but it is more expensive than Navy F and doesn't have the same level of fruitiness as Navy. This too me is the perfect balance between a real tobacco experience, with the sensual joy of a sweet mild aromatic included. I now know why men went to sea in wooden crates. My main down point would be it's a bit dry and dusty sometimes.

TIP: Do check the Mac Barens website to see the history of and technique for smoking such flakes.

Just after encountering Navy Flake I quitted Mixtures (both Scottish and Danish blends). This is one of the best tobacco smoking with best pipes. I highly recommend NF both aromatic and non aromatic lovers.

I was given a tin of Navy Flake by way of a box pass. I was a bit surprised when I read that it was a burley blend. While Burley is not usually my leaf of choice, there are notable exceptions, and I never avoid a tobacco until I have tried it and it has given me reason to avoid it.

The flakes are nicely variegated in shades of light to dark. I prefer mine rubbed out completely, which was easily done. The tin aroma was mildly sweet. Another reviewer described it as being like honey. Sounds good to me, I?ll go along with that.

The flavor was quite pleasant, and there was no suggestion of bite, nor was there any unpleasant after-taste as I frequently find with burley blends.

Navy Flake was a happy experience for me. I enjoyed it from the easy rubbing out of the flake to the way it burned evenly and cool right to the bottom of the bowl. Even the finish was pleasant, and left me wanting more. Subtly sweet, all natural. I could probably smoke it all day long. The room note is nice, with an almost aromatic quality to it. I don?t think there is actually an aromatic topping, I believe that the taste comes from the combining of the natural flavors of the Burley & Va. leaf and the Cavendish process.

This is an old favorite I have been smoking for a good many years. Sometime ago I was able to purchase a number of tins for $4.39 each. So, naturally, I bought everything the tobacconist had in stock and this tin has been in my basement for several years. In the tin it smells almost identical to Mac Baren Dark Twist, the aroma of cinnamon toast. It has a smooth sweet tobacco flavor. For me it does not have the distinctive burly flavor of Barbary Coast or Edgeworth Sliced. It does, however, provide delicious tobacco flavor, and is quite sweet. Very easy on the tongue with no bite. In my opinion, this tobacco has often been copied by several German manufacturers in their treatment of Virginia flakes, but has never been duplicated. Despite the sweetness, it could be an all day tobacco because it delivers excellent tobacco taste. This would be a big step up for the aromatic lover. Along with Symphony, Plum Cake, Dark Twist and the Solent Mixture, it is among my favorites from Mac Baren. Paddy.