McClelland No. 2035 Dark Navy Flake

Bulk No.2035 Dark Navy Flake: Great raw note: sweet with figs, apricot and fresh cut mahogany, and yes, white vinegar. The room note is...undefined. Bland. No character, just smoky...something. Regardless, I love good Black Cavs, so for now, it is worth experimenting with. It's slightly sweet and even, with a nice woody nose, so I like that. I've read quite a few authors struggling with the prep. Suggestion: Do not microwave this. It is a mistreatment of fine tobacco, and defeat the entire effort that the blender intended for the smoker. You will only serve to change the character of the cake, not to mention the flavor. If for some reason you're in a big rush; use a good pair of sharp scissors and do a cube cutting; lay the cubes onto a paper towel for about a little while, then do a finger rubbing, and if it starts to crumble, it's ready to smoke. Drop the cubes in and light them up as is. Better yet, do the right thing and leave it alone. Let the cake dry for a good while on your tabletop. You'll know when it's ready because it will break up naturally. DON'T RUB THE HELL OUT OF IT. Pull it apart from the sides. As with all Virginias, the sugars will burn too quickly and you'll get tounge bite because the sugar converts to acid. The less you work it, the better the result on the palate. I used to mush, smash and over rub flakes and cakes in an attempt to create and meld. NO. When preparing and blending, let chemistry do the work. Of course this is not always the case, but as a general rule, I have found that prep and blending is a fine art of adjustment, and should never be a forceful thing.

Try it as a blending agent. Play around with it as I have. Light VA's, Turkish, other Cavs, Lats, Orientals. It's best in smaller amounts as a mellowing cutter. Added to strong ropes/twist it works well, too. As a stand alone, it's a bit one dimensional.

this is one of McClellands bulk blends. And its an excellent one, at that. But it IS a bulk blend, not inferior, but just less complex. And thats necessary, to be honest. Tudor House is a masterpiece but not something one can just smoke any old time. Dark Navy Flake is EXACTLY a blend you can smoke any old time. A heavily stoved thick cut virginia flake. Its a lot like Butera's dark stoved (and like Golden Cake, with the clear taste of lemon Va.) only cut thicker. In fact id guess its the same Virginias in fact. If its not, its very close. The Butera does seem a tad sweeter with a bit more of that raisin taste. But its close. This flake is an old school very moist type that needs dry time. Its a must. I give it an hour or more. But it burns as slowly as anything you can find out there and so its perfect for certain situations. Its a 3 and half star blend but im giving it four.

After having a shall we say, interesting, experience with a tin of Dark Star, I decided to grab a quarter pound of 2035 for comparison. Similar, very similar. DS has the edge in sweetness and spice, but 2035 is cheaper, and doesn't have copious amounts of vinegar to its nose. I gave Dark Star three stars here already, mainly due to the difficulty I had in figuring it out. Four ounces later with Dark Navy Flake and I'm still learning the best way to prepare and enjoy these damnable flakes. Normally my ADD personality would chalk these up as a waste of time, but when either one is 'on', boy howdy, they are a delight! I'm of a mind that with more experience, DS and DNF will both become familiar friends of mine. At last I hope so.

Three stars...hopefully with a fourth to be added soon.

Some say that this is a bulk version of Dark Star. I personally can tell some differences, though there are a LOT of similarities as well. Both are dark, stoved Virginias. Both have a wonderful spiciness to them. The flakes of 2035 are much thicker and heavier than those of Dark Star, and more difficult to rub out. 2035 will drastically benefit from a few months of aging, and a few years will really make it special, while Dark Star, though it ages well, also smokes like a dream from a new can.

2035 is a pretty moist tobacco, and as I mentioned the flakes are thick. I generally allow them a little time to dry a bit, but unlike Dark Star, which I find rubs relatively easily, I like to use sharp scissors to cut the 2035 flakes into little cubes, and THEN rub them a bit. Packing this tobacco is also a little tricky. For me, it seems best to sort of crumble it into a bowl, pack very gently, then crumble a bit more in. You don't want to pack this stuff at all tightly! Not a lot fluffs up on the charring light, and it might take a couple of extra matches to really get a good burn going. But it's worth the trouble.

The flavor of the tobacco is a little thin right at first, but very quickly rounds out, with a strong, rich overtone and a couple of different undertones; one that is nicely spicy and one that reminds me of raisins. As I said with Dark Star, though, the raisin taste works!

2035 burns slowly, and I've yet to experience bite from it. Sold in bulk, it goes for a good price, making it an extraordinary value. At that price, I'd highly recommend buying at least a pound, some Ball jars, and storing most of it for aging.

And, by the way, I really love this tobacco mixed half and half with 5115.

It took years to find unique products and fill out my pipe tobacco rotation. Mc2035 has been in mine for many years. There's been numerous, previous reviews describing flavor profiles so no need for redundanxy.

I'm adding my thoughts because McClelland is going out of business. They've had my business for 30 years due to their style.

Real artisans who will be missed but hopefully someone will pick up and continue their craft.

Best value in bulk blends. RIP

McClelland - No. 2035 Dark Navy Flake.

Regarding the appearance, it has to be one of the most unique flakes I've had. It's very dark, and looks as though after slicing the flakes they've been put under a clothes iron; they're very thin and slightly shiny. I note how some folks raise an issue with the flakes having too much water in them but mine are great where that's concerned. They only take a few seconds to prepare and then I'm on my way.

For the first third of the bowl it seems a bit boring, the main taste is a slightly sweet, stewed fruit one. After the first third the smoke becomes stouter; there's a delicate smokiness that joins in at the back and it tastes nowhere near as soft as it did for the initial part. I think this needs patience to allow the flavour to develop. After half the bowl an earthy taste comes through, but for the last quarter I get a bit of an ashy taste. I find no fault with the burn; it's very reliable. For the nicotine I'll go with the majority: medium.

Because of the ashy taste towards the end I'll only give this three stars instead of four.

Recommended.

Recommended.

This is quite

I think of this tobacco as the bulk version of McClelland Dark Star. Both are excellent, Dark Star being somewhat more flavorful and DNF being a bit less expensive.

DNF will not disappoint if you like sweet, stoved Virginias. The criticism that it is hard to light and keep lit is, IMO, overstated. So what if it takes another match or two or a few more seconds on the lighter to get it going, the taste will more than reward the effort. (Another technique for firing hard-to-light tobaccos is to put a little easy-to-light tobacco at the top of the bowl -- like starting a fire with tinder.)

DNF is essentially a high grade cavendish tobacco. The taste is a mild mix of citrus, coffee and leather, with a mellow, vanilla background note, and is deliciously sweet without being cloying.

I've rated it 3 stars but would give it 3.5 if that were possible.

If you like the bitter flavor of dark pressed VAs, or just want to discover what it's like, this flake could be for you. It's pretty monochromatic, so you had best like what it has to offer. It's a somewhat creamy bitterness, with a lot of flavor and not a large amount of N, and it lights and burns well.

Received this week , I smoked two pipes of this stuff , with quite disparate results between them.

The first one, in briar pipe, maybe not the most appropriate of which I have to smoke a flake of Virginias. Result: a flat smoking, tarry and totally bland. A weed to forget, apparently. Second smoking, into a clay pipe jus arrived. What a difference!! A tasty smoke, spicy, creamy and with a clear evolution going down the bowl. A snuff to repeat purchase.

The visual impression when opening the bag that comes the bulk, could not be better. Strips of a flake that looks like it was broken glass, chopped unevenly, with edges that could be said almost sharp, and of a deep black and bright, with a oily texture. The flake prettiest I've seen so far. It worths to stay a while looking, touching and enjoying its presence and texture.

The good feeling that their appearance has left in us comes in handy to tackle the next step before the smoke: the load and lighting. The 2035 is pretty damn hard in that aspect. The sheets are quite reluctant to get into strands, on the contrary tend to break (again we return to the glass) despite a significant degree of humidity and "break" like we would cut in very irregular cubes. So I loaded the first pipe and the ignition was a nightmare and light maintaining a pain. Forced to puff hard, the smoke was a disaster. We know the Virginias have to smoke them "cool " to not lose the nuances and subtleties. The 2035 I think is particularly sensitive to this phenomenon, and as we go a little over the smoked ruins temperature, providing monochrome and tarry taste .

Second run. Double round of grinding. Thed pipe lights better and it takes less work keep it going, although it is not a bed of roses. In any case sufficient to smoked at a rate slower, allowing cold smoked. 2035 In this case the range of developed aromas is far more generous and deep, with hints of roasted malt, nuts, spices, earthy nuances, bread and a nice mild sweetness . In the latter part of the bowl almost have sworn to be smoking a vaper, for certain phase spicy and "hot" going through the mixture, very similar to that provided by the perique .

Taking care with the speed is a very very nice snuff. It's not the most I like from McClelland, but I 'll buy more to age and see how it evolves.

Loads soft n-vitamine, or maybe soft - half as much. Medium bodied, smooth, pulling through at the end. A stuff recommended for all day, though it can get a bit boring if overused. NOT for beginners and "puffers" in any way.