McClelland No. 2035 Dark Navy Flake

(personal preference is dark/aged tobaccos in flakes or kakes in a large chamber pipe)

Very enjoyable smoke. I love the darker McClelland blends, so this is a personal favorite of mine. I use either cube cut (1/4") gravity packed or vertical unbroken flake allowing room for expansion. I rarely dry my flakes out like most people and find this blend to be a very pleasurable smoke using either of the aforementioned loading methods (without any drying). Takes a few charring lights to get started with both methods. Great blend and a nice cool smoke. I would have given a 4 star rating but it is not my absolute favorite.

I'm pretty sure McCranie's New Bedford is this bulk blend rebranded, and this was my review. I'm going to revisit it in the next couple days, and will add any new thoughts.

Wavered a bit between two and three stars while smoking this, and smoked three bowls on different days before reviewing it. It does look a lot like the picture of McClelland 2035; dark, thin flakes in varying degrees of falling apart. I have been in McCranie's several times, being originally from Charlotte, and though they do a lot of blending, I don't believe they press their own flakes. It is a small shop in the middle of a shopping center parking lot. They have done rebranded McClellands in the past. This is tasty, but my main problem with it is that it gives me some bite when I puff it hard, as I tend to do with these mellow stoved Virginias. It is not as forgiving as Dark Star or Esoterica Stonehaven (though I believe that one is a VABUR). I liked it better at the end of the bowl, when I could get the flavor I needed from smaller sips. This blend left some unsmokeable dottle at the very end, but that is not too much of a problem. Reasonably priced.

Yeah, not bad. Like easier to break up, cleaner burning Dark Star, but I think Dark Star is better. This may be easier to smoke than Dark Star, but it is easier to overdo it. I don't know-I do prefer the lighter Virginias.

Good Lord! Beef jerky anyone? Talk about a thick, pungent flake. This stuff just mesmerizes me. I love to stare at it in my Mason jar. I've just tried my first bowl of 2035 and must truly reserve judgment till I've smoked the entire jar. I will say that I'm mainly an English smoker but have a hankerin' for change from time to time. This sort of reminds me of Peterson's Irish oak, though it's been awhile since I've smoked that and it might just be my imagination. It sure smells like a McClelland's tobacco. As of right now I'll say I'm liking it.

Update: O.K., I've mainly been smoking Englishes this winter. Hell, that's all I've really been smoking for the last year. So when our shop started carrying other McClelland blends other then the Frogs, I had to try. I wasn't sure about 2035 at first but after going through my jar over the last couple of weeks and letting my mouth adjust, I have to say " oh yeah, I remember how great tobaccos are other then the English ones." This stuff is sweet in that wonderfully natural way. A solid, mild Navy flake that I recommend completely. Enjoy!

I really like this tobacco and when I hit the "zone" there are none better. It's a bit problematic in that the preparation is laborious and my tastes reacts very differently from smoke to smoke. Still it's a keeper and I try it out at least twice a week when I'm fully relaxed.

Oh my, oh my, I love this stuff. I read a little interview with the McClelland peoples and they choose their tobacco by smoking it before they even cure it and selecting only the leaves that "leave no aftertaste." They then cure it, stove it, do their magic until the tobacco's natural sugars and such come out and the tobacco is mellowed by at least "two summer sweats." They compared tobacco to peppers, which are harsh and biting in their raw forms, but are completely transformed by smoking and aging, drying, etc.

Anyway, these guys are geniuses and their tobaccos are the best I have tried. They are sweet, nutty, clean (no aftertaste, which is a criteria that I notice more and more these days), and just satisfying. This one smokes much much better after rubbing out and drying a bit. Actually, I've dried it up to overnight with great results, but even half an hour will help this tobacco. Again, right now this is my favorite, right ahead of McClelland's Blackwoods Flake and their Classic Virginia, in that order.

couple of months later... (wwha whha wwha, or that sound on I Love Lucy, the trombone?)

this is not my favorite tobacco any longer, and I guess I'm going to have to take a star off my previously enthusiastic rating. Perhaps, looking back at the McClellands, this is just as good, and I'll give it a three star, but sometimes, I'd like to say, something just goes south and leaves you going, does this taste like that? A couple of puffs later generally you're back on track, and maybe I've oversmoked this stuff as it has been my thing. I'll take a break, and move on for a while, give it another chance later. Is this a review or a journal? Hmm...

A fellow pipe smoker gave me a pouch of this stuff. The first time I tried this I found it one dimensional and just plain dark. The thought went through my mind, "why is this so special".

Then six months later I crumpled this up into my favorite Virginia smoking pipe (Wilmer Extra Grade A). This became a sweet deep Virginia that I couldn't put down. I smoked this from top to bottom enjoying it the whole way! Darn the torpedo's it was the last of the bag!!!

My suggestion is to can this up without a vacuum for a year and give it a whirl! It smokes cool and slow and finishes clean. 2035 is an excellent smoke for the experienced Virginia Flake smoker.

I smoke a good bit of 2035. As noted in almost all posts, yes this tobacco needs dry time. And, the microwave is almost an essential for this smoking tobacco. Once dried out this tobacco rubs out fairly easy, packs easy, and lights easy. 2035 must be smoked slow, if this stuff gets too hot it loses flavor. Quite similar to Dark Star. Enjoyable smoke.

It is the younger brother of Dark Star, with more bright and citrus flavors, minus some tangy and depth. Easier to pack and bulk price, it can substitute DS in my rotation.

McCelland Bulk No. 2035 - Dark Navy Flake [full cake cut]

Star Rating = 3

Pouch Note = 6

Room Note = 7

Flavor = 8

Bite = 8

Burn = 6

After Taste = 7

Raw Score = 42

Rated Percentage = 70%

Comment = Smooth, * Ketchup Pouch Note, Good Flavor, lots of BTU's needed to ignite, a little After Taste

* Foot Note: McClelland famous "Ketchup" aroma and / or taste comes from the natural fermentation of unstoved / non flue curded Virginias that are aged in cakes.