McClelland No. 2035 Dark Navy Flake

Menacing looking dark flakes that are moist even after a few weeks. Works best with some drying time and slightly rubbed. The flavors, while not in your face, are interesting. There's sweetness, dried fruit and a very little spiciness that could be enjoyed all day. This smoke is very nice on contemplative, warmer days when nicotine is not required.

Virginia lover

Interesting stuff! Once you get a good smoke going off of this you get a full dose of fermentation flavors and aromas. I'd describe it like fermented hay, with the sour parts resembling sauerkraut or rhubarb.

Mine arrived way too wet smoke, so I let the whole 2oz dry out for a few days until the flakes felt dry but were still pliable. For some reason rubbing it out make it easier to smoke but make it loose the nice sour flavors. I've had more luck compressing a wad of flakes into a cylinder and then shoving that down into a cob as in step 2 of the Frank method.

Very similar to "Dark Star", I like it and I like the price.

I agree with reviewer, "DK 03/22/2012 ", it's got to be dryed , but I also agree with reviewer, "scottyspipesebay 06/23/2012" don't overdue the microwave or prep, when it's right, it's 4 stars

3/30/2015- I've had this cellared for two years , and it just bit me bad. "It just wasn't right" !

(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!

Like a nice "B movie." A lightly stoved, dark-flaked Virginia. Sweet-smelling in the pouch and I never detected the ketchup smell. My bulk sample was on the drier side which was a good thing as DNF took to the match readily with a minimum of re-lights. A mildly pungent, mildly Virginia-sweet smoke. I didn't detect any casing or top note with this one. Although never a regular in my rotation - nor in my Virginia line-up - whenever the mood did strike, I was never disappointed. It seemed to go best in a smaller-bowled pipe. An "old reliable" 3 star smoke.

UPDATE 5-18-17: I've revisited this after many years and am upgrading to 4 stars. I'm more noticing a nice molasses/brown sugar note to this smoke, especially on lighting. A smooth smoke that didn't take much preparation to enjoy.

As many others have said...this isnt quite Dark Star but to my mind it stands very well on its own.

I/ve smoked about 1lb now and have some more on order to store and savour. It certainly improves quite quickly in jars...I've noticed a richer flavour as I progress through my present supply but I am sure theres much better to come.

It's rich, dark fruit laden taste is just wonderful; it smells so good you almost feel like eating it...I could sit and sniff the jar for ages and I've felt no tongue bite either...but then I've learnt to smoke it gently through experience I might add!

Definitely one of my favourites and well recommended. As an aside I can quite see where the previous reviewer was coming from when he said that he was finding a salty taste as well.

Altogether a fine fine tobacco.

01/06/08 I was smoking a bowl of aged 2035 and re-reading my 2003 review and I wanted to add/correct a few things. First, I still enjoy 2035 very much. I am now smoking 2035 that has been aged more than 3 years (sealed in Mason jars with paraffin) and it only gets better and better. I find the more I smoke 2035 the more the taste grows on me. Or perhaps, the more the taste grows on me the more I smoke it. And when I think I only paid $100 for 5 lbs. it seems like quite a bargain, too. I can still find it for about $150 for 5 lbs. now, so it's still a good deal.

In my '03 review I refer to sweetness a lot, however now I taste more of a salty taste (in a good way). The flavors are pretty deep and rich with more bass than treble. And boy does it become smooth! Absolutely no hint of tongue bite, which is pretty remarkable for a McClelland Virginia! I often try to make it bite by pulling really hard for a few puffs. All I get is a burst of smooth, rich, and tasty flavor. Still, slow breath smoking is the way to go with 2035. Over the years I have altered the way I prepare 2015 for smoking. After aging anyway, there is no need for drying. The dark black flakes come out of the jar at a perfect packing and smoking humidity. I simply roll a ball and stuff it into my pipe as made popular by Buck on ASP. I will rub out a little tinder to layer the top. It does take a few matches to get it going, but it then burns extremely well and re-lights are a snap with a Zippo.

I changed my strength rating from "mild to medium" to "medium", and my taste rating from "medium" to "medium to full".

07/09/03 For the record, the sample I'm reviewing was aged in a Mason jar for one year. It's the end of about a half pound that I've been smoking for the last year. Of course, 2035 is a dark stoved Virginia that is sold in bulk form. Some say it's the same as Dark Star; I'm not sure.

I didn't need to rub this bowl out, because it's already broken due to the length of time it's been in the jar. It lit with one match and I tamped and re-lit. The flavor is sweet and mild; I'd call it a delicate sweetness. Sometimes it's so mild that I have a tendency to over-puff. The trick for me is to take long, slow draws. This way I don't burn my tongue and I can taste the subtle, sweet Virginias. Towards the middle of the bowl, the flavor increases. This is where 2035 really gets good. Mid-bowl, 2035 is one of the best tobaccos I've ever smoked. The sweetness builds through the bowl and finishes rich and tasty.

Along with 2010 and 2015, this is one of the great McClelland bulk tobaccos. The only downside to this blend is that it can be difficult to manage. It comes rather moist and needs to be dried a bit.