McClelland No. 2035 Dark Navy Flake

McClelland Dark Navy Flake

Tin Note - McClelland scent

Appearance - dark brown almost black broken flake

Texture - Very dense, fairly moist

Packs well as most flakes. On my first bowl, I allowed no drying time which was a huge mistake. My mouth paid dearly for it. It comes way too moist. I microwaved the rest for 10 seconds after seeing the successful posts pertaining to it. The second attempt was much better. I was tasting a lot of sour notes mixed with general VA flavor. I still had to deal with a good amount of relighting. Perhaps another nuke will fix it. As it stands now, this is too much of a hassle to remain in my rotation. It isn't a bad tobacco by any means, I just like to smoke more than I like to prepare.

Appearance: Small flakes, quite thick and leathery. Very dark brown, almost black, with a few lighter specks evident.

Aroma: Rich stoved Virginia aroma, with a trace of the McClelland ?vinegar? present initially.

Packing: Very difficult to rub out as it feels like a cross between leather and beef jerky. Maybe it?s supposed to be chewed? The best compromise for me was to just break it up into small irregular pieces. It was way too thick to attempt a ?sausage? style packing.

Lighting: Even when somewhat dried, it was very slow to light: sometimes requiring three matches to get a good coal on top.

Initial flavor: Oddly enough, the initial flavor was all high notes. There was no initial depth of flavor (middle and low notes), onlythe sharp tingly sensations that I associate with lemon Va. This persists for several minutes

Mid-bowl: It does settle down to a more satisfactory range of flavors, with fairly good interplay of layers. There is finally some of the depth and richness I expect in a Va. The tobacco burns cool and dry (mostly), but there is always a brightness or sharpness noticeable. The ash is a typical gray color.

Finish: I am usually unable to smoke this all the way to the heel, leaving some some dottle to get rid of. Mostly, it just won?t stay lit as moisture and tar accumulate in the heel.

Summary: Similar to Dark Star, but not as refined or well aged. Even at bulk prices, not a good value.

McClelland?s Dark Navy Flake (No. 2035) is a bulk, dark stoved Virginia flake similar in many respects to McClelland?s Dark Star but not nearly as refined.

The pouch aroma is very pleasing with a dark, natural tobacco odor. This odor is reminiscent to the smell of Worcestershire sauce. Dark Navy Flake is said to begin as a bright Eastern Belt Lemmon leaf and cutter grade tobaccos. This flake is dark black in color, with only slight hints of lighter brown shades showing through on some of the flakes.

The cut of Dark Navy Flake is a medium long flake cut and is rather thick. This tobacco is quite stubborn to rub out, and packing also takes certain effort. The moisture of Dark Navy Flake seems to be at the root of this blend?s downfalls. The flakes are deceptively moist and the excess moisture becomes apparent upon rubbing out and smoking. An extensive amount of drying is necessary for this tobacco blend.

Dark Navy Flake tends to resist being lit and its burn is medium slow and somewhat uneven. The ash appears as a mixture of a gray/black ash and dottle. The excess moisture limits the ability of Dark Navy Flake from burning to the bottom of the bowl. An unfortunate amount of tar or resin usually accumulates at the bottom of the bowl. The room note is enjoyable and has a pungent, dark, and true tobacco quality.

The flavor of Dark Navy Flake is rich, naturally sweet, and has very slight hints of spice and tang. Although this blend?s taste is enjoyable, it is not as complex as many other stoved Virginia flakes. The bite of Dark Navy Flake can be substantial at times. Again, this can be attributed to the ever-present excessive moisture. A medium smoke is given off by this tobacco.

Dark Navy Flake, simply stated, is a younger and less refined version of its counterpart Dark Star. The price difference between the bulk blend Dark Navy Flake and the premium tinned Dark Star blend is not enough to outweigh the negative characteristics of Dark Navy Flake. Aging, correctly done, would probably transform Dark Navy Flake from a mediocre tobacco into a great tobacco.

The tin note is like a smoky fruit.

The flavor is similar, it is a slightly smoky, fermented fruited. It was mild based on my expectations for something so dark in appearance.

A lot of this blend is squarely medium. Since they closed up, I wouldn't try too hard to seek this out, but if you can try someone without a premium, go for it.

You can view my video review of this blend here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s29OJXR3oA

This is very similiar to Dark Star with less quality. The strips look identical and are just as hard to rub out. With some extensive drying however, this is a passable stoved virginia. A little harsher and less flavor than DS, it is a bargain if you smoke alot of DS. I only smoke DS once in awhile for a treat however, and so will continue to buy the better stuff.

I would take exception to the statement that #2035 is Dark Star in bulk. If it is, then McC has a problem with blending a consistent product. I have a goodly sample of #2035 that has been cellared for well over a year in a well sealed jar, and a tin of Dark Star that has been opened about 3 months.

Both were too damp to begin with. The DS has smaller flakes, slightly darker, and is sweeter and richer. The #2035 seems flatter tasting, slightly faded Dark Star. Kind of like smoking DS through a filter.

I will continue to get my Dark Star fix from the real thing.

When I got this the tobacco had no smell in the bag. Placed in a jar for 6 months and opened it was very bland. Left open to air for a couple of hours and then closed the lid on the jar. 1 week later and a bouquet of sweet dark fruit and tobacco greeted me when I opened the jar again. The broken flakes really cannot be rubbed out but rubbing them gives me the same basic size as taking the time to cube it so it works fine. Gravity filled after a long dry time. This needs to be fairly dry so where you think you like it allow additional time to take away the moisture. Some reviews have noted that this is a complex blend but I have to say I missed the complexity this time but that just shows differences in taste. I get a strong dark fruit sweetness from the first puff until the end of the bowl. There is also a faint fermented grain note that comes and goes and gets a little stronger as the bowl develops. There is a very slight sweet spice that comes and goes but never seems to linger long. I get an occasional note of grass but no citrus at all. It never got harsh, ashy, or cigarette like at all. It will not bite but it did leave a little moisture at the bottom of the bowl. Nic is very mild it will not help with a craving. I prefer others but this is still a good straight VA. For me, I don't see a reason to look for a match for this one, however. 2.5 stars

If you like it dark, and I do..... This is an ok choice at best. I managed to go through two ounces of this but it wasn't a race to do so like other tobaccos I like. It's a nice light, pleasant first few puffs, goes through the bowl in a decent manner, leaves nothing after it's gone. Not even a little stand out. I love the prep work involved in cakes and such so that interaction may have been the best part. I'll buy again maybe, maybe not.

Got this from a fresh bag at my local tobacconist. Wet, it tastes like ketchup all the way down the bowl, even moreso than other McClelland blends. It smells like ketchup to everyone else, too. After two days of drying, it tastes like ketchup, but there is a note of a very mild burley virginia blend underneath it. If you smoke it slowly and nurse it, it's not terrible, but whatever natural tobacco taste is there, it's entirely overshadowed by the pungent taste of the vinegar that they add to it. If you can get this stuff to work for you, more power to you, but this has got to be the most briny tasting McClelland blend I've tried. They've got some good stuff out there like 5100, but this isn't one of them.