McClelland Dark Star

I recently had the pleasure of trying Dark Star, thanks to a friend who sent me a good portion of it from a tin he had been aging since 1999. (Review written in June 2004)

This was my first encounter with the famous (or infamous) ketchup smell. I definitely smelled vinegar with a bit of tomato sauce.

I dried the flakes a bit and loaded up. The initial charring light gave a bit of the vinegar taste, but it vanished quickly. It was replaced by a smooth, rich Virginia taste that was both sweet and dark at the same time. A hint of spice dances across the palate from time to time giving dimension to the smoke that I simply didn?t even expect.

Smoked slowly, DS is a cool flavorful smoke. Lots of full Va taste that just seems to get better and better as the bowl progresses. Properly dried, DS burns easily and evenly. I smoked it in a variety of pipes, and as I expected, I enjoyed it the most in a narrow bowl. I now smoke DS in my deepest narrow bowl Stanwell. The deeper the bowl, the better as this one definitely improves as the bowl burns lower.

I never had a hint of tongue bite, but then I am very careful with Va?s and smoke them very slowly. I have no doubt that rushing this (or any Va) would be a major mistake.

When I finish what I have here, I will no doubt be ordering more Dark Star. In fact, I plan to order quite a bit of it, because I know how well it ages!

Um. Don’t be hating on me, but I just cracked open a four ounce tin from 1997. The tin was puffy with fermentation, and after that delightful whoosh, my senses were overwhelmed by currants and plums. The mixture of mostly broken and some unbroken flakes shimmered (honest to goodness) with sugar crystals. I darn near trembled transferring the contents to my bail top mason jar (for storage).

I left out two full flakes which I crumbled and loaded into my Benni Jorgensen smooth Dublin. I agree with other observations that the flakes don’t rub out well, but rubbing does indeed reduce them to a small enough size to gravity load, and there’s always a bit of fine tobacco left over for “kindling.” After experimenting with various ways to load Dark Star, I found that this is the best way to smoke this blend.

The sweetness and aroma filled the air, as I patiently, and ever so slowly, smoked my way thru the bowl. A noticeable amount of spice was always in the background. Fruit and spice gave way to chocolate and spice. The flakes are dark, almost black, and still a bit leathery after 21 years in the tin. No bite at all (okay, I did smoke this very, very slowly—the high sugar content of such an old Virginia tobacco pretty much requires this). Sweet flavor and accompanying room note. Moderate nic hit. Lightly packed the now broken flakes expanded to fill my bowl. And for what it’s worth, I had no difficulty keeping my bowl lit. Burns down to a fine mostly white and gray ash, with (I don’t often see this) a good bit of tan colored ash, as well.

Some would call this a sibling of Blackwoods, but I was impressed at the flavor, aroma, depth and complexity of this blend. I have a preference for just red Virginias, or blends with a strong red Virginia presence (think No. 27, McCranies, Aurora and 5100), but over time this blend has really grown on me. Highly recommended if you can find a tin. This is a top notch dark stoved Virginia—if that’s your cup of tea. An ode to a well-cellared tobacco, I’ll break this out as a treat on and off over the coming year.

This is a truly great VA and others have mentioned, it requires attention, although I will say if you adopt the breath smoking method, it is very well behaved...once lit. I will also encourage all smokers that haven't tried Virginia's in a meerschaum to try it. I believe this really is the best way to enjoy VA tobacco with reduced fuss due to the ability of meerschaum to absorb moisture and cool the smoke. Tin note, classic McClelland ketchupy Virginia. I have not microwaved the tobacco, although I may give it a try but it does need significant dry time. I break up the flakes by hand or run them through a grinder and then leave on a plate for at least 12 hours. It is usually pretty crispy by then which may scare some off, but it smokes very, very well once dry. Gravity fill with a light tamp is all you are going to be able to do, it is like loading gravel in a bowl.

after the charring light I do get the first few puff's of ketchup or A1 sauce on the tongue. Some say the smell doesn't go into the smoke but in this particular one it does for me, every time. It slowly evolves into more of a stewed fruit, like raisins and figs. It has a little spice and and citrus, but very subtle citrus as it comes and goes. There is a toasty bread like flavor as well, like well toasted rye bread with jam. It is really very good and for a Virginia has amazing depth and complexity. I usually to to Virginia's for a simple reliable smoke that I don't have to think about but this one is different. This is a treat and should be enjoyed when you have time to contemplate the flavors....plus if you don't and puff away you may scorch your tongue out of your mouth. Breath method to me is best, it will never bite and the flavors can be thoroughly enjoyed.

I can't really add much that has already been said.

Dark star is a wonderful tobacco, sweet, tangy and a little bit spicey.

I find it to be a very full flavored virginia, there isn't any searching for flavour here its not subtle, it's a straight foward tasty smoke.

Needs a good drying out, I recommend cube cutting it quite small or what I do is cut it into twigs losely fill the whole bowl leaving a small layer on top for what u can rub out which is dust and broken cubes.

This stuff is like asphalt, once you get it going it's burns nicely, requires a few Tamps and relights, almost impossible to rub out once dry so prepare is while still wet.

These very dense, almost rubbery, flakes are black to very dark brown. They smell of dark, deep, rich fermented fruit with just a hint of hay. There is also the typical McClelland VA smell that mixes with the sweetness perfectly and tickles my nostrils with each whiff.

I have found that rubbing out the flakes, letting them dry a bit, then gravity feeding them into the bowl is the best way to handle this tobacco (as many others have also noted). I have also found that just folding the flakes will work as well, though this will take more relights. Once you do get this lit it stays lit well with very light tamping rarely. This tobacco burns quite slowly.

The smoke is creamy, smooth, and rich with deep dark fruit flavor. One reviewer stated it perfectly..."What kind of fruit? I don't know..." I agree, it's hard to narrow down what the flavor is, but I'd say it's just rich, deep, natural sweetness with hints of hay and sometimes spice, like cloves, now and again. If you push this tobacco and puff hard, you can get more spice out of it along with some woodiness. Otherwise, if you sip at a regular pace you will enjoy one of the best naturally sweet tobaccos I've had the pleasure to enjoy.

A dark, dare i say, black, broken flake that a lover of deep and rich tobaccos will be almost overwhelmed by. Its quality is beautiful. The tin/pouch scent is itself beautiful. And non-smokers wont hate for picking this one as its room note is that of a gentlemans study; lush, rich, deep and dark. Its not hard to imagine oneself pondering the worlds woes whilst seated at a beautiful mahogany desk, before reaching for your pen to write memoirs. A tobacco that takes you away to a place of thought, and not one to miss out on

Happy piping

Dark Star has become one of my favourites, but it's a finicky tobacco that needs a bit of preparation before it's ready to smoke. It has a higher moisture content than most flakes and needs quite a bit of drying. My preference is to rub it out and leave it for a few hours on a piece of A4 paper on my desk before I'm likely to use it. Packing a pipeful the night before also helps.

Dark Star needs a few relights while you're smoking, but in between those relights, what a wealth of flavours! Sweet, Spicy and Smoky. With a few hours drying beforehand, and slow and gentle puffing, I've never experienced tongue bite.

I've heard many McClelland blends described as having a tin aroma like ketchup, but I personally find it closer to the English "HP Sauce."

Dark Star not only has that distinctive McClelland tin aroma, but for the first half of the bowl you can actually taste it in the background. If you're like me and love the McClelland aroma, this makes for a delicious smoke.

Further down the bowl, new flavours come through. In some places it's almost like Latakia, in others - particularly in the bottom 1/3 of the bowl - it's vaguely like licorice or aniseed.

I reckon it's beaut.

Perhaps one of if not the most popular stoved Virginia is McClelland?s Dark Star. Dark Star is a prominent member of McClelland?s Personal Reserve Series.

Dark Star has an almost choclately aroma with definite hints of spiciness. The initial slight acidity of the aroma disappears after the tin has been opened for some time. The Dark Star blend is the result of aging, pressing, and stoving of Virginia and Carolina leaf tobaccos. The color of Dark Star is, as the name implies, dark black/brown giving the flakes an almost fudge like appearance.

Dark Star?s cut is a medium-thick, wide, flake cut with some pieces measuring 2? x 1.5?. Theses flakes are quite stubborn to rub out, especially to a finer consistency. Packing of Dark Star can best be done with the more course portions nearer the bottom and the finer well rubbed portions on the top to help facilitate lighting. The initial moisture of Dark Star is on the medium high side but can be remedied by drying for at least two hours.

Dark Star needs more charring relative to other tobaccos for an even first light. Once lit, Dark Star burns surprising well to a complete thick gray ash. This blend burns best with deep, steady, and long draws. This tobacco burns very slowly and tends to become cooler as the smoke progresses. The room note is pleasant in a tangy natural tobacco way.

A dark, tangy, and spicy taste characterizes this tobacco. The taste seems to become only richer and more complex as the burn continues developing and almost creamy characteristic. No flavorings were detected. Dark Star, being a bright tobacco, certainly has the ability to bite but smoking slowly and removing most of the moisture can all but eliminate this. Dark Star smokes especially well in a calabash pipe.

Dark Star is a refined and elegant smoke. Its rich and tangy yet spicy flavor fails to impress. A true accomplishment by McClelland.

This blend requires a lot of patience and a lot of preparation. A broken flake, it is quite most straight out of the tin. Dry out the tobacco to a proper humidity (more on the dry side) and rub it out or cube cut it for best results. Upon smoking, the blends provides a solid stoved Virginia flavor and the quality of the lead shows. Is it my favorite stoved Virginia? No. But it is very good. Unfortunately, unless you find some old stock it is gone forever.