McClelland Navy Cavendish

4/10/08 Very good. Not a lot of other tobacco tastes like this. I disagree with previous reviewers that it is a darker tobacco, It is a golden brown rum soaked navy cavendish style flake.

It does require some initial drying, and I would not reccomend this to a newbie at either flakes or the pipe in general. I think the work involved is well worth the rewards of enjoyment. Try it in a medium or smaller sized pipe.

It has a good flavor. I like this a lot. It is rich enough for a continuous smoker to fit into his routine. But easy enough on the tongue to satisfy that anytime need for a good solid smoke.

I was a little surprised at how well the rum enhances the natural cavendish flavor. It kind of creeps in as you go. Has a good va flavor with some added mellow sweetness from the rum which by my taste is dark and well aged. If you are expecting a blast of rum on your tongue you won't find it here and should try a rum aromatic for that.

I'm done with black cavendish for the most after finding this lovely flake. It has some punch for those not faint of heart.

Like all mc va's, rub it, dry it out most of the way, then enjoy- just pace yourself. It takes a while to adjust to va's anyway so I can see where a different type of smoker or the inexperienced could not understand this or any tobacco in this series. With all mc va's patience is key. I feel quick drying is no problem as long as approached correctly. Rub out a palmfull or two, put it on a plate or the like and 4-10 hrs in the house out of sunlight usually gets her right, just keep checking it every couple hrs. Then I put the dried portion (about 5 bowls worth) in a mason jar to lock it in at the right moisture which is around 95% dry leaving the rest of the undried tin for later to keep it fresh. I do this with everything in my rotation to keep some of everythng ready to go. Any airtight container will do and if you smoke up a tin quicker than I do you could prep the whole thing and just use the tin, I use glass because it is easier to see how much is left than having to peek under the lids of tins and as long as the jar is clean and has a good lid there is no way it will ever color the taste of your smokes like plastic can. Of course the Spouse thinks I am too particular- I prefer the term conniseur.

Common sense should tell you when it is super humid or while raining is not the best time to dry. There is no reason to let it sit for a year after opening! Maybe before opening to age some would make sense but every tin I ordered so far is at least two years old anyway.

But then again I am a farmer that raises hay and has raised tobacco, this seems very simple to me. Not for those who want to pop a lid and pack. Or those who can't sip slowly.

I would call this virginia based rum candy myself. Not as sweet a s#27 or #25 though. Very distinctive.

Update 9/15/08 This is bothering my allergies somehow and it took me a while to put my finger on it. It always makes my mouth dry way too much and makes my eyes water and itch. Real shame cause I liked it till then. Seems too hay grassy for me now.

Smoking now:

The tin smells of dark aged Virginia. Sweet hay, molasses, and dark fruit.

Moisture out of the tin is perfect. It is a very flavorful Virginia with lots of sour dark fruit, molasses, rum, and that sweet fermented hay taste. Now keep in mind my tin is 15 years old. I thought this was smooth, retrohale wasn’t sharp and it did not tingle my tongue or bite. This could be from the rum or the age smoothing it out. Short and very nice after taste. Smoked it to ash. This is god damn one of the best bowls I’ve ever smoked. If you ever find this hiding away get it and sell it to me please.

I had a chance to sample some 1998 Navy Cavendish and it makes me kick myself that I didn't load up on this blend when McC was going out of business.

The 1998 smelled wonderful in the jar with a light hint of McKetchup and also a sweetness which I'm attributing to the rum treatment. Loading the bowl was easy as the flakes still had perfect moisture. A slight crumble to have smaller pieces for my radiator bowl was all it took. Lighting was simple as it took to the flame quickly.

The taste was a sublime combination of the slight ketchup, a mild sweetness which came across as molasses (the rum) and the background of dark virginias. The flavor remained consistent through the bowl and it smoked down too quickly to grey ash.

This has now become one of the few McC's that I might be willing to pay a premium for to get some "preaged" and/or scoop up whatever I can find to have a long nap in the cellar.

I am damn sorry McClelland has exited the industry. They were/are fine people and in the tobacco blenders hall of fame. That will never change. They also had an ethos that we need more of: tradition, loyalty, hard work and commitment to excellence. With all my lauds and praise now aside, on for my review, that will be less pleasant. First off, this is truly a masterpiece in terms of the blending, processing and replication of "the old way" when making a VA Cavendish. The leaf and methods are beyond compare, in my opinion. That said, the flavor is not really for me but I will not let my personal taste totally sully this review. I have smoked about 10 bowls of this 2 year old tin. The tin note is vinegar/ketchup...signature McClelland, and I love it. There is a hint of rum and spice in the background but you have to try and notice it over the fermented VA's. I will say up front that I am not normally an English Cavendish smoker. Unflavored Cavendish has an odd taste on my palate. The rum topping on this is so light that I can hardly notice it. The rum flavor has consistently shown up in the bottom third of the bowl in every pipe I tried this in. Even then it is incredibly faint and I mostly taste it on the retrohale and after taste. The Cavendish process really does a disservice to the Virginia's , in my opinion. McClelland are masters of VA tobacco and this process mutes the best flavors the leaf had to offer for me. The flavor is fairly consistent throughout the bowl with the exception previously mentioned of the rum showing up lightly towards the end. The main flavor for me is very hard to describe, in my parlance I call it "unflavored Cav flavor". It is earthy and vegetal, like a strong mineral water that has that "minerally" flavor that is hard to put in words. It is slightly piquant and is tasted on the rear of the tongue and off to the sides. There is none of the McClelland VA sweetness and spice that I love so much and the earthiness is not like the earth you get with Red VA. I can see why this is appealing and I also now know why I like unflavored Cavendish when it is added to an English blend. It is mouth feel and backbone (for lack of a better term) that it adds, but it isn't really a pleasing flavor on it's own. I am not a big aromatic lover but I think I would have liked more rum or maybe if they threw a whiskey stave in with it ( I may do that) I think I would like it better. For what is worth I found this best in a Falcon or shallow bowled briar. This is a fine blend but not one that is really to my taste. This is a 5 star "blend" for me with a 2 star taste...3 it is.

I just finished a 50g tin of this I bought 6 years ago on a whim and am kicking myself for not trying it out before it became discontinued; It was not what I had expected at all and that is probably the reason for this. I really expected an aromatic with strong rum flavor. What I got was another fantastic Virginia flake from the Virginia masters.

While I have enjoyed every McClelland Va Flake that I have tried, this one, in particular, smoked very smoothly. It was sweet, but also had a touch of earthiness to it that was nice. The ketchup aroma also seemed lighter than the other MC Vas. As to the rum, I really didn't taste any rum at all. So it is either lightly applied or just blends in that well with the tobacco.

NC also seemed to burn a little better than the other MC Vas. Other than that, the nicotine level was on the low side like many other MC blends (and Cavendish tobaccos in general) and it was so easy smoking it suits itself well as an all day smoke. I highly recommend this one if you can find it.

Medium to dark brown flakes that are fairly tough. It has a brown sugar/molasses nose. From the start there are some strident, sometimes harsh, darker Va notes. The smoke softens considerably by mid bowl and this is when the promise of this baccy is on show. However, towards the end there are some intrusive bitter notes suggestive of an unsophisticated burley.

Burns well once underway and I preferred to stuff and go. Does not smoke well in clay and needs a good briar or cob to take away the rough edges. Lasts an age in the bowl.

I suspect my year old tin is well underdone and it might take a few years for this tobacco to come into its own. Really a two star blend as it is but there is sufficient promise for me to give it 3 stars. I will try to review it again in perhaps 5 years or so.

This is the original Cavendish (Golden Cavendish), the first creation of this extraordinary invention. If you want to try the original Cavendish here is it. Pure Virginia leaf pressed in cake and aged with Rum. No other ingredient. Simple with a natural taste. The idea is great because McClelland gives all of us the opportunity to taste the real Navy Cavendish of the origins. The result is not as exciting as the premise. I mean that this is a good cavendish, but not excellent. It has no complexity, probably because of the simple “original recipe”. But it is natural and this is a merit. From the side of the taste two stars, but four stars in regard to the idea. So, for these reasons, in my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three full stars.

Smoked cool and clean. Tasted very natural, I barely tasted the rum casing. Pleasant nutty flavor with no tongue bite. Not a lot of deep flavors, but the simple purity was nice. Room note was lite and pleasant. Moderate nicotine buzz.

Objective: Very wet tobacco, but drying was not a problem. Mild to moderate amount of smoke delivered (Not a good thing, desire more). Price within reason. Packed well, lit well and smoked nicely to the bottom of the bowl.

Subjective: This was a nice smelling blend in the tin, but that did not translate into the smoke. I found the aroma to be off-putting and the taste to be somewhat chemical like. Not a mixture I will be revisiting.