Anyone familiar with J.M. Barrie's "My Lady Nicotine" can attest to his love for the famed and fictitious "Arcadia Mixture". I can readily share Barrie's enthusiasim for a tobacco. If I were an author I would write my own volume about my Arcadia: "MacBaren's Navy Flake".

Navy Flake is nothing special blending wise. It's a simple but effective combination of Burley, Va's & Cavendish created by MacBaren's blenders in 1965. It was previously available in 1.5 oz tins as well as bulk but today is only packed in 3.5 oz tins. The flakes are cut into long square stips and are dark in colour. The humidity is optimum being neither too dry or too moist. The smell in the tin is quite sweet and most would probably swear that it's a highly cased aromatic blend but this isn't the case.

I have tried rubbing it out fully but have found with experience that simply folding the strands into the bowl decreases the burning rate substantially and releases it's full flavor. Because of it's incredibly SLOW burning rate it smokes best in a group 3-4 sized bowl. It's an ideal blend for a fast smoker like myself. It lights reasonably well and needs far fewer relights than other similar flake blends that I've smoked. It's flavor is nothing short of intoxicating but it's also very hard to acurately describe. It has a sweetness from the cavendish but also a very natural tobacco flavor from the burley and Va's. It's like nothing you will ever smoke. You'll either love it or hate it. As far as I've heard in the reviews I've read there's no inbetween with NF.

It's flavor stays consistent all the way down the bowl and it burns to a light grey ash. I have NEVER experienced tongue bite with it which is a common issue with outher McB's blends. For some reason this stereotype just doesn't apply with NF. Brother Muddler recently called it "MacBaren's Flagship Blend". I agree with this totally!

It does have one heck of a nicotine kick and will make your head swim if you don't smoke it with respect. Not a good mowing the lawn blend. If you happen to inadvertantly inhale it you may very well fall off your mower. It also has a trerrible room note and isn't much of a crowd pleaser. My employees hate it when I smoke it on long tow truck drives to pick up cars out of state.

I smoke Navy Flake all day long, noon til' night for seven days a week and never tire of it. I figure I've smoked more than 40 pounds of it over the last few years. It's my go to blend and if it were ever unavailable I may actually quit pipe smoking all together. This is the god's honest truth folks!!!!

One more thing. Aging does nothing for it. I've smoked 15 year old tins that were identical to newer production. Don't waste your money on aged tins. The new stuff is just as good.

Nice review of a classic 'divisive flake'!

A question which you might be able to answer:

According to MacBaren's ingredients disclosure for Denmark, the additives list for McB Navy Flake runs:

Water 16.0 - Moisturizer Processing aid
Sugars (Sucrose and/or invert and/or maple syrup and/or maple sugar) 15.0 - Flavour / Humectant
Propylene Glycol 4.0 - Humectant
Natural and artificial flavours 3.5 - Flavour
Sorbitol 4.0 - Humectant
Preservative 0.4 - Preservative

Since there are no CAS numbers (standardized refs. for chemical/processed food-grade additives), the exact 'natural and artificial flavours' are not listed, but perhaps you might have a sense of what they are? I would guess some type of Cassia extract as one of them? I am assuming of course that the version sold in DK is the same as what is imported into the US, of course - but that would not be unusual.

I suspect one (the main) flavoring agent on NF is honey. I hardly detect anything else. I don't think there's any rum or anything of that ilk.

Great review, Dock. The only thing I would say is that the room note is not so bad, but I can see an enclosed space just becoming uninhabitable because of those billowing clouds of smoke.

Love the stuff too, and like you, I just fold and stuff, right outta the tin.

Great blend - pity it's not available in bulk anymore - down to my last half-pound.

macbarens navy flake! I used to smoke this in the early 90's, till I moved on to other blends. maybe ill have to get a tin!

Great review - thanks for posting. This blend is high on my list to try soon!

Great review Dock!

The stuff instantly inspired me when I popped the lid on my first tin and saw the shiny embossed gold foil. I guess I'm a sucker for shiny gold foil. The nice presentation worked its magic and, all the way to ash, MacB NF never disappoints. It's VA for lazy people - easy to smoke. It's VA for discriminating palates - always steady and barnyard tasty. It's VA for the artiste in you - lovely presentation.

Excellent review.

Dock, if you want a REALLY offensive room note, smoke a bowl of Mac Baren Burley London Blend. Half hour later, it smells like someone pissed in the corner of the room. It's bad.

Navy Flake has a tiny bit of that pissy smell, but BLB is banned, even from my garage.

Good review !

I just bought a 1 pound box of MacBaren Navy Flake from Mars Cigars,they
must have some bulk left to sell.If I can buy bulk I always do it's so much cheaper
and I just put it in a glass jar.

Winslow

Well dock you stand in good company. Mark Tinsky will only smoke NF everything else to him is BYACK.

Thanks WINSLOW ordered a 1lb box of NF from Mars.