Navy Flake.

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puros_bran

puros_bran

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When I say Navy Flake what tobacco or type of tobacco comes to mind?

Virginia? Burley? Perique? Latakia?
Rum or no?

I know the story, I'm guessing everyone else does too... But....

Back in the day Happy Jack and the rest of the Pirates of the Seven Seas (who the European Powers thought of as fine upstanding businessmen) needed a place to stash their looted weed.. In the Rum Barrel she goes me matey... And so Navy Flake is born.... Sure the story is flawed on a lot of levels, but its a good story none the less... So.. What is your idea of a Navy Flake?

My favorite Peter Stokkebye has Virginia and Perique.. No rum. Considering 'Virginia' wasn't invented yet, and Perique probably hadn't been discovered by da 'white man', and the lack of Rum... Probably not representative of what the story claims....

Next Up, MacBaren.
Virginia, Burley, No Rum ...
Again Virginias that didn't exist, and Burleys that didn't exist, and No Rum.. 'Hey Hold on PB, they had Burley'... Yeah ok, and give MacBaren partial credit for that.. But what we have now is not what they had back then.. They had Dark Air cured, who'd a thunk it... We have a mutation of that Burley called White Burley, to get Dark Burley now we have to fire it, which probably still doesn't get us anywhere near what we are suggesting..

Ole Samuel Gawith..
Virginia, Latakia, and finally Rum..

Do I really have to type up the Virginia thing again?
Ummm Latakia? I doubt it.
But finally RUM.. Yeah for Daemon Rum..

My three favs don't jive with the story much (but their still great weeds) and I don't think any of the others claiming the title do (or can ) either... What I do know is that Navly Flake is tossed around almost as freely as Cavendish. (Now there's a whole nuther thread).
 
I think of navy flake being tobacco soaked in rum and don't care what the companies call their blend. Just because of the stories I suppose. Which even if you follow that logic it's flawed, they carried twists right? :lol:
 
I hear "Navy Flake," I think Mac Baren. No basis in the mythology, just a nice tobacco that I suspect has the biggest market share for anything called NF.

Both the MB and the PS seem to be riffs on the British brands' Navy Cut, which are VAs on the sweet side.

The mythological Navy Flake could've been a combination of a few things: Dark Burley, N. Rustica, maybe even some Cavendished burley. The rum would've been much different than the modern stuff, too... "Kill-Devil" was made from unrefined molasses and sugar syrup left over from the refining pots, often made with the washwater... and if it wouldn't prove, they'd kickstart it with a dough of quicklime, egg, and flour, or even animal carcasses or dung.

Given that choice, I think I'd want the tobacco *least* like the "original" NF.
 
You can always add your own Rum eah?
Take one of the first two choices & putting it in a mason jar with a wee bit a Rum in it, and cellar it for awhile.
I tried this with some C&D Organic Pipe Dreams (the most "pure" baccy I could find) with some Sailor Jerry's Spiced Rum and it wasent too bad.
I know, the C&D P.D. is a Va but hows about trying it with some Pure Burley.
Call it PB's Navy Flake.
 
I'm fully satisfied with what we have.. I just think it's funny how a story takes hold and gets accepted without much thought..
 
Tobacco from the mid-Atlantic states to Georgia. Mostly from Virginia. Twisted into hogsheads and stored in old rum casks. Later they pressed their tobaccos, making blocks, but stored the same way. Blocks from which they cut their flakes.
 
Mac Baren's is the only "Navy Flake" I've tried.
I like it a lot and that's what I think of as "Navy Flake."
 
Funny a topic like this would come up. I just bought some of MacBaren's rendition. Now I'm excited to try it. I've heard so much about Navy Flake I thought "what the heck, why not try some." I guess it was a good purchase. On a side note, what kind of pipe does it smoke best in?
 
last night i pondered seriously about ordering some McClelland Navy Flake (2035), actually read all the tr reviews about it, although I have smoked plenty of this in the past... another 'navy flake' way different that the others...
 
Mac Baren Navy Flake is IMO their best product. Gentle, Sweet, Cool Burning..

What pipe to smoke it in is even more subjective than that statement. Some insist on straightwalled pipes, others claim the diameter matters more.. Me I just smoke it in whatever pipe I grab.
 
Of this genre, C&D Blockade Runner is my favorite. It is billed as a true Navy cavendish of red and golden Virginias pressed into a cake and soaked in premium rum for seven days. I don't know if that constitutes "true Navy" but it is dang good none the less!
 
Does anyone think "Navy Flake" and NOT think of me? :lol:
 
Danish_Pipe_Guy":jpz9wsur said:
Does anyone think "Navy Flake" and NOT think of me? :lol:
Click to expand...
Why you were the first person that came to my mind when I saw the thread title! :D So set us straight on the issue. :D What is a true "Navy Flake"?
 
puros_bran":xmj1qnwg said:
When I say Navy Flake what tobacco or type of tobacco comes to mind?
Click to expand...
I think about McClelland's Navy Cavendish. I bought a couple of the '95 tins from PCCA and really enjoyed them.

Guess I'll have to try the Mac Baren's now to see what all the fuss is all about! As soon as someone restocks the shelf that is. A sign of the times I guess.
 
I still haven't cracked my '95 Navy Cavendish... might wait until it turns 20.
 
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