Holger Danske Royal Navy Flake

Holger Danske - Royal Navy Flake.

The unlit flakes give a wonderful hay like Virginia aroma. They are of an excellent thickness and have a great moisture content, making them absolutely splendid for preparation as no extra airing time is required. When it comes to lighting it up the moisture level makes it perfect, taking to the flame brilliantly on the first try! The smoke from this is simply amazing, it has a great nicotine level (about the same as Orlik Golden Sliced) and can be inhaled about as easily as a cigarette can be. I get a very delicate plum/berry taste in the background but if you just relax and don't overly concentrate it's a simple and sublime full Virginia flavor. The actual thickness of the smoke is very reminiscent of Sam Gawith Full Virginia Flake, as is the taste. With tongue bite I don't get any from the very cool smoke and the burn is incredibly even for the whole bowl. It's a brand I had not tried as it's not overly popular but I will get it again and hope more people try it .... brilliant!

Highly recommended.

This is as lovely and honest a flake as you're going to find. On an aesthetic and technical level, this is a solid 4-star flake, second to none. It also has a flavor to match. Thus RNF belongs in the same elite company as FVF, Erinmore and a handful of others. And to my taste buds, this is the best of them all (that I've tried so far, that is).

The presentation of this flake is unparalleled. Opening the tasteful little tin and removing the descriptive paper insert (of quaintly questionable grammar) reveals a tobacco leaf sticker securing folds of golden foil embracing mottled brown slabs of compressed leaf. The aroma is subtle but distinctive, a dew-dappled meadow strewn with sour plums. Picking up one of those slabs reveals just how delicate they are as they separate into interlaced strips, like the tenderest corned beef (as I recall from my meat eating days of yore).

On a technical level, the moisture level is perfect, absolutely perfect. Once you put flame to the flake, it burns perfectly too: it lights easily; it stays lit without a problem; and it burns to a talcum-fine, platinum-gray ash with no dottle.

But though a well done presentation prepares your taste buds for the gustatory treat that follows, the proof is in the putting of the smoke into your mouth. It does not disappoint. It's a delightfully clean, pure tobacco flavor. This is not a buttery, sweet virginia. Instead it has a very dry, smooth, subtle tang that gently tickles the tastebuds with delicate hints of citrus, umeboshi, and hay. It may come across a bit mild, as some reviewers have noted, but it still has a richness and fullness within that mildness (like, say, quality minimalist music). This is a flake for those who prefer their sherry medium dry.

I find the reviews below accurate, all of them. It simply comes down to a matter of preference. That's why I think that any virginia flake lover looking for a good, pure, honest smoke owes it to themself to give this one a go, just on the chance that Holger Danske's RNF may be The One they're looking for -- one they may have otherwise missed because this sublime little flake flies under the radar.

(And I have no clue why it's called a Navy flake. I thought 'Navy' suggested rum or something. I've come to the conclusion that, as far as tobacco is concerned, it means nothing.)

This blend isn't quite the "Navy Flake" I had in mind. Many of the reviewers have noted a "tangy" taste. But, I more readily identify with the "lemony" descriptive above. Not at all sweet, nor mellow, this flake rattles the tongue and will make you pucker.

I think our briar bretheren who don't have a sweet tooth and require some strength in their smoke will enjoy this Royal Navy Flake. And, for what it's worth, I found the tin art to be kind of neat.

I simply loved this, nice dry flakes, almost like a cake tobacco, very lemony with a solid sweetness and VA grassiness...a very pleasant surprise for me, a lovely summer VA flake...top stuff. It's not a typical Navy Blend, just more of a straight VA flake. This is very well priced here in the EU. Will buy again for sure.

I bought this one to dip my toes into the realm of navy flakes, there seems to be a few out there with some modifier of this soubriquet and picked this out at random. Certainly, upon receipt of the tin within a larger internet order, I was immediately impressed. Such a cute little thing too, with it's shiny gold and child like compactness. Even after popping the cork on it, as it were, it gave me a certain warmth to see the blanket like gold foil and the leaf shaped sticker. After this veritable introduction that almost seemed like the first moves of a game of pass the parcel, I half expected to see frankincense and myrrh at the bottom, even the Baby Jesus wouldn't have been a total surprise. Okay, so none of that would have fitted, but I think I got the next best thing.

I have to say, initially, I struggled to place the smell, it almost had wafts of a sickly bolognese scent. Only after much inhalation did I discern it properly, good tangs of pineapple with hints of mango. I was also impressed by the neatness (not something that normally charms me) of the flakes as they lay oh so correctly in the tin. It seemed almost wrong to disturb them from their slumber. Nevertheless, faint heart ne'er won fair maiden and, feeling much like the prince that woke sleeping beauty, promptly rubbing some of it after gently waking it, I endeavoured to pack it into my pipe, never too easy with a flake, even if the lighting was a stroll through a very picturesque park. And ooh la la, that sweet, light taste with hints of lemon, just so relaxing and chilling. The room note slips into obscurity, but only a very minor downside, barely worthy of mention.

Sorry if I've made this sound like a fairy tale worthy of a Disney movie, but it seems like this tobacco has it all. So well packaged, so fantastically smelling, so delicately, so sweetly tasting. Perfectly cast as the four star leading lady if you ask me.

The tin says "Elegant", and I have to agree. This is a bright and lively pure virginia flake. Despite what one may have heard, or even read, there is nothing that even resembles a casing on these flakes. The aroma in the tin is sweet and slightly fermented natural virginia, not any so called "rum puch" concoction. The presentation upon first opening the tin is second to none, absolutely magnificent. This is one of my favorite summer (virginia) smokes. The taste does lean more towards the tangy end of the virginia spectrum, but not overly so, meaning there is still a good amount of virginia sweetness here. The smoke is silky smooth and dry. I personally have never been bitten by this, though I get the impression that it could nip the tongue if not respected. I feel that this is an often overlooked and underated virginia flake, and I recommend it whole heartedly.

A fantastic Virginia with a sweet fruity topping as opposed to rum or honey you find in other navy flakes. The topping enhances the grassy Virginia perfectly. The flakes are uniform in size and the moisture level in the tin was perfect just slightly on the dry. Smoke half a flake in a small bowl not too loosely for the best experience.

Edit: I'm putting this up to four stars. It's consistently enjoyable every time I smoke it.

For a long time I have wanted to try a straight VA and I was about to buy Gawith's Full Virginia Flake when my Tobacconist made the Suggestion of this. He said there was less of a bitter tangy taste and that there were only two left (In my area of Japan). So I bought it for a dollar more than the Gawith. Good salesman haha.

Opening the tin is a beautiful display of Flake that is at just the right moisture level for me. I didn't detect any casing and it broke up rather nicely. I had about a three hour drive home ahead of me and packed a bowl for the road.

From the get go the flavor was wonderful. Not too overpowering, but consistently engaging. It burned very cool, as I've heard that VAs don't usually, and had a nice even smoke. The middle portion of the bowl was exceptionally delicious and by the end it had burned into a nice even ash. I loved it so much I packed another bowl in my MM.

This probably won't do much for the Latakia lovers or the heavy tobacco flavor feinds, but for a person looking to get into VAs or even outside of Aromatics, this is a great starter. To me it's like the older more refined brother of Orlik Golden Sliced.

Give it a try.

I could only get a little taste out of this by using very small pipes and concentrating very hard, which for me, is not what pipe smoking is about.

Presentation and quality are fine, burns to a nice whte ash, no bite or taste for that matter.

Glad I was able to try it, but I won't be buying more.

Good example of a VA flake as many I have tried recently. Smells sweetish in the tin (Excellent presentation by the way, I like the shiny gold paper and the leaf shaped sticker), medium dark flakes, cut quite thick.

Rubs out easily, moisture content is ideal. I rub this one out quite well, it helps it to stay lit, and it still burns cool as it is sliced so thickly. Outdoors on a windy day though, just roll a slice up and shove it in the pipe. Lights with ease provided you put some of the well rubbed "crumbs" on top.

Breath smoking provides a toasty, slightly tangy virginia sweetness, very pleasant. It does not overheat easily, and wont bite unless highly aggravated. Take it easy, sit back and relax, its a gentle walk compared to the thunderous cavalry charge of some of the famous Latakia blends.

Overall very pleasant, I'm sure it will mature well. But none of the raisiny sweetness I love in some VA blends- Light Flake used to have this, I've been searching for something as good since the quality declined recently. But this is a fine, natural tobacco and I look forward to smoking it again.