Peter Heinrichs Dark Strong Flake

(2.92)
New description: A spicy, danish cake-mixture from Virginia and Kentucky, that'll also appeal to Latakia-smokers. Aged cakes of red Virginia and fire-cured dark Kentucky tobaccos give this full- bodied, flavorful flake an unusually rich and naturally spicy taste. Not for neophytes, this one satisfies with old-fashioned deep taste. Good outdoors.

Details

Brand Peter Heinrichs
Series Special Selection
Blended By Orlik
Manufactured By Scandinavian Tobacco Group
Blend Type Virginia/Burley
Contents Kentucky, Virginia
Flavoring Other / Misc
Cut Flake
Packaging 100 grams tin, 200 grams tin, 500 grams bag
Country Germany
Production Currently available

Profile

Strength
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Mild
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming

Average Rating

2.92 / 4
14

14

5

6

Reviews

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 39 Reviews
Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 07, 2013 Medium Mild to Medium Medium to Full Pleasant to Tolerable
The woody, earthy red Virginia adds much of what sweetness there is: tangy and dried dark fruit. It's a bit subdued by the dark fired Kentucky, but that's not a complaint, just an observation. I consider the RV to be more of a condimental addition. The woody, lightly floral, nutty, vegetative Kentucky is a little deeper flavored with a touch more earth and a little spice. The bright Virginia offers tart and tangy citrus with a touch of grass and floralness as a condiment. The sugary black cavendish is a condiment. The molasses topping is mildly applied, and there's a touch of licorice as well. They sublimate the tobaccos to a moderate extent. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. The strength and taste levels are medium. Burns cool, clean and a little slow with a very consistent sweet taste. Requires few relights, and leaves a little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a tad stronger. Not an all day smoke.

Is it the very same tobacco as the Orlik Dark Kentucky? No, it isn't. Orlik Dark Kentucky was a slightly sweeter and easier on the tongue when I compared the two blends some years back. PH DSF seems just slightly harsher, and has a little more molasses than the licorice in the Orlik version. The red Virginia was a little more prominent in ODSK with more dark fruit flavor. You could see it a little more, too.

UPDATE 12-24-2014: I'm smoking a freshly opened tin, and the tobacco has changed from when I smoked it a couple of years ago. The Virginia is brighter with much less red, and doesn't have the level of dark fruit that it once had, and is a little sweeter. It still has the same molasses and licorice flavor, though I notice the licorice a little more than before. It has a little more grass and citrus that it didn't have before because the bright Virginia content is greater now, though the level of earthiness seems to be the same. It's also a tad spicier than it used to be. The sugary black cavendish is still a condiment. The strength and taste levels are the same, barely. The nicotine level lightly less potent. The burn rate and after taste are the same. Four stars for the older version, three for the new one.

UPDATE 6-23-2022: This blend has been radically changed. The label no longer mentions dark fired Kentucky or red Virginia. The amount of tart and tangy, grassy, bready, sour lemon, vegetative, mildly floral, sugary, acidic bright Virginia has been increased. Many flakes are predominantly bright Va. with a little black cavendish bookending the slices or are partly on one side. There are flakes and broken flakes that are pure black cavendish, but the proportions don’t average out the way they used to when dark fired Kentucky was used in this blend. Judging the 2016 production and this one side by side, the bright Virginia appears to have been increased by approximately twelve to fifteen percent. The very sweet and spicy black cavendish is the major component, and is described as having “its typical roasted aroma”. To my tastebuds, it appears that Kentucky was subjected to the black cavendish process as it certainly has a nutty presence that I associate with burley. The label states that a fruity plum topping was added. It mildly tones down the tobacco, although I still taste a little licorice despite the written omission of its presence on the label.

The strength and nic-hit are still medium, but the taste is now a step past that mark. It’s more floral, citrusy, sour, mildly spicier (due to the increase in the brights), and less sweet with distracting acidity. The black cavendish certainly has a little less strength than the dark fired Kentucky formerly used, and depending how you prepare your smoke, isn’t always the lead component unless you stack the bowl in its favor. However, that would leave you with a lot of bowls where the bright Va. is the major factor. There’s no chance of a consistent flavor unless you spend bit time manipulating the flakes to suit that purpose. Essentially, this is now the type blend where you can experiment with the proportions of the varietals for your own amusement. Moderately moist, it still burns a tad slow, and requires some relights. Leaves little dampness in the bowl and has a more acrid room note. It’s not an all day smoke. One and a half stars rounded down to one for this production largely due to the acidity and uneven distribution of the varietals. My rating at TR reflects this version.

-JimInks
31 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 26, 2010 Mild to Medium Mild Medium Pleasant
Beautiful looking square cut flakes, half dark and half light, sitting in a paint can. I've not yet smoked Orlik's Dark Strong Kentucky (I have a tin percolating) so I can't comment on its similarities. But I can certainly hope!

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a very pleasant aroma of various spices that, as usual, I could not pin down. As nice as it was, I was hoping it didn't translate into the smoke, and it complied nicely. I did need to dry out the flakes but I found that I preferred this slightly more moist than the usual tinder to which I dry out flakes. The flavor was lightly sweet and earthy, a nice deep taste that was not too powerful. I did not notice an over-abundance of nicotine. The taste was natural tobacco with pretty liberal hand on the spices and a touch of sweetness. Dark molasses comes to mind. Oddly enough, I would not characterize this as rich or too strong for most people. Try this for something a bit different!
14 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Apr 26, 2013 Medium Medium Medium Pleasant
One word...EXCELLENT! I have wanted to try this for the longest time but never found it in stock anywhere. The other day I read on a forum that Smokngpipes.com just got a shipment of PH tobaccos in. I ordered a 200gm tin immediately and on the same day of the post. And after getting it and trying it I immediately snagged another tin before its's all gone!

I opened the tin and was greeted to a very nice presentation of broken golden and black flakes, all from what looked to be broken squares. The moisture content was just right for smoking. The tin aroma on deep sniffing had a subtle sweetness and I picked up notes of molasses-caramel and licorice in the background, very subtle and only on deep inhalation. Loading and lighting were no problem. What a beautiful smoking experience this is. It has a very subtle sweetness with hints of licorice (way in the background). It imparts a very nice spicy presence to the tongue. Nothing chemical or medicinal in the taste profile. There is no bite, bitterness, moisture build up, and it doesn't smoke hot at all. Overall, very pure in tobacco taste with a subtle sweetness. The leaf quality is top notch. I would not classify this as an aromatic at all. This is better than Mac Baren's Stockton (which I happen to enjoy) and what Solani Silver Flake tries to be, but is too bland for my tastes (see my review of Silver Flake). It has similarities to the Edgeworth Sliced of old as well, but DSF is sweeter.

I am happy I have a 200gm tin and one on the way (it seems to go out of stock as soon as I place an order). My main concern is availability, but I like it so much that I would be willing to order it directly from Peter Heinrichs in Germany - it is that good. Can be an all day smoke for me and definitely a desert island smoke. 5 stars hands down!
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 06, 2003 Mild to Medium Mild to Medium Medium to Full Pleasant
This is a very unusual flake. It is mostly dark, yet lightly stoved Virginia with some bright and Burley added. It is unusually strong in taste, yet the nicotine hit was only moderate.

Pipestud
10 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
May 01, 2018 Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
Wonderful smoke, one of my favorites that I had forgotten to review. This is a tasty mix of Virginia and Dark-Fired Burley with a light anise/molasses topping. The smoke is sort of sweet and savory, with the sweet coming from the sugars in the Virginia and the light molasses topping and the savory coming from the Dark Fired Kentucky and the anise topping. Very similar to Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky, however I find Orlik has more molasses and Peter Heinrichs has more anise, if you like one, you will like the other, but they each scratch a different itch.
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: Fresh
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 31, 2014 Strong None Detected Medium to Full Pleasant
The Good - Immense flavour from the Kentucky which also drives this hard with the Vitamin N - The Virginias come through and are not over-shaddowed by said KY - High quality tobaccos throughout - Almost smells like an aro. Wifey even commented it smells sweet and syrupy. I haven't cooked at the contents, but I assume there is sweet Black Cavendish - Will not bite or get dirty no matter how hard its pushed

The Bad - uhmmmmmm. Expensive, and can be hard to get!

Overall Sublime from start to finish. Packs and lights well, perfect moisture, sumptuous VA's with natural sweetness. This tastes identical to the now OOP Orlik Dark Kentucky. Smokes clean and true throughout to a fine ash, and although there is a nic hit, its not overwhelming whatsoever.

A keeper, and among the finest KY based smokes of all.
Pipe Used: Peterson Killarney
PurchasedFrom: Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked: 3 years
6 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Mar 01, 2015 Medium Mild to Medium Medium Pleasant
I taste the DFK predominantly. The Virginias in the background. Wonderful notes of molasses and a hint of licorice. A fair amount of sweetness. It's a very appealing flavor.

Moisture content is where things get tricky. Too much moisture and you get gobs of flavor, but the burn isn't all that great. Best I can manage under those conditions are a wispy smoke that doesn't satisfy. Too dry and you get much less flavor and a touch of harshness, but plenty of smoke. You have to find that happy medium and that takes some experimentation. Once I found that sweet spot I've really been enjoying this.

Medium in body. Medium in flavor (in the sweet spot). I would give this 4 stars, but the effort required in preparation drops it to 3.
Pipe Used: MM General, MM Country Gentleman, MM Mark Twain
PurchasedFrom: pipesandcigars.com
Age When Smoked: 1 month
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 16, 2014 Medium Mild Medium Pleasant to Tolerable
I am smoking through a generous sample sent me by a friend. It has been an enjoyable smoke. The red virginias are sweet and a little heavy. There is a mild topping I claim bringing out the sweet, but it does not contribute a honey or similar taste. The DFK gives it some spice and a characteristic nose "tickle."

In terms of flavor, it reminds me a little of a smoother, more refined Superior Round Slices. The flavor profile has a little more depth.It is a great blend, and I found the smoke improved in the course of the bowl. There was no bitter in the profile even in the last few puffs.
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Aug 10, 2014 Medium to Strong Extra Strong Extra Full Overwhelming
Opening the tin you get an immediate smell of licorice along the lines of all-sorts. Smells delicious and the tobacco is broken dark and light flake. On light is where the problems begin, you immediately get a strong licorice taste, one the few tobacco's that deliver what it advertises BTW, and it goes south from there. The smoke degenerates into an acrid hot smoke all the way through. Tongue bite started about halfway through the bowl for me and that's when I called it quits. No thank you on this blend.
Pipe Used: Savinelli
PurchasedFrom: John Haynes Tobacconist
Age When Smoked: Unknown
5 people found this review helpful.
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Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note
Feb 07, 2010 Medium Very Mild Full Pleasant to Tolerable
For those of you who lamented the departure of Orlik's DSK, you can take heart. Peter Heinrich's Dark Strong Flake is the same tobacco. I don't mean that it's the same in the sense that it's "like DSK". It is DSK; made by Orlik for PH. So in looking for reviews on this tasty flake, refer to Orlik DSK.
4 people found this review helpful.
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