Astley's No.44 Dark Virginia Flake

This broken flake dark Virginia has a lot of tangy dark fruit, some tart and tangy citrus, earth, wood, some grass, a fair amount of bread, mild floralness, and a pinch or two of spice. Has a very light citrus topping. Not very complex. Fresh out of a tin, it may bite or get a little harsh if you puff like a locomotive, so I recommend a moderate pace. Does have a rough edge much of the time. Like most Virginias, it improves with age and I find the aged version to be smoother with less chance of tongue bite. It's not really a "biter" tobacco, so don't dwell on it like I just did. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. The moisture level of the tobacco is about where you would want it to be, and doesn’t need dry time. Burns clean at a reasonable rate with a very consistent flavor. Leaves virtually no wetness in the bowl, and requires an average number of relights. Has a lightly lingering, pleasant after taste and the room note is a notch stronger. Can be an all day smoke. Four stars out of four.

UPDATE 6-4-2022: I have heard this blend has been changed in the last couple of years, and I wanted to find out for myself if that was true. It is. The cut is now stacked flakes that are not as dark as they were previously. The very consistent flavor aspects are a lot of tart and more tangy citrus, grass, sugar, bread/graham crackers, very mild floralness, darker fruit, earth, wood, and a bare hint of spice. Outside of the citrus being dominant now, this manufacture is more sugary and sweeter. The graham cracker taste was not present before. The red Virginia was mostly replaced by orange Virginia which accounts for changes in addition a lightly deeper sugary citrus topping. The strength is a step and a half below the medium mark. The nic-hit is a tad less than that. The taste level is a notch below the medium threshold. Won’t bite or get harsh, and barely has a rough edge. Burns cool and clean at a reasonable rate as the flakes are mildly moist and not thick. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few more than an average number of relights. Has a lightly lingering, pleasant after taste and room note. Can be an all day smoke. This gets three stars by the skin of the stalks that the tobacco was stripped from. My ratings reflect this update, and not the original review, which I leave up for historical purposes.

-JimInks

This one seems to have fallen off the radar here at tr.com - no reviews since late 2008. Odd, since this is such a wonderfully realized VA. I've noted that some people have tasted perique in this flake. I have not, but I can certainly see why some people would think so. This is a beautiful flake of dark(er) color, but not dark - nice, small flakes of a more wheat brown hue. The sweetness in the smoke seems to be slightly enhanced but nothing I can put my finger on. Citrus notes are indeed in evidence.

Since Rattray's MF seems to be the measuring stick around here, I'll say that this has significantly more flavor than MF, yet is congenial with an easy burn. Smokers of MF might find this a little robust, but it's actually of medium strength. This is a VA flake that must be sampled by anyone looking for the ultimate in the genre. This just might be it for you. I prefer Gawith's FVF personally but this is one that I plan to cellar a few tins for those times I want a tad more sweetness in my bowl. Excellent tobacco, and it makes me want to take a run through the rest of the Astley's line.

This is my second Astley's, I've tried 109 and now this.

Let me first say this will not bite your tongue even a bit (unless you're ... um.... short-bus different).

It is a very pleasant smoke, though I find I prefer 109.

I've read of virginias that they tend to start out rather meaningless and grow more pleasant as you smoke through the bowl. That was definitely my experience with 109, and one of the reasons I loved it.... however 44 doesn't seem to change much throughout. That's not to say it's bad. I'm a fan actually. But is quite a bit stronger, and I would say stronger at the expense of flavor personally, I find the 109 to be more flavorful. But if it's strength, especially Lady St. Nic you're looking for ... 44 is the way to go.

VERY strong. I haven't been this buzzed on a pipe tobacco in.... ever. (But I don't smoke a lot of strong blends)

Highly recommended. This is confirming for me thus far that Astley's blends are really THE way to go if you're looking tins... I'm a huge fan of both of these.

After the excellent experience with Astley?s 55, over the X-mas holidays I sampled other blends from this house. No 44 is an excellent, full strength Virginia, mid brown in colour, tightly pressed in a short flake cake. Tin aroma is excellent: spicy, woody and fresh. I found it difficult to break apart the individual flakes, but they were easy to pack and light. A very good and strong tobacco flavour ensues after lighting. Nothing to do with that type of abrasive strength you find in some tobaccos (like Gawith?s Cob Flake or its rope varieties). This is more in the line of Rattray?s Hail O? the Wynd or Dunhill?s Elizabethan Mixture (take away the Perique). It is a straight forward Virginia, not sweet but tangy, cool and satisfying, with an elegant and I would say very traditional matured Va. flavour. No nonsense tobacco, Astley?s 44 belongs with the classics. Highly recommended.

After demand exceeded supply for one of the very popular Virginia flakes, Astley’s No. 44 became a lot more difficult to come by and with good reason. Not being a big fan of the No. 109, this blend was a pleasant surprise. As others have pointed out the flakes are neat and for me need little to no dry time. I tend to do better with this somewhat rubbed out. There is a grassy note and some sweetness that I believe has been added in addition to the natural Virginia flavor. No. 44 has more high notes and the sweetness is not of the dark brown sugar or molasses variety found in darker flakes that I generally prefer. But it is so well done that it doesn’t matter to me. There is a small amount of spice in No. 44 as well. It burns cleanly with no bite and I am sure it will cellar quite well and have added a few tins with that in mind. Lovers of straight Virginias won’t be disappointed with this fine blend.

For a while, this blend seemed to be hard to acquire, but you never heard of anyone hoarding or cellaring this blend. I am a huge fan of Astley's 109, so I happily gave this one a shot. Upon opening the tin and removing the top paper circle, the intoxicating smell of fermented Virginia permeates the nose, and actually made my mouth water a bit. The flakes are so perfectly cut and stacked, it almost appears to be a plug of tobacco. Perfect moisture in the packaging. The little gems rub out quite nicely, and pack with just enough spring to ease tamping. Initial light may take a few tries, and this blend does require a few relight along the way. Nice prominent citrus along with fresh hay are noted. For being a straight Va, this blend does have a bit of depth. Nice clean an fresh on the palate. Definitely a great blend for those seeking a no frills Va.

Astley's - No.44 Dark Virginia Flake.

This, in my opinion, falls right on the cusp of being a broken flake. I expected a similar appearance to their 109 Medium Flake where it was basically one roll of flake in the tin but this has been separated into neat little piles that are about 2x3 cm across. At first glance they look to be still in flake form but on closer inspection I gather that they're actually beginning to break. So, if like me, you rub your flakes out this makes it a dream to prepare. The smell from the tin has a slight fruity/plummy touch to it but mainly it's quite a basic Virginia one. I find the moisture to be good in No.44; this may be down to the fact that the flakes haven't been tightly packed, they had some room to breathe.

I can't really detect, as it says in the description, any citrus notes. I do get quite a substantial fruit addition but that's of dark fruits like plums etc, it's not a sharp flavour of citrus fruits at all. The nicotine seems more mild than medium but I guess everyone's opinion differs with that!

At first I thought this was worth about three points, but then, when I had to re-fill with this and only this the moment my bowl was empty I decided it must be worth four!

Highly recommended.

This stuff is good! Like Tantric, I found Astley's #44 to be remarkably similiar to Rattray's Hal O the Wynd. But, the square cut flakes rubbed out beautifully for me while Tantric found the rub out to be a chore. Perhaps my tin had more age to it and the flakes were drier.

Unlike Astley's #109, which I found to be lacking in the flavor department, #44 is much richer and boasts a nicotine wallop worth seeking. Not as elegant as Hal O the Wynd, but still a gratifying smoke.

This is a dark Virginia, pressed with a bit of bright. No tangy smell or citrus flavor here. Just a straight forward tobacco taste. I am sure this blend will age beautifully. So, I will be making room for several tins in my cellar.

This is a truly wonderful Virginia flake. One of the best I've had. First half of the bowl gives me sweet dark fruit along with a citrus note that is more like orange than lemon. Second half adds bread notes that taste like honey buns. Just a great, great smoke. Has some strength to it which makes it even more appealing.

Medium in body, taste and nic. I think there is some added flavoring at about very mild. Burn is near perfect. This is a gem.

Update 09/26/2009

Mea Culpa. I've opened a two year old tin this week. I have to upgrade my appreciation of this tobacco to 4 stars now. This tobbaco is sublime after the short aging! I cannot wait to try it again after 5 years of aging!

The flakes are darker now, 60% dark brown, 30% medium and 10% golden. The tin aroma is grassy and sweet at the same time. The nicotine level is excellent, just enough to keep me interested and satisfied. The taste is very nice, grassy and sweet with something else I still cannot identify. But it requires a minimum of attention so you can enjoy the subtilities of it. Puffing too quickly will not really bite but turn this little beauty in a blend mixture.

It smokes dry all the way and helps build up a nice cake in any new pipe.

I have not tried the other offerings from Astley's (aka K & Hopp), but this offering is excellent. All it needed was some aging...So I would recommend to anybody buying no 44 to let it age a couple years first, in order to avoid an initial disapointment and thus underestimate the great potential of this square - cut flake.

A beauty, once more. Highly recommended!

Original review 12/24/2007

After reading the reviews, I must agree with First Sealord on his assessment of this tobacco- mind you, not because I fear ending up hanging from the main mast by the neck!

In my perception, a dark VA flake would be more like Solani's White & Black, Samual Gawith's Chocolate flake or Full VA flake. No 44 is no dark VA flake. Just like Hal' O the Wynd is none, either, as we are on the subject.

Nonetheless, I admit, the leaf has its virtues. The flake is extremely easy to rub out and the filling of the pipe is like a child's play. Lighting and smoking are elementary, revealing a slightly sweet VA taste without any complexity. It smokes even and leaves a dry bowl with gray ashes.

I've experienced better tobaccos, but a fair quantity was worse. If I was to read a novel, I would probably reach for this flake.