Overall: Very enjoyable. Early impressions are good on this one, although i consider myself a non-aromatic smoker and am somewhat disappointed that this may be indeed flavored.

I also have a tin of the original Larus Bro&Co I am saving for a special occasion.

I recently won a tin of circa 1955 Edgeworth Sliced on that auction site that was in pristine condition still in its original cellophane. Once opened, a very rich aroma of molasses and soft burley greeted me. I took extreme care in extracting two quite dessicated flakes and rubbing lightly before packing in a 1937 Flame Grain Kaywoodie billiard. After charring light, prodigious clouds of white smoke billowed forth announcing a high quality leaf and mellow sweet and nutty notes from this classic blend. Now I know what the old timers were raving about back in those days of yore. Burned clean and cool all the way down to the heel. Since I only have this one tin, I will be savoring it occasionally for years to come. Please, by all means pick up some if you have the rare opportunity. You will not be disappointed!

Please, for the love of God, Russ Ouellette, Tad Gage, McClellands, Fred Hanna, somebody with real blending know-how who might happen to come across this review, find a way to recreate this wonderful blend. Hell, I'll even send you a sample to experiment with!!

I have no idea how old the tin was. But the tobacco was still at typical (for other blends) tin moisture, which was how I preferred to smoke it. It has an incredibly round texture on the tongue - no roughness as most burleys have. Kind of nut-like in flavor. I think strongirish nailed it with "oatmeal", but the predominant flavor is good old tobacco. Rich, friendly, mild-but-robust tobacco. No figs, plums, dried fruit or other "reviewer-type" flavors. This is a blend for those that are simply in love with the taste of tobacco and for those who find burleys monodimensional and boring. Well, actually, this one IS monodimensional, but its dimension is exactly where I want to be.

Being a fan of both Solani and Wessex burleys, I'm aging several tins of both to see if they can come close to replicating this fantastic slice. I'm crossing my fingers! If you love burley and come across a tin of this, don't hesitate!

I got it in and it was still sealed up (not vacuum, but I don't know if they vacuum sealed this back in the days).

Upon opening all was as it should be. I opened the paper gently to find a wonderfull row of slices with a very sweet tobacco smell. Not artificial, just the smell of aged tobacco. Extremely good. I got 2 slices out with my knife and found them quite dry (but not dried out). As they are slices, I like 'em a little dry, so I saw no problem in loading a bowl up (I'm a smoker, not a collector :-))

The first few puffs were next to flavorless, but as the tobacco was tamped and re-lit, I got rewarded with a sweet virginia taste of exceptional proportions. Nice mellow taste and I can understand why this tobacco is a classic.

Half-way down the bowl I got a sharper undertone, but the sweet finesse never went away.

I like it, although I'm not a real virginia lover.

Did I pay too much? Obviously, but the experience is well worth it. Still have some 12-15 bowls left in the tin, and they will happily be smoked away.

The thing is, I have all these wonderful pipes and am running out of choices to fill them with. Plenty of pipes and ever decreasing supplies of my favorite blends of which Edgeworth was my everyday tobacco of choice. To those who facy burley, you'd be hard pressed to find a blend as good as Edgeworth.

If anyone knows of a true substitute, please let me know. I have one tin left and dare not open it. For if I do I will have to come face to face with the fact that I will never partake of such a wonderful blend again.

I will ultimately finish what little I have remaining. I will spread it out over time and most likely savor it in smaller bowled pipes to stretch it as far as enjoyably possible. I take this over Mac's Navy Flake and Peterson's University Flake in a heart beat! If you can come by any, don't hesitate on it - grab it up! ...what a smoke...what a pity.....

UPDATE 4-19-10: I just purchased and received an unopened tin of ES from our fellow piper pipestud's consignment shop. I couldn't wait to open it and I am on my second bowl (2 flakes each) as I write this update. First off, the label on the tin had the Lane Ltd. distribution seal and atop it, a price label that read $16.95. There was another price label beneath it but I couldn't peel away the first to see the price. I am suspecting from the price label that this was from the time of this tobacco's last run before being discontinued (maybe 5-6yrs old?). The beautiful flakes were well packaged within a nice plastic bag wrapping and they were as pliable as if just produced. The tin aroma was nearly identical to Wessex Burley Slice (there was a light, "alcohol-soaked citrus" smell which only translated into the first several puffs upon lighting) and after smoking my 2 bowls, nearly identical in taste. There is also a much more pronounced nicotine kick with this tin of ES, similar to what I first experienced with this blend. As I stated in my original review, I bemoan the loss of Edgeworth Sliced. I would have to agree, however, with the Wessex claim that theirs is "the" substitute for ES (but in my opinion closer to the Richmond original than the Lane version manufactured by Orlik, and therefore, making WBS much better overall) - a claim I am quite happy about! Although Wessex Burley Slice is more reminiscent of the old ES from Larus Bros., and favored by me over the Orlik/Lane version, the Orlik/Lane version is quite good and recommended, however, Aged Burley Flake is by far a superior Burley and favored over ES and BS.

UPDATE 7-20-10: I noticed a while back that ES was listed on Orlik's website (st-group.com) as one of their manufactured tobacco brands. I contacted the company as to its availability in the USA. I received a reply stating that it was being pulled from production as it was only manufactured for distribution in Denmark and its sales were not high enough to justify its continued production. I noticed shortly thereafter that its listing was removed from their product range. I wrote back stating that its sales would most certainly skyrocket if re-introduced to the USA, but I have yet to hear back from Orlik concerning this.

UPDATE 9-29-10: Still no reply from Orlik - I didn't really expect one. Something I would like to share, however. Coming home this evening after teaching, I decided to mix some Solani Aged Burley Flake and Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake. It was a 50/50 mix, folded and stuffed into a bent group 4 Dunhill Cumberland. After the first puff, I would have sworn I loaded some Edgeworth Sliced instead! This has been the closest to the taste of the ES of old that I remember - even closer than Wessex Burley Slice (which is a very close match). It has the spiciness that the original ES had (so does WBS) but without the harshness that is sometimes present with WBS. Try it, you might like it!

Does anyone know of anything at all like this? I've been having cravings for it lately.

In a nutshell, this is a decent smoke that improves with age, going from rather coarse and unexciting in its youth to a tobacco of substantially greater character and refinement after a few years of cellaring. Like virtually all Burleys, it derives much of its flavor from the added sugar, which was added with a sparing hand in the tins I've smoked. If you like your Burley on the sweeter side, you might find this a bit too austere, but that could well be a virtue for those who prefer Burley of more Spartan character.

As of this writing, I can't say I especially bemoan the extinction of this Euro version of Edgeworth Sliced. I certainly wouldn't chase after it, paying the high prices it commands in some auctions. For all its virtues, it's not the epitome of Burley flake. For example, I consider Wessex Burley Slice to be a superior tobacco in every respect. And for those who recall the original Edgeworth Extra High Grade Sliced, manufactured by Larus & Bro. Co. of Richmond, this version will appear as a pale counterfeit whose only provenance in connection with the original is in name only.

Nevertheless, it's a better than average Burley flake, and it does improve noticeably with age, so I do expect it be a tasty smoke when I open and smoke some of the stash that has been aging in my cellar. If my expectations pan out, it will be my pleasure to update this preliminary review with more glowing praise.

Update: 2009, August 7 --

After burning a bowl of Edgeworth today, I'm happy to say that the weed has unquestionably mellowed after three years of jar time (opened and jarred 3.33 years ago, on April 4, 2006). If it deserved three stars then, I'd give it maybe another half-star now for having smoothed out its rough edges quite a bit.

Flavor-wise, it still leaves a LOT to be desired, but it has good, solid Burley flavor, albeit pretty light. The nicotine content is low enough that I can smoke a Group 6 bowl and get only a mild buzz.

The jar is going back into the cellar and I'll see how it develops, but I've smoked enough Burley over the past 4+ decades to know that this tobacco isn't going to change significantly anytime soon. As for the remaining unopened tins, I intend to leave them alone for at least another 5 years, but in truth this stuff will still be developing 10, 15, even 20 years down the road. There's just not enough sugar in there to quicken the pace. In the meantime, if you're looking for a more deeply flavored Burley flake that is a joy to smoke now and will age more rapidly, try Wessex Burley Slice...which also has the advantage of being readily available, as it's still in production as of this writing.

don't try relights.

I actually had warning this would happen and got a few tins put up. I have now almost finished my last tin. I am scared of the new production - but I am going to try it I guess. Times change and we move on. I am going very soon to have to find a new first smoke of the day. I have been looking for a year now and nothing permanent has landed - but it will. Things always work out.

P.S. If you have a tin you can spare...

This is a full, round, oaky burley with a creamy body. It is difficult to say whether the purported VA is actually present. The molasses casing supports the fullness without flatting the flavor excessively.

An rich, elegant, and satisfying burley blend. A narrow to medium gauge chamber seems to work best.

Appearnace and Tin Aroma: Beautiful golden brown to mohogany slices that are 1"x 4" in a rectangular 100g. tin. the aroma is grassy-haylike typical of burley, and yet due to the age, some fig notes are also apparent. I think i smell a bit of molasses?

Packing and Lighting: I experimented with different ways to pack and settled on the fold and stuff method similar to MacBaren's. Rubbing it out seemed to make it lose density in the smoke as well as lose the earthiness of flavor that I like so much. Since my tins are aged, they seemed not to need any drying before packing. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: The earthy, grassiness of Burley is in the forefront. Va is firmly there too, but mainly as support.

Mid-Bowl: This is Burley nirvana! Smooth, nutty, sweet, earthy, etc...

Bottom of Bowl: If smoked too quickly, it can get a little bitter. If smoked gently, aaahhh, delicious to the last puff with a nice gentle, but firm, build up in strength.

Overall: If you are a burley lover as I am, this blend is a classic! It is much easier to get a consistent delicious ride as opposed to cubed burley or even ribbon burley. The age also helps considerably. There is nicotine strength in this blend, so eat well before smoking. Even though I still smoke Balkans and Fuller English blends as my regular staple, this blend satisfies quite nicely and is generally my mid-morning smoke. The room aroma is tolerable as well. My only hope is that wessex will not hurt this blend, as they have taken this classic over. Meanwhile, I have to figure out a way to snag some more tins of the original before they become just a memory! Enjoy...

In short, then, this is an excellent example of what a non-aromatic Burley blend should be. If you enjoy Burley, get yourself a tin of this before it's gone completely. It will be worth your trouble.

I find Mac Baren's Burley London Blend to be similar in flavor and in burning characteristics, so all is not lost, but I sure wish someone would bring this one back.

This is a really good burley smoke with grassy and woody flavors. There seems to be some kind of very light topping which imparts a subtle soapy taste midway through the bowl which is in no way disagreeable to me. If this were still produced I would tend to keep some of this on hand. Overall a very pleasant tobacco, flavorfull but not bitey or overly strong.

But since its gone, I'd suggest trying GL Pease Barbary Coast instead, it evokes the same delicious grassy type flavor but is even better than Edgeworth Sliced in my opinion.