Recommended to try. Probably will not return to it though.

Tin Aroma: Mixture of bread, hay or cereal.

Appearance: Looks just like Samuel Gawith's FVF. Dark brown, mottled with blonde. A pressed flake in the form of two sets of 1-inch belts that are wound up into two flat coils. Straight out of the tin, it is mostly dry.

Packing: Easily rubs out into small splinters, though which pack readily.

Taste & Aroma: Not really like a strong Vaper, but somewhat bland; somewhat weak musty Perique aroma; close to just a pedestrian VA. Not sour, but not sweet.

In comparison to other VAPERs, the aroma is a mild musty sauteed poblano.

Strength: Certainly not a overly strong Vaper experience at all.

Overall: Packaging was so annoying. 633 provides a cross between a VA and a Vaper profile.

The smoke is smooth and complex. The ripe, fruity tin note actually comes through in the smoke and predominates the flavor. Compared to Escudo, for instance, Solani 633 is fresher, sweeter, a little zesty and more fruit-forward. Solani 633 has some of the cedar and wood-like notes of Escudo, but these are more subdued, adding a bit of complexity to the ripe taste of the Virginia. These notes grow stronger toward the end of the bowl.

Out of the tin the flakes are supple, but not too damp and rub out easily. Well behaved, burns nicely.

A little spendy, but any Virginia lover will enjoy this flake.

The quality of the product in the tin is unmistakable. No shake, no stems, just carefully produced consistent flakes.

With aging, this stuff gets really really lovely... the brashness of the perique mellows down a bit so the whole ensemble is a bit more harmonious. The virginias are top notch. I am part way through a bowl of a small sample that was 10+ years old, and it's absolutely wonderful.

The virginias are fairly light and bright, not stoved, and offset by a moderate amount of perique. (Similar in style to Escudo or PS LNF.)

When fresh, it can be like some of the other reviewers suggest; harsh, bitter, etc., and over-the-top with the perique. But a little time really does make all the difference. Very flavourfull, sweet, tart and silky on the tongue and palate. Really really good stuff. I have no other choice than to give it four stars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ This is my first VA/Per, and maybe my last.

Upon opening the tin I was greeted with a really nice aroma which seemed reminiscent of dry figs and perhaps chocolate. I was looking forward to the tobacco after reading the reviews for it, but after smoking a few bowls of this stuff, I can't say I agree with these reviews. The taste was unpleasant to me, and reminded me of rubber. I am also not a fan of spicy tasting blends. The perique overpowered the virginia's in this blend, and I didn't notice the usual sweetness of virginia's.

Overall I was quite disappointed with this blend, the taste was not pleasant. I set some of this stuff to age, so I'll see how much this blend changes in a while. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

24/03/2013

I forgot to make an update, and upon looking around this site again I realize I needed to because I feel my initial experience with the tobacco does not represent this tobacco well.

I let the tin sit for about a year before I picked it up again, and I have to say that letting it sit a bit made it a completely different smoke. The virginia's were some of the richest I had tasted, this tobacco smoked very cool and gave no tongue bite. It's been a long time since I finished the tin so I can't really describe the taste, but I do recall that I was impressed. I would put highly recommended, but it's been a long time so I'm just going to keep it to a nice three stars.

If you get a chance to buy it, go for it. I definitely enjoyed it.

The flavors imparted by flame are smooth and rich, straightforward VA with a noticeable dose of perique. Smoke perception on the tongue is not at all spicy, nor is it bland but an occasional nasal exhale will remind you that there is perique is the blend. Having smoked this in large and small bowls the flavor is quite uniform, a personal indication of a quality blend. The amount of nicotine absorbed into the bloodstream is more than mild, but unlikely to knock you of your feet. As for room note, it's just straight forward tobacco, no scents or toppings linger in the air.

I recommend this for VaPer fans, it is definitely up there with Escudo and HOTW; albeit, not to be directly compared.

Forging ahead, I took out the tobacco, which almost looked more like a cake than flakes. This tobacco is very moist, making the flakes a bit difficult to separate. They sort of peel apart in strips. However, once removed they rub out nicely into a sort of ribbon-cut appearance. Because of the moisture content I packed the first pipe a bit more loosely than I usually do, and I think that was a good idea. The draw felt just right when I first set flame to the tobacco.

My first thought when I had it lit? Wow! I wasn’t really expecting too much, in part because I didn’t want to be disappointed and in part because I bought the tobacco having not heard of this particular blend. I found a nice, rich, sweet taste from the Virginia, and the perique added a sort of fruitiness reminiscent of a stoved Virginia and a spiciness reminiscent of McClelland’s 2035. Several people who were around me during the first bowl commented on the pleasant aroma of the tobacco. The main flavor is dry and sweet, and the spicy and fruity undertones are exceptionally pleasant and smooth.

Several subsequent smokes have confirmed to me that this tobacco is a keeper. It DGTs well, smokes surprisingly dry for as moist as it is in the tin, and provides a smoking flavor and experience that rates up there with my favorites.

I can best describe the taste of this one as Orliks Golden Sliced with the addition of perique. There was a very noticeable citrus flavor but, whereas I found it wearing over time with the GS, the perique in this blend made it work wonderfully. The perique's zestiness and piquancy offset the VA's sweetness with an excellent balance as the result. This blend exhibited no aberrations such as tongue bite, excessive relights, heaviness in the throat or tobacco infighting. It was far from complex but just a good, non-threatening smoke. I don't consider this one of the worlds great VaPers, but it was a pleasant smoke and one I'll come back to from time to time. I tend to prefer a little "darkness" in my blends, and this one was a bit too steered toward the lighter flavors. But anyone who prefers that taste should absolutely buy some of this and it could become a compelling favorite.