This is one I shall be shrewd enough to keep on hand.

I'm very glad others have mentioned the citrus nature of this blend. Specifically, I taste a huge orange essence with a slight bit of lemon. The VA's take center stage and I can't say with any certainty that I tasted burley, unless it's cased with this orange flavor. The entire concoction tastes like it's mildly cased, as it is the most "citrus-y" VA I've ever smoked, even more so than Mac Baren's Virginia #1, and fans of it should also like this one. The tobacco is presented beautifully in spun form and breaks apart easily for rubbing. It came at near-perfect moisture in the tin and I've experimented with various degrees of dryness. It's a very congenial blend, never biting or hot, always smooth and flavorful.

The only downside - if it could be considered one - is that I could never smoke this all day. The orange taste would wear me out. It never dies down, even when bone dry and even down the bowl. When I'm in the mood for it, this tobacco was a refreshing change of pace. When I wasn't, it became a bit cloying. But it's an excellent tobacco and should be tried by every confirmed VA smoker... and from the number of reviews written here, it has! Glad I finally got to it.

My tin of OGS ran out recently, and I have been frantically searching my collection for something to fill the void while my next order is en route. My conclusion; there is no substitute.

The flavor is clean and satisfying. The nicotine level is perfect for me. The casing; if there is one is so subtle that it could just be confused as the natural uniqueness of this tobacco. Whatever it is, it's citrusy, clean and extremely satisfying. Not overdone at all.

The price is so low that it might be overlooked as a "cheap" tobacco. Don't let the price tag fool you. This is a world-class tobacco, and everyone should at least give it a try.

I would like to continue searching for better tobaccos, but I'm going to have a hard time getting motivated when I have three 100g tins of this wonderful blend sitting around.

Both beginners and experienced smokers should be able to find something in this tobacco to enjoy. If you want to try a top-notch Virginia, add this one to your list. Highly recommended.

Some have said they detect Bergamot, as in the flavour of Earl Grey tea. I would go a step further and say it reminds me of Lady Grey tea: an Earl Grey with a citrus hit. Yes, this 'baccy smells of tea, Bergamot, and citrus. I love Earl and Lady Grey teas, so guess what?

Four stars. Period. (The alfalfa scent is there as well, so farm boys rejoice!)

There is more to love though.

Presentation- A foil wrapped tin of neatly cut flake (in the 50g tin, at least). Can flakes look any more delicious?

Smoke- It's why you buy it, after all. Light on the tongue, nary a bite, pleasant to snork...unless you like to have your senses assaulted by heavy smoke only, it's a keeper. Room note is pretty good for a straight blend too...The missus didn't say anything, pro or con, on the subject...an endorsement of sorts, if you will.

Price- Well, you got me there..sort of. I bought my cellared stash about 6 months ago at $5 a pop...it's now closer to $7...still, $7 is a relative steal...shop around, you'll see.

The only con you'll get me to admit to I glossed over a second ago: sometimes it comes off a bit too 'mild'. This is only a hinderance, to my mind, if you are looking for a single 'baccy to smoke from here on out, AND you like in your face flavour. Sippers, take heart! Tokers, keep an open mind!

Do not pass this one up guys, because it's cheap, or made by Orlik, or whatever excuse you usually go with. If you like VA's, it's worth the few bucks. If not, mail me the remains of your tin...I'll see it gets cremated properly.

No tongue bite, nice burning qualities, mild taste and subtle nuances for the contemplative Virginias smoker.

Regardless of that, I am by definition an admirer of all Orlik flake tobaccos due to their consistency and their noticeable - though not overwhelming - tastes. This variety is best bought in round 100g tins where the tobacco comes in a beautifully curled form with a flake that is several centimeters long and easy to cut accordingly. This tobacco is something precious, its light brown color complemented by the freshness of its natural scent.

In the bowl, it's easy to detect is citrus essence. While the small burley details give it a delightfully sweet charisma, the Virginia is predominant in the blend: sometimes the VA is so light within the flake composition it enables the tobacco to burn very well if a little faster than other known VA Flakes (perhaps faster than Full Virginia Flake).

Even the smoker who does not enjoy the taste of Virginia tobacco will have to agree as to the shrewdness of the blender who, sixty years ago, brought us this treat: fortunately I hold that leaf in high regard so not only I can vouch for the quality of this tobacco as I take great pleasure from it. Rarely will the pipe smoker find a tobacco more honest than this. There is a great purity to it, something which leads up to some of the most enjoyable moments I've ever had with a briar in hand.

(http://thedailypuffer.tumblr.com/)

I guess I was expecting something like Erinmore Flake. I would have been happy if it was just as good as that, but it's much, much better.

The tin note is awesome. Just pure tobacco in there. Sweet and inviting. Very handsome flakes, perfect moisture level. Lights easy and stays lit, providing a long, cool smoke. No bite, no gurgle.

The taste for me is absolutely spot on. How I went this long without trying this stuff is beyond me. I shall mourn those wasted years.

It's pretty one dimensional, but that's okay. The base flavors it offers more than make up for it. Sweet, fresh and simply glorious.

Highly recommended for VA lovers like myself.

PPREVIOUS: Against the flow, I didn't like it. It's well packed, in fact, it looks beautifil in the tin: two rows of well cutted flakes, wraped in a golden paper. The cigarete smell made me sad just when I opened the tin. It's my first flake, but didn't have much trouble to pack. Easy to lihgt. Easy to smoke. But it tastes just like cigarete. I think I'll take a long time to try virginias again. The room note is totally cigarete too. Not good to me, but I think I'm not a virginias lover.

Opening the tin I'm reminded of the wonderful Capstan Navy Flake...excuse me while I cry. Golden Sliced has that Virginia, hay like smell, but mellow and relaxed. I find the flakes need only a small time to loose some moisture. I take the flake,break it in half and lightly rub it, then filling it into the bowl, I rub some out finer for the top.

An all day smoke, the topping (?) doesn't seem to get in the way of the true Virginia Burley taste. A very nice flake.

The smell in the tin is a little citrus-like, but once you smoke it, this does not carry through. I'd call the flavour 'boring' - but in a good way. Just mild Virginia tobacco. Room note will not please non-smokers (will anything?), as it's basically just a cigarette smell. I found it a little bitter, especially after a relight.

Overall, not bad, but not great either. I much prefer Erinmore Flake, which is also blended by Orlik. But I'll finish the tin, and we'll see.

UPDATE

Well I'm sure this is highly unorthodox, but I'm raising my mark from 2 to 4 stars. This has really grown on me - I'm smoking it right now as I type. I don't know why I didn't like it from the start. Lovely, mild, creamy, nutty, natural tobacco taste. PErhaps it benefitted from drying out a little.

All in all, I enjoyed this Virginia blend and it will enter into my Virginia line-up. In spite of the sweet casing, I tasted good quality sweet Virginia throughout. It is a high quality smoke and comes in a at fantastic price when compared to other Virginia flakes sold in 50g quantity. This is one of my top three Virginias along with Mac Baren's Virginia No. 1 and Wessex Brown Virginia Flake. A while after opening a tin of GS, the flakes take on a darker color along with an increased depth of flavor - very delicious and highly recommended!

UPDATE 8-23-10: Gets better and better with aging. Truly a 5 star Virginia blend! I would suggest this to anyone wanting to try a Virginia for the first time. It comes in first with my three favorite Virginias, the other two being Mac Baren's Virginia No. 1 and Wessex Brown Virginia. I even like it better than Stonehaven and Erinmore Flake.

From all of the "Mild" and "Very mild" notations in the header of this blend that I've given the reader might get the impression that this is a bland tobacco. Far from it! This tobacco despite the frendliness of it is anything but tasteless. It is very tasty and just as accomodating as well.

I have to state right off that I am not a big Burley fan but with this flake it doesn't seem to bother me and indeed it rounds out the whole flavor package. That is, if I could taste it as a separate entity which I definitely don't. I read somewhere (I believe it was a Greg Pease article)that most blends that don't specifically say they contain no Burley probably do have some. I suppose that that's true and this tobacco states that it does have it. But what that percentage could be is anybody's(other than the blenders')guess. Whatever it is it is not an obtrusive or heavy amount in any case.

I find it difficult to welcome the dawn each day without this tobacco and a cup of French Roast coffee. Being a bit greedy and not planning my purchases in an over-effective manner I am presently running very low on this tobacco. A good but not perfect substitute is Stokkebye's Bullseye flake/rounds. It is not a perfect match since Stokkebye uses a touch of Perique in that blend but since I do enjoy Perique quite a bit my cravings are fairly well soothed in the absence of Orlik's Golden Sliced at times and temporarily. The Sam Gawith and Gawith and Hoggarth flakes of similar constituents also help.

Flavoring? I don't know---Great flavoring. I don't have the delicate and discerning palate of most of the contributors to this site but whatever the flavoring is I just love it. It's there but I just don't care what it is and would miss it were it absent.

Strength? That I've already discussed ad naseum so enough has been said about that.

Convenience: Well it lights well and burns even better with little or no relights. (As a sort of a side note I don't get all this hoopla about relights. Unless it a really excessive number for a truly soggy tobacco I've always felt that relights were part of the game.Pipe smoking is after all a "forced air system" and not learning to pace yourself will guarantee the tobacco ceasing to burn)

It's particularly useful I feel when used as a stalling tactic during difficult converstaions. So no problem especially with this tobacco.I've met very few people(smokers and non-smokers included) who will interrupt a pipe smker during that holy moment of relighting -even when it is not really needed.

Appearance- I would be hard-pressed to find a better looking tobacco especially with a better aroma in the can.

My tobacco tastes run from the Mild(Orlik's and the Kendals) to the much more robust(some of the Kendal and strong Latakia blends) and I enjoy them all at different times for different reasons.But for the mild side this tobacco, in my opinion, can't be surpassed.

Great Job, Pete!

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn 3:30 a.m. and truckin'

Update;

Welllllllllll, When you're wrong you're wrong and I was wrong. Going to the Villiger-Stokkebye site on the internet I found out that Golden Sliced does have Perique included in the blend. I like it even more now and it comes closer than before to the Bulleye Slices/rounds by the same company. "Fellow Traveler was right but I do have to lodge an objection about his comment about "53,000,000 Americans".... "not being able to spot a fraud"

That sort of comment does not have a place on a site that is devoted to opinions about tobacco and was totally unecessary and mean-spirited and gratuitous.Free speech is a fine thing but if I am not incorrect isn't there a warning about such comments in the sign on process? I won't go off on a defensive tirade about this lack of good manners but simply be content to have my disapproval noted. Thanks.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.Grumbling to himself and the Sunrise

As to the burly/perique debate, the following email is a direct reply from Stokkeby about its content:

Hi Ray

Thank you for your inquiry to Villiger Stokkebye International.

I am so glad you caught that mistake on our web-site, of course we want to keep it current and correct, and your feedback has now helped us weed out one error.

Orlik Golden Sliced does NOT have any Perique in it, but it’s Flue- Cured Virginia with a touch of BURLEY.

Thanks for YOUR help and

Happy Smoking!

Eva Stokkebye

Villiger Stokkebye International

eva@vsicigar.com

(704) 597 0416 (END)

You may not have caught it, but take heart, at least 53,000,000 other Americans can't spot a mistake (fraud) when they see one. The bigger question is what are you doing to correct mistakes when you find them?

The citrus flavours are much stronger (and a bit artificial) when the tin is just opened, slightly too much for my palette. After about a month things calmed down nicely and you're left with a fresh, bright and natural orangey flavour with some underlying oaty nuttiness. Very tasty.

I really like this tobacco but I'm struggling to find much more to say about it. It crumbles and packs very easily and burns beautifully to soft white ash with little effort and no relights. It does leave a bit of sticky residue like the other orlik offering I've tried. It's verging on being four star stuff but it's not quite remarkable enough. Hey ho...it's really good, I enjoy it and I'll keep some around but I wouldn't cry if I couldn't get any more.

As an aside...the colour of my tobacco is much lighter than that shown in the photo above. Also, it is presented in one, long, 3" wide strip folded several times to fit into the tin.