| After ordering this on line, I noticed that lemon and honey is used as a topping, my heart sank. On opening the tin, a quick sniff concurred, lemon and honey, I had a mental image of a McB's salesman "Will that be six scoops of honey or seven"? followed by a cheery "Three lumps of caramel to cover your tasteless tobacco sir"?
I was pleasantly supprised to find both lemon and honey, which is present, well and truly in the background. A tempered hand has been used, proven by several DGT's.
IMHO, the benchmark for an excellent Virginia is Sam Gawith's Golden Glow / Medium Virginia Flake and Capstan Flake Medium.
Golden Flake however, is in my opinion, of a lighter vein, this does not mean it's bad. The flakes rub out easily and take to the match, the flavouring remains firmly in the background as noted and a good quality virginia, without bite I may add, comes to the fore. For me, this will be a more interesting smoke as the weather warms. For now, a good tobacco, I have no regrets buying two tins, they will not gather dust and as the summer progresses, I may well buy more.
Well worth a try without being an outstanding smoke.
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| This one's mostly VA; it reaches me in perfect condition for smoking (not too moist, not too dry), and after some tests, I tend to use my smallest bowls for it when rubbed out.
The taste is potent and sweetly VA-ish; I can't detect any flavouring or casing (except for that possible hint of Burley). The smoke is quite strong and dense; if you put this in a wide bowl, it's likely to run away and burn too hot. Rub it well, and don't stuff it too tightly.
The room note is a complete beauty: this tobacco leaves a very gentle, nice sweetness in the air that doesn't hint at all at tobacco -- if you live in a condo and have sensitive neighbours, this might be your ticket. The scent this flake leaves is much nicer, more refined and far less obtrusive than any room deodorants!
4 out of 4. I've been looking for the "perfect" flake for a long time, and this one comes close enough that I think I'll stick with it.
-- update 09-08-26: after having smoked this blend folded rather than rubbed out for the last few months, I tend to recommend that style of packing. The first half of the bowl will be potent and sweet; the last half will turn out quite strong and very satisfying.
-- Note 10-05-26: shortened and corrected the beginning of my review
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