There is very little of the ususal St Bruno 'floral' taste but there is quite a lot of sweet virginia and I also get a degree of pepper which is really nice and even with the sweetness.

The plastic tray was also a surprise in a strange way. The flakes were very thin and evenly cut and very moist so they could do with a little drying out before hand.

For an OTC it is very good and would recommend it.

Review based on a fresh packet not a cellared one.

St-Bruno flake proved me wrong. I almost got sick and had to stop around half bowl.

It was too much.

I guess they would be a lot easier to handle today if I could get some...Because now, I really am a tough pipe smoker and can handle anything.

As for the flavor of this in comparison to the RR, I found no major differences. This bursts on the tongue at first light and is a marvelously simple, mellow yet robust and tasty blend. This is elevated above the RR only because I don't find all the stems in the flake version. That gives me the serene feeling that the quality control is better. But I can and do smoke and enjoy both. As mentioned, this is hardly a complex blend but the mere fact that it smokes consistently well from top to bottom is a testament to its understated greatness. In fact, this is one of those rare blends that I could smoke all day every day if I were forced into that. I would long for some other blends, of course, but I'd still be a happy camper. St Bruno is, in my humble opinion, the finest OTC currently being made. Grab either version if you enjoy a flavorful and non-complex smoke.

So. St. Bruno. No tin. Boo! I can transfer it to a tin though, what the hell. Sniff. Well, I'd just like to say that however it is that other peoples noses are wired up to their brains that the use of the word soap in connection to any tobacco smells seems really weird. Maybe some aromatics, but even then. What sort of soap are you referring to? Coal tar soap? So I just can't bring myself to use it to describe this. To me it's pungent, spicy, fruity even, and really smells of......tobacco! This smells of tobacco. Flue Cured? Is that ok?

It seems to me that references to soap travel on the Western winds from our good friends accross The Pond; their culture, being what it is, demands that they portray the English as namby pamby fairies of dubious sexual persuasion at every available opportunity. Only because they love us so, though, of course. I suspect that the tobacco made in the US has a difference to that made in the UK somewhat akin to the differences between the beers brewed in the two nations. And there are certainly differences there, and much to be said about it and what it must say about the differences in tastes, and there's no accounting for taste. So....

....it's clear that St Bruno, smoked by many a Briton, is strong enough, and more so, for even the hurliest and burliest of pipe smoking enthusiasts, wherever they hail from. At first it doesn't seem so and then before you know it..... Wha! I can't smoke much of this in one go. One flake is quite enough. And as for the flakes - they seem a bit flimsy and insubstantial. The sucker punch. Really easy to use, though. Much more Gawith and Hogarth than Samual Gawith but with similarities to both, what with originating from the North West.

The taste starts off fairly non-descript but once it comes together it's unmistakable. Earthy, woody, rich, full. Errmm, no soap as far as I can tell. I'm not hugely thrilled with the taste but it'll certainly do. I found it left some residue, but not much.

All in all I was pleasently surprised, considering it's mass-market nature and appeal. I dare say I will smoke it again, but probably I'll save it for when I'm doing Geography projects in the Fjords of Norway, just for the delivery.

UPDATE: ok, I'll eat my shorts, hat, whatever. I admit it - soap! But only in the ghost in the pipe.

In short Easy to buy (in the UK) Simple to fill, just fold and stuff. Easy to light and keep lit,admitted when fresh from a new opened pack a few relights are always necessary, this improves daily. Tasty with nice simple woody earthy full tobacco taste and now I have seen others mention soapy, it has a definite nice Imperial leather undertone. I always have a pack in my cupboard and puff on it once or twice a week.

Like Meercat said, "a British Institution".I hope it dosn't end up like most of our other institutions, lost or changed beyond recognition!!

It now comes in a foil covered plastic tray within a pouch and although this feels less special than a traditional tin it means you can rub the flakes out into the pouch and then fill your pipe, thus making the process a bit more mess-free.

The (for want of a more accurate idiom) tin aroma is strong, dark and sweet like a fruit cake. A good, thick, tobacco smell. The precision cut flakes are thin, dark and oily and rub out easily. As with most tobaccos, a little drying time doesn't hurt but is not as essential as with some.

I remember the first time I tried this tobacco. It was my first sustained foray into serious pipe smoking, having only experimented with one or two bowls of a cheap cherry-vanilla aromatic. Well, the thing that struck me first was the soap. I just wasn't expecting it. I naively thought that it would taste exactly as it smelled in the room when others had smoked it. However, I persisted and my word I was glad that I had. The dark molasses fruit does come through under the soapiness and the overall flavour is of strong, rich, natural tobacco.

It burns smooth and cool producing thick plumes of rich white smoke before ending in a light, clean and dry ash, leaving no sticky residue and making the 'empty and clean' ritual quick and simple.

I couldn't stop myself from buying this tobacco even if I wanted to. Which, of course, I don't.

So there.

Buy it. Smoke it. Love it. A British institution.

The most classic - and probably the top seller - British flake, delivers a substantial/solid/durable smoke, never harsh or bitter or hot or biting, easy to keep alight and plenty of other good features.

Not "regular" as Walnut, nor "scented" as Condor Long Cut. Just a hint of the famous soapy scent. The rest is a full bodied stoved Virginia & other tobaccos (mainly Burley, Kentucky - if any - is present in traces), with hints of sweetnees, wood, citrus and basically plain and true tobacco aroma.

December is the month I have dedicated to some famous British flakes in my cabinet (Ennerdale, Coniston, Walnut, St. Bruno and Player's), and a dozen of british pipes (Sasieni, BBB and Parker).

Now smoking SB by a BBB canadian (gr. 4), the long stem delivering the smoothest smoke.

Full score for St. Bruno, hopefully I will have some friends helping my cellar to keep my cabined supplied.

The smell was very nice with a hint of plum/raisin. The slices are vey thin and probably the thinnest I've come across.

The tobacco was a bit on the dry side (so all this elaborate packagind does not keep it moist on the long run) so I rubbed it out a bit. It loaded easily and gave a good draw even when packing firmly. Upon lighting the tobacco on top danced up and down under the flame of my lighter and after an easy light the palate was filled with a mild rich flavour of nuts and some of the sweetness of the earlier detected plum/raisin smell.

Very nice indeed. The first half of the bowl smoked zway this mildly and after tamping on about half the bowl, the flavors stayed, but the tobacco got more peppery and nicotiney.

then again till almost the end it stayed this "sharp edged" (the good kind of sharp).

A wonderfull smoke, even on the dry side. Took a little experiment though and started reviving a few slices to see what it would be when it is a bit more moist.

I could definitely recommend this to anyone.

It deserves a four star rating but for an all day smoke I need something much more tasty, not this much monotone.

Personally, I can’t detect any appreciable difference between the flake and ready-rubbed versions; though the rr burns more quickly and hence is inclined to be hotter than the flake. St Bruno used to be sold as a ‘rough cut,’ which I seem to remember was a bit coarser than the current rr. The nicotine will smack you hard if you don’t sip.

A worthwhile and satisfying smoke, though perhaps not one for the beginner. I find, incidentally, that the DGT is very rewarding with St Bruno. If you come back to a partially smoked bowl, you find that the casing has gone and you're getting a very full and rich pure Virginia flavour.

Three stars for this one, I think. St Bruno (possibly jointly with Three Nuns) is perhaps the best of the available everyday 'supermarket' blends; and its ready availability (in the UK) is, of course, another point in its favour. I have, though, noticed quite a lot of stem in the flakes during the past couple of years. I hope this doesn't signal the beginning of a general deterioration.

Easy to smoke but careful for nicotine...Flakes are thin and small...But i recommended first time use one flake and dont smoke if you r hungry...

Once it gets going (when the flavours and strength synthesize) is bursting with good flavour and strength, without either being overwhelming. The tobacco is easily kept alight with gentle puffing, and does not overwhelm.

I am a fairly articulare chap, but I cannot find the right words to describe the flavour. Classic (read "overused"!) words for describing dark-tobaccos such as rich, nutty and fruity go some way to describing the flavour, but the flavour profile really is indescribable - in a class of its own.

There also seems to be just a slight spice to it, which cuts through the sweetness and that slightly alkaline taste that virginias can impart.

Rich, smooth, mature, slow-burning and deeply satisfying. If I was forced onto that desert island, I might just choose to live solely in the company of this saint...

Paired with Condor it is a delightful dessert. I should reverse the order sometime.

I have little to add to the descriptions given before me. In the tray in the pouch it is a neat and attractive 7/8" x 3" dark flake with a pleasant aroma. In the pipe it is charming and ever so pleasing. If I could buy it in bulk I would. Be that as it may, I will bite the proverbial bullet and stock up on pouches. This, I want to smoke several times a week. A nephew is getting married in Edmonton this May. I hope the shops there have it.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing St. Bruno Flake to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.

This is readily available everywhere in the UK for about £8.36 per 50grams., in any small shops or supermarkets. Some supermarkets sell the flake version, but all sell ready rubbed. I find just folding the flake in half and plugging into the pipe, with a few crumbs sprinkled onto the top to aid easy lighting, the most rewarding, as you contemplate the smoothness of slowly sipping this delightful St. Bruno to you hearts content.

For information purposes, St Bruno used to be made in Liverpool, UK as stated on the pouch, but this is not so. Many years ago the factory closed and is no longer there, only a new housing estate has been built on the site now. I can confirm this as I live only a few miles away from the original Ogdens factory here in Liverpool.

The Ogdens building lies empty, but if you would like to see a photo of the building, go to ian0077 profile where i have the photo posted for you to see.

A good tip; when you want that little perique flavour to any VA blend try this. Sprinkle a little finely milled black pepper into the bowl of your pipe, a little near the bottom, middle and just under the top layer of your tobacco. You need to vary the amount and believe me, you will be in heaven.

I smoke many different blends as I read TobbacoReviews regurlarly and find that the site and all the reviewers comments a must read for anyone novice or experienced in this wonderful pastime. As a daily smoke, you cannot beat St. Bruno flake in your rotation. no bite whatsoever.

As I always say " Variety is the spice of life ". Happy contemplating, the St. Bruno way.