Former - Straight Grain Flake pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 10 of 10 reviews of this tobacco
Barling	04/01/2012	Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I cellared 5 tins of this dated from 2005. The age has darkened the tobacco quite a bit. This comes across as a spicy VaPer with definite sour notes. I do not like it as much as the Former Cross Grain Flake, which is milder and sweeter, so I am going to let the remaining tins age for a couple of more years before trying it again.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Davie Jones	12/25/2011	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I was strongly - unfortunately - disappointed by this flake. Because it is not a dark flake, but mostly a golden VA with some darker leaf. Which means a smoke with a rather hay/cereal taste with barely a plum taste from the PER that does not seem to be fermented (which I still prefer to the peppery taste of the fermented variety). No surprises, no evolution in the complexity. It is not full bodied and the PER does not bring out any rich flavours. Smokes well but not suitable for the experienced smoker. I would recommend it, though, to the beginner that wishes to venture into VA/PER mixtures. Then, Escudo and Davidoff Medallion Flakes would be the next level.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
DK	11/10/2011	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This one gets an A for presentation. Beautiful mottled flakes arranged neatly and looking smart. Tin nose is overly fruity, kind of like raisin drenched in a sugary plum sauce. I smoked this stuff moist and dry, folded and rubbed, in meerschaum and briar. Whether the tin nose biased my taste buds, I can't say, but the experience was far from enjoyable. Whatever casing is used seems to clash with the perique. From the match to the dottle, my tin smoked massively sour and unpleasant. I don't think perique itself is quite so fruity. And the "fruit" had a rancid taste to it. There appeared to be good quality virginia in the blend but the casing (I assume) was so intrusive that it covered the base tobacco like an overcoat. Perhaps I got a bad tin but I don't care to try again. Hopefully others will enjoy this more than I did, but based on my experiences, I would recommend looking elsewhere for a VaPer.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Gladdy	08/11/2011	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant
Suggested to me by a pipe shop owner when I inquired about a good Va/Pe. I was a little skeptical first because it seemed like he was just getting rid of old stock because I am new at this, but all skepticism was gone after the first bowl. When opening it, you get a heavy raisin smell, but none while smoking. It is easy to smoke and very flavorful. A fantastic balance between the two tobaccos. Just a great smoke. Highly recommended!
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Slow Triathlete	12/02/2010	Medium to Strong	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
The appearance in the tin of this blend is similar to Stokkebye’s Luxury Navy Flake but a lot darker. The tin aroma is a mix of the dark, tangy, sweet Virginias along with the underlying spice of the perique. There is also a hint of leather in there as well. This is one of my favorite smelling blends in the tin. It doesn’t really smell like any other blend. I opened several other Vapers and stuck my nose in all of them and none of them smelled as good to me as this one. I rubbed out the flake a little but to dry for a few minutes before packing this in. I have started using the Air Pocket Method for my flakes and broken flakes and that is what I used with this blend. I smoked this in a Peterson 268 Zulu shape as it seems the best for me with this blend. Lighting was very easy. Once rubbed out this blend is made up of very narrow strips of tobacco which take to flame very easily. This blend has a very dark Virginia taste to start off with. There are some lighter flavored Virginias in there that provide high notes, perhaps Red or maybe even Lemon Virginia. I’m not sure but they are delicious. The perique is there in the background but it really comes to the forefront after about 1/3 of the bowl. Then it kicks in and rounds this blend out very nicely. It has a fuller taste and strength than a lot of the blends in this showdown. Now this is not to say that this is a nicotine bomb like Night Train seems to be but it is definitely more full than any of the Hearth and Home blends. The taste and strength last through the rest of the bowl and never turns sour near the end. Overall this is a very, very enjoyable blend. While it is not my favorite smoke it is definitely in my regular rotation. It is also one of the better bargains out there and I will be ordering more tins throughout the years to lie down in the cellar. This will be one that really gets better with age in my opinion.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Bluenoser	04/06/2009	Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant
I really like this tobacco. It is a wonderful Virginia perique mixture. Upon opening the tin you are hit with pungent aroma of fine aged Virginia and a deep and I mean deep odor of prune/raisin. There seems to be an added flavoring to this blend and I would guess it is prune juice. I say that because the prune fragrance is very dominating. If I'm wrong on that point then the perique must be plentiful and of the highest caliber. This is similar to St. Bruno just a wee bit milder,however the main difference being Bruno is obviously very British and this is, well not. For those of you who smoke English made tobaccos you probably know where I'm coming from. Great smoke, great vaper. Come to think of it, this blend is an older brother to Royal Jersey Perique and a younger brother to St. Bruno flake. Highly Recommended.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
puro66	03/08/2008	Strong	Strong	Full	Tolerable
I've been thinking of trying this blend for quite sometime and finally have gotten to it. As to the rumors of being a replacement to St. Bruno, it's just a rumor. This blend is far sweeter than Bruno and that is a bit of a detractor for me. I'm not sure what the flavoring is. It is pleasant enough but just a bit overdone, again for me. The tin aroma is most inviting and the broken brown/black flakes are easily packed in your favorite bowl. The virginias are of high quality and the perique kicks in after a few puffs and remains steady in the background throughout the bowl. I will revisit this at a later date but suspect it will not make the regular rotation. UPDATE 5-01-13: Not only did it not make rotation it's flavor became quite annoying and horribly ghosted a very nice pipe. We're not talking Casper here, but full on horror show.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Pipestud	09/03/2005	Medium	None detected	Medium	Unnoticeable
Nice! The flakes are broken and rub out easily if that is your preference (it is mine). The Perique comes through in gentle, soft waves while the Virginia is more demanding of your attention. I can't place my finger on the flavor as it is quite unique. Oriental undertones? Nah. I think this will be a wonderful tobacco after a few years in the cellar. It's just a smidgen rough around the edges but provides an otherwise stellar smoke. I must give Former's other offerings a try - and soon.
Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
NEWMAN	05/16/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I found this to be the most enjoyable of the newly introduced Former Flakes. The nicely prepared strips have an ideal moisture content and readily pack without rubout even in medium sized bowls. The blend consists of darker and redish VAs with just the right balance of Perique for my taste. However, you must like Perique to like this blend. Lighting and burn rate were excellent and resulted in an effortless smoke without relights. The taste and strength doesn't change much as the smoke progresses but this is a good smoke with natural tobacco taste. I'll order some more tins for aging and hope for even better satisfaction.
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Stan	04/15/2005	Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Thanks - freed from that mirror (see Montogomery). Rumored, again, to be a clone of St. Bruno's Flake which is not available in the U.S. or in other places as well. TPSE (April '05) opined that this is a new replacement to St. Brunos in the U.S. and a good one Darker virginias than the other new Former mostly bright flakes. With reds and some more perique here. This tastes like a full dark flake but with a little let up due to the reds. To me it's more like Astley's 109 flake than St. Bruno. I've smoked the original St. Brunos, which is stout, dark, but with intensely sweet flavors, yet cool. This is not quite as sweet. If you ask me, G&H's Ennerdale Flake is closer to and better than St. Bruno. But I am not a die hard. This flake is not as sweet. But enough comparison, it's not that distant from St. Brunos, but it is good and deep in its own right. Dark, cool, stoutish, yet sweet, it's a leathery flake to feel and rub out or break up. I break it up a little for a small bowl. If you want to try a darkish flake with a sweet fruity type note, give this a spin. I'll spend a while finishing the whole tin yet but I have smoked about 15 plus bowls in a small Dunhill. Enjoyable. The sweetness will probably become more pronounced with some additional age. It's deep and enjoyable even if you haven't tried the original saintly one.
Showing reviews 1 through 10 of 10 reviews of this tobacco