However, to me at least it's far from a best of breed. The taste isn't particularly full, in fact if anything it doesn't taste of much at all. It's over-compressed and supplied wet and leathery which makes it hard to rub out and impossible to light. Drying it makes it a little easier to light (though not much) and less steamy (so more flavour), but it becomes hard and leathery and even more difficult to rub out or fold.

It's also very sweet and sugary towards the end of the bowl, which isn't something I appreciate in tobacco at all. I'd be interested to know how many of the people who really rate it use filters, which would remove the cloying sweetness.

Sure, it's popular, but popularity is no reason in itself to like anything. It's good quality tobacco, but so are many others on the market.

There are plenty of VA flakes with more flavour without going near aromatics or scented Lakelands, such as G&H unscented dark flake or Bright CR, Peterson Irish Flake or Germain's Rich Dark Flake.

Is it worthy of the hype? As I haven't smoked every other VA flake I don't know, but it's certainly worth four stars.

It is no doubt a high quality flake. I think that I prefer Marlin Flake to this and it is definitely easier to find. I will note that i bought two 100 gram tins of Marlin that were likely old and the tine of FVF i smoked was new. Perhaps with some age this one may be better to me.

Anyway, I feel fortunate enough just to secure the tins I purchased and may sing more praises after a few have had the chance to age.

*I'm not able for some reason to give this the full four stars but that is what it is.

It is creamy and sweet with zero bite which was great when I could keep it lit. My flakes came very, very wet. I would let them dry out for a few hours before I would put fire to them and always had to re-light way more than I would have liked.

The burn characteristics really are just not great in this blend. And after all, that is what you do with pipe tobacco!.... so it is important.

On the whole, this is an average luxury tobacco. In my opinion, there are better VA Flakes out there that are easy to find, easy to smoke and have more complex flavor composition (read: Dunhill Flake).

As so many reviewers already mentioned, it’s pretty damp. But I think that maybe it’s not necessarily bad thing for cellaring. Tobacco should have some humidity for further fermentation. So I took out one meaty flake, put it for 10 seconds in micro and folded into my favorite Savinelli. After a number of relights it took the flame and I’ve prepared to get heaven’s pleasure.

In the beginning I felt sweet Virginia taste. But towards the middle of the bowl it got lost. In the second half of the bowl the pipe gave giant viscous clouds. Seems I should dry it more. So, it’s undoubtedly good Virginia, with no tongue bite, but… is that all? Dunhill Flake at least gave me rich taste during all the bowl, and left flavorous aftertaste. Here, I only feel that I smoked something (maybe cigar?) and got a solid satisfying nicotine dose. Is it worth?

I’ll finish the tin and cellar two more. Meet me in a year.

P.S. After 3 days in unsealed tin these flakes are smokable without endless relights, especially when rubbed out. Still, too much hustle and bustle. It's like dating cinema star, after all the courtship and wooing you can get some pleasure. Maybe.

04/2013 Update: After nearly a year I returned to this stuff. Cellaring made it better. It’s still moist, flakes were packed by the left foot, most of them fall apart… But the taste and just right dose of nicotine redeem this poor presentation.

Full Virginia Flake is a great tobacco, and a benchmark that I would recommend all smokers try at least once. There is a rich, deep flavor with a nice but not overwhelming sweetness. It is full as the name would suggest, and unlike many more common VA blends there is enough nicotine to satisfy this smoker on most occasions.

When properly rubbed out and allowed to dry a bit, it takes a light with relative ease and doesn't need to be relit constantly - however for me this meant rubbing it out last night, allowing it to air out on a dish for about an hour, then packing the bowl and waiting until morning to smoke it. This comes, as most SG flakes seem to, extremely moist in the tin. Now this is personal preference, but I have a distaste for paying for water weight, and believe it's reasonable to expect a tobacco to be ready to smoke less than an hour after opening a tin.

I appreciate the rich, full flavor, and I reach for this tobacco when I want a pure VA experience with plenty of deeper notes than are offered from the bulk of Virginia only blends. However, I am not stuck on VA only blends and don't see the necessity of limiting myself to such smokes. I find Cornell & Diehl's Night Train to be an equal, and in many ways superior smoke which is dominated by a rich, full VA taste and subtle sweetness, though it does have a little bit of burley and some Perique to back it up and round out the blend. Similarly I find Esoterica Tobacciana's Tilbury a lighter, though equally elegant, blend which requires less preparation and drying time to enjoy it. It does feature a modicum of burley, unlike FVF, but it is not in a quantity substantial enough to alter the taste. There are also a few VA/Per blends I enjoy just as much, if not more than, FVF on most occasions.

But this is FVF, and it does not really beg comparison to many other tobaccos. My point is simply that on it's own merits, FVF has a wonderful flavor, depth, aroma, and body, and it is a very good blend. It just happens that there are many other blends which are far more readily available in the United States and often cheaper which I find equally exciting and fulfilling, and which frequently can be had for less money and enjoyed with far less messing about with the product prior to smoking. Everyone should try it, and if I can get a tin or two at a good price when I'm already buying something else I will do so, but when it is not readily available I will shed no tears.

Great change of pace when I want a rich, full flavored and slow burning Virgina.

When dry enough to burn without major issues, I find it free of tongue bite, though it can start to get a touch spicy and ashy if rushed or smoked aggressively. A little hay, some brown sugar sweetness and a touch of spice different from a peppery VA/Per.

I received a sample from a friend... 6 or so flakes. It smells nice and sweet in the bag. It is extremely wet/tacky/syrupy.

I rubbed out a couple of flakes and let them site for approx. 20 min before I packed the bowl. I should have let it sit out an hour or 2. Because of the stickiness of the tobacco, it packs tight. It was difficult to light, however, once lit it remained lit.

After approx 1/4 to 1/2 of the bowl, I was done. It was not sweet to smoke, but extremely spicy/peppery. It lost any and all appeal to me very quickly. It ripped my tongue a new one with tongue bite... Should be smoked extremely slow.

This tobacco in my opinion is for experienced pipe smokers. It is not a good option for me at this point.

Nothing more to add to the hundreds of positive reviews, but this is one great straight Va!