Rub, pack and light.

Very interesting. Toasted pure tobacco. Subtle roasted nut and coffee flavors. Simple, but tastes great. Aging doesn’t seems to have changed the burley much, except it’s softer and very well balanced. Because burley has virtually no sugar in the leaf, it can’t ferment like Virginia or a few other tobaccos. But it’s lack of sugar also means it’s not as likely to burn your tongue. Remember: Burley also has the most nicotine of any pipe leaf. This stuff has a nice kick to it. Eat something first. And don’t smoke it before attempting sleep.

I’ve never had burley presented this way. I’m very impressed. The blend of vastly different burleys, has mingled and married deliciously. The toasting makes the whole thing more interesting. Rustic but with style, begs to be smoked outside, but wherever you smoke it - this stuff is great. Room note is quite light and tolerable.

Goes onto my favorite list as a “Something Different” selection.

Keep in mind that for some reason odors bring up images for me.

Open the tin and get my nose down and good an instant raw Cocoa smell. Not sweet chocolate as some ascribe it. But Hershey's unsweetened cocoa from the tin when your mom or grandma bought it, simmered the milk and stirred in cocoa and sugar. Yes kiddies raw cocoa doesn't come sugar laddened. along with the nutty smell of burly and the raw cocoa nut this was begging for a taste on the tongue.

I took a small speck off the flake and put it on my tongue. Alway expecting a quadruple fold effect in doing this it always gives a crisper taste of whats to come in the smoke. Some things you wil never taste in the smoke though. Such as the barely detectable acid like flavor that comes from the ageing process. Its very poiniant in McClelland matured VA's. It even comes through in their smoke. But not in this burley. Its hardly noticeable but it does contribute to its mild and naural sweetness. Believe me there is not one drop of propylene glycol in this flake. Ala natural for the most part.

I use the rolled technique to pack a flake. Flakes are dense and can be hard to keep lit out of the tin. But after a few puffs of this I didn't care if I had to relit 100 times or as little as two.

This is quite rich in flavor but not bold or heavy handed. NBut medium to full. You get the raw cocoa smell and the nutty burly flavor quite well. Smokes very mellow and well rounded in flavor. Theres nothing complicated here so don't look for it. Its a simple smoke but quite rich....... kind of like the best chocolate cake you've ever had without the 2 lbs of sugar in it.

The room note is tolrable for some and pleasant for others. It instantly conjured up an image for me of standing next to my grandfathers Belgium draft horses than he spoiled rotten. This is a fond memory BTW. They didn't stink other than what a horse should smell like.

A daily blend? Heavens no. Not at these prices anyway. A special treat? Oh yeah baby and how. Keep it always on my shelf. You betcha. Even VA lovers are not spitting on this blend at all even though they really want too. They just can't. Though being biased they'll give it 4 stars.

Being a burlyy fan I can give it 5 with no complaints at all about the toby.

After all the positive reviews, I ordered a tin of ABF. As the others have indicated, the tobacco quality is high, moisture is perfect, and the tin note is a bit citrusy.

I've smoked half of my first tin now, in my MM Diplomat cob. I liked the first bowl, but have now come to love ABF. I ordered several more tins for my cellar. I find myself coming back to ABF on a regular basis and wish it could be purchased in bulk. I really enjoy it and recommend you give it a shot.

Like the other Solani offerings, it is a beautiful tobacco. The flakes have just the right moisture content. It loads, packs, and lights easily. Burns cool. But there just isn't anything to get excited about.

If it is nicotine you are after, there are stronger tobaccos that actually offer some flavor. If it is burley you crave, there are better burleys out there.

This stuff is just boring and bland and not worth the money. Not even worth the time. I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.

The cocoa scent is more evident in the tin. I don't know if it is natural or a topping applied to the tobacco. I do detect a honey casing which I believe is standard for all blends coming from this company.

Nicotine content is medium-strong.

Peterson Irish Flake, by the same company, has a similar appearance to the flakes, but has enough Virginia in it to make it more accessible.

In the end I give it only one star: it is one of the rare blends I have thrown out after only half a tin. I finally decided it was just taking up space.

Life is too short for mediocre tobacco.

I recommend that you smoke it quickly because it will become bland within 2 weeks of opening.

The best Burley I have smoked!

I thoroughly enjoyed this tobacco. Upon opening the tin, I was greeted with a strong chocolate smell that was reminiscent of baking chocolate. Upon touching match to tobacco, however, I was greeted with a pleasantly mild, sweet chocolate taste. It does tend to smoke a bit hot, but with a burley flake this is to be expected. Respect it and take it slowly, and it will reply in kind.

room note: smells like i'm trapped in the middle of a bog fire. (if there's ever such thing) i'm not familiar with many different burley notes quite yet, but this one is much more strong, mossy and musky than the others i'm acquainted with as of now. put yourself on top of a mossy roof next to a stone chimney billowing with smoke in the middle of an overgrown, muddy swamp somewhere in the humid, deep south.

and i've never complained about the "burley bites" for if i have been bitten it was because i deserved it. the aged burley flake smokes cool and evenly if packed correctly and smoked at an appropriate pace. even after a re-light, although i had some issues getting reunited with the flavor, i still had no problem getting a cool smoke. so once again with a completely different blend, i'm still failing to understand everyone's problem with the "harshness" and "bitterness" of burleys, and like i said, i'm still new to non-aromatics.

i notice that ABF has a 4-star rating overall. i hope that i haven't found the best of the burley blends already, and although this may not sound like a great review, so far i've enjoyed this blend more than the others. only problem i really have is the price. i find it hard to believe this is 50g, even after rubbing it all out and relocating it to a 3-ounce jar, it still appears to be half the amount i receive of other blends. i'm counting how many bowls i get out of it...

side note: decent nicotine kick about knocked me on my ass. don't smoke on an empty stomach ha ha.

pps: it's been 20 mins and i still taste roasted moss. and yes, i love it =)

definitely recommended.