The initial light is a lemon citrus sweet. The floral component quickly fades, but the lemon citrus sweet remains constant with each draw, throughout the entire bowl. It sounds monotonous, but to my pallet, each draft was tasty & reliable. Mid bowl, a very slight nutty flavor appears & runs it's course till the end. All that remains at the end of the bowl is a nice white, fluffy powdery ash.

It is a unique blend, and won't supplant my mainstay VA's, but has earned a permanent spot in my cellar.

It also has a bit of that flowery taste/aroma that I despise but am learning to tolerate in order to enjoy the otherwise wonderful blends from G&H.

Bright CR does have its own certain charm, but for my money, there are many better choices in the mild/medium virginia genre.

2 or 3 stars, depending upon whether or not you like flowers with your virginia.

* * 1/2

Bright CR is (as always from G&H) quality virginia but is a little flat when it comes to the body I get from other flakes.

For those who like a mild VA this is a good one and has absolutely no bite. For me, I'll have to stick with flakes with a little more body.

Excellent quality! Low on taste.

Most highly recomended

Bright CR Flake is another unheralded tobacco that may lack the cachet and recognition of others, but yields little in terms of quality. Perhaps it is a victim of its own balance, as a lack a flamboyance is often mistaken as being pedestrian. Fans of the overtly sweet, heady, tangy, or what have you may have nothing to point their finger at. Rather, it serves as an archetypal blend incorporating many elements in an enjoyable, easy to digest form, along the lines of an Old Gowrie. Anyone who happens across this one should be satisfied, if not overwhelmed.

Update, 8/04- In the year since my initial review, I find myself smoking BCRF less and less, and enjoying it more and more. Perhaps I have too many selections of VA flake available (is there such a thing?), and find myself reaching for moment-specific selections out of habit. I don't know why, since Bright CR almoost always leaves me satisfied, and I find the ever so gentle presentation of the all too often heavyhanded floral component particularly endearing. Good stuff!

Addendum, 10/04- Undoubtedly, the questions regarding the unusual flavors to found in some of the English-style VA flakes are controversial. Some are enamored of the floral/soapy/Nivea components, while others are appalled by their presence. While the Condors,St. Brunos, or stronger expressions of the genre can be atrocious, if not downright disgusting, a light hand can nevertheless be endearing. When these flavors appear as wisps or hints, they can add a mystifying beauty to a blend. In this regard, Bright CR Flake makes for a gorgeous smoke.

I go through this stuff very quickly because it is an easy blend to smoke and is consistently good.

I think CR Flake would be a good tobacco for aromatic smokers to jump over to. Your pipes will thank you, trust me! ;-)

Though others have compared it to Samuel Gawith blends, that's not what I'm getting here. It brighter (visually and on the palate) than most of the English style flakes that I've tried. In many respects, it reminds me more of North German style flakes in some respects. It's still obviously an English style flake-- the predominantly African & South American virginia leaf that constitutes this blend have their own character (a slightly more woody taste? Or is it my imagination?). That said, the lighter body of smoke and generally brighter characteristics on the palate are vaguely reminiscent of (if not necessarily similar to) Heinrich's Golden Sliced or Reiner Long Golden Flake (without the Perique) or Orlik Golden Sliced (without that slight honey top-note). Simply, it seems like an English style flake, made with English flake components in an English way, but styled on a German style flake (does that make any sense at all?).

Anyway, I love it. It's something of a best of both worlds for me. I love virginia flakes-- from both England and Germany/Denmark (without nitpicking, the Germany/Denmark flakes can probably be broken down into a number of sub-categories, but the macro-category suffices for this comparison).

This tobacco is really a treat for me and I don't smoke it every day; one could get spoiled very easily. It's not too complex, but the flavor is remarkable; it contains just the right combination of Virginias. Smoke this one slowly and appreciate its delicate sweetness.

I am not a regular flake smoker, but have tried various techniques over the years. After trying multiple times to use very lightly rubbed flakes, folding, rolling, what have you, I have finally settled on just rubbing it out, and this is now working for me.

This comes in a long, six inch or so, flake that is sometimes cut in half by tobacconists for the convenience of packaging. The flake is a mix of light and dark browns, with some bird?s eye showing. Flakes are thin, perhaps 2mm thick. The unsmoked scent is lightly floral and grassy.

This is a very nice flake. The initial flavor on first and on relights after a rested palate displate a floral scent that is pleasant and not overwhelming. It rapidly retreats to the background. I have noted a similar flavor in Sherlock Holmes. Both tobaccos are described as unflavored and natural by others; I do not know if this is due to limited familiarity with British Commonwealth VAs by me, or if the scent is natural and mischaracterized by me. The early flavors are very much in line with the unsmoked scent, dominated by a fairly light grassiness. I have not experienced any episode of ashy taste or bitterness, even with the 2-10 day periods that I use to smoke flakes at times.

All in all, a nice, light smoke that is not overwhelming on the palate.

September, 2002.