Gives off such strong aroma you feel like ringing the tobacco strands out and filling a cup.

The flavour slowly dies away as you progress the bowl, leaving a harsh, but somewhat mellow aftertaste.

If you like Rum per se then you'll adore this. If you don't, avoid.

Certainly not a tobacco I'd smoke on a regular basis, but well worth having in small quantities when the craving strikes.

they should call this licorice flake! too many flavorings. it's exceptional tobacco like any GH blend but i like rum flake to have just rum. the maple casing is nice.

give it a try but be warned it is like candy.

So what can I say about it. It has a full kentucky and burley taste witch I like. It has indeed a certain taste of rum (not rum essence that is used for cookies), note that I am a 100% black rum drinker. I couldn't taste the licorice but I could notice the sweet taste. It's a long smoke tobacco, it burns nice but hard so you can enjoy it for about an hour even in a medium pipe.

I am smoking pipe for a few months (started again after 5 years) and I have tried for about 10-12 tobaccos, form straight latakia and perique mixture to excellent danish aromatics.

This one is in my "Good full taste tobacco section" (by now I didn't find one I could call the best), not an aromatic,as far as I can taste it.

Just to let you know, and please do contradict with me if you disagree: if a tobacco is brownish and smells like smoked plums then it should be judged as pure tobacco, not spice, not aromatic.

UPDATED: from Recommended to Somewhat Recommended. I've let the tobacco "wait" for a while, and it seems to me now harsh and soapy. But there is also a thing that I might be doing wrong, mainly the fact that I only have mid-size - big-size pipes (38 mm depth 18 mm chamber width the smallest - 50 mm depth and 21 mm width the largest) and I always fill them to the top. Perhaps this tobacco is better when smoked from smaller pipes in smaller quantities.

Am I ever glad I did. This stuff rocks! I've smoked through a 2 OZ sample in just a few days. It just keeps getting better.

Despite the rum and maple sugar toppings this is not at all an aromatic. It tastes like I want a a VA to taste. It's the thing I keep trying to coax from many VA blends

I typically avoid burley because it bites me. But this doesn't' bite at all. In fact it's almost soothing to the tongue.

It comes a bit wet and like most flakes benefits from drying. I rub it out and pack it with a sort of hybrid air pocket/Frank technique. It burns amazingly well. I typically seem to have several relights through a typical bowl. Not with this. I won't roll out the cliche' "fine white ash". But it burns down to the bottom of the bowl with no fuss.

I buy very few blends in quantity to cellar. Only if they rock my world. This will be one I buy several pounds of. It has immediately made my top 5.

The pouch aroma is just plain gorgeous; 'Christmas cake' in the manufacturer's blurb is a very apt metaphor. But this is a tobacco that promises a good deal more than it delivers: the aroma doesn’t (in my experience so far) carry over into the smoke to any noticeable degree. After the first couple of puffs, there’s nothing much to distinguish RF from (say) G & H’s Brown Flake; though, thanks to the sugary casing, it's inclined to smoke a bit hot.

RF is all right, and I don’t mind recommending it to people who like G & H or SG flakes. It’s a pleasant enough smoke if you don't rush it, and not too strong in terms of nicotine content. Nothing to write home about, though.

I had it sitting on the shelf for about a week or so and today I decided it was time to give it a go.

The smell of the Tobacco when I opened the tin was fantastic, very Rasin like and very pleasant. it comes moist and dries out easily.

The smoke is not as pleasant...I really couldn't find the Vanilla, Rum, or Licorice. It just had a shampoo/soap taste, just really a chore to get through about half the bowl. I couldn't continue smoking it. I know you should give a tin a bowl or two before you judge it but this Tobacco just doesn't do it for me, no matter how many attempts I give it, my opinion won't change.

But, then again, it seems like plenty of people like it. So you might as well pick up a tin, I can only give so much information. It's your own opinion and your own tastes that decide.

I wish I had spent my money elsewhere rather than monkey with Rum Flake. This will be the last time I dabble around here, thank you very little.

Out of the packet, this loosely-packed tobacco looks and smells delectable: 6"x1.5" dark, golden-flecked, moist flakes that rub - and dry out - extremely easily. For once, the aroma matches the description faultlessly: I get a good dose of the maple sugars and a nice rum note from what is evidently a tobacco of quality.

However, the smoke itself was, for me, a big a disappointment as was possible. Undoubtedly, this was single-handedly down to the casing, which manifests this taste like lavender soap. And I don't mean merely "soapy"; it's just too strong to ignore as a passing sensation. Furthermore, it follows until the end of the bowl, creating a very one-dimensional and ultimately disappointing smoke.

To give this tobacco its dues, it's better when circulated through the nose, which gives this blend a sweet-cum-petrol aroma, and if you're one of those people who enjoy the smell, whilst filling up the tank of your car, then this might just redeem itself. I tried this in both a regular Peterson and a churchwarden, and received the same experience, even with the later addition of a filter.

I am in no rush to try this again in a hurry and sit on just shy of 50g of this 'Fresh New Hell,' which I would happily trade right now for anything, with anyone living in the UK.

Smokers will find the room note pleasant, but for most non-smokers it will be tolerable to okay at best. This tobacco reminded me of a stronger version of Amphora Red, although Amphora has a fresher edge to it as well as a more interesting room note.

Rum Flake is a pleasant smoke for people who desire a medium to strong tobacco flavour mixed with some aromatic qualities. A rich and satisfying smoke. It has a nice kick and I love it for a change of pace from the milder aromatics.

As with all G&H flakes, this was an even thickness (very thin), easily rubbed out and burned very well all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The tobacco quality is obviously top-notch, as always. But I can't seem to get into any of these flakes. There's always some kind of flavor missmatch with my pallate. I try to be objective, but there are limits. This flake smelled very sweet in the tin, but the smoke was usually quite bitter. A tobacconist of my acquaintence said this tastes like hairspray, and unfortunately that matched my experience as well. Moments, and even substantial portions of bowls, were smoother and more pleasurable; however it usually left me thinking "If only it were a bit more...." sweet, smooth, whatever. My experience with it was very similar to Brown Flake by Germain. Not surprisingly, since I know a guy who loves both. So it will match some pallates, and some experienced and sophisticated ones at that. Just not mine. Alas. Better within the genre for my money: Kendal Cream Flake.

**Updated 08/05**

I've changed the way I smoke this tobacco. I no longer roll the flake; I cut it up with scissors into small pieces and then further rub it out until it's almost powder. The depth of the flavor is more abundant to me when prepared in this fashion which results in a mellow and even more "round" full smoke. I will also let the flake dry on a plate before cutting and rubbing out vigorously.

Oddly enough, this tobacco has a hint of that "soapy" flavor that one finds in many of these Lakeland style flakes. It's not overwhelming, it's kind of charming. I will be smoking the bowl and all of a sudden I'll get an awareness of that 'taste' and then it's gone.

The tobacco burns slow, cool and dry. The nicotine edge that this tobacco has is just right - it's not over the top like Dark Flake and it's a little less pronounced in nicotine than the Kendal Flake is.

A friend of mine in Florida introduced me to this tobacco. He's a former cigarette smoker and has sworn by this tobacco for several years. Once when we swapped pipes he sent me a sample of this and I laughed at him! No way would I put this foul 'soapy' stuff in my pipe! But being an adventurist (and former cigarette smoker) I decided to try it and was simply amazed.

The sweetness of the maple in the tobacco is like Mac Baren on steriods but not in an aromatic way. Rum Flake smokes all the way down, just like it started - a very steady and heady smoke. No wet smoke, just let the flakes dry out a bit before loading.

A buddy of mine (at the Chicago Pipe Show) filled up a pipe with this. He told me that he (a cigarette smoker) had a problem with blends biting his tongue. After finishing the bowl he came up to tell me that this blend was wonderful - and he bought a couple of 'bricks' of it to take home. He came up to me the next day to thank me for introducing this to him.

I keep this on hand at all times, it's highly underrated but it does have a hint of that soapy flavor that so many abhor.

Unique and Thoroughly Enjoyable!

And to think, I used to believe that life was only about Food, Sex and Breathing.

It starts out with the typical soapy, floral taste and seems to develop more sweetness as you progress ... I would have liked a little more tobacco flavor and less sugar but hey, it is what it is and it ain't too bad. This stuff will never be part of my regular rotation it is just to sweet but is is well done for what it is and if you like this sort of tobacco it is an excellent offering. Solid 3 -3.5 stars.

When you see this in the tin, wrapped in the plastic baggy, you might be disappointed...but when you pop the tape seal, you're hit with a deep, rich, plummy, rummy smell and you can see the darkness and complexity of the flake slices...a good sign!

When you've packed your pipe properly, be prepared for a cool, rich, deep, complex and varied smoke that gives forth clouds of smoke spiced with LIGHT scents of vanilla and rum, but doesn't bite the tongue or flare up in the pipe. Slow, steady smoking will bring a swirling mix of the casing (rum, vanilla, licorice) to your senses and delight you every minute! It burns down to clean, dry ash and lingers in the nose like a pleasant shot of rum and soft vanilla ice cream. EXCELLENT!

This is a wonderful tobacco and is going into the regular rotation. The people I was around like it, too!

This is nothing but an elegant aromatic with enough tobacco flavor to satisfy anyone, anytime.

HIGHLY recommended!!!