This blend has a good quality Virginia leaf in it. The flakes are smelling really apetisant. It lights and smokes easy. The very first taste is a good sweet Virginia taste with just a touch of peppery Perique. I expected it to reach a satisfactory richness of taste and strength. It didn't. It smokes in its light way.

When you want the smoke to be richer at taste and strength you may puff the pipe harder. This is a kind of reflex we do without thinking sometimes. If this tobacco bites your tongue this may be the reason. You need somethin stronger.

I'll recommend it for the beginners to experience how a high quality Virginia-Perique blend tastes whit a well balanced puffing cadence.

The Bulleye Flake and the Navy flake are superb. As of the present I have not sampled the Luxury Twist Flake but I will soo remedy that lack. I am sure it will be as exemplary as the others.

Navy Flake and Bullseye are remarkable tobaccos at any time of the day. Strength-wise they are exactly right when a light to medium smoke is called for. Personally I don't have the capacity to tell what the flavoring agents are as some of the commenteers do;I just either like or dislike what I'm tasting and Peter Stokkebye seems to have gotten this exactly right in both of the abovementioned blends. It just tases great without overpowering either the taste of the constituent tobaccos or the room note. The room note is fine with me and my good wife and as far as others are concerned I am not all that concerned. I smoke the Kendal tobacco companies' products regularly and a range of Latakia blends as well and Peter Stokkebye's two(and most likely the third untried offering) fit quite nicely into my taste inventory qite handily.

A Highly Recommended acclade for these tobacco blends is obvious.They both fill and burn exceptionally well and have just the right amount of nicotine as well.

Bravo to Peter Stokkebye and sorry I took so long getting to know thee!

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (more eclectic than previously)

And I was completely and totally disappointed through the entire bowl. There was no flavor, and I don't mean the flavor was bland or you could hardly taste it, I mean no flavor whatsoever. I could just as easily been drawing on an empty pipe. Or for that matter I think I would get more flavor FROM an empty pipe.

I really wanted to like this tobacco, its appearance and price were just to good to give up after just one bowl. So I came here in the hopes I would find stellar reviews and hopefully find I had gotten a bad batch. What I found was some very sage advice from Pipe4ever. Smoke 10-15 bowls without smoking anything else. Well sure, why not. I figured since I had bought several ounces anyway all I had to loose was 10 bowls with no flavor to speak of.

Around bowl 8 I started noticing a sweet, hay like flavor begin to develop. By bowl 11 the flavor was strong enough I honestly wondered how I missed it for so long. It doesn't nock you over, the flavor is very nice and subtle. It does scream fresh cut hay but in a very good way.

Even with the initial disapointmemt I have to give this tobacco the highest rating. I prefer stronger and sweeter VA's but even though this isn't my normal "cup o tea", I will certainly buy this tobacco again, and have a big ol smile on my face as I anticipate loading my pipe..

After smoking 1 pound of each, here below I write a small review for all:

Luxury curly cut: I wasn?t terribly happy with this blend, there is some topping with unpleasant flavor and it is hot on the palate, the good news is that it has been discontinued. 2stars

Luxury Twist Flake: very pleasant hay/ burnt caramel flavor, great first WOW effect, high impression when you start smoking few oz of it, unfortunately there is a diminishing return effect, after smoking 7 to 8oz of it, the caramel topping starts to be boring, the flavor is great in the beginning, but this is not a natural VA flavor. Try Astley's No.109 Virginia Flake for the same flavor but with true and natural VA and without casing. 3stars.

Luxury Bulleyes flake: This one is really good, natural flavor with minimum perique and delicious Cavendish, Great Virginia!!! However, despite the very low price, it is not as good as Davidoff Flake Medallions or Escudo Navy Deluxe. This is a very good choice for money saving pipers, with Hi quality VAPER spun cakes, but if we talk strictly about enjoying a VA/Per pipe, this blend is not the best of its category. and since I do not care how much the tobacco costs, not because I am rich, but because life is too short, also because I smoke 1-2 bowl only per day and I believe that the best way to save your money is to sell all your pipes on Ebay and stop smoking for good, therefor I Definitely prefer Flake Medallions over LBF. 3star

Luxury Navy Flake: This is my favorite one so far, it will not impress you with WOW flavor when you start smoking it, but it will start revealing its hidden secrets after maybe 10-15 bowls, it just needs your patience and commitment (do not smoke anything else while smoking it) this is truly a great smoke, with unmatched quality for a Navy Va flake, extremely well balanced, natural flavor with slight sweetness that comes from the very light rum casing, creamy and fresh, very pleasant all day smoke. Definitely one of the best in the "navy" category. I am very happy with this one, this is my preferred one, 4 stars.

Appearance: A mostly chestnut brown with some lighter brown and tan mottling with a few yellowish bits leathery flake of uniform thickness.

Tin aroma: The first thing that is apparent when opening a tin of Luxury Navy Flake is quite simply tobacco. You couldn't possibly mistake this for anything else. I don't detect any casing or topping at all, just a fresh tobacco smell, deep and rich. There are nice stewed fruit tones, with leather and spiciness and a lighter almost citrus note.

This tobacco is absolutely perfect for smoking, no drying time required. As with most flake tobaccos I simply take several flakes together, fold them in half and insert them length-wise into the bowl trimming off the excess. I find it has a much better burn this way and makes for a long enjoyable smoke.

For this review, I?ve chosen an Nording Silver Series Canadian which is dedicated to Virginia based flakes.

A first light is brings billows of rich white smoke, followed with a brief visit of the tamper to settle the light crowning effect and then a tamping light. Immediately there is a citrus note followed with medium bodied Virginia flavors. When exhaled nasally there is a slight sharpness and citrus quality and deep leathery flavors and scents. The first third of the bowl gradually builds in slowly increasing intensity. This has a very rich creamy mouth feel which I find irresistible. What seems absent is Perique.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and while I wouldn?t call this mixture particularly complex, the flavors slowly deepen into a rich harmony. The Virginias build in depth and character while the Perique remains so far in the background as to remain un-detectable. The quality of tobaccos used in this mixture are very fine, and it remains a cool even burning Virginia, and quite flavorfull, sadly the Perique is in such a small portion that I've never really tasted it.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I find that it really is a fine ?autopilot Virginia flake? lacking enough Perique to be of much interest. This really doesn't detract from it being a fine product, I just prefer a larger dose of Perique. As for it being Navy, well forget it. There is nothing navy about this at all. All things considered, it's a fine Virginia Flake, at a very reasonable price.

Supplemental Notes: This might make the grade for a Virginia Flake without other expectations for a budget minded smoker. ** stars

Govern Yourself Accordingly,

SmokeKing David

The aroma is alright but not that great.

Where is the nicotine?

I do not think this is very high quality weed. The flavoring isn't any good either. Tastes like the faintest hint of brown sugar and such a small hint of anise, that you can just barely taste it.

Yuck.

Time has mellowed it, but more as a matter of degree than metamorphisis. In the jar, it still does not evoke the deep, fermented VA sweetness of, say, McC 2015, but is robustly assertive in ways that suggest tomatoes and metal (think sun-dried tomatoes and the taste of keys, or a low-voltage battery on the tongue, if that makes any sense).

I'm smoking it well rubbed-out, and am finding it a reputable and economical -- even if not superlative -- example of a VaPer flake. It shifts and develops throughout the bowl, beginning with a the sour brightness of cut grass, before settling into broader mid-tones that intermittently suggest yeast and toasty figs. The perique tickle is there throughout and -- although it has been friendly to me -- hints that modest sipping is advisable. Toward the end there are insistent murmurs of a sour mash tang, punctuated by momentary flashes of Eggo waffle left in the toaster a bit too long.

All in all, it credibly (though temporarily) fits the "non-latakia" niche in my home rotation, even if it doesn't threaten to supplant any of my beloved English and Balkan blends. As something "different" it fits the bill just fine. If you're a VaPer afficianado, you may want to buy, age, and try some for the experience, particularly given the bulk price. It has earned my respect, but not my raves. I would enjoy it more if it were sweeter. Still two stars.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: In my experience so far, this is a very temperamental tobacco, or else of uneven production quality. My first couple bowls (a sample from a friend) were fantastic: Sweet, grassy, and complex. A revelatory break from my usual rotation of English blends.

Based on that experience, I purchased my own stash, but have since not been able to wring more than a mediocre smoke out of it. Sadly it has been flat, one-dimensional, and ashy tasting during the last half of the bowl. I've jarred it up, and hope that it will blossom with several months on the shelf, into something more like the bewitching flakes I first encountered.

I got my "Luxury Navy Flake" through pipesandcigars.com and was excited when I saw the 1.5 X 2.25 inch light brown slices. It flaked out to a light, soft mound of great smelling tobacco.

Like many Virginia tobaccos, Navy Flake's flavor evolves as you smoke through the bowl. For me, it starts out tangy and develops it's sweetness. What I especially like is it has no bite. If you have a problem with puffing a little fast, as I do, you will be pleased with this blend. It won't bite you. But you will get the bug to order more. Keep this one on hand - you can't go wrong!

I just finished a full pipe of this wonderfully spicy, but mild tobacco. Sitting on the back porch, listening to the frogs croak in the back pond, the cool breeze was not strong enough to rob me of the additional second-hand pleasure of enjoying the complex aromas that still linger in my memory.

I paired this with a glass of Aberlour 16-year-old single malt Scotch whisky. I'm glad I chose a bit stronger malt to go with it. A weaker Speyside or a Lowland malt would have been lost on the palate. Next time I'll try a more expensive 18 year-old Macallan, or something else with a strong oakey complexity. As I said, life is good.

The wife, who tolerates my more masculine quirks with a guarded feminine fascination, even asked me what it was. (Note that she did NOT ask "What the aytch-eee-double-el IS that?" as she is often wont to say). So that's a good thing.

I originally reviewed this in the summer of 2008. As of November 2012, this blend has earned a solid 3-star rating. Of the 116 ratings, over 75% have granted it either 3 or 4 stars, and only five reviewers have given it a 1-star rating. One of those is an Australian who complains that there isn't enough Perique. He should try the P.S. Bullseye flake. Another admits that its the first Virginia/Perique he's tried. And a third complains that its too hot, and is probably just packing it too loose or puffing too fast. This blend needs a slower more peaceful opportunity to explore its complexities.

For those of us who consider it a 4-star blend, it hits the right spot. I hope to enjoy this the next time my Lodge brethren meet on the level after a hearty steak dinner.

**Update** After smoking more of this and aging it for a bit it really developed in a good way.

There are better VAPER blends out there but you?re looking to try this type of blend or looking for a mild blend for you rotation, considering the price it?s hard to beat.