John Aylesbury Dragon Flake

I first saw this on smokingpipes.com and thought it interesting. It arrived in a round tin. Tin aroma was that of maple and an essence reminding me of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. I couldn't detect much of the vanilla, but the caramel was there in the background. The flakes were similar in size and cut to Mac Barens Navy and Mixture Flakes. Although the tin says manufactured in Germany and this site states by Kohlhase & Kopp, Mac Barens may be the producer of the actual flakes (based on size and thinness of the slices) as I read that K&K outsources the actual production of flakes from their bulk mixtures.

The flakes were a medium brown with light flecking and the moisture content was similar to a fresh tin of the previously mentioned Mac Baren offerings and was ready for a smoke. Loading and lighting were easy and it remained lit without relights. The taste was a bit harsh on the tongue and somewhat chemical in nature. I couldn't really discern the individual components all that well; basically a somewhat harsh sweetness. Not much of tobacco taste or flavor for me either. No real bite other than the occasional nip to the tongue with this one. Not bad but not one I would purchase again. It's also a bit pricey at $13.52/50gm tin. The room note was quite pleasant; overall sweet without the typical maple syrup smell. There was a fair amount of gurgle while smoking. I'm sure this will smoke better for me once this dries out a bit. I enjoy my flakes more on the drier side as it helps bring out the natural tobacco flavor for me. Time will tell. With some of the negatives I've described I will give it 2 stars. over time, perhaps that will change.