John Aylesbury Dragon Flake

John Aylesbury - Dragon Flake.

Unlike the picture here mine arrived in a round tin. But, the tobacco inside is still contained in the paper insert that's shaped for the square tin, so it doesn't look 'right'! The paper holds two rows of wide, dark and medium brown flakes which have a few light flecks over them. Although they're wide there isn't much thickness to them so fully rubbing is a doddle. The moisture's good.

At first it's the sweet toppings that rule the roost, the maple and caramel, it takes until about a quarter of the way in for the vanilla to join in; albeit, it still doesn't have the power of the other two. At the start the sweetness seems a little overpowering, but when the vanilla arrives it abates some of this. The tobacco character's constructed of just Virginia and black Cavendish, I get no Burley. But, the added flavours are heavy, so they might be masking it! It burns steady, and very cool. I've not had one bite from it.

Nicotine: mild. Room-note: pleasant.

Dragon Flake? A well put together smoke that deserves four stars, from me. But, should you not like sweet aromatics steer clear!

Highly recommended.

Magic Smoke. Right out of the tin I folded and stuffed a flake into a medium size bowl Canadian, tamped it’s down a bit and sprinkled the crumbs on top. An easy smoke with immediate and lasting sweetness and a slight spice to it. No tongue bight even when I puffed the ember back to life. This burned perfectly after the first light until I had to leave it for dinner. I came back to it the next day and it continued to burn well.

A great smoke.

Smell: Wow, that's good. Quite natural. Sweet and creamy (if possible for a smell). It reminds me vanilla, maybe some pastry. Even some caramel, not overwhelming or extra sweet. Really delicious.

Taste: So far, one of the best aromatic tobaccos I tried. Maybe the best. It is very well balanced. I would not say that this is a light aromatic, even though this was my first impression. A more careful smoking suggested me that this is more on the strong side of aromatics. The smoke is sweet, very flavorful and consistent throughout the whole bowl. The main note is something like vanilla, but far from artificial and chemical vanilla aroma.

Ratio Smell/Taste: The smell of tobacco reflects very well in the smoke. Not a common feature for an aromatic.

Moisture: Wonderful flakes. A bit moist. Some drying time is necessary.

Filter: With and without.

Ghosting: Mild.

Very nice. Aromatic flakes seem like a great concept. The flavor here is very similar to MacBaren vanilla flake , with a little less vanilla. I don't get much caramel but I do get a bit of a fruitiness (get the same with Mac Baren). It's a very pleasant flavor that get a little darker half way through. Definitely need to dry in order to avoid excessive relights. I was a little disappointed I. The room note, it's pleasant, but less 'aromatic' than you'd expect. Will be cellaring some of this to see how age changes it. An all day smoke.

Dragon Flake was one I really looked forward to trying. It has that Danish mixture of fruity, caramel, vanilla and although it doesn't say it, I found coco in this too. The Virginias and double-fermented black Cavendish and Burley were formed perfectly into well formed dark golden moist flakes. I rubbed out some and gave it 5 min drying time.

The flavors are up front and med/strong with a caramel /coco blend that is unique, not really that fruity. Flavorful with an excellent room note, was like eating a Cadbury Chocolate Bar.

I smoked it in a Meerschaum billiard and here is my one major comment above all >>>> This Tobacco Burns HOT - VERY HOT!

In fact, it is probably the hottest burning tobacco I've ever smoked. And no idea why, It must be the toppings used, its way beyond a Virginia/Burley blend temperature would be. I was actually thinking it will crack the Meerschaum - that's how hot and I didn't smoke it fast either. With the intense heat, it burns quickly too - Next time I will fold it to slow down the burn time.

Overall, an excellent tobacco with great taste and aroma. Not an all day smoke for me, but a rich flavorful dessert smoke that is top shelf all the way - Just beware of one scorching hot bowl. You must sip this very slowly. I thought of adding some Latakia to try and cool it off a bit.

Buy some you will love it, but wear asbestos gloves 🙂