Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) Erinmore Flake

Although the standard VA/Bur flavors (wood, grass, nuts) come first and foremost, the topping aids the blend with a nice amalgamation of fruit flavors, forming a nice " fruit punch" that is soft, slightly tangy & floral, and helps to smooth everything out and imparts a creamy finish. My bowls of this tend to start in the mild/medium range, and move much closer to full body towards the bottom, thanks to (what I think is) the Dark Air Cured, which lends the blend some earthy strength and body, and nice savory notes that ramp up as the bowl is smoked. Nicotine is a tough one to pin down, as it seems to fill that elusive gap between medium and med/strong. It's hard to call it strong exactly, but in a big enough bowl, it will be felt.

This is one of those few blends that finds itself a perfect companion to the hot summer heat just as well as it does the frigid winter chill. It really does a great job of hitting a wide range of well-balanced flavors and nuances, from bright and tangy, to rich and earthy, all the while with a creamy, aromatic finish. This is an easy one to recommend.

Not sure how it happened but I'd never tried Erinmore Flake so I ordered a tin. Being one that predominantly smokes Flake virginias I was excited to try it.

The flakes were dark and moist, but not too moist. The tin note was sweet and seductive. So I loaded a trusted pipe that's been a friend for years and relaxed ready for a great smoke.

Well that's were it all went wrong. It was sweet, but like artificial sweetener. Bitter and sour. i initially attributed it to me oversmoking or having too fast a cadence. Now after 3 bowls, 3 pipes, and varied methods of smoking this weed I've come to the conclusion this one is not for me. There is nothing about this blend I like. Believe me I've tried to like it but to no avail.

Everyone has there own taste and body chemistry and I guess I'm one that Erinmore doesn't agree with.

This one sure is an aromatic, but follows the school of aromatics where the additional flavors are subtle and enhance the great tobacco used. Also, this one have strength in the nicotine department, which many aromatics don't.

The scent is more of a mixed faint fruit, and is nice. It almost disapear when smoking, just showing occasionally and letting the tobacco shine. You can fold it or rub it, anyway I find it is kind of hard to get lit from top to bottom.

This is good and is easy to see why it has been around forever but it didn't make a favorite for me.

This blend is the main reason I got into pipe smoking. Growing up, I was very close to my late grandfather, who lived in with us and was an avid pipe smoker. Erinmore Flake was always smoked several times a day, and I have always loved the smell that filled the house, as well as an indication of his presence in the household. I, too, wished to continue the tradition so my kids and grandkids will also have the same fond memories of me.

When I got into pipe smoking, this was the first blend I bought, mainly because it was still easily available from the corner shop that my late grandfather used to procure them. Not a wise choice, I know, being new to the piping world, and it was soon left in the cupboard for almost a year before I touched it again. Within that year, however, I've experimented other blends, and getting to know the differences between the blends, and knowing which was for me and what wasn't.

I returned a year later, armed with knowledge and a years' experience. This time, I don't know whether was because of a years wroth of aging, or either because of my palate has matured, but it definitely taste better. What was considered overpowering then is still strong, but tolerable in the sense that it can be enjoyed if sipped slowly. Sweet, mellow, medium to medium strong in the nic department. A sweet and recognisable room note (my wife's late grandfather smoked the same blend, and she also remembers the smell well). Be sure to let it dry out a bit first, if not it can get wet mid smoke with a bit of tongue bite.

Sadly, the corner shop doesn't bring it in anymore and I have to find other means to procure them (which are slightly more expensive).

This is icon for pipe smokers from where I grown up, most of my father and grandfather generation who smoke pipe will always bring this yellow+pineapple round/square pack whenever they're hangout among them. It's easily available even in very small town.

Even though this is not among my top choice, I will keep buying this tobacco from time to time just for remembering the older generations of pipe smokers from where I grown up

I bought this one from my b&m after hearing good things about it. I was a little reticent about it as I was not impressed by the Mixture, but decided to take the risk anyway.

The tin aroma was one of pineapples, very nice. Lighting and packing were easy enough. The smoke, well, that was strange. The flavouring comes across very well, it's obviously the same one as the mixture. Only occasionally does the flavour from the tobacco, a toffee-taste, come through. It's obviously a good tobacco with a good topping, but the former rarely raises it's head above the parapet.

This is a nice smoke as a result of a good casing on top of a good tobacco. The problem is the casing obscures the tobacco underneath so there's so little chance to enjoy it. It is almost the opposite of the mixture. On top of that, I found myself getting bored of it towards the end of the tin and ended up smoking it to get it out of the way. I fully understand why so many enjoy this, but I won't be disappointed if I ever buy another tin but I won't be in any hurry to do so.

I too tried this blend long ago (in the eighties), and, frankly, this is where this flake belongs, the eighties. I'm a flake fanatic, I've tried many—but I really regret revisiting this one. Rotten apricots, super wet, strong as hell, in a word,

bluch!

It was very wet out of the tin (a real gurgle fest, here). It took me forever to get it lit, and when I did, well, if you don't already get the picture, I don't know what else to say. This is an awful flake.

Its when I smoke rot like this, I want to quit. Quite possibly the worst blend I've tried (or re-tried) yet. Does anybody want the rest of my tin?

An occasional purchase for a change. I don't smoke a pipe that often, so I tend to pick and choose sample size packets for a nice change. Oddly I find this one somewhat like a more fruity St Bruno ready rubbed. Although lighter, the nicotine finally creeps up there. Admittedly my benchmarks are my two 'staple' (if you could call it that for occasional smoking) tobaccos, St Bruno (preferably flake) and Full Virginia Flake (Samuel Gawith's). All reviews are highly subjective, but on the whole I quite like this one for a slight change of pace.

I'm very fond of good old Erinmore Flake. It's a beautifully presented flake—small, and square, with a mottled coloring dominated by dark brown. Apparently a mix of sugary Virginia and dry Burley, the stuff smokes just fine and can be folded and stuffed or rubbed out with equal ease. The slices are fairly thick, and so even rubbed out, it tends to smoke nice and slow. It also has pretty good strength, something I value in my tobacco. Up to this point, Erinmore is a pretty classic Virginia Flake lifted with some Burley (like most Virginia Flakes, whether they admit it or not).

And then, of course, there's the endlessly discussed, praised, or maligned topping. I'm not really sure what to say about it, but I will say that this is a tobacco for which stay-away warnings and glowing, buy-some-immediately recommendations are equally meaningless. The flavoring is so unique that it really needs to be experienced.

Personally, I like it. I think the closest descriptor with which I agree is the licorice/Juicy Fruit combination. For fun, I looked up the signature Juicy Fruit flavor and found that at least some believe that the flavoring may be Isoamyl acetate, an ester which provides flavors reminiscent of peach, banana, and, yes…pineapple. A little Isoamyl acetate…a dash of licorice…and poof…Erinmore Flake. Is this the secret recipe? I have no idea and I don't really care.

If I have any real criticism of Erinmore, it's that it can turn on me and bite occasionally. For whatever reason, every tenth or twelfth smoke gets steamy and hot on me. This situation is probably more a result of my excitement over the flavors provided by Erinmore than it is a negative quality inherent in the tobacco.