J. F. Germain & Son B.K. Flake

Germain BK flake (Broken Kentucky) has a great old-world aroma and taste (all of the esotericas I have tried have tasted delightfully old world).

They call this a broken flake but it’s really more of a wide cut like Esoterica Dunbar. The aroma of prunes, dried apples, maybe a dash of vinegar and figs are present. This smokes smooth, smoother than say, Escudo in my opinion. This is a VaPer through and through, with a healthy perique presence, nice and peppery. This will be an excellent candidate for aging. More later this week as I finish the tin...

Ribbon strands; smells peaty in tin.

Acceptable moisture content; burns steady for me. Not bitey or hot. Smoked full tin as usual.

Not sweet but not bitter. Somewhat sour, earthy, nutty, pinto-bean like. I can detect some Virginia grass, hay, but not the sweeter citrus element of Tilbury. Mostly burley content to me but Kentucky not as deep as hh bold Kentucky.

Not as deep as brown flake but more burley than that one or Bridge.

I do not see or detect any perique but there is a figgy character to the taste.

Not mild but medium; repeatable during day for seasoned smoker.

Hard to find, as are the other two similar picks--bridge and brown flake.

Good for straight vabur puffer.

B.K. Flake is a very nice VA/Bur blend (7 types of Virginia's with Kentucky). The tin has a misprint (Kenyucky..one key position away from the proper spelling) and I would like to say a better misprint would be Kenyummy!) Germain has a loyal following and they can't seem to get supply to meet demand. That is likely due to the companies 100% commitment to quality and a process that cannot be rushed or scaled quickly. This new blend is another home run in my opinion. The tin note is reminiscent of Marlboro cigarettes to me, I never smoked cigarettes but I had family and friends that did my whole life and this smells like a fresh pack to me. In other words, this smells like tobacco to me, no other adjectives come to mind. The flavor is truly amazing. I like Burley and I love Virginia's. The marriage of these tobacco's yield something greater than its parts: 1+2 = 5 in this equation. Germain's process is likely part of the alchemy here. There is a topping on the blend but it is not something I can pin point in smell or taste. If I had to guess it is an essence of chocolate or vanilla or a similar liqueur. The tasting notes are as follows: The base of Virginia's are sweet and hay like, There are grassy and citrus notes coming from the miriad of VA's. The sweetness hints of stewed fruits (apples and pears) and there are some high citrus notes here and there. There is also toasted bread: rye and whole grain. The Burley is first class. It reminds me of Uhle's Burley, and that is a high compliment. The Kentucky provides nutty and toasty qualities with hints of chocolate in the background. This is a really wonderful blend. This is like other Germain blends, it does not bite. I do not know what kind of sorcery they employ but their Virginia's and Burley's do not bite, no mater how hard you push them, and I find tasty blends bet pushed more as you try to get the most flavor you can our of them. This will require few to no relights if dried properly, about 30 minutes did it for me. As you smoke down this bowl I can taste SG FGF or SG BBF, I literally had to look back to my jar to remind myself what I was smoking. These similarities are fleeting tastes, not something I noticed at once or that persisted, but I did find my mind wondering a few times s I smoked through the first tin. I hate to hold one blender on a pedestal like I tend to do when reviewing Germain blends but they do seem to hold a consistent line. Impressive stuff. Nic hit on this one is on the medium to full side of the scale. I am a nicotine light weight and like to know what I am in for. I had to put this one down mid bowl in full size pipes, even on a full stomach, so if you are sensitive to nicotine like me, know that there is a fair portion in this blend

Germains BK Flake - It is a little grassy , fruity but not citrus fruit more like plums . A little smokey and nutty with hints of cocoa . A little earthy from the air cured leaf . There is some sweetness and some toasty bread . The Virginias are not as fruity as I expected and really don’t detect any topping. It has a deep rich taste but also very smooth and creamy . The Kentucky and air cured leaf are in the front with Virginia sweetness as playing second fiddle . Smooth as silk with a little kick . A lovely smoke . Burley lovers should enjoy this . 4 all day long .

Mostly light brown with some dark and blonde mottling, this "broken flake" appears more like wide ribbons with some basic chunks. Looks like it was torn apart by hand! Nice deep tobacco scent with a small amount of hay or sileage. Came pretty dry and didn't need much drying time to perform properly.

In the pipe, the "kenyucky" (and yes, it does say that on the tin) takes the lead at the beginning and has a pleasant slightly bitter smokiness. Eventually the Virginias come out and play and are mostly of the bready, kind of wheat and oat variety without the sweet or tangy hit that I prefer. But there seemed to be some sort of topping that added a deep sweetness that I don't associate with the leaves used. The burley had less of a nutty quality and was more earthy, but not too far along those lines. There was a very slight - and it was so slight that it didn't show up all that often - almost prune quality, which might explain why some find a perique-type flavor here. I get a bit more of that from Brown Flake, so it may be the Virginias used or the processing. This is a blend that needs to be snorked for anything close to full effect (which is like most blends!). Pretty hefty nicotine hit from it as well. I enjoyed my time with it but I'm not lamenting that I only had one tin of it, as it wouldn't be a rotation maker for me. But well worth a try if you can find any. I believe this is a limited run blend, and I've had this tin for a little over 2 years.