Charatan Black Flake

I've only had one bowl of Dunhill Dark Flake so have smoked this on its own merits, and I think it's done quite well. I like Virginia and Perique flakes, usually prefer a bit more perique than this has, but it's OK.

The flakes are very neatly presented, brown rather than black. Tin aroma: very fruity, prunes, fresh figs, liqueur, raisin, malt, horse food. The moisture content seems perfect and they rub out fully with minimal effort, indeed care is needed if you want it in bigger chunks eg for smoking outside.

Lighting is a breeze, one match may suffice if you've got a good kindling of crumbs on top. The flavour is sweet, fruity and malty, and puts me in mind of malt loaf, which I love. It gives thick stodgy smoke, great for smoke rings! There's not much complexity or development, this is tobacco to smoke when engaged on other tasks really, but it's very pleasant, without bite or any other defects. It could be described as a toned down Navy Rolls, with similar dark fruity notes but less Perique and none of the subtleties.

It doesn't need many relights, satisfies with nicotine but isn't strong, and there's a bit of dottle. I've enjoyed it as a morning smoke this winter, also while studying.

I'm summary, a nice dark Virginia flake with a malt loaf character and the merest smidgen of Perique. An all day smoke if you want.

This tobacco had a quite noticeable Danish style topping, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it regardless. It has zesty and piquant notes from the perique, and the darker virginia leaf it contains does not seem to completely overtake the citric profile coming from the brighter leaf. I am not sure this is a 100% match to Dunhill's Dark Flake, or why it is called "Black Flake," but it is good enough in its own right.

This blend is part of a range imported into the UK by Tor Imports as match blends for the defunct Dunhill range of tobaccos. It is supposed to replicate Dark Flake. I have no experience of Dunhill Dark Flake, so I approached this blend purely on its own merits and not as a match blend. Presentation is typical of Kohlhase and Kopp, who I believe make this and its European equivalent Robert Mc Connell Heritage Black Flake. Beautiful flakes in a paper insert in a round screwtop tin. Tin aroma on opening is figgy and plummy from the Perique with sweet Virginia notes, a smell of malt loaf and some orange and hay. Moisture is perfect, although I gave it 10 mins air time after rubbing out a flake. It packed easily with the palm swirl method that I have taken to using and I added some crumbs on top for ease of lighting. It lit very easily with one standard charring light and burned slowly and steadily all the way down to fine white ash. Flavour is on the bready bakery side of the virginia spectrum with the Perique adding raisins plums and figs but little in the way of pepper. Consistent flavour all the way down and not a hint of bite or bitterness, just a very pleasing medium strength smoke with a fantastic room note. It compares very favorably with Marlin flake and is more rounded in flavor and less prone to bite than Marlin. Black Flake is like a very smooth version of Marlin and has all of its virtues with none of it's vices. If like me you like a sweet VaPer then it might well suit you. I will certainly be buying more and may stash a tin or two to age as it has huge potential. An easy 4 stars.

Update:- I have just opened a tin of this with a little more age on it. My review was based on a fresh from the factory tin and I can tell you that this blend does indeed have great potential for cellaring. K&K really do know their stuff and all too many of us judge tobacco when it is very young. I have obtained some Peterson (Dunhill) Dark Flake to compare and honestly, there is little to choose between them. If I had to decide, the Charatan is more user friendly and is more to my taste. A year of age has brought this flake alive, with a sweetness and complexity that simply wasn't there before. It has darkened and sugar crystals are appearing. I will be buying more.

Charatan - Black Flake.

Doughy, fruity, and lovely!

I knew this was one for me when I took my first puff, I ordered more for my stash straight away! Anyhoo, on with the review!

Touted as a Dunhill Dark Flake clone? Well, having not smoked that for years I can only go off the reviews for DF here and it doesn't seem a million miles away. The tobacco has been packaged inside a square paper insert, not befitting for the round tin; the same as DF was. It holds two rows of rectangular, dark brown, mottled flakes that have a fruity tang to them. Mine had good moisture. There's no need to fully rub, folding and stuffing produces a good smoke.

Igniting a bowl presents no problems and I find it's brilliant. The Virginias have a doughy, malty, slightly sweet character, which is complimented by the rich dark fruit from the Perique. There's also a touch of causticity from the Perique, but I'm not talking about a full-on acidulous, vinegary note. The burn from it's reasonably cool, very independent, and medium in pace. I get no tongue bite.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not great.

Black Flake? A smashing smoke. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

Easy to pack, light and smoke, has rich fruity flavour with a sweet taste. Not harsh and fairly consistent all the way throughout the bowl. Definately an all day smoke, I suspect this will also improve with age as even after a couple weeks in the jar it got better.

On bowl 3 of this, supposedly a replacement for Dunhill Dark Flake. Its not. The tin note is fruity, the Dark Flake is rawer, more tobacco. The flakes are similar in appearance, cut, thickness, length. Taste is also different, certainly a good quality but not as good as the Dunhill original. The start of the bowl hits you with a definite fruit flavour, not unpleasantly just assuredly. Halfway down the bowl the flavour fades somewhat reverting to a purer tobacco taste. The final shock to the palate is a subtle hint of vanilla just before the last few breaths. An enjoyable tobacco I found but certainly NOT Dunhill Dark.