Mac Baren St. Bruno Flake

Easiest way to describe St. Bruno Flake is this:

Take a typically Latakia based, smokey English blend, mix in some Lane I Q with its cocoa notes and you have St. Bruno Flake.

Basically it's an English crossover and as these are my favourite, I enjoyed it. If you like something like FMC or Bengal Slices, you'll quite likely like this as well.

A very nice pipe tobacco, not too complex, but neither too easy to smoke... In the beginning, when you REALLY manage to light your pipe, gives il max of odours and taste, that is very pleasant. Burns slowly and cool, if you'e puffing quietly doesn't heat the cheecks of pipe's bowl and doesn't give any tonghue bite. Everything goes really well up to the 2/3 of the bowl, then tobacco goes out and needs some thousand firing and tamping! I tried in many ways to overcome this flaw (changed pipe, packed in many ways, let it dry for an hour...) Nothing to do! In good pipes, that smokes very well, the combinaton of St.Bruno and pipe, gave me an hour of best slow and plainful smoke, but befor the end, the same problem was always appeared. Anyway, nuances are wonderful, virginias work beautifully, a bowlful of it is like a concert! Love it!

After a lovely Father's Day dinner, I opened this new tin of St. Bruno. I had wanted to try this classic British working man's tobacco for a long time, but couldn't get it here in the States. Happily, we Yanks now have it available to us. It's a bit pricey--$14.45 from pipesandcigars.com. Upon opening the tin I could smell the vinegar which is used as a preservative. (While others said they couldn't taste the vinegar when smoking, I got a little hint of it early on in the bowl, though I didn't mind it.) The tin aroma also had some light floral and citrus notes, as well as a grassiness from the Virginia. The flakes were a little moist--next time I'm going to give them some trying time (about ten minutes under a desk lamp). They rubbed out easily (I have always had terrible luck with packing flakes that haven't been rubbed out, though I know it can be done), and I packed my big 4 panel St. Croix with two and a half flakes worth. Despite the slight moisture the tobacco lit well and burned well--a little too well about 1/2 of the way down and I had to start sipping lightly. The flavor is very delightful--like I said, a little vinegary for a few puffs, but then grassy and citrusy and a pleasant bitterness like a beer with a good amount of hops. There were some woody hints from the darker Kentucky in the blend, but the grassinesss of the Virginia dominated. There was just a hint of pleasant sweetness which lasted about a third of the way down. The last third was a bit harsh and soapy, though bearable, and I smoked right down to the bottom. It definitely was not wet--just a wee bit of juice in the stem. It left no tongue bite and I drank seltzer afterwards with no pain. Over all it was a fine smoking experience and I definitely recommend it. One of the reasons I wanted to try it is that this is the tobacco that is smoked by Alf Garnett, the main character of the old British sitcom "Til Death Do Us Part" on which our own "All in the Family" was based. Archie smoked cigars, but Alf smoked St. Bruno!

I was fortunate to receive a good size sample of this from a friend and really enjoyed it. It is a nice vabur with a hint of floral essence. It also has a pretty good nic hit. I enjoyed it mostly in my Meers, but found it pretty tasty in my Dunhill 1985 5103 shell also.

It is a shame that this is not available at all over here in the states and the cost to ship it in is pretty high. There is really nothing comparable to it in the states. I guess my JKP RR will have to fill this niche for me.

A well balanced tobacco. A pleasant easy smoke. Leaves a smooth aftertaste. Classic virginia with a punch of nicotine from the cured Burely (Kentucky). The Burley/Kentucky is noticable especially for the slow,cool,dry smoking characteristics of this pipe tobacco.

Much like SG's Squadron Leader, this is one of those brands whose name seems to pop up alot when I am reading reviews on here. So, when I saw this at my local supermarket to get my monthly condor long cut, I thought I'd get a packet of this too. The funky plastic carton and the condor like smell were, indeed, a crowd pleaser to me, very nice. My initial smokes, however, left me not sure to make of it, though I did pick up little hints of soap and nuts. After taking a little break from the packet though, I found myself pleasantly surprised over the past few days. A good, pleasant smoke over all, nuts and soap are the main things that come through. What has also impressed me is the easy rubbing, the handy packing and lighting and very little, at worst, tonguebite, even without filters. On the whole a great little package. Not fantastic enough a flavour for me to give it a four, doesn't knock me off my feet enough to do that, but trapped in a post apocalyptic warehouse full of the stuff, I think I would be a happy camper.

An enjoyable dark, predominantly Virginia, tobacco, and one with nostalgic associations for English pipe smokers of a certain age (back in the 1960s everyone seemed to smoke it). The dark flakes have a full-bodied, fruity fragrance when you open the little container (shame that it doesn't come in tins any more); the room note is strong but pleasant and characteristic (the sort of pipe- smoke smell that everybody used to like until it became PC not to). After a bland start, the flavour is full and uniform all the way down the bowl; it doesn't bite you unless you really ask it to, though it does need to be taken slowly. I can't identify the casing, but there is a distinctive fruity/nutty/woody taste that defies description. It's thoroughly restrained and civilised, though.

This is an old-time tobacco that doesn't seem to have changed much. Even with the very limited availability of pipe tobacco in B&Ms nowadays, you can always find St Bruno. It's not my favourite by any means, but I could certainly smoke it happily enough if there were nothing else left in the world. It may, of course, come to that eventually. As we move slowly towards prohibition, I suspect that St B will be one of the last to go. For the time being: it's not really a tobacco for the connoisseur, but if you want a good, all day, undemanding smoke, you can't really get better than this.

Personally, I can't detect any appreciable difference between the flake and ready-rubbed versions; though the rr burns more quickly and hence is inclined to be hotter than the flake. St Bruno used to be sold as a ‘rough cut,' which I seem to remember was a bit coarser than the current rr. The nicotine will smack you hard if you don't sip.

A worthwhile and satisfying smoke, though perhaps not one for the beginner. I find, incidentally, that the DGT is very rewarding with St Bruno. If you come back to a partially smoked bowl, you find that the casing has gone and you're getting a very full and rich pure Virginia flavour.

Three stars for this one, I think. St Bruno (possibly jointly with Three Nuns) is perhaps the best of the available everyday 'supermarket' blends; and its ready availability (in the UK) is, of course, another point in its favour. I have, though, noticed quite a lot of stem in the flakes during the past couple of years. I hope this doesn't signal the beginning of a general deterioration.

One of the reviews described this a being a really long smoke and I have to agree. A single flake is good for a solid hour + of smoking enjoyment.

The topping is floral but it’s more mild than the only other tobaccos I’ve smoked with floral toppings, specifically Gawain & Hogarth blends.

The Old Dark Fired is up front and present throughout but it is so smooooth. HH Old Dark Fired was my first experience with Kentucky burley and while flavorful, the burley’s kicks like a mule in that for me.

This reminds me more of Solani Aged Burley Flake though I can’t remember if that had any Virginias in it.

I can see why this was such a popular blend back in the day. It’s a really good smoke!

I’m still on the hunt for the perfect ODK blend but this one certainly did not disappoint.

I was at the ole watering hole the other day and ran into our El Pesidente of the San Diego Pipe Club and a few other regulars and was offered some of this blend to try out. I had four sticks, smoked two yesterday and two this morning. The tobacco to me mostly smelled of Dark Fired. It is labeled and aromatic but I would put this one in the light aro category. I took a flake, folded in half, twisted and stuffed it into my Peterson Dublin Poker. Not the best way to load a pipe as it as a “B” to light but I have always been hard headed. Upon smoking I detected floral, very mild, sweet taste but have no clue as to what the mild topping was until I read JimInks review. It appears to have rose geranium and Tonquin added, as to how much is as good a guess as any. I had to look up rose geranium and found that it originated in South Africa and the flowers, leaves, and stems can be processed for the oil. Kind of reminds me of something Gawith & Hoggarth would do. Upon smoking, and after discovering the topping of this blend I can more easily detect the floral aspect of the smoke. But if I had not read up on it would not have known. The tin I smoked had almost a year of age on it, Nov 2020 not that I think it made much difference. Maybe 5-10 years of age might improve. Unfortunately, this blend is extremely expensive in CA, double the price you can buy out of state. Good smoke, but would I pay 30 dollars for a 1.75 oz tin, not sure if I like it that much. This is a well-known blend that has been around for ages and is a good, consistent flavorful smoke but not too crazy about the topping. I guess there really is a Saint Bruno, “Alive from 1030 to 1101, St. Bruno of Cologne was well known for being the founder of the Carthusian Order….”