Solani 633: Virginia Flake with Perique

This is my absolute favorite blend, though I'm pretty fickle on that count. I like periques and also highly enjoy H&H Anniversary Kake. Others I smoke fairly regularly are Louisiana Red and Sunza Bitches also by H&H, as well as Pease's Fillmore. I smoke a single bowl of 633 around 9 each evening and that satisfies me more than any other tobacco... though I do often finish the night off a few hours later with a great Wills pipe filled with Larry's Blend cut 25% with a secret mix I add and age.

The Solani 633 is heavenly for me. I light it when I am ready to concentrate on the pleasure of the best smoke of the day, saving it like I would save a special dessert for just the right moment.

It rubs out very easily and packs nicely and consistently. I've never tried to dry it out other than just the natural drying that happens in the tin once the original seal is broken. I light it then tamp the crown and relight... then it burns clear to the bottom unless I lay the pipe down for some reason. As it burns I enjoy tastes and scent whiffs that just blow me away, especially the top third of the bowl. Then the VA and nicotine kick in and the remaining 2/3 of the bowl is simple ecstasy... literally a trip. I have no way to describe this exquisite feeling other than saying it lifts me out of my mood and swirls me into oblivion. I love it. Smoked in a Bari Ruby, very very slowly, allowing the smoke to simply breath in with a loose seal between lips and stem, so some air enters... it swirls around my tongue and then escapes slowly to be sniffed in and inhaled through my nose... and relished.

From Utopia, TX ... havagoodun!

Just when I think a VA/Per can only be so good I go and try Solani 633... While there are clearly nuanced differences in most VA/Per blends (from blend to blend) I have found that, in general, they fall into a consistent range. That range is sweet/bready/peppery/fruity. Each may play a stronger role in the varying blends but they all tend to stay within a range. 633 seemed to step further out of the norm on the fruity end of the spectrum than any VA/Per I have tried to date. This was very refreshing. Making it about 1/3 of the way through a 100g tin I think I can say this is consistent for this blend, at least at this point in its age.

The tin note is among the best, and I think VA/Per's have the type of smell that I could smell all day. I love Latakia blends and I love the smell, but I don't think I would want to smell that all day, this I could. Figgy and sweet with notes of baking bread and hay in the background. Refreshing. The smoke itself is really wonderful. I would imagine that if I could smoke toasted french bread with orange marmalade while standing in a freshly cut alfalfa field, it would taste like Solani 633. The perique in this blend is very fruity: raisins, figs and stewed plums come to mind. There is some pepper in the mouth and the tingle in the nose on retrohale but it is not as peppery as Dunhill deLuxe Navy Rolls or even Escudo. This kind of reminds me of Dunbar and Dorchester a bit but those seem to have a top note that provides the sweetness while this is pure VA and Perique perfectly mingled. The toasted bread character comes out more and more as you smoke it. I find this to be particularly tasty in a meershaum pipe. For those of you that haven't put a VA or a VA/Per in a meer, I strongly recommend it. I have to comment on the flakes. I love the presentation from the 100 gram tin. While the tin puzzles me a bit: it isn't vacuum sealed and the tobacco is in a plastic bag reminiscent of the cellophane packs of cigarettes, the flakes are beautiful. Long 1/2 inch wide ribbons of tobacco that are at least 6 inches long folded over. If I were a kid this would be the equivalent of rolls of shoe string red licorice (never touch the black stuff...or real licorice I guess). Comes wet, but I guess that is purposeful due to the lack of a tight seal. This is a tobacco that begs aging, but if you do want to age it you will have to jar the 100 g tins or just buy the 50g and throw it in a box.

Out of all solani blends i tried till now this one is by far the most remarkable!since the tin opens a fresh and very pleasnt smell comes out.citruses,figs and a very light plum note combine each other very well.i also detected a light honey topping(correct me if i am wrong).the flakes are mostly bright,in proper moisture and they rub out very easy.i do not recommend the folding method because the lighting is difficult and you will need a pack of matches while smoking.since packed it lights almost easilly and several relights are needed.while smoking the flavours are very pleasant without complexity and very balanced.the virginias are dominant being citrucy,earthy a little grassy and sweet.the perique is in the backround though not absent.figs,some plum notes and rarelly some spices come out.i also detected some dark fruits occasionally.it burns slow and cool to total ash with no chance of tongue bite.the nicotine level is medium and the room note discreet.definitelly an all day blend and an ideal one to burn a new pipe.totally recommended!

Like all Solani products, attention to detail is valued and noticeable. The presentation is as good as it gets. Tightly packed, equally cut flakes fill the tin. The tin note is remarkable. My second tin was even better with four years of age. On the lighter side of most va/pers but with plenty of glorious flavor. Somehow, with muted strength compared to its contemporaries, the fruit and grass notes with a hint of spice work BETTER together than the fabled Escudo or Bullseye Flake. A remarkable, easy-going, accessible va/per for the distinguished or newbie pipe smoker. Light on strength, solid on flavor with a satisfying aftertaste.

Nice tin note. Light colored flakes alternating between streaks of brown and beige. Gravity feed, char, tamp and light gives a nice mellow and deliscious smoke. Beautiful taste when drawn through the nose. The ash is nice and white showing the purity of pure leaf without artificial additives. The perique is there...but not as upfront and centre as I like but it is there. An enjoyable and nice tasting flake.

If you enjoy VAPers you should try 633. For me, it's not bad, but not good enough to keep around. I put this one in the same category as Orlik's Golden Sliced and Reiner's 71.

This is a fine Va/Per. I'd give it four stars but I'm stubborn, and found myself handing out four stars for everything I like. Solani, of course, uses quality tobacco, the flakes lay nice in the tin, have that nice figgy smell when you open it, nice peppery perique, it's all splitting hairs after that. It's a little spendy, but c'mon, you've been lying to your friends and family and string of significant others about what you spend on this “hobby” since you first dropped more than three figures on a pipe, and if you haven't, you better lie to the rest of us because we will cuss the day of your birth. If you love Va/Pers and want a variety of colorful cans on your shelf, this one will not disappoint you. Tell your wife(s) or buddies or mom and dad it was a free sampler that came with that ten dollar S. Bang you had shipped free from Denmark. Aw, what the hell, four stars.

First impression was poor, but after letting it air out it became a perfect VAPer, highly recommended.

As the name states, the tobacco comes as a flake, and is a blend of bright Virginia and perique. Perique is an interesting tobacco, with a rich and deep aroma on its own, and blends nicely with Virginias. I'm probably wrong, but everything about this blend reminds me of Mac Baren. The immediate tin aroma was of fermented fruits and fermented Virginia, and the tin looks very much like the tin in which Mac Baren's Navy Flake is sold. Initially, the tin aroma actually threw me a bit.

Forging ahead, I took out the tobacco, which almost looked more like a cake than flakes. This tobacco is very moist, making the flakes a bit difficult to separate. They sort of peel apart in strips. However, once removed they rub out nicely into a sort of ribbon-cut appearance. Because of the moisture content I packed the first pipe a bit more loosely than I usually do, and I think that was a good idea. The draw felt just right when I first set flame to the tobacco.

My first thought when I had it lit? Wow! I wasn't really expecting too much, in part because I didn't want to be disappointed and in part because I bought the tobacco having not heard of this particular blend. I found a nice, rich, sweet taste from the Virginia, and the perique added a sort of fruitiness reminiscent of a stoved Virginia and a spiciness reminiscent of McClelland's 2035. Several people who were around me during the first bowl commented on the pleasant aroma of the tobacco. The main flavor is dry and sweet, and the spicy and fruity undertones are exceptionally pleasant and smooth.

Several subsequent smokes have confirmed to me that this tobacco is a keeper. It DGTs well, smokes surprisingly dry for as moist as it is in the tin, and provides a smoking flavor and experience that rates up there with my favorites.