Solani 633: Virginia Flake with Perique

Beautiful presentation and really nice to work with! The taste is great too, especially with the zesty perique. I'm a slight man, so I can't take the dose of nicotine from a full flake, but the flakes are so nicely made that they're easy to cut down to a more manageable size for me. This is wonderful tobacco. I'm only giving it three stars because latakia and orientals are more to my taste. If you like virginia and perique, this is definitely four stars.

I love the roofing tile flakes! What a terrific presentation!

Each flake is a tender slab of VaPer goodness. This is the first VaPer I've tried that opened the door for me to appreciating this wonderful genre. The Perique here seems to me applied truly as a condiment that complements while bringing out the predominantly grassy, creamy virginia.

Not a regular in my rotation, but a very nice flake that I will revisit every so often.

Well, I also got a couple of 50grms tins of this from Amsterdam. Now that the first is about to finish - and the second will stay in my cabined for aging - it's time to review.

Nice square and flat tin, of the like of the current UF by Peterson or Scottish Flake by McConnell. The tin aroma is inequivocably VaPer, in the sense of hayish bright Va's plus the raisiny-vinegarish note of Per. I don't detect any topping, it's all very much natural. A dozens - or bit more - of well separate flakes are stacked in two rows. They are more dry than wet, coming from a very "compressed" cake, mixing colours from the brightest Virginia to the deep dark brown of the Perique.

I have wasted my time to study over this by a couple of Mastro (a straight apple and a quarter-bent Woodstock) which I had back restored, before understanding they were not the right pipes... My half-bent rhodesian rusticated Brebbia is now giving me the best idea of how 633 smokes (at 1/5 the price of each the other two). One flake properly rubbed, stuffed not much loose, and here we go. Needs a couple of light & tamps, then it proceeds very steady giving a mixed salt & pepper dry ash.

633 delivers a smoke in the perfect tradition of VaPer's, something very close to Escudo, just a bit "drier" aroma of natural Va and condimental Per. This sweet and peppery combination is remarkably smooth and medium, without any aggressive tang. A perfect all-day (who cares ?) smoke, and even a better one as first pipe of the day (my reviews started at 08:30AM and will end in a hour and half, this is how long a flake is smoking). To the nose notes of biscuit, the ones which I like so much. The room note is something I appreciate when I'm back from an unsmoked room, but being the wife's rating...

My throat tell me that strength builds up from medium-mild to medium-strong.

Airing of the tin, in the sense that the best from 633 comes after the tin stays unsealed a month before use, is a strong reccomendation.

Very nice smoke, hope to get more tins to age.

A blend that varies throughout the bowl. A bit one-dimensional at first, gets sweeter later on and finishes with a semi-aromatic, alcoholic tone. The perique is not too obvious to me, I guess you can find it if you focus on it.

This used to be one of my top ten. Stashed a tin from 2006 and just finished it. A nice tangy, grassy, slightly ripened fruit vibe. Perfectly packed flakes, very easy to pack. Can taste the spiciness from the perique, but it's not overly powerful. A very good first Vaper for a newbie to this type of tobacco. Burns perfectly, few relights if any. My only slight regret is that it didn't age as well as other tobaccos I have pulled from my cellar.

this review is just to keep track for myself mainly, less intended as a serious in depth review. Just to keep an eye of what ive tried and what I like, with quick notes about it. alot of these notes are from memory, and I will update the review as I continue smoking them

this was something that i was not expecting to like. a va per that i diddnt really think about smoking, however it kept me going back for it and i couldnt figure out why. I will have to take nots while smoking again in the future. This is a good va per. maybe not my favorite thing out there, but highly satisfying. i would get again.

Sold to me on recommendation while buying FVF. Being from Louisiana and having cut my teeth on Perique in the form of "Picayune" cigarettes I can attest that this blend contains the "real thing", and a fair amount of it. Light years beyond Fillmore in flavorful perique, rich VA and ease of smoking. The presentation is exquisite. Smoked as a flake broken in thirds and stuffed into a medium bowl with medium lighting difficulty.

Althouth I like Va/per tobaccos, this one has a little more perique than I enjoy. Nonetheless a quality product with a beautiful presentation.

Another first-time foray. 633 enjoys a stellar reputation among the va/per lovers, of which I would include myself. That said, this blend causes me consternation in that it is simply inconsistent. Fresh from the tin, the flavor is sharp and one-dimensional, the perique comes and goes and the base of virginia masquerades as a bitter burley. A weeks drying time helps immeasurably, and lulls one into a false sense of triumph over a finicky blend. No sooner had I enjoyed a good smoke (not phenomenal) than I loaded up another bowl and barely recognised the creature in my pipe. Further, what is the rationale behind the German obsession with casing any blend they produce? Most exasperating. Yet, I do see glimmers of hope for 633 and I. It has (at times) a completeness of flavor that leaves North American offerings behind. In the interest of good tobacciana, I shall persevere. More to follow... 09/2006 I smoked 633 off and on, most of this past summer, and a few months in a canning jar certainly settles its flighty nature down. Tasty and serviceable. 3 stars.