Solani 633: Virginia Flake with Perique

Satisfying virginia with a little too little perique. Reminds me a little of Petersn Irish Oak. I enjoyed this in a small Savinelli bulldog, fully rubbed and a little dried out. Best after it hits the zone, and good to the end. I think this would be better in a bigger bowl. Can't confirm if it's actually cased as some suggest. Not a particularly social blend, but good for me. By the end of the bowl, sufficient nicotine to ease me into bed.

Trevert wrote: "The Perique really livens the blend up and gives it some added interest over the various pure Virginia blends of this sort. It's very bright and clear, and would be well-suited to an air-cured Italian pipe. "

I have been smoking this and continue to smoke this in air-cured Italian pipes. Over time, the flakes get darker and better. Also, after dedicating a pipe to it the "roundness" and "fullness" of this blend is all the better.

Edited on 8-15-04: 9 out of 10 on the VA/P strength scale, but 7 out of 10 on the taste scale. As I finish this, my 3rd tin, I have decide that I like most of my tobaccos bone dry. I have dried this perticular a bowl at a time to various degrees, but only today after leaving this out in the sun for what I thought was a tad too long, I have nailed it. Dry, dry, dry and the taste and smoothness is there and no bite -- excellent!

I'll cellar some, and visit it occasionally (after a significant drying), but I think I still prefer Black Parrot or St. James Woods.

As Howie said above, "......... While the first bowl had a spicy tartness to it that reminded me of Escudo, subsequent bowls were fuller and broader in flavor with a more satisfying full virginia sense. This is exceptionally smooth at first light, without any bite or nasal burn.

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Overall: strong, spicy with sufficient breadth of flavor to maintain interest, but somewhat limited in complexity."

I'd smoke this more if I hadn't stockpiled the Escudo.

It might be better.

I enjoyed this blend. It did not jump out at me but was enjoyable. The virginia and perique both seem to be of good quality and the blending seems to be done well. This smokes very cool for a blend of this genre and is a very forgiving blend. This is pretty tastey but not quite as full in flavor as escudo which I prefer. I would recommend this to anyone who likes virginia perique blends especially those who are new to this genre of blend.

My tobacconist reccomended this one to me since he knows that I enjoy my Virginias and on occasion a Virginia Perique, Plus I mentioned to him in the past that I really enjoyed Reiner Long Golden Flake. The tobacco rubbed out well and was easy to pack. You could really taste both the Virgina and the Perique on the inital light. The sugar content of the Virginia seemed to be a bit lower than what I'm use to, but that could also have to do with the strong Perique presence in the bowl. Nonetheless the Virginia does add a nice sweet flavour to the tobacco and smooths out the spicyness from the Perique. The smoke was smooth and pleasant getting stronger towards the bottom of the bowl. The nicotine content was not what I'd describe as strong and I don't consider myself a heavyweight when it comes to Nicotine. The tobacco smoked quite cool for a Virginia and burned easily right to the heel of the pipe. I've been told that this tobacco improves with age I think I'll put some aside and see how it tastes in a couple of months. The rest I'm going to smoke immediatley. A good all around tobacco.

Solani 633 was the first Va/Perique blend I can truthfully say that I really liked. Perique has been a real trouble spot for me in my tobacco rotation. While I can smoke straight Virginias with almost zero tongue bite, I've always had to tiptoe around any Perique blend. Not so this 633 from Solani.

The tin aroma is somewhat hard for me to describe. It has the fruity, figgy, dense aroma of a mature Virginia and the spicy/sour notes of the Perique, yet it also has a sweet smell that I've not noticed in other Perique blends. At least to my nose. I will not detail the color/texture of the blend as that has been well covered in the other reviews.

Upon first lighting the blend I am immediately aware that I do not get the mouth burn I usually associate other Perique blends I've tried. Even after letting the blend settle and relighting I'm usually hit with a lot of spice/heat in the mouth feel department. I do not get this sensation with this blend. It is sweet yet has a very mild spicy undertone to it. The Virginias and the Perique seem to be about equal in proportion to my tastebuds in the first 1/2 of the bowl. When we get to the bottom 1/3 of the bowl is when this blend really richens up. Very intense flavor yet not overwhelming, still no tongue bite and no gurgling. This blend smokes well right down to the bottom of the bowl.

I heartily recommend this blend to anyone who likes Va/Periques, or more importantly, to those who have never really liked Perique blends becuase of the tongue burn factor. I will definately revisit this blend.

My first bowl was from a tin open for only a few days and the character changed after 3 weeks of airing. While the first bowl had a spicy tartness to it that reminded me of Escudo, subsequent bowls were fuller and broader in flavor with a more satisfying full virginia sense. This is exceptionally smooth at first light, without any bite or nasal burn. Subsequent development as the bowl is smoked is noticeably spicier, with a continued smoothness of smoking character and a strengthening of nicotine late in the bowl, although not overwhelming. Complexity is moderate with the spiciness the chief characteristic after the first third of the bowl. This is a keeper.

Overall: strong, spicy with sufficient breadth of flavor to maintain interest, but somewhat limited in complexity.

October 2002

Date 9/25/2002 tobacco Name Solani 633 Virginia with Perique package 50g tin rectangle with pic of Boats landing and people marching Color Brass tint, Yellow banner with clear letters smell from pkg Raisin Bran with 2% milk Cut of tobacco Long flake 2 inches tall with 1/2 inch flakes packed on side color in tin Golden Brown, with white spots intermittent Pipe Used Fresh cleaned Barling Rusticated Meer. Reserved VA/P pipe Moisture Content Perfect moisture level. Not dry, not wet Rub out? Rubs out easily into long ribbon leaf for quick packing lighting easy or hard Lights easy with charring crumbs. Very little rise lighting insrument Strike on box wooden matches Initial taste Virginia Sweetness. Very little Perique Amount of smoke Normal for typical VA First third of bowl 50/50 VA and Perique marriage Middle third of bowl Mainly VA with occasional kick of Perique bottom third of bowl Perique on top with VA fighting for recognition Heel condition Moist with some Dottle, but I was rushed for time Color of Ash Light gray smoked hot or cool Tended to get hot if pulled to hard, otherwise nice and cool for a VA Aftertaste Peppery Perique married to VA sweetness lingering repeat smokeablility Yes, definitely will smoke again today Overall opinion Quite enjoyable. The flavors varied back and forth, with a pleasant aftertaste Notes/Thoughts nice smoke, I'm looking forward to seeing how this will age.

I'm not much of a virginia smoker, but this is one of my favorite virginia blends. It's as easy to smoke as Hamborger Veermeister, with no bite, but a rich taste (much richer than Veermeister). My Virginia pipes tend to be oil-cured Ashtons for some reason, which I find mitigates the sweetness of the virginia leaf somewhat. Probably because of this, and unlike some of the other reviewers, I find the flavor of this flake to be more on the sour side of the scale, balanced with a little sweetness. The sweetness does tend to build towards the bottom of the bowl. Good stuff for when I'm in the mood.