Dan Tobacco Skipper's Flake

Dan Tobacco - Skipper's Flake.

I bought this from the Danish Pipe Shop, vintage section, but like a dingus forgot to note the age which qualified it for their selection of aged tobaccos. This was over a year ago, and judging from the oil stains on the surrounding paper insert I'm guessing it had a fair bit of age on it.

The flakes are part-broken, not anywhere near being ribbons/rubbed, but a little un-whole. The tin has an aroma of sweet dark fruit, suggestive of a rich Virginia smoke. I can't fault the moisture.

The smoke: I can't identify as much sharp citrus as I can dough/bread, hay, and sweetness. Out of these flavours, to me, the hay takes the crown, with the dough/bread offering a gracious support, and there's just enough sweetness to brighten the flavour; not like a 'casing', but coming from ripe Virginia. Skipper burns at a slow-ish speed, giving a cool, bite-free smoke.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Skipper's Flake? Mostly a 'rugged' Virginia with just enough vivacity/sweetness to garnish the flavour without taking over. Three stars:

Recommended.

Straight virginia flake. Grassy, hay and tea like tin note. Easily can be packed. The taste is quite simple, grassy virginia with no after taste. Can bite if smoked quickly. Recommended for an all day straight virginia tobacco.

I chose this as one of three sample from my last Dan Pipe order. The smell from the baggie is sugary-sweet, but not in a overwhelming or overpowered way - pretty pleasant sweetness to me. With a bit of citrusy-freshness, that reminds me of iced-tea somehow. A decent share of hay I found when I dipped my nose deeper into the bag. Pleasing and interesting.

The condition is flawless and intriguing appearance of the flakes. They were made without glues, like all DTM Flakes, so they crumble apart pretty easy. No problem, you can still stuff and fold if you're a bit nimble-fingered. Otherwise rub it out and enjoy like this, too.

Skipper's Flake taste is much different than the smell from the unburnt tobacco in the baggie. It's rich in spices,with a rather dark tone to the flavour. Peppery, slightly sharp in a good way, like spicy sharp. Sometimes yeasty notes, with full-rye-bread like tones. Very natural tobacco taste, not much of a casing to detect, if there's one I'd say maybe just a hint of sugar-water. A gentle citrusy-freshness and just a whiff of brown-sugary/molasses sweetness are balancing the power of this force of nature. Don't get this wrong - it's not a Powerhouse Nicotine-wise, but the taste is on the upper medium scale , in terms of richness I'd say. Gains a bit of power while the bowl progresses!

This blend is reminding me of a less sweet-ish and as there's no Perique in Skipper's also less fruity-sour verison of "Salty Dogs" Plug (almost black Va/Per Plug) by DTM. I guess they share some of the Virginia leaf maybe?

Burns pretty cool, and won't bite that easy. Comes in a bit too moist condition for my taste, 30-45 minutes will do the trick for me, so it's somewhere between moist and dry.

A pleasing experience, and I will surely get a tin of this by times. The next staright Virginia blend, that was really a joy and full of flavours. 3,5 stars for now, I wait till I finish the sample and then make a final statement. Take this as a "Review in Progress" (RIP... :-P)

UPDATE FEB19/2009:

I'm keeping to practice the same protocol of smoking intensively one tin at time during the working week. This week was reserved to Skipper's Flake.

I basically confirm my first review and maintain the same rating.

Just: 1) room note rating has been a bit revised, on the other hand the wife's rating never exceeds the simple toleration... 2) after five days in the leather bag SF is not dry yet, meaning that some humectant has been used - that's typical of Dan's; I notice a very faint note of anise her and there.

I have to admit that SF is near the top of my preferences, but also find myself bit bored... not to the extent of SG's BBF. The smoke is unidimensional, but the strength is very satisfying even in the morning.

I have grabbed and cellared a couple of tins.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: This is a very good fellow, of the likes of SG's FVF or CAO's Patriot Flake, or McConnell's Scottish Flake. Not very complex, but a completely satisfying medium to strong smoke. The kind of thing You would smoke in the afternoon after having smoked Capstan in the morning, just a darker and rustic continuation. Full bodied plain Virginias, the label tells, that's simply what this very good and honest flake is, to be smoked into small to medium bowls. I look forward to reading very soon some deeper reviews of the more experienced men at TR! Skipper's deserves. Three stars out of four.

A pleasant but somewhat tastles tobacco, think Sam Gawiths Golden Glow light, very light. Golden Glow has a lot more taste and flavour, but more importantly, Golden Glow has a lot more vitamin N. The notes I read on it from Dan tobacco claimed it was medium to strong, I think they were smoking something else as mine was niether strong or medium. There is a hint of a nice mild tobacco, free of additives which is a plus, so I'm going to put this down to the tobacco being a bit green. Fortunately, I have a sealed 250 gram pouche still sealed, so I\\\'m going to save this until the summer is upon us and revisit it then. For the moment, I\\\'d give it 2 1/2 stars, the leaf is obviously quality, but it just seems to lack everything else. Having said that, this tobacco is slowly growing on me, therefore 3 stars

A light bodied smoke with strokes of grass, honey and pepper that is (considering the body) surprisingly strong. I like this combination; if I feel like having a strong yet subtle smoke this is a fine option. By all means, try this one but be wary of the punch it packs - don't be misled by its gentle presentation or you may be ambushed.

Taste: Very grassy off the top, maybe hints of hay but mainly a dominant taste of fresh cut grass. Very light body, not much power or creaminess in this at first. About half way through the bowl it picks up some sweetness, like a green tea with a touch of honey. Bottom third adds some pepper to the mix and increases the intensity. Body thus goes to a medium and this part is really tasty, a fine full virginia smoke. I would say that the complexity in this one is low, the flavours are all quite evident here.

Mechanics: A loose flake, maybe even a broken one, that comes at a smokable moisture level right from the get go. Easy to keep lit, it does require some restraint when smoking or it will bite. Strong in nicotine.

Well it was my first flake tobacco. I must admitt i wasnt really into it at first. It is strong at first but mellows out after a while. No flavoring to say the least, burns slow and even. After my third or fourth smoke I started noticing some sweetness from the virginias and a the pure taste of the quality tobacco.

Very natural, very sweet. That's it. It is not so strong as some reviews suggest. The strength is comparable with the St. Bernard Flake from Dan Tobacco. For me it's undimensional, but sometimes quite the thing. I think I can taste the very good Virginias that are used to create this blend. A nice smoke if you smoke calmly and intently. Beware of the tongue bite.

update: going through my reviews here, i find that i'll have to downgrade a good deal of the praise i've given so many blends. 4 stars should, i feel, be reserved for the blends i find truly exceptional. so, this is downgraded a bit. end update.

first of all: this is not air cured, but flue cured...

a couple of months ago, i bought a tin of skipper's flake. the first pipefull did not appeal to me. i found it somehow "off", and didn't like the flavouring i felt had been applied to it. i jarred it, thinking that it might improve with a little enclosed airing.

today, i've given it another try, and i was certainly right in thinking that it might improve. here goes:

tin aroma: very "old belt"'ish. clean and neat, tobaccoey, with only a hint of dried fruits or berries. perhaps a bit of fermented hay and some oat flavour.

it's a bit brittle (but perhaps the jar was not absolutely air tight), and easy to pack and light.

the first impression is that of well aged virginia, with absolutely no additives to be noticed. it's a bit sharp, and quite strong for a pure virginia. this reminds me very much of an old belt flake that w.ø.larsen used to make, only without the ghastly flavouring, and a bit stronger. a little malty, sweet in a non-obtrusive way, and a classical taste of grass and hay. being german, it's probably got quite a few additives, but i don't notice them in any way. they're certainly not as up front as in many other continental virginia flakes.

relights reveal deeper and more mellow flavours, and the sharpness recedes. i could well imagine that this is the backbone of the delightful va/per st. bernard from the same manufacturer.

it's a joy to smoke for anyone who cares for a standard virginia experience - and my guess is that it will be even better with a few years of aging.