Dan Tobacco Patriot Flake

My basical tendency is to review a tobacco not before the end of the second tin? I have let half of this second one seasoning for months. Humidity has quite left, the remaining flakes are not dried so overly, let?s say they are still like a ?ruvid tweed?. PF is basically a deep brown (stoved?) Va flake, and yes a small quantity of oriental may be of the party. It?s round, has body and character; medium in strength and stays there until the end (with some momentarily reinforcements); modestly sweet, creamy and faintly spicy; smoke is substantial and satisfying; quite no bite and over-hot bowl. I find it?s right place is the second pipeful in the morning. Three stars and steady place in my cabinet. BTW: I would try Hamborger Veermaster just to build the CAO/Dan?s scale of flakes: HV being the ?treble?, PF the ?midrange? and Skipper the ?bass? ? unfortunately HV is not imported in Italy.

I have to say that I was not really impressed with this flake, however after reading other reviews, I'll give it some time. What I did find was that by blending this with some of G&H's Brown Rope #4, you get a really nice smoke, the Rope brings a world of fullness to the Patriot.

First off, I will agree. Yes...this tobacco is a bit pricey. I paid $12 for a 50g tin(with a great picture on it). but as with most thing, you get what you pay for. and what you get here, is a great tobacco. I wasnt blown away with the aroma upon opening my tin. but the "broken Flake" looked rather interesting. I lightly rubbed out 3/4 of a bowl's worth, and topped it off with the looser crumbs. lighting is very easy, and produced huge amounts of smoke on initial char. The first half of the bowl struck me as a run-of-the-mill Va blend with nothing major to contribute to western civilization. Yet the dramatic shift about half way through the bowl is where my 12 dollars suddenly became a wise investment...this is where the Orientals make their grand entrance. the Va's are also tuned up a few notches and the Nicotine becomes more appearant as well. the room note is fine, as long as you dont mind Va's. I did have fun with the ultra thick and creamy smoke. and if your into smoke rings, then this is the tobacco for you. this continued to smoke effortlessly with no need to re-light down to the bottom where one will find a nice salt/pepper ash. If you lean towards English blends, this might be a good transition blend, and if you like Va's, then you should really enjoy this. again...I say 12 clams is a small price to pay for this great tobacco.

11-11-04 A tin I forgot I had in my cellar!

Appearance and tin Aroma: Looks like a typical bright yellow flake with light brown specs here and there. Smells like hay with a subtle hint of honey.

Packing and Lighting: I prefer to rub out my flakes, I seem to be able to control the burn rate a lot easier this way. This blend lit easily.

Initial Flavor: This starts out bright and grassy, but after a relight or two, settles down.

Mid-Bowl: Nice round mellow flavor, the spicy high notes settle down. Occasional bursts of sweetness pop in and out. This flake reminds me of MCClellands 221b Honeydew, but with much less honey.

Bottom of Bowl: A quick crescendo of flavor and then it is all over, ash is fine and grey.

Overall: This is a great medium strength flake that is fairly easy to smoke, but with all the other great flakes available is going to be a hard sell due to its higher price tag ($11.50 - $13.00 for a 50g tin). I can think of many other flakes that are almost half the price, that are just as tasty. For me, I am still a Ratray's Man (Marlin Flake, old Gowrie) primarily, with an occaisional foray to the Mc Clelland flakes. IMO those blenders still outdo this blend.

Rating: 3 out of 5 points...

Until now the only virginia flake that I'd tried was Dunhill Light Flake. My last virginia experience was an unfortunate forray into the land of MacBaren Virginia No. 1, and especially compared to that junk, this stuff is quite nice. My impression is that Patriot flake is a bit spicier than the Dunhill, though a bit more mild overall. The taste is pure and clean, and the moisture content seems about right. I don't detect any flavoring at all, though perhaps my taste isn't as sharp as that of others. There might be a bit of rum in this or something, but perhaps I'm just tasting the sweetness of the tobacco itself. Whatever it is, if there at all, it blends in well with the natural flavors. Perhaps it's because the Dunhill is stronger and not quite as spicy, but I think I still like Dunhill Light Flake more than this. I'm looking forward to finishing off this tin though.

After a little more experience with this blend I can confirm what another reviewer noted: this stuff does indeed become fuller and richer toward the end. This inspired me to give it a try in a pipe with a tall narrow bowl like this Skaal freehand that I have (about 2" deep). In this pipe the effect was magnified quite nicely and the bottom 1/3rd of the bowl was exceptionally rich and flavorful, though toward the very end the sweetness really starts to overpower the spiceiness. Anyway, I recommend giving this a try in such a pipe.

I think the 'middle of the road-ness' of this fine Virginia flake is its strength. Neither too sharp nor overly stoved, it hits a nice sweet spot.

The tin I smoked contained large, wide flakes that were slightly stuck together probably due to its age, several years. Ready to smoke from the get-go, no drying necessary. I detected a subtle plum flavoring added that dissipated when the flakes were dried (I live in a desert climate, and some drying out is always inevitable) which is quite a pleasant alternative to the maples and vinegars of many others. Also a taste of honey at times.

But all that is pretty subtle, the flake is all about well-balanced natural Virginia flavor. Plus the spice, which I love. Not a by-the-numbers Virginia flavor, it is a little different, but personally I didn't detect anything resembling Orientals. The second half of the bowl is nice and buttery, not so buttery as some, but very good, that and the spiciness come together very well.

I think this may become one of my go-to Virginia flakes, I enjoyed it a lot.

Virginias from Mysore? What are these? Magical Virginias? Maybe they don't contain any Orientals, but from what I can make, the spice is prevalent, and very well received.

It's been three years since I reviewed a tobacco. I had a pile of tins that I threw in a box, and had neglected for some while. I admit to having slipped, and smoked a better half of several months on cigarettes. When I began to smoke again, I pulled that box, and this was one of the blends that I chose for a reintroduction.

My sample was dry, inadequately hydrated and preserved, yet I pulled it for the promise of a viable Virginia.

Patriot Flake is tasty, and fine enough for satisfaction. The blend, spicy as it is, offers a characteristic profile of Virginia leaf. Not quite sweet, but beefy enough to reward a reliable smoke. Is it imbued with notes of hay and grass or stewed fruit? I don't know, but I will smoke this concoction and revel in the spice.

Three and a half of five.

A nice wide flake on the light colored side. Mostly golden VAs with some stoved VAs, but not much.

I have not detected any orientals in there, this seems to be a pure VA flake only.

The flakes are kind of thick and a bummer to rub out to one's liking, but it smokes nice and slow with nice hints of grass, freahly baked bread and a sweet note.

This tobacco is made by Dan Tobacco. i do not believe CAO is the manufacturer, but rather the distributor.

Yes, an excellent all-day smoke it could make.

A good all day smoke that deserves 3 stars, note my tin was from Dan Tobacco & made in Germany.