Wessex Gold Virginia Flake

Stevie B took the words right out of my mouth! I agree with his assessment 100%. Gold flake is a bit different than any Virginia I've previously smoked. To my taste it says freshly baked bread. Sure enough about three quarters through the bowl I get a orange/citrus note creeping into the flavor and aroma. The moisture is perfect out of the tin and this tobacco is ready to be smoked. I bought two tins on a whim without knowing anything about it. Cool smoking and bite free. I hit the jackpot! Very highly recommended.

Smoking some Wessex Golden Virginia flake this early morning with a cup of Walmart coffee. The flake has been aging in a mason jar 3 years.

The tin note was hay and citrus. The flakes were the perfect humidity, thanks to the aging. I crumbled the flake and stuffed it in the Savinelli Spring 311 KS in a very messy way because I was still waking up.

The flake took to lighting easily. I was surprised at the initial taste. Fresh oats. The tin note betrayed me! I was expecting straight citrus! The citrus is there, but takes a back seat to the creamy, muesli-like, cereal oatiness. It's very tasty. There is a dark fruit sweetness as well. Wow! So good!

I haven't been smoking many straight VA blends, but this really hits the spot right now! I need to bring more into my rotation. There is a light spice in the background, under the oats and sugar and citrus. A slight VA tingle.

The room note is pleasing. The citrus and oats come through nicely on this nosewarmer pipe.

It's on the mellower side. None of the flavors attack me. Very laid back and fun!

This flake surprised me. It's not one you hear mentioned often. I don't remember it being this good three years ago. Perhaps the age really affected it for the better?

Burns cool for a VA flake. Minimal moisture left behind. Leaves a great taste in the mouth.

This is a solid, tasty smoke. 4/5.

Disclaimer:

This review is from a 0.5g sample. I'm smoking the before last bowl of the bag. I use the following review mostly for myself, as a reminder. So use it with a grain of salt.

The Review:

My sample is cube cut, witch I don't mind at all. I am aware this is not how this was sold, but it's how it was gifted to me. As I dislike having to fight with a blend for it to stay lit, I still rub this one out almost completely. The cubes are rather dense and need a little bit of work to come out the way I like.

The tobacco was slightly moist but not overly so. I smoked one bowl at that moisture and it went fine. Nevertheless, I have dried the couple other bowls from 5 to 30 minutes with good success.

The "tin note" (I have no tin) is typical of a bright VA. Quite grassy, light and sunny. There is a little bit of bread there.

Lighting is easy. A first one for charring and a second to get it going. I usually relight a couple of times afterwards because I'm often losing attention and a bit more at the end when I'm starting to get close to the dottle. Off we go!

The taste starts out pretty medium bread-y. There are some glimpses of pleasant high notes. People seem to think of citrus, but personally, I've never tasted citrus in tobacco... After that first blast, as I get comfortable in this smoke's first third, the high notes seem well in place as they dominate the smoke at this point.

In the second third now and the bread quality takes over. There is a little but of spice here. A light piquant touch to the tongue if I'm not careful though.

As the bowl finishes, the bread notes are strong the high ones are completely gone. The blend gains a toasted feel, reminiscent of black VAs, but never really gets there. The spice gets a bit stronger but nothing like Perique would bring to a blend.

Personally, I prefer darker VAs like a hot pressed blends or red VAs can achieve.I'll probably buy a tin sometime but will definitely not chase it either.

Slightly fuller than gold slice by same producer. Its an awfully good straight virginia. No casing I can detect (beyond the usual very mild sugar added to nearly all flakes these days). Burns very slow...its finest quality perhaps. Its medium strength, for a Virginia. No bite, and nothing out of the ordinary, really. The blend leans toward Red, but there are several virginias in there. With the closing of McClelland, its nice to have a few good Va flakes around.

I wonder exactly what is going on at K & k . I have enjoyed Wessex Gold for years and the first part of this review reflects that . This WAS a really nice folded flake , light in color and with a very slight citrus like topping . It was one of the many fine K & K folded flakes that one can enjoy . Most of them are sort of similar with the exception of Special Brown flake and Vauen #14 .So when I recently ran low on this staple tobacco I ordered more and what I got folks

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was Astley # 109 in their new folded flake form . No mistake here , that is what it was . What exactly is going on in the K & K factory . I still have some old cans of Gold which I will save for history . RIGHT NOW , IF YOU ORDER ANY YOU CAN JUST THROW IT IN WITH THE Astley 109 AND THE WESSEX BRIGADE CAMPAIGN DARK FLAKE .

Pleasant scent, but not as smooth or as satisfying as Orlik's Golden Sliced. This is more sour and spicy than sweet and I don't find it very interesting ( agree with those that say Oatmeal taste). This tin has about 6 months of age and I don't see great things happening with additional age, this tends to burn hot. Wessex Brown Virginia is better. I gave OGS 3 stars, so this is only two ( 2) and I won't buy again.

Wessex GVF… Appears to be a somewhat unknown blend, judging by the the number of posted reviews. Can't imagine why. Tin aroma is almost like a teriyaki / tobacco combination, thankfully not reflected in the smoke taste.

A thin and easy to rub out flake, (I us the rolled into a ball method) in need of some minor drying.

I found this stuff a bit fire retardant, and needed several relights, which is ok with me, because that's better than burning too hot, as others in this genre do. The smoke might be considered a bit thin when smoking for maximum flavor, (slowly) but for me, it's a fair trade off, for such fine flavors. A recliner tobacco for sure.

In the past I've used the phrase “ fresh cut alphalfa hay” as a description for other gold Virginias, but this one, almost made me think they may have really added some to this blend, wow, kind of dry tasting, a bit thin, interestingly unique, I like it… I can see myself visiting this one often.

Overall a mild and bite free smoke, with a just the right amount of complexity and vitamin N to make it a very worthwhile smoke. For its genre 4 stars. My personal rating 4/5

All I can say is WOW. Smells of toasted Almonds and oats in the tin. Easy to light, COOL TO SMOKE. I don't think I've had a cooler smoke, and even if you get it a little hot just from enjoying the taste, it's still very smooth. Only smoked a small bowl of it so far, but was VERY impressed. Will have to smoke a regular bowl later on when it's turn in rotation. Can't wait to try Red Virginia and Brown Virginia Flake as well. Much better than I had expected.

Tin: Strip of tobacco 1 1/2x3x1/16" with a sweet fragrant grain or cereal scent, of a dark golden hue striated with blonde to dark tan.

Preparation: While the tin I have is borderline dry, it seems to be at just the right moisture level. The tobacco has a slight sting to it, due to moisture. This masks a portion of the tobacco flavor. Drying it out for a hour diminishes this moisture effect and results in a tobacco in which more flavor can be tasted.

Be careful taking the sheets out; there is a tendency for it to come apart. As contrasted with SG FVF which is rather difficult to twist apart, GVF is easy to rub into really nice ribbons.

Taste & Aroma: Nice, soft and sweet, with a flavor and aroma of grain, with a minor citrus aspect.

Nicotine: Medium to strong

Room Note: Medium lemon cereal

Overall: A good, possibly all day, smoke. Reminds me of some GLP Fog City selections such as Montgomery. 4 stars.