J. F. Germain & Son Germain's Brown Flake

Thin cut slices that don't need airing time despite their moist content, which is rather high. They come in irregular sizes and lengths and can be folded up and packed in your pipe without any rubbing. Sweet and dark in character because of the virginia and burley/kentucky leaf it contains. I can detect a slight topping, but this is not bothering me. The zesty, earthy, hay like, etc., profile from the virginia leaf is missing because of the marrying process, speaking of which I find near perfect. Instead of this, you are greeted with a rich and flavoursome tobacco that is imbued with molasses and roasted nuts. Sadly enough, it would appear this tobacco is only handcrafted for friends and family, for it is in very short supply, so it can never get a rating of 4 stars despite its top notch quality.

I purchased Brown Flake having enjoyed the other JFG offerings of Rich Dark Flake, Plumcake Mixture and Royal Jersey Perique. Brown Flake can be difficult to find in the UK so having acquired a tin I was looking forward to trying it.

Some say this is the brother of RDF, I can confirm there are very little similarities. The tin note upon opening is of oats and enjoyable. However, to describe this as Flake tobacco is somewhat loose. The tobacco comes in a block with few discernible flakes. That’s not to say it is a plug as it can be taken apart with your fingers. It also lacks the cognac/brandy overtones of RDF.

Overall I was disappointed with the smoke. It was bland, 1 Dimensional and acrid. Only occasionally did the oaty tin note come through. To qualify, I tried this blend in all manner of pipes, varying in size with various packing techniques. It gets a little more desirable with a few weeks drying time under its belt, but not enough that it would be a regular in my rotation. May buy again out of curiosity in a few years, but won’t be yearning for it if I don’t.

I purchased a 50g tin of this Flake at a tobacco-store in ratisbona. I smoked like 4 pipes with this Flake until now, and i came to the conclusion, that this is an wonderful Blend.

The flake looks dark-brown with sprinkles of yellow to light- brown Virginia. The smell out of the tin is pleasant, you just want to take one of the flakes and bite it. Somehow i was able to restrain myself and put it in the pipe. I used the Folding-method and it just packed perfectly.

The taste is awesome, you can taste the high quality Virginias and Kentuckys, it's just great. It is a rather strong blend, with a rather nutty and earthy taste, not a flake i would smoke at 8 am.

On the other Hand, i only give 3 out of 4 stars, because the Nicotine in this flake really knocked me out. I'm used to strong tobacco, but this one gave me a block in my throat. I had to stop smoking after 30 minutes, when i first smoked this baccy.

Other than that, it's a really great tobacco, and will be a welcome guest in my tobacco bar.

Well, at least the image sticked in the back of this small rectangular tin is not as scary as the ones I found on other English products. Just a couple of hands showing their aged skin.

Let's start with first impressions upon opening: 1) wax paper 2) the blind smell talks of unscented virginia, not sweet 3) beautiful contrasted large flakes, very supple. Encouraging announcements !

One whole flake, if you are able to get it straight from the tin since it easily fall apart, is enough to fill a group 4 bowl, a BBB canadian.

BF lights easily and smokes cool and steadily. The first combination coming to my mind is Virginia/Kentucky, the cigarish note is quite evident. Dry/earthy/woody/musty/salty are my words, with just a wee-bit of sweetness in the far background. Of the good British companions being my December pipe-meal, the only possible comparison I can offer is with Walnut Flake. But WF is way much smoother, and again - as I happened in the past - I do agree with Hagen that BF is a bit hard on the throat, and is not something to leave and relight, it turns bitter.

My stomach says that BF is just better to smoke as an after dinner. As a matter of fact we are well above the medium side.

I don't see any reason to believe there is any artificial casing, to me BF is something in the pure-tobacco territory, perfectly burning and leaving extra-dry-light-gray ashes.

A very nice product, indeed. It deserves some cellaring.

*** UPDATE 2010/03/23 Well some half tin of this was left aging into a small sealed glass jar. I did hope that some more Dark Flake coming from UK, but still waiting… Oh My ! Time has improved this flake by large. What at the first time was the roughness of a dark Virginia seasoned by some dark fired leaf, has become a soft, winey, and again: cigarish smoke. A delicious smoke, seems to me it's bit milder, burns like heaven till the very bottom. I would like the bowl never ending. I frankly hope to put my hands on a good number of tins, before it's too late. It goes straight to my heart, four full stars!

This is another tobacco I recently sampled from a tobacco box pass generated by a member of my private pipe board. One of the great ones, IMO, with a wonderful depth of flavor to the flakes that have been specially prepared in that incomparable Germain way.

The taste is sweet rather than sour or hay like. So, I suspect a very, very light topping is involved here.

An all day and night smoke for sure. Will not bite even with aggressive puffing.

In my eyes Germain's Brown Flake is one of a kind. It is one of those tobaccos you couldn't replace with anything else that is on the market today. Logically that means that one cannot really compare it to other "Brown Flakes" such as the extraordinary Samuel Gawith one that has long been a staple with me. Germain's Best Brown Flake's limited availability coupled with my own reluctance to spend a whole lot of money on import taxes have led me to consider it a Sunday treat.

The taste is very remarkable. The smoke is dry and creamy and in this respect indeed comparable to that of a fine cigar. Overall I do not think of the blend as very "cigarish" tough. The taste is predominantly that of earth (in the positive sense). For varieties sake, there is blood oranges or grapefruit but only ever so slightly. Especially at the beginning of the bowl there are also nuances of hazelnut very akin to those in Rattray's Old Gowrie (a blend which is way sweeter than Germain's BF). Not to turn you off but sometimes I am also reminded of musty books when I think of Brown Flake. As others have commented, you can really push this tobacco and it just never bites. Ultimately, this kind of thing may or may not be your cup of tea but if it is there is really nothing quite like it.

A truly magical smoke this is... I took me a year for finally finding a shop that had it in stock here in germany. I instantly stocked up a few tins, as I got ahold of a 50g tin with 8-10years of age to it in forehand. I'll split this in "new" and "aged".

**New/Fresh:** A wonderful tin note awaits you in the tin. Very reminiscent of a horse-stable with rich cigar-ish and earth notes, and a hint of floweriness. Bright-, dark- and red-brown in colors this is an intriguing looking flake and albeit being a bit mist out of the tin you can smoke it right away. Yet I recommend drying it out to be "crisp" as it's more spicy then. In the pipe it spoils you with rich earthiness and hay, very reminiscent of a horse-stable. Decent cigar-ish notes are everpresent and accompanied by a slight floweriness. There's only a very mild sweetness, this is a hearty smoke! It's like being on a farm! Horse-stable aroma, well dried hay and a farmer puffing some fine farmers tobacco in his pipe - this blend packs it all into a flake slice and makes you dream of long lost days.

**Aged (8-10years)::** The tobaccos age exceptionally well! The flakes are sticking to eachother and have fermented a lot. The flakes are now quite dark, with a significant amount of pitch-black leaf. The juices of the tobaccos have come out and are coating not only the cover sheet - which now is dark brown instead of white - but also quite a few of the flakes. The tin note is rich. Cigar-ish, horse-stable, earth and hay. Most pleasant tin note I got to sniff and I'd rate it as my favorite tin note. Still a bit moist, I prefer drying it out for at least 30mins up to a few hours. In the pipe the "horse-stable" aroma is also present, which I find very, very pleasant. Rich earthiness, decent cigar-ish notes, with a flowery touch to it and a decent amount of hay. Again: The taste-profile is a lot like being at a farm. Horse stable, hay, cigar-notes from the farmer puffing some neat Kentucky leaf. Perfection in a word!

**Verdict:** Aged of frehs...this is my most favorite Burley/Kentucky blend ever! The aged version was heavenly, with its deep fermented qualities and the tobacco juices sticking all over the flakes. Yet a fresh tin is just as enjoyable and has the very same taste-characteristics, expect for the rich fermented character the aged one has. I'm stocking this up for ever day smoke and a few tins for aging! My Go-To-Blend when I want some sweet Burley goodness. Some shops describe this as a Virginia blend, yet I contradict... to me the Kentucky dominates with its intense characteristics and is accompanied by the richly earthy an hay-ish Virginias, which only hold a little of the stereotypical "citrus", but are rather hearty and spicy.

Upon opening the tin one can smell fermentation. It reminded me of the smell of a walk in humidor. Great smell and wonderful presentation. The paper surrounding the dark brown was all stained for aging and fermentation. These flakes look like and are as easy to work with as the Medium Flake. Probably the softest and easiest flake to rub out.

Loads easy into the bowl and lights well enough. The moisture content for me was perfect, but there are many who may want to have some dry time prior to loading the bowl. Lights easy with the two match style and stays light with attentive, but light tamping.

This is a great tobacco. Lots of flavors that are similar to the Medium flake but I find this flake to be bolder, deeper, and richer than it's brother. Less citrus, though hints of it come through. There is some molasses flavors and sweet VA mixed in with earth and hay. It does remind me of a cigar here and there, but not completely, the smoke is more gentle than that. I noted hints of a spice, not pepper, but more like cumin, but that doesn't completely describe it. Another reviewer mentioned peat...it may be somewhere between those two flavors. That may sound a like a detractor to some, but it's quite pleasant and tasty. Very enjoyable flavor that is bold but not overpowering and soft at the same time. Difficult to describe. The nic is just at the right level I would say, medium. Glad I was able to sample this and I have another tin aging in my cellar.

If you like brown pipe tobaccos, this may well be a nice surprise. Personally as a cigar smoker as well I would pick a strong virginia for a pipe and a mild Cuban cigar for this type of smoke. That said this is a very good example of a brown flake and comes in a nice old fashioned 'small' oblong tin (Like Erinmore Flake's tin). Very nice brown tobacco for your pipe.