J. F. Germain & Son Germain's Special Latakia Flake

In an age of astronomical tobacco duty, a pouch of this was a very generous gift from a friend. Its the first tobacco from Germain's that I've tried, and its quite nice!

The flakes are unusual, the different leaf appears to have been stacked in layers, with a seam of black latakia at the bottom of the flake, which has been crumbling off since I've had the pouch. The result is that it's not consistent from pipe to pipe. Would have been if I'd rubbed it all out at once, but that's not my style,and I suppose it made for variety having some pipes with a hint and some with a generous dose of latakia. The moisture content is just right, and the aroma in the pouch is like a light English mixture, smoke, hay, malt and wood. Not much of the mouldy funky aromas I enjoy in heavier blends like Nightcap.

It rubs with ease and takes the flame with no trouble, with an even burn. I didn't need many relights, and it burnt down to just a little more dottle than I'd see in an English mixture. The smoke has a dusty quality which seems to be from the latakia, more pronounced in bowls with more latakia. Aside from this it's mostly got a bready, malty flavour of Virginia leaf, with a little spice from the Orientals. Very much like a subdued English mixture. The flake preparation makes it burn a lot slower than a mixture would, which is nice. There isn't much development through the bowl.

In summary, a mild English in flake form, which makes for a slower burn and potentially some variation from bowl to bowl. Pleasant after breakfast with a cup of tea, but not an engrossing smoke for me to pay too much attention to. It strikes me as something of a gimmick, and won't be replacing any of my favourite English mixtures any time soon, but a pleasant change of pace for a chap who never looked a gift horse in the mouth.

Well, what can I say, I'd rather have Penzance. Upon opening the tin I found that the flakes were quite moist. So much so that they were all stuck together like a plug of tobacco. At first I tried loading it like a regular flake, which was hard to keep lit. However, on the second smoke I decided to rub it out almost completely. This yielded a better smoke...

Tin aroma reminds me of extremely ripe raisins; again, not as pleasing as Penzance. This latakia flake is better before the half way point of the smoke. I love the intriguing flavors and spice before the nicotine becomes more pronounced. I've had no tongue bite with this weed, but it becomes stronger towards the middle of the bowl; turns into a pretty damn strong tobacco where the flavor falls to pure nicotine.

Terribly moist, dense and sticky flake, with a sickly smell just after opening. It's a medium english tobacco, and the flavor when smoking is not heavy at all, and it burns quite well, too! It's a sort of King Charles but richer and slightly sweeter. Not memorable anyway.

2008 Update: I have opened another tin, cellared for 4 years. Opinion remains unchanged: very smooth and creamy, but also weak in taste, watery and slightly cardboardy. Not as nutty, fragrant, spicy or complex as it would be fair to expect from such a product. OK, but very unexciting.

Germain's Special Latakia Flake arrived remarkably with bloom. It is rare indeed to find bloom on pipe tobacco--a well-aged cigar, yes, but on pipe tobacco, no. I found this understandably curious (reason mostly for two stars rather than one) and thought that I was about to enjoy quite an extraordinary treat. Special Latakia Flake demanded to be dried and rubbed (against my desires). In smoking this weed, I encountered nothing unusual yet alone extraordinary. It is a rather dull offering and, apart from the bloom, without any distinguishing characteristics beyond its dose of nicotine. As I noted with Blakeney's Best Latakia Flake, if you are looking for Latakia in flake form, stick with C.A.O.'s Old Ironsides. In comparison with the latter, this stuff is less a battleship and more a dinghy.

I got this one evening when the tobacconist was fresh out of my favorite latakia slice, Old Ironsides. I found it somewhat similar, although not as smokey or full, but with a good solid body and taste. It's really all about the latakia taste, which dominates, which makes it a good choice if you like that dimension of blend. Given a choice, I would get Old Ironsides, but if you can't, this will do, and do more than well.

A friend gifted me a generous sample of this eight years ago. I remember having to smoke this fresh and being a little put off by the dominance of the Latakia. The reader should note that I tend to be fairly sensitive to the presence of Latakia. It is not that I don’t enjoy it, but find that it tends to drown out other component tobaccos.

Revisiting this blend with 8 years of cellar time is much more pleasant. The Latakia is still a formidable voice, but the Virginias are speaking much more loudly this time around. While I did see some sugar crystallized on the outside of the various flake pieces, I did not perceive this as a set of particularly sweet Virginias. They are much more earthy, dark, toasty than sweet or grassy. The once golden bright leaf that flecks this mixture when fresh now blends in with the darker brown hues that currently prevail. This is a great blend to smoke fresh if you are a Latakia junkie. If one has the cellar space and patience to leave it alone for years, it certainly does become a wholly different smoke. Per my tastes it is much better now than back then. The Latakia is more incense and less “campfire” now.

Good Tobacco. Starts with Latikia out front with Orientals in close support. Packs and burns nice ,and ample "N". Not as creamy as some others (Lancers Slices). Has a slight bitter rather than sweet aftertaste. A solid blend, I found this a little hot or steamy.Unfortunately it is stuck as a middle of the road blend, with neither enough Latikia or not enough Oriental. When I grab for a tobacco, I want either a Latikia or an Oriental not halfway of both. This could benifit from some ageing and some drying could cure the steamy problem. I think there are other tobaccos that would be more to my liking. Note , has a great little tin that is easy to carry and seals pretty well.

Updated 11/3/11- This has had a few more months to age and breath and much of the steam is gone. I'm a little disapointed with the amount of Latakia, as you hit mid bowl all you get is Oriental and Va. the last 1/3 is all Va. You also notice some bitterness in the aftertaste.

As far as the cut and blending, I have to agree with reviewer, "The German" above. As you load and pick out the flakes, scraps and pieces from the tin I almost think you could change the taste of this blend with each pipe. I would actually classify this more as a Virginia/Oriental with some hints of Latakia . Probably won't buy again, not that it's bad, it just is not interesting nor smooth enough for me.

Updated 12/13/12-I opened another tin, why ,I have no idea, same "Blah" results. It needs drying , no Latakia flavor, no sweetness, no Oriental. It doesn't bite!

Updated 12/17/12 OK, THE NAME OF THIS TOBACCO, "LATAKIA FLAKE", THREW ME OFF, AS LONG AS YOU UNDERSTAND THAT THE NAME SHOULD BE "MILD VIRGINIA FLAKE WITH A HINT OF LATAKIA", I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M TRYING TO SMOKE .

Germain's Special Latakia flake. This is a typical full balkan style blend. It lacks some of the more spiciness i have grown accustom to. The latakia, orientals, and turkish are very prevalent;however I am having trouble finding the virginias. It is rather ho-hum in my opinion but as I said before it does lack some of the spiciness that im am used to. the tin was vacumed seal with a strong smell of latakia and very moist. letting dry a bit will definatley improve its smoking quality as well its ablilty to stay lit. At first lite it is very smokey and rich and tends dull down mid-bowl. I picked this blend up from a local store that didn't have my regular blend, so I tried it out on a recomendation. It will do until I can find my regular blends which are Bill Baileys Balken Blend and Frog Morton on the bayou which both have the addition of perique. I will finish this tin but I probably wont try it again. if you are wanting to try some balkan blends this a good one to start with as it is fairly tame.I give 2 out of 4 stars.

This is a solid Latakia flake from Germain. Upon opening the tin I found a well aged tobacco littered with crystallized sugar from the aging process. This is not a tobacco loaded with nuances but is instead a solid high quality Latakia blend. I was very pleased with the smoothness of the smoke and a nice smokey and slighty sweet flavor. Over all this is a nice tobacco, but it is rather mild and not what I am looking for in a Latakia Flake.