Peter Heinrichs Dark Strong Flake

This is a very unusual flake. It is mostly dark, yet lightly stoved Virginia with some bright and Burley added. It is unusually strong in taste, yet the nicotine hit was only moderate.

Pipestud

I taste the DFK predominantly. The Virginias in the background. Wonderful notes of molasses and a hint of licorice. A fair amount of sweetness. It's a very appealing flavor.

Moisture content is where things get tricky. Too much moisture and you get gobs of flavor, but the burn isn't all that great. Best I can manage under those conditions are a wispy smoke that doesn't satisfy. Too dry and you get much less flavor and a touch of harshness, but plenty of smoke. You have to find that happy medium and that takes some experimentation. Once I found that sweet spot I've really been enjoying this.

Medium in body. Medium in flavor (in the sweet spot). I would give this 4 stars, but the effort required in preparation drops it to 3.

I am smoking through a generous sample sent me by a friend. It has been an enjoyable smoke. The red virginias are sweet and a little heavy. There is a mild topping I claim bringing out the sweet, but it does not contribute a honey or similar taste. The DFK gives it some spice and a characteristic nose "tickle."

In terms of flavor, it reminds me a little of a smoother, more refined Superior Round Slices. The flavor profile has a little more depth.It is a great blend, and I found the smoke improved in the course of the bowl. There was no bitter in the profile even in the last few puffs.

This is a great blend, which would have 4 stars had I not tried Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky while finishing this one up. The two are very similar; however, I like the Orlik offering better. Under a strict reading of recommended and highly recommended, I feel it only right to offer one of these four stars and that will be the Orlik by the slightest difference.

Both of these flakes look identical. A squarish flake that might as well look like a slice from an oreo cookie with dark leaf sandwiching a light colored leaf in the middle. And although the appearance of a flake should be secondary to the performance and flavor, these are some pretty cool looking flakes. I can only assume the dark on the outside is the Kentucky and the lighter stuff, Virginia leaf.

With so much Kentucky in the mix one would likely expect it to overwhelm the palate. I believe this is where the mild molasses topping comes in to work with the Virginia to sweeten the experience. It is in the taste where I find the Orlik to excel by the slightest margin. I felt the Orlik offered a deeper and sweeter smoke than the PH offering. I tried them side by side and there was little doubt the Orlik was better to my tastes and YMMV.

As for strength, neither of these are wallflowers. If you don't like strong blends, you shouldn't order something called Dark Strong Flake. It is strong, but not overwhelming in the HH Bold Kentucky way. It is probably perfect in nicotine for myself. I noticed no difference in strength between this or the orlik.

So three stars for this one which would be 4 if I had never tried the Orlik product. If you like burley, you won't be disappointed with either one.

Dark strong flake. Simply put is a virginia dark fired Kentucky flake. There is no casing on this tobacco and is simply a good tobacco taste. The sweetness of the Virginia and the smoke from the Kentucky leave you with a serious anise taste (black licorice). This is simply the best flake I have had and really a go to for flake lovers. The flakes are similar to the flakes in the smaller tins of orlik blends. I do believe this blend is made by orlik for Peter heinrichs. Overall a good tobacco for a pipe smoker looking for good tobacco taste.

Note this review is based on tobacco as is now, not influenced by how it was in previous iterations. Tin note of sweet plummy dark fruit, spices and hay. Tobacco is a flake of light tobacco on top of dark tobacco on bottom, the light tobacco is tan and yellowish brown, and the dark tobacco is reddish brown and dark brown. Moisture content is great. No drying needed. Tobacco flakes need a little effort when rubbing out. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild to medium. Sweet plum/dark fruit topping detected; flavoring died relatively fast. Taste is medium and somewhat consistent, with notes of tart and tangy dark fruit, spices, dryness, floral peaty vegetation, mild nuts, bitter citrus peel/zest, very earthy, a mildly spicy, sweet fermented grassy background note, and a peppery retro. Cavendish treated Dark Fired Kentucky (guessing) is leading with Virginia supporting and Flavoring supporting very little. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

3rdguy

I gave the Orlik version 3 stars, I would give this 3.25. Main difference to me is the licorice taste is a tad more palatable IMO. The Orlik I ended up finding had a more chemical note to it. You can get this in the 7oz tins so it may be a tad cheaper then Orlik version per ounce.

Good once in awhile smoke but nothing that I would personally cellar deep.

Peter Heinrichs- Dark strong flake

What an interesting mixture, jarred since JuL2019, a blend I have yet to acquaint myself with entirely, this long weekend should suffice.

Upon opening the jar I was greeted with a strong figgy, plum note mixed with syrup or molasses. I was completely unaware that these components made up the blend but upon closer examination I can see burley Kentucky and a long middle strip of cavendish. This blend comes in short rectangular flake and are easy to rub out. Has the appearance of orlik’s Kentucky flakes.

This has been sitting a little while and has dried appropriately but I still gave it an extra 15 minutes of air time, lights relatively easily and stays lit.

Initial light I get spiciness and some sweetness, I get a faint scent of licorice as the blend begins to burn down the bowl. The Kentucky is there but not bold, get more spiciness than the normal tobacco flavor.

This is a good change of pace blend for me, slightly aromatic but not overpowering. I will try the Orlik dark strong Kentucky as I suspect they could be related not just in appearance, if so that blend is the cheaper option by far.

Its hard to know what rating to give this. However, it is a high quality product. But its not for everyone. And that's not bad. Some blends are good, but have a generic feel (St Bruno flake for instance. Great taste, but somehow lacks distinction IMHO). PH's DSF is very similar to Orlik DK. I prefer this overall and it would be a clear 4 star favorite if the nic hit were higher. Its not exactly mild, but somewhere between mild and medium. The kentucky is the primary flavor...and hence its surprising it lacks nic. Virginias are way in the back. The casing is mild-ish, mostly molasses and a bit, maybe, of liquorice. Its a bit moist out of the tin so a tad drying time is needed, but not too much. Dried out it loses all character. Its a good tobacco, just not a great one. I wish it were. But it does have some unique qualities and like the Orlik and maybe old dark fired by Macbaren, it is something that might grow on you. I also suspect aging will help.

---- update......I am coming to like this tobacco a bit more. So..for what its worth, say 3 and a half stars. Its not a classic, but the more Ive smoked it the more i seem to taste the Virginia. And the taste is very full in fact. A bit past medium. I smoke it in the morning pretty regularly I have to admit.