Details
| Brand | Wessex |
| Series | Brigade |
| Blended By | Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG |
| Manufactured By | |
| Blend Type | Straight Virginia |
| Contents | Virginia |
| Flavoring | |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | Germany |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.54 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Oct 24, 2014 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Considering all the fuzz raised about this tobacco, I must admit I was fairly disappointed with Dark Flake. I have patiently monitored online retailers' websites in order to grab some. After almost a year, I was able to secure 6 tins at Pipe & Leaf. I cannot think but make a link with another tobacco making waves - Dan Tobacco's Hamborger Veermaster - which has also deeply disappointed me. Don't get me wrong, Dark Flake is not bad. But it did not amaze me, considering the efforts I deployed to get some. I think it's very similar to Rattray Marlin Flake as I can see, and taste, the Black Cavendish in it. But it's not dark in colour over all. At least, it does not bite. It's not quite sweet and not quite spicy; i will not deny the quality as it's obvious. But it's nothing to go crazy over, in my modest opinion.
Pipe Used:
Rattray
PurchasedFrom:
Somewhere
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 25, 2015 | Strong | Mild | Full | Strong |
This one started out real poorly for me. It has to be the wettest tin of tobacco I've ever popped. Upon loading my first bowl my fingers were so wet and discolored it gave me real concern—what is this I'm smoking? PG city, folks, PG city. It took me forever to get it lit, but, once I got it going the experience improved.
Wet, absolutely, yet at the same time it's one of the best tasting baccy's I've puffed in quite some time. The snork on this baby was outstanding! A hint of raisins and mushrooms weaved throughout, unfortunately, a real heinous backwash built up along with this, too (another gurgle fest). When I puffed fast, it bit me (I didn't find this blend 'smooth' as the back of the tin suggests). However, as the bowl went along, I learned this blend needs, nay, requires it to be sipped and not chugged. It's overall smoking characteristics reminded me of MacBaren's Virginia No.1 (if you chug that one, you also get nipped).
Bowl number two, and three, four and five, I dried out. This takes some time, more than an hour, in fact (and sitting atop my dehumidifier at that!). Drying it out improved the experience, but only marginally. All in all, I didn't like this tighrope baccy, too finicky. The tastes, for me, were very unique, though, in the end, I found this blend too strong (it actually gave me a headache).
To those who like strong leaf, this one will be a keeper. For those who do not like strong blends, not so. No regrets in trying this one, but I'll not be smoking it again. I've already passed this one on to someone else. I'll give it a strong 2 stars (2.65 of 4).
Keep on Pipin'!
Wet, absolutely, yet at the same time it's one of the best tasting baccy's I've puffed in quite some time. The snork on this baby was outstanding! A hint of raisins and mushrooms weaved throughout, unfortunately, a real heinous backwash built up along with this, too (another gurgle fest). When I puffed fast, it bit me (I didn't find this blend 'smooth' as the back of the tin suggests). However, as the bowl went along, I learned this blend needs, nay, requires it to be sipped and not chugged. It's overall smoking characteristics reminded me of MacBaren's Virginia No.1 (if you chug that one, you also get nipped).
Bowl number two, and three, four and five, I dried out. This takes some time, more than an hour, in fact (and sitting atop my dehumidifier at that!). Drying it out improved the experience, but only marginally. All in all, I didn't like this tighrope baccy, too finicky. The tastes, for me, were very unique, though, in the end, I found this blend too strong (it actually gave me a headache).
To those who like strong leaf, this one will be a keeper. For those who do not like strong blends, not so. No regrets in trying this one, but I'll not be smoking it again. I've already passed this one on to someone else. I'll give it a strong 2 stars (2.65 of 4).
Keep on Pipin'!
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 20, 2020 | Mild | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
This is K&K trying to make FVF. They don't have the tobacco for it. Honestly, what this tobacco makes me think is Marlin Flake stoved to within an inch of its life. I like Marlin Flake, I like this somewhat less. It fails to come up with any toffee-like sweetness, the Va isn't rich and malty, it's just not very good for what it's trying to be.
The older I get, the less I appreciate the Virginia tobaccos and blends produced by K&K. They're kind of like Europe's Cornell & Diehl. Big catalog, not many standout blends.
The older I get, the less I appreciate the Virginia tobaccos and blends produced by K&K. They're kind of like Europe's Cornell & Diehl. Big catalog, not many standout blends.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 24, 2019 | Mild to Medium | Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
Presentation is decent. Standard European flakes, which are even and uniform, mostly.
The smell is little like Wessex Brown Flake, to some degree, but there is something extra in a perceived topping. Maybe cocoa, or something like an overripe grape. There is a maltiness to the smell as well. The smell comes through in the taste.
Parts of the flakes rub out into chunks, which I do not like. The flakes are pretty moist and could use a little drying. The dark streaks fall into chunkier pieces. I think the dark streaks are a flavored black Cavendish which really subtracts from the Virginias. The flakes are very moist much like Wessex Burley Slice. After rubbing the flakes out there is a stickiness on your fingers. Not too much drying time is needed. Leaving the tobacco in the tin for a few weeks helped between the initial smokes and subsequent ones.
There is no bright end to the taste of this blend. No citrus notes, no grass, no bright peaks. They are all lower end notes of bread, oats, some stewed fruit notes, some tanginess.
The strength is maybe medium. Nicotine strength is mild. I don't find too many flavors in this blend that I enjoy. There are straight Virginia flakes out there with more rounded flavor profiles. I would reach for every other straight Virginia I have ever tried before I would reach for this blend. However, there are not many dark straight Virginias on the market, so this offers something different from the norm. I would recommend this to any lover of straight Virginias. I would not buy it again.
The smell is little like Wessex Brown Flake, to some degree, but there is something extra in a perceived topping. Maybe cocoa, or something like an overripe grape. There is a maltiness to the smell as well. The smell comes through in the taste.
Parts of the flakes rub out into chunks, which I do not like. The flakes are pretty moist and could use a little drying. The dark streaks fall into chunkier pieces. I think the dark streaks are a flavored black Cavendish which really subtracts from the Virginias. The flakes are very moist much like Wessex Burley Slice. After rubbing the flakes out there is a stickiness on your fingers. Not too much drying time is needed. Leaving the tobacco in the tin for a few weeks helped between the initial smokes and subsequent ones.
There is no bright end to the taste of this blend. No citrus notes, no grass, no bright peaks. They are all lower end notes of bread, oats, some stewed fruit notes, some tanginess.
The strength is maybe medium. Nicotine strength is mild. I don't find too many flavors in this blend that I enjoy. There are straight Virginia flakes out there with more rounded flavor profiles. I would reach for every other straight Virginia I have ever tried before I would reach for this blend. However, there are not many dark straight Virginias on the market, so this offers something different from the norm. I would recommend this to any lover of straight Virginias. I would not buy it again.
Pipe Used:
Canadian,bent brandy,
PurchasedFrom:
Smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
One year
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 18, 2004 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
This is a nice enough VA flake. The problem with this is that I can describe a couple of dozen tobaccos the exact same way. That out of the way, this is the best VA I have tried in the Wessex line. I find it to be extremely cool and yet dark and musty at the same time. There is a grassy quality but not in the freshly mowed stage, more like in the piled up, mouldering, fermented sort of way. It took quite a few relights, but seemed to burn relatively dry. It's good, but it still has a ways to go before it is one of the greats.
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