Solani 763: White and Black

There's a topping that reminds me of berry wine, but it's mildly added. The Virginias are a little earthy, woody, grassy, with a little tart citrus and tangy dark fruit and form the base of the blend. The black cavendish adds a brown sugar sweetness without imposing the typical vanilla flavor one expects it to have under normal circumstances, so it must be unsweetened. The Latakia seems a little sweet for Syrian, and not as smoky, musty or woody as usual, but it helps provides the necessary depth of flavor needed here as a secondary player in terms of its effect. I suspect some Cyprian is present, and by the time of this rewrite (2019), it's probably all Cyprian. It's at the border of the aromatic English genre, and should please both crowds. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step past the mild mark. It will not bite or get harsh. Burns cool and clean at slow to moderate pace with a very consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Requires an average number of relights. Has pleasant, slightly lingering after taste and room notes. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Yes sir, a classic!

This Solani mixture was an extremely pleasant surprise. The Virginia base was delightfully sweet, and throw in the Syrian Latakia and bam, a unique taste combination.

This Solani blend smoked cool and dry all the way to the bottom of the bowl. I will add more tins to my cellar.

This is a splendid offering from Solani. I know no equivalent to this high quality, sublime and unique broken flake. The combination of the slightly sweet Dark VA, unsweetened and spicy Black CA and smokey Syrian latakia offers an earthy,tasty and extremely satisfying smoke. White & Black does not need Or to make things interesting, the tobacco progresses and offers various rich undertones of taste throughout. My tin was dated from Nov 07 and is, simply put, remarkable. If you are seeking a different kind of English mixture, this is for you. Highly recommended!

I don't know if one should call this an 'English' mixture or not. Whatever it is, it's mighty good stuff. Latakia is present, but it's not a lat bomb; the 'berry' flavour is pleasant, natural tasting and doesn't cloy in the least; it's smokeable straight out of the tin; not too strong but not too mild either; each bowlful is slow burning and consistent all the way down. In short, W & B is a masterpiece of the blender's art: a cool, sweet, flavoursome, semi-aromatic smoke. It's too highbrow to smoke all day and every day, I think (I wonder if people will see what I mean by that?); but, as an occasional indulgence, it's first rate: very highly recommended. The only slight negative is that, as always where Latakia is present, the room note (smouldering trousers, I've heard it called) won't please everybody. Who cares?

This is a nice sweet blend. The Syrian Lat is of high quality. Ultra smooth, smoky and mildly woody. The raisiny, tangy Virginias have a fairly strong presence. The Black Cav is mildly toasty and very sweet. It's a joy to smoke, but shouldn't be pushed or it can burn a little hot. Moderate puffing is fine. I have to avoid smoking these sweet blends too often or I'll tire of them. I don't want to do that so I'll have to ration myself with this one. I will certainly enjoy this blend on occasion.

Solani 763: White and Black is an unusual mixture. Although described as an English black flake with latakia, this is in fact a broken flake. It is indeed blackened, being predominately black with a little brown mixed in. And it contains what I take to be a very moderate dose of Syrian latakia.

Consider this is a blackened Virginia mixture rather than a latakia offering. There is no oriental component. Aside from the blackened Virginia there is unsweetened cavendish, which I presume to be Virginia as well. The latakia is of the Syrian variety, more mellow than the Cypriot variety. It is there in the taste, but it by no means dominates. There is also a bit of sweetness greater than what the Virginias should provide. My guess is that this is a bit of licorice or anise.

The latakia in the room note is light enough that smoking this probably will not provoke cries of "stinky" from non smokers.

The level of nicotine is not very high. I would rate it squarely between light and medium.

Although the broken flake is quite chunky, this lights well and is not difficult to keep lit. It smokes down to a dry ash. It presents minimal danger of tongue bite for an offering heavily composed of Virginia .

I smoke this primarily in the pipes I use for "English" (when that means latakia, or latakia/oriental) but when I use a pipe I normally reserve for Virginias, it does not leave a latakia ghosting. The taste level is medium, but again I stress it is not latakia dominant.

When I am in the mood for this, I thoroughly enjoy it. But I am not often in that mood, so I reward it only two stars.

This is my first go with a Solani blend and I am very impressed. This blend is a broken flake that has been blended with some fine tobaccos. Being a broken flake makes it somewhat more easy to get into the pipe than a flake. The components come together very well and a little hint of maybe berries or berry wine of some sort. It does not infringe on the taste buds like an aromatic would, just a small detection every so often. Just enough to make it interesting. It lights and stays lit easily enough and has a nicotine content that is just right for me, YMMV. It is a little moist upon opening the tin, but a small amount of drying time will cure that easily. It burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the pipe. Definitely worth getting a tin, very recommended.

At first inspection of the contents of this 50g tin everything told me this was going to be an interesting and enjoyable smoke: The smell is deep and intriguing with a slightly sharp edge to it, the colours are rich, the texture is... Well for me I would say it perhaps needs a little drying but I'm too impatient at this point. Actually I have a tin of Solani's 333 next to me which also seems to have a similar level of moisture, something makes me suspect there is reason to this rhyme.

After a single charing draw it tamps down well and starts to behave itself, I struggle sometimes with flake trying to uncoil a little in the pipe. One more proper light and I'm away. First draw put a big smile on my face - a perfectly dense and textured mouthful of luscious smoke. Immediate impact is the little dance of flavours along the tongue, it's not the most complex pallet but it's certainly all there in abundance. Nicest aspect for me is the level of peppery, marmite flavour from the Syrian Latika - I can be put off by too much of this but it serves here to dependent and enhance the other tobaccos rather than overpowering anything. I would say though that this does require some attention as the bowl is smoked, a little push here and there from the tamper just to get things rolling. I'm going to return to this thoroughly enjoyable smoke now... Needles to say I shall definitely be adding a few tins of this to the regular selection. Can't recommend this enough especially if your looking for a rich, full bodied (but not mouth crippling) tobaccoey smoke.

Tin appearance is a dark chocolate coloured broken flake with a sparse amount of golden leaf. The broken flake has a tough consistency, reminiscent of beek jerky.

The tin note is of figs and dates, quite sweet. The latakia is apparent on first sniff but is quite delicate.

The flake takes a light well and needs no rubbing out. The scent to this is astounding. There is a pronounced plum aroma and drifting in and out is the faintest hint of a lakeland type perfume. And then there is the latakia. Although burning pine needles is evident, this purportedly Syrian latakia is far more understated and subtle than is the norm. I would like to be able to say I detected oak in the aroma, but sadly I do not. But this is no disappointment.There are definitely woody undertones here.

This tobacco produces volumes of white creamy smoke. No bite at all.

The last half of the bowl is adagio. The energy of the casing and the latakia have been calmed and there is a complex interplay of flavours to be savoured. This is not a tobacco to be smoked while doing something else. There is structure here that rewards focus.

Imho a contemporary classic.

This is perhaps one of the most pleasant smoking tobaccos I have ever tried. Not a huge nicotine hit, nor is it a heavy weight in body. But, the flavor is just amazing.

This is a sipper for sure. The nuance you get from a just smoldering bowl is nirvana. Sweet and spicey all at the same time. The syrian latakia in this is the key. God I miss that weed in the USA. If only our blenders could get their hands on some.

This is what Old Iron Sides wanted to be, what Bengal Slices should be, and what all latakia lovers should have. I cannot say enough about this blend. If you want to know the difference between syrian and cyprian latakia, try this! You will not be dissappointed in my opinion. Yes, it is pricey, but what in life worth a damn isn't?