C.B. Møller & Co. A/S Osborne 63

update: going through my reviews here, i find that i'll have to downgrade a good deal of the praise i've given so many blends. 4 stars should, i feel, be reserved for the blends i find truly exceptional. so, this is downgraded a bit. end update.

this is more like it. osborne 62 is very similar to several of the k&k renditions of fribourg & treyer's blends, but this one stands out as being much more similar in its flavour profile to the traditional english virginia flakes.

tin aroma is of hay and somehow fermented or winey. it's not the kind of fermentation aroma one gets with age, like raisins or prunes, so i gather it's a topping of sorts. though it is lighter brown than medium capstan of the 80'ies, it still seems like a close relative.

lighting it, one gets the typical k&k aromas of caramel, hay, oats. but the topping, which is now evident, works some kind of magic to the stuff, much like the toppings you see in some british blends. it may be citrusy, kinda like orange, or perhaps it's like armagnac. i can't place it, really.

osborne 63 is good stuff. not powerful at all, but satisfying, with lots of smoke. of course, being from k&k, it's well crafted, and at perfect humidity. it does remind me a lot of the way i remember f&t's "vintage" of old.

i look farward to trying some of the tins i've stored. in 3-4 years it may have developed into something wonderful!

I read Jakob's reccomendation and decided to give this flake a try. Comes in a nice little box the size of Fribourg and Treyers flakes and is extremely well made and cut. I detect the famous "Earl Grey" taste much like Orlik Golden Slices and a very light topping which I cannot place. I would agree with Jakob in the "fresh baked biscuits" description, although the topping is quite subtle. The VAs are very good quality but I normally prefer them sweeter as in for example Shamrock. The nicotine content in quite moderate in my opinion. Burns in a whitish ash to the bottom and the taste is consistent through the bowl. Didn't detect bite or gurgle. I would place it in the same "family" with Orlik Golden Slices and not at all with Marlin which is much more potent and sweetish IMO. If you fancy Orlik red you should definitely give Osborne 63 a go

I once took the train to visit a friend in Copenhagen. I entered the smoking wagon (I normally don't, because the smell of cigarettes when you're smoking a bowl is unbearable. Some kind of weird chemistry i guess) In front of me sat a man with a beautiful freehand loaded with Simmon's Sixty-Three-Flake. The smell of that tobacco sent me to heaven, and I woke up later in Copenhagen. Simmon's is now discontinued, but Osborne (which in fact is Robert McConnel, just as Stokkebye is Orlik) made a remake of the original. This is pure VA with some weird (fantastic) topping added. It tastes a little like freshly baked biscuits. The VA is of top quality, it does not bite, and it has a good quantum of good ole' Nic. For me, this flake is in the same league as Marlin and some Astley's. Hurry up and buy a tin at www.danishpipeshop.com, I would love to hear your opinion.

Jakob Kiilerich, Denmark