Astley's No.109 Medium Flake

I finally got to this one, so here goes:

Appearance and Tin Aroma: This smells like a Va that has had a delicate touch of some sort of Chocolate essence. The flakes are neatly folded and appear to be stoved as well.

Packing and Lighting: Just rub out slightly and pack. 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Smooth, mellow VA, the casing is sweet, but not cloying.

Mid-Bowl: This blend gets into the zone easily, the room note is pleasing to non-smokers. No tongue-bite.

Bottom of Bowl: Not much increase of strength, ash is grey and dry. This could be an all day blend.

Overall: This is a high quality blend that is a perfect intro to Va Blends. It is only slightly cased and it never gets bitter. It burns cooly and does not "gunkify" your pipe. It is not something that I will smoke regularly, but will always have on hand. I preferred it in group 3-4 sized pipes. Give it a go! Pip! Pip!, Cheerio!

Well, another "Winner" from Astley's. With so many descriptions of the tobacco, I'll keep my remarks to the actual experience.

The taste runs consistent the length of the bowl. I find this Virginian to be a great Summer smoke. The subtle natural sweetness combined with the citrus note is just a delight on a hot day in particular.

It burns down to a grey/white ash with very little dottle. I find with tamping the run of the bowl, I do not need a single relight.

Astley?s 109? where to begin with this enfant terrible of the Virginia flake circuit? The word paradox only begins to describe this gorgeously made flake. The standard Astley?s tin is presented this time in tan with jolly nice red print. The flakes are thinly sliced, but longish and folded over in multiples. The tobacco is a visually attractive mix of younger yellows and slightly more mature browns. The tin aroma is, to my sense, simply one of brown sugar.

The flake rubs out well and packs nicely, though a bit moist. The charring light takes some patience due to the moisture - 2 Vestas for sure. Once things get under way, though, the aromas and flavors are unimpeachable. One tastes the brown sugar among the usual but slightly rounded grassy Virginia flavor. At this point, a fine light version of the extremely venerable No 44.

Then something very bad happens. Slightly before mid-bowl, heat builds up and a fetid pong emerges ? I know, some blandly refer to this as ?Lea and Perrins? flavor ? I can imagine the ingenuous smile as they describe it as such, but in my personal hell, it brings to mind freshly opened tins of Vienna sausage, just popped jars of strained peas, and potted meats from days of yore when Kraft Macaroni Dinner and Jello brand gelatin molds epitomized la nouvelle cuisine. I cast about desperately for the delightful flavors that began this adventure.

Miracle of miracles, they re-emerge, slightly darker and even more rounded in the final third of the bowl. The L&P flavor is but an early morning nightmare, fleeting and washed away by the dawn. The semi-sweetness of tawny port develops toward the end, subtly endowing the mild Virginia flavors with a delicious darkness? utterly unexpected and utterly exquisite. The whole thing winds up in a fine dry ash.

If you are one who doesn?t mind the flavor described as ?meaty?, or ?Lea & Perrins? I can see how this would become one of your favorites, as it is sublime for me as well (excepting the brief funk), and I debate each time whether or not to endure the slightly queasy interval I know is inevitable, for the sake of the delights that embrace it. Usually I go for it!

For the most part, I agree with all the positive comments already posted about this flake. I find this smokes best thoroughly rubbed, and dried out. The taste is mild, slightly sweet, and at the same time sort of deep and earthy. At times these flakes are so mild that they are almost tasteless and are a bit like smoking hot air. However, at other times they are very flavorfull in a mildly subtle way. All and all a very good mild virginia flake that I keep on hand for occasions that I'm in the mood for something a bit lighter, milder.

I would like to add one gripe about this tobacco. I don't doubt that the contents of the tin would actually register 50 grams on a scale, however, the tobacco comes so moist that once it is thoroughly dried, the smokeable tobacco you are left with is far less than 50 grams. Once dry the 50 grams is probably more like 25 - 30 grams which makes this a fairly expensive tobacco for regular consumption.

Given that this is such a popular tobacco, I spent my own dime to try it. I was hoping for something other than what I got, I'm afraid. We all have our tastes, and I couldn't taste this one at all until I neared the middle of the bowl. Its sweetness isn't apparent until the latter half. It's a very wet smoke, and while I enjoyed the flavor towards the end, it didn't strike me as a "come and get me" tobacco. I'm sure it's a fine tobacco, but regrettably, it's not my "thing."

I'm sorry to bring the average score down, but alas... My tastes differ. My favorite full-bodied blend is McClelland's Dominican Glory with maduro. You may or may not like it, and can qualify my opinion based on that.

It was smooth, and elegant tasting to be sure, but it's just not my sunrise.

This piper gives this a 3 out of 5.

Pleasant winds to ye all.

====UPDATE!====

Had some of this stuff aged, and thought it was superb. Nice tang, subtle sweetness... Didn't burn my tongue to a crisp this time. A very pleasant smoke!

DJM

This is more like it. After smoking Astleys No.2, I was not expecting much. But this is a good smoke. It comes in thin, long, dark brown flakes, folded over in the tin. It has a vegetal barn smell of good quality Virginia similar to sweet clover. It rubs out and packs easily. It lights easily with no harshness in the initial smoke. A light neutral sweetner has been added, but does not interfere with the Virginia flavor on the tongue nor in the aftertaste. This could be an all day tobacco, but may not have a heavy enough tobacco flavor to go the distance over several successive pipes. This would be a very good Virginia for the novice smoker. Absolutely no bite nor hint of a bite from start to finish which is unusal for a Virginia. I will keep this on hand, and smoke it occasionally. Highly recommended. Paddy.

My first question was to this tobacco: Mr. Perique, are you there? I swear there is some of it. The tin note is of mildly sweet and sour dried berries. I did not detect the typical hay and grassiness. The flakes are have a beautiful deep brown colour. A 20-30 min. of drying time helped for me with this one. After that I folded and stuffed the flake. Lighting was easy and only 2 relights were needed. The smoke is cool and tangy, lots of sour berries. The taste remains all till the end. I like the more hay and bread like taste of my Virginias, but still, recomended. This is a nice, quality baccy.

The presentation is neat and there is a stack of wide, chocolate brown flakes. The smell is slightly tangy and bready. That tanginess recedes with air time.

There is an overall bready, molasses flavor. Not many bright peaks. There is a nice cinnamon bread note I kept getting, and cocoa and nuts. There is also a slight chemical note I get a hint of, which I didn't like, but it goes away, and the more dry time, the less it shows up. This reminded me a little of Wessex Brown Virginia Flake, which I enjoyed more. It's kind of close to Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake, which I did not enjoy.

The Nicotine was noticeable. Strength was mild to medium and the taste was the same. I don't love this blend, but I would recommend it to straight Virginia lovers who like many of the European-styled Virginia flakes. It's a simple and enjoyable blend.

As most of the reviewers said here the tin description explains well the tobacco. It is a mild and mellow mixture. It suits perfectly when you wish to enjoy a cup of tea or coffee in hot summer mornings. The tin content is considerably moisty, so try to air your portion of tobacco for a while. I personally let the tin open for more then a day and rubbed my portions before packing.

I noticed nice sweet flavors of uncased Virginias in this mixture . It has a mild nutty chocolate taste and sometimes fruity flavors. It is not a satisfactory blend for my nicotine and more tobacco taste searching palate, but as I said it fits well for early morning tobacco enjoys.