Former Cross Grain Flake

Although this is one of about a million VA Perique blends available, I must admit that I find myself reaching for and enjoying this more than many others in my collection. It seems to have a richer, fuller flavor (although it is certainly not heavy in the taste or strength department) with the perique forward a bit, and the burn characteristics are very nice. One caveat is that my tin was already about 8 years old when I bought it and it is now more than 11 years. This is one that I have purchased multiples of to cellar, and it is recommended. I would put this with Escudo and Flake Medallions as one of my favorite VAPERS.

The tin is filled with mottled rough flakes of rich red virginias mottled with darker strands of perique. It dries out very easily, and I usually rub it out and let it sit for about ten minutes prior to smoking. Smoking directly from the tin will produce less flavor, a hotter smoke, and more tongue bite.

The mixture burns readily after a charring light, and starts out spicy. This mellows into a wonderful sweet medium bodied VA flavor peppered with spice and a little smokiness, clearly from the perique. It is very cohesive and not grassy in the least. The smoke is rich, creamy, and when smoked moderately the mouth feel is very pleasant. Like all VA's the faster and stronger you puff the hotter it gets, so sip this one and it will not reward you. I tamp as a I go down the bowl, and it burns evenly and the flavor is very consistent. If anything it gets a little sweeter and less spicy as you go, which is very nice indeed. There is very little nicotine here which I am fine with, there are many other stronger blends to smoke if that is what you require, this is about sweetness and spice, not strength.

Overall this is a sweet, spicy, rich VAPER which offers more flavor and pleasant smoking characteristics than average. This is highly recommended for a lover of VAPERS, and if you are looking to try a first one, this is a good start, although you need to dry it out and smoke slowly to get all of the sweetness and flavor that it has to offer. Delicious.

Former - Cross Grain Flake.

The flakes are a little lighter than medium brown and nicely hydrated. I thought they may be too damp at first as they'd all stuck together, but once I peeled some away they seemed fine. A bowl lights easily, giving a good burn.

I like the flavour, it's sweet but savoury, if that makes sense?! The sweetness comes from the Virginia, but the Perique has more savoury spices, as opposed to rich tangy fruit. Tongue bite can occur if I puff voraciously: nothing terrible, but whichever way I look at it, it's a bit of a biter!

I find it about medium with nicotine, get no added flavours, and like the room-note.

Even though I get a little bite, I'll happily highly recommend this.

Four stars.

Rumored to be like Capstan Medium, which I have never tried, it is still a very good entry into a bright virginia sweet tasting field.

It, nevertheless, is a darker looking flake than the usual bright or golden virginia varieties. Lots of red or brown leaf and some black perique added mostly to keep the mixture cool enough.

It breaks up into a thick shag which I try not to rub out much.

It smells citrusy in the tin. Some scenting or aromatic is added I feel. It feels dryer than most flakes out of the tin. It smokes reasonably steady and dry.

It took a few bowls to get use to, as I feared some heat or bite was ready to crop up. But no, if puffed slowly as you have to for most virginias, it stays with you to a relatively smooth beat.

I puffed about 8 bowls in a medium Ser Jacopo that I had previously smoked McClelland's Honeydew in. That's probably why I sensed some heat at first. But it smoked as sweat and decent as a good virginia flake should after that initial transition period (smoking out the last but similar type blend from the pipe). Then I turned to a new filtered Brigham 7 medium billiard. Again a couple of bowls to adjust. After about 10 more bowls in that pipe, I had finished the tin in about 10 days total. Great stuff. (Incidentally, the Brigham filter is unlike any other; it keeps the smoke dry and cool without seeming to alter or mute the flavor. A quick break in too. An unfiltered Brigham is almost as good too -- I have one. Not expensive.)

I have a couple of extra tins of Former's and will order more. It is a delicious, medium, sweet virginia flake. The perique does not affect the taste much if at all and probably is used to keep the blend friendly.

It is a little similar in the sweetness department to C&D's Briar Fox blend (a crumble cake) and Pease's Stratford (ribbon), but it needs no additional aging in my opinion to produce a surperb and deeper (not heavy) flavor. Again, it may have more scenting than those two. Dunhill's Light Flake and Germain's Medium Flake are also similar flakes, but Former's has more body then the latter and a different flavor than the former.

I highly recommend this if you are a sweet virginia lover and have experience with flakes. I started Former's straight grain flake next, a darker, heavier blend with a berry or fruity hint, but I'll see if I write about that one later.

Very good but needs airing out first. A tad too sweet and strong for my taste. If you like sweet and.a good dose of perique this blend will fit the bill. Prefer Private Flake and want to try Bird"s Eye, seeing that my palate is geared toward burley blends or Virginia, burley, oriental mixtures. I'll give this one four stars because it's very well done and does provide a great smoke.

Time has done its job and when the tin is opened, the paper that covers the tobacco is impregnated with oil. There is a strong smell of ferment and the penetrating aroma of vinegar. The flakes are quite broken, although there are still some that almost maintain their original shape. Humidity is perfect for immediate loading, however it is always wise to let the tobacco air out a bit. The flavor is fruity and rich, and although it is sweet, it is not as sweet as I had hoped after reading some reviews here.

It seems that this tobacco goes more unnoticed than it should, since it is very tasty and of good quality. It reminds me slightly of Carolina Red Flake with perique by C & D.

I'm looking forward to trying the other two in the Former va-per series (Bird's Eye Flake, Straight Grain Flake).

I used to smoke a lot of Capstan Medium, and this blend does have a very similar flavor and aroma. The Former's, however, seems less dark and less full-flavored than Capstan Medium, and it bites my tongue more than Capstan. In its favor, I'll say it is a sweet VaPer flake, mild to medium strength with pretty good room aroma. Overall, not bad, but not my beloved Capstan Medium.

Update: I've gotten to know this blend a bit better over the past week or so in a few different pipes and with a bit more air-time to it, and I like it a lot more than my initial smokes. It is "like" Capstan Medium but not exactly the same. But the "like" at the moment has my attention since I loved Capstan so much and can't get it here in the U.S. any more. So, because Cross Grain Flake is a decent smoke, I can give this at least three stars, and a fourth for capturing a bit of the Capstan essence.