Solani 660: Silver Flake

While Silver can be compared to Dark Strong Kentucky in many ways, the the flavoring agent (whiskey) enhances the natural tobacco rather than giving it an anise note.

I'm always wary when manufacturers go a bit overboard using words such as "incredible" in descriptions of their products, but in this case the adjective is warranted.

Very easy to pack, light and smoke. Worth a try!

I must admit upfront that I've only smoked a few bowls of this blend and will need to give it more bowls and pipes. My initial impression, however, is that it matches much of what others have said here. What struck me most on lighting was a the stronger dark kentucky taste. Not harsh, but stronger, more pronounced, than I am used to. At mid bowl it mellowed out some and tasted smooth and the complexity came through, alternating between waves of cigarish taste and the lighter virginia. Last third it remained smooth but became darker once again.

What I liked is nice deep flavor of tabacco without the overwhelming nicotine which I seem to be sensitive to. There is a punch here (Hal O The Wynd level) but without the dizzyness I can get with Nightcap or Peterson University Flake. My SO says it smells more cigar-like, less like the lighter va that she is used to and less pleasant.

Overall, not an all day smoke for me but one to turn to when I want something richer, deeper in the evenings. A high quality blend.

I've been sampling some very good Virginias lately (Rattrays and McClelland) but Silver Flake is in a class all by itself. The offerings from Rattrays are excellent but nothing I've had so far comes close to Silver Flake. This is an outstanding tobacco and I will be putting this in my regular rotation. If you haven't tried Silver Flake yet, you owe it to yourself to give this one a go. You won't be dissagpointed.

I am surprised that so few people have sought this quality smoke... The dark-fired, spicy Kentucky has a rich honey nut taste that provides a stage for the premium Dark Red and sweet Virginia, with light Yellow Virginia to add character and dimension. Long burning and cool, when smoked slowly, it can easily be an all day smoke for those so inclined. Do not let the sweet taste of this flake mislead you - there is a bit of a nicotine load here. I believe it is best smoked indoors so as not to miss some of the subtle nuances of the smoking experience. Easily lit and tasty for the novice while offering complexities to charm and transport the experienced piper, I recommend this fine tobac to all. Here is an example of how diverse leaves can be brought together at full force of individual tastes and complement each other without collisions in a marriage of great dimension. If you miss this one, what a shame for you.

Meerschaum Man Smoking my circa ' 82 CAO Bacchus

R. Will continues his expert blending and this one is on par with Solani 633 and Reiner's. I'm not sure where the "whisky" flavoring indicated above came from but I didn't even taste a hint; only quality natural tobacco taste. Moisture content, packing, initial lighting, burn rate were ideal. I prefer Reiner's sweeter taste but that's just personal choice. If you prefer a fuller/richer smoke without any bitterness or bite, give this one a try.

Appearance: The tin box of silver color contains 100 grams of tobacco in long strips of thin and fairly wide (about 4 cm) flake colors of stale hay with flecks of darker Kentucky light chocolate color and rare inclusions of yellow Virginia. Kentucky is about 10% of the weight. The strips are about 30 centimeters long, and folded in half to be stacked in an unsealed container. Also, the bag in which the flake lies is also not sealed, only taped. So when buying tobacco, it's worth bearing in mind that after sitting on store shelves for several months, it can dry out. In the air, tobacco dries very quickly - literally in five minutes it turns from slightly damp to slightly dried. Nevertheless, the tobacco made from very high quality source material. Flake can be broken or folded and stuffed into a pipe "envelope" - it is very soft and easy to twist into a tube when fresh.

Flavor: honeydew clover flowers, dry hay, a little salty brine in the foreground. A little later comes woody, slightly earthy, with a slight bitter-almond aroma, Kentucky notes. The manufacturer states that there is no topping or flavoring in the blend, but the overall flavor is so sweet that you can't believe it. Overall, the blend has a pleasant, albeit fairly simple flavor.

Taste: light on the palate, mature Virginia gives enough fruity sweetness, bread, and hay-grass notes in the beginning of smoking to make the blend seem like a mono-blend. But this impression is deceptive: the Kentucky with nutty-chocolate notes quickly makes the woody part of the bouquet play out more densely, at times overpowering the sweetness of the fruit. Despite the absence of perique or orientals, I clearly distinguished a slight peppery note in the flavor in the beginning of smoking (however, it quickly disappears). Gradually, the woody-nutty Kentucky note builds and the sweetness fades, which once again makes me think that part of the sweetness is a honey-based topping. By the middle of the pipe, the sweetness almost disappears. The tobacco becomes quite simple in taste, but mild, smooth and high quality. When smoking from bents the woody notes are accentuated more than when smoking from straight pipes, but the almond bitterness of Kentucky is not apparent. The tobacco does not bite, does not dry the throat, while being tolerant enough to overheat, for a blend with a high Virginia content. It burns slowly into a dark gray ash, but leaves some moisture in the pipe even when dried. The strength of the tobacco is below average, the nicotine hit is not a threat. The aftertaste is woody, not persistent.

The smoke has a woody base with a very light almond flavor, reminiscent of the smoke of very good cigarettes. It evaporates fairly quickly from the room in the presence of a draught.

What's the result? A very, very high quality blend, which, however, I would categorize as "Virginia-Kentucky". Although the amount of Kentucky in it is low, it's not really to my taste. But you have to give it credit - it's a great everyday tobacco. My only complaint is that the packaging is not airtight - the mixture should be immediately packed in glass or vacuum-sealed in an airtight bag. I suspect it ages well, but I probably won't have a chance to test it.

This review was initially written in 2009 under my old handle. Back then TR's description stated that this combination of Red VA & dark fired Kentucky had a whiskey topping & also was depicted in a light green tin rather than the silver tin of latter times. This tobacco comes in a good quality, folded, plastic bag that shouldn't allow the flavor or moisture to bleed through & is contained within a hinged top, non-vacuum sealed tin. If you elect to purchase some & don't plan on smoking it right away, be sure and make use of a quality zip-lock or a good freezer bag right away. I triple seal mine, inside & out but obviously, a Mason jar or bail top would be the better choice.

However, my tins usually don't last long enough to worry about that anyway & this stuff is so good right out of the tin, I don't consider aging although I'm sure that would be a plus. The tin aroma to me is of tobacco only. Imagine that! I dried it to proper smoking moisture and rubbed it out to an almost shag-like consistency. It's crumbly & easily rubbed out, contains no trash & requires little drying time. I stoked it into a GBD, Virgin Apple... lit up and immediately recognized the DF KY & the sweet taste of Virginia tobacco, which, BTW was named after the state which was named after & in honor of the "Virgin" Queen, Elizabeth I... a quick lesson in 16th century tobacco history, for all loyal subjects of interest in the "leaf," as it were. I'm unable to distinguish positively which tobacco is up front. My guess is slightly more VA than KY & the flavor remains consistent with maybe a little more sweetness at the halfway point. I had to swab the condensation once while enjoying this smoke. Some might say it's "cigarettish" but due to the flavor of the quality leaf, expertise in the preparation & blending, it's so much more than that.

OK! Moving on! Puffed a few times & let it sit a few minutes... I always use this DGT method on VA blends. Didn't take long to get a nicotine jolt. It is very mild tasting & doesn't bite but has a relatively strong nicotiana tabacum content. I recently started inhaling one single puff after acquiring a good burn rate to judge the Vitamin N content. I contend SF 660 to be of exceptional quality. This is a very smooth, VA/Kentucky blend & if it does have a whiskey topping, it is now unnoticeable in handling or smoking. However, this mixture back in the "old days" may have had a whiskey topping because I remember it feeling a little sticky while rubbing it out & seemed to have a little more bite to it. I don't get that today & I'm smoking some right now... ten years later & I like it better now than I did back then. If your preference is a very good VA/Kentucky blend, well, here you go. Although relatively more expensive than similar blends, you'll find it's well worth the difference in price. It doesn't get any better than this and will be a mainstay in my rotation.

Very nice. Fold and stuff. A long flavorfull smoke. I'll been keen on trying other Solani offerings.

I was honestly expecting to find the taste on the mild side based on the tin aroma and was happy to find a bright yet slightly spicy fuller flavor from this tobacco.

While I enjoy a Virginia/Perique blend as much as the next person, I believe this manages to give you the same spice as a VaPer without the sour notes. I am generally not a huge fan of burly, but it works well in here.

Although it said it was a flake mine was dryer than I expected and partially falling apart when I opened it. I don't know if this was a packaging error or if this is normal. But as a departure from exceedingly moist stuff like FVF I was glad to have it in this state as it facilitated easy pipe loading and wasn't by any means too dry.

It smokes well, I had an easy time lighting it and keeping it lit. I found that it does bite if you are too vigorous with it.

So summarily, excellent flavor(sweet, bright and a little spicy) and convenient to load. If you are a fan of Virginias this is something that you shouldn't miss.