Solani 660: Silver Flake

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.

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

Starts off like a very tasty and matured virginia and progresses down the bowl to the typically spicy,nutty and rougher burley taste. Not a burley man myself, but the great first half of the bowl is enough to keep me happy. Smokers who enjoy both virginias and burleys will be delighted.

Taste: Great! No whiskey found, just pure tobacco taste

Packaging: Only 100 gr tin available in Holland, beautifull but hopelessly impractical...

All in all I would have preferred Silver Flake to come in a Reiner Long Golden Flake tin, then it would be up there in my 'Favourites' list.

update 12-2010 I just don't come around this flake anymore since I tasted Best Brown Flake and Holker Twist so I knock off one star

Silver flake is high quality tobacco im sure that...However its too spicy for me...The tin also awful, its not close !!!

Broken and some standart flake waiting for you...The moisture is perfect...I like smoke at the night, after dinner...There is no whisky taste but some fruits and pepper...Nicotine is good for me...

I like this stuff but not too much...Its not in my five...

This tobacco comes in a folded, plastic bag inside a hinge-top, non-vacuum sealed tin. The tin is a silver color and not the green depicted. If you elect to purchase some & don't plan on smoking it right away, be sure and make use of a zip-lock bag right away. Why? I'm glad you asked. It's because the plastic bag is only folded to form the freshness seal. The tin aroma is that of tobacco only. Imagine that! I dried it to proper smoking moisture and rubbed it out to an almost shag-like consistancy. I stoked it into a Peterson #309 that I have consigned to VA blends...lit up and immediately recognized the sweet taste of Virginia tobacco...named after the state which was named in honor of the "Virgin" Queen, Elizabeth I...a quick lesson in 16th century tobacco history, for all loyal subjects of interest to the "leaf," as it were.

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 but a tad harsh and has a tendency to bite a little. I wouldn't want to smoke this consistently because I like variety and a change of pace. I judge SF to be of good quality but not exceptional. SF is a very smooth, VA/Kentucky blend which I believe may have a very slight whiskey topping that is almost unnoticeable. The reason I say this is because it feels a wee bit sticky when rubbing out and the smoke DOES NOT emit a VA/Kentucky, cigarette like odor, but rather, smells a little sweet. If your preference is a very good VA/Kentucky blend, well, here you go. Therefore, IMHO, Solani's Silver Flake merits three ***s!

I really really wanted to like this one, and I did...sort of. Nice medium strength, some licorice-y notes, some citrus, very little grass. Even when straight out of the tin, it was pretty good. Maybe it was best that way. Easy to rub out, burned nice and even. And that tin is cool, aesthetically speaking.

But: I always noticed some unpleasant edge to this one, sharp and bitey, no matter how wet or dry it was, or how long I let it mellow in the tin (up to 6 weeks or so). That really kind of ruined the experience for me. Understanding that this is an anomaly, particular perhaps to me, and given its obvious good qualities, I'll still give it 3 stars.

Solani Silver Flake is a great blend with two major flaws.

First the good: I really love the flavor and body. The dark-fired burley gives the sweet Virginias some depth and body. I also love the burley's contribution to the overall flavor. I like it first thing in the morning and also for the last smoke of the day; I can't say that about too many blends. I would love to be able to age this and sample it in two or three years.

However, this blend is just too expensive compared to other blends of its genre (e.g. Dark Strong Kentucky). Moreover, the packaging is second-rate. If you trust that gold foil pouch for long-term aging, I've got a bridge to sell you.