Solani 660: Silver Flake

For me this is a ten star blend. (I rate Tudor House by McClelland, and Navy Cavendish by the same, and FVF by sam gawith , and Pease's triple play...and maybe Butera's Golden Cake....as ten star blends...you get the idea).....and this joins that group. Solani simply has the best burley out there. C&D is good, but solani's burley is special. I dont know what it is. But their aged burley flake is a classic. This should be too, and in some circles it is. The burley is what i taste most. Nutty with edges of brown sugar and bread dough and molasses. Not sweet really, but almost. There is really almost no smokiness in the kentucky here. Ist more molasses bittersweet. And the Virginia is nice middle strength stoved (not heavily stoved) flake and together it makes a deceptively deep and sort of complex smoke. Nothing one dimensional about this at all. No flavoring....although as jimmlinks said...there might be the slightest light casing in there...but boy its very very very slight. Burns slow and needs very few relights. Its a near perfect tobacco to my mind. Nic hit is medium. Its a bit like Macbaren's HH Old Dark Fired, and orliks dark strong kentucky. Similar goals to all three blends. The ODF is heaviest and smokiest. The orliks sweetest. This is the most balanced and tastiest to my mind. But it is also not quite like those blends. And Im conflicted even comparing this to them. This is a complex Vabur, without perique....and thas rather rare. And...and...that Solani burley. The solani burley flake is a must have for serious pipesters. Buy some silver flake and buy some aged burley flake. You wont be disappointed.

I could only get this in the 100g size. The tin presentation of this blend surprised me a bit: a largish, attractive rectangular tin that is not airtight, with the tobacco itself neatly arranged in a cellophane wrapper (also not airtight) with a foil seal on it. It was nicely done and made me think of an expensive confection. I saved the tin for other uses but moved the tobacco to sealed glass immediately.

The flakes are long (8 inches unfolded), uniform thickness, and slightly loose. I thought they were on the dry side but turned out to be just the right moisture level to smoke now. The long strands that gently rub from these flakes are ideal for an inverted pack into a large bowl.

At match this blend reminds me a lot of Esoterica Stonehaven - the flakes are not pressed quite as hard as Stonehaven and as a result require less preparation and light more easily - but the smoke is sweet with a graham-cracker / slightly vanilla-like flavor, only a bit spicier than Stonehaven. It will not knock your socks off with its power but is well-mannered and very refined. Although not an aromatic, the room note of this blend is sweet and pleasant. The flavor and even burn are consistent throughout the bowl.

This is a refined medium-strength flake that I will definitely keep on hand. If I were stranded on a deserted island with no other blend I would be happy with this for a long time.

I picked up a tin of this in '06 while visiting Peretti's on Boston Commons. All one needs to do is read the tin description to know if this is your cuppa tea. Whomever originally listed this one might have added the "Whiskey" note under the flavoring description header...but I don't think there is any. It does well in many different pipes for me...starts nicely sweet then gradually turns solid and full of tobacco goodness. The high level of goodness here is matched by the cost. A real winner in my book. Highly recommended for the idle rich and the common man with pipe money to burn.

First, I believe this to be a flake tobacco that is one of the better flakes available today. Not that it is reminisiant of any of the early (1940-60)flakes, which unfortunately are no longer manufactured, but a flake within its own realm... perhaps even in its own way, adding to the definition of modern day flake cut tobaccos. Who knows at this point.

I liked this even before lighting it... the tin aroma reminded me of a Straight Virginia plug I use to smoke back in 1962 from Imperial Tobacco. If Silver Flake was in Plug form...well, it would almost be "heaven" again.

As previous reviewers have already stated, this tobacco burns well, has appropriate moisture content, and is a very satisfying smoke. I tested this at various times throughout the day and I liked it anytime I tried it. For the most part I enjoyed it in a Castello sea rock (Pipes & Tobaccos Pipe of the Year) straight stem, saddle bit, but also in a 1998 dunhill group 5 amber root straight billiard. Both these pipes I tend to reserve for my Virginia Plugs so I know there was some mingling of taste from previous smokes.

I did not detect any "whisky" flavoring at all...so, I don't know where that is coming from.

This has a great natural tobacco taste and aroma. Definitly worth a good try. An excellent all-day smoke!

This is my first ever tobacco. Solani 660 is a blend I want my children to remember the aroma of. Tastes of sweet freshly baked rolls smeared with honey and butter. Smells of freshly ground coffee that has been lightly roasted. I was told to smoke aromatics as to not be offended of tobacco’s slowly learned natural characteristics, however, since smoking this beautiful blend, I have actually found quite the opposite. I do not have a taste for the aromatics that I have since sampled (Sillams Black and Autumn Evening) and greatly prefer the profile of unadulterated Virginia’s, Dark fired Kentucky’s and Perique’s. In my very limited opinion, this tobacco is well worth your while. I also have a great appreciation for the care over the tin’s timeless aesthetic. Do enjoy.

Solani 660 Silver Flake- The tin note is a fermented vinegary red Virginia smell and a slight beef jerky smokiness . Red Virginia forward blend that is tangy dark fruit and citrus and a little bready . Slighly grassy with some smoky , nutty floral notes in the background. No bite at all and it needed no dry time . I couldn’t detect any flavoring but it has a nice level of sweetness. Spice is very mild . Nic is mild . Don’t let the dark fired burley scare you away . This is more of a Virginia blend . Very enjoyable smoke . 4

This tobacco comes very light and hay-like in color out of the tin, resembling a golden Va flake. Five years in the basement and it is very dark and resembles an English VaBur flake. Interesting.

Initially I wasn't wowed by this. Maybe it needed to rest a little, or maybe I came around. What I find here is a very natural red Va flake with Kentucky. The Kentucky does not overpower or turn this into a BBQ flake. Instead, it adds earth and backbone and does not run away with the blend.

It's sweet, but subtly so. I also find the initial, subtle sweetness develops through the bowl and to the end. Again, very impressive that the Kentucky doesn't take over and drown it out. Much lighter in flavor and less the toppings you'd get with a GH VaBur. Heartier than a standard Va flake.

I smoke a lot of Burley during the day, and this is kind of an after dinner smoke after a day of smoking Burley for me when I'm not quite in a Va mood. Or if you were a Burley man and didn't care much for Va flakes at all, this one might ring your bell. Think Capstan or OGS minus any obvious flavorings and with the roundness and backbone of a VaBur.

It's very good and it's utterly unique, that gets it four stars from me. Wish I had bought this early in my cellaring, I'd have pounds and pounds of it. As it stands, I'll always keep a tin on hand. It is a very good effort and it may be the best example of Kentucky in a blend because it's an important element and it harmonizes with the other important element. Usually Kentucky takes over or is used merely as a condiment. I could see Mac Baren making this very tobacco today for their HH series, but this is executed better than they would do it. That is my praise for this blender.

A blend of Virginia and Kentucky tasty enough to be enjoyed and smooth enough that you never get tired of smoking it every day, making it a perfect tobacco for the regular rotation. These two qualities mean that its 4oz (100 gram) tin presentation should pose no concern that one might tire of smoking it before finishing the tin. It is surprising that without being presented in a pressurized tin it maintains the perfect degree of humidity (see update). It burns very slowly and can be smoked carelessly because it doesn't hurt the mouth. I would say that I have achieved the highest records of smoke duration with this blend. A very long and rolled scale that deserves the highest note. Before finishing my first tin, I went to the tobacconist for a second. Absolutely recommended.

Update 11/08/2021: I opened another tin of this tobacco after having left it for more than a year and it was ribbon cut and somewhat dry, so I transferred it to an airtight glass jar. To have reservations, I bought a third tin from a German tobacconist and they had taken the precaution of vacuum-wrapping it with plastic. Given that it comes so well wrapped, I preferred not to open it to check the type of cut, so I wonder if the ribbon cut of the second tin was due to transport (most likely) or is it a new presentation. In any case, it has not lost an iota of its organoleptic virtues. If you want something similar but with the most accentuated flavors and added perique, I highly recommend Old Gowrie by Rattrays. Another excellent tobacco that you have to try ...

I am sure glad to see that at least one tobacco finally got dark fried Kentucky right . #660 seems to me to have hit upon the exact right amount to blend into good Virginia . Upon opening the tin I was impressed with the visual , long strips of a dark flake with the right moisture level . The tin note was so unique it made me want to smoke it at once . Easy to light , the 660 gave off flavor right from the start and all the way down too . If you want to age the 660 , however , I think you will need to transfer it to a ball jar or the like because the tin does not seem to be vacuum . Although nothing with deep fried could be my all day , go to , smoke the #660 is just a great choice when something a little different is called for .