Solani 660: Silver Flake

Im just finishing my first bowl of this and it is very enjoyable. Out of the tin, it smells of un sweetened chocolate and fresh hay. This is also my first experience with a flake and was happy to see how well it packed and lit. (Used the fold and pack technique) the beginning of the smoke started like it smelled out of the tin, a bit grassy and mild. It starts to transform mid way, with a sweet, nutty, earthy taste, but far from over powering. The tobacco taste is there. Im at the end of my bowl and now get a taste of bread. I like how the smoke changes in flavor throughout. It stayed lit well and it has ABSOLUTELY no bite.. a huge plus. I would say the room note is also very nice.. definitely try it for yourself, but put it in a jar.. the tin will dry it out fast. All in all, a very enjoyable hour long smoke. there is a decent amount of nicotine, so eat something before you smoke.. i dont think its aeromatic in character at all, and leaves a bit of a cigarette smell.. i do like it, but as far as an all day smoke, not so much..

Rudiger Will is a master blender, of that I'm sure. The introduction of Silver Flake is one of the best new tobaccos of 2005.

Appearance: A beautiful flake presentation of mixed hues of tans and brown.

Tin aroma: An amazing and complex aroma of rich hay, stewed fruits and spice. A lovely forest rich smell.

This flake arrives nearly perfect in every detail, moisture content is exactly right. As with most flakes I simply fold several flakes up and insert them directly into the chamber unmolested. This assures me a long lasting even burning smoke. For this review, I've chosen an Armellini Freehand which is quite faithful in presenting complex Virginia tobacco mixtures. I've pre-smoked several bowls over the course of a week of Silver Flake in this pipe in preparation for this review.

A one match light is brings billows of rich gray smoke, followed with a brief visit of the tamper. The deep red VA is immediately there and while a bit tangy at first becomes a nice compliment to the fine quality leaf underneath. Flavors of Red Virginia are dominant throughout, Burley chimes in with rich nut like and cigarish notes.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to building layer upon layer of complexity. The tones of forest deepen steadily as this mixture gains strength. Rich caramel tones are evident with a slowly building rich cigar like quality and I find myself relaxing ever more deeply into my stuffed chair, smiles widening across my face. I continue to marvel each time at how rich and full flavored this blend becomes. A huge benefit from such a seemingly simple mixture.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, the palate is very complex, very rich, and satisfying. The tangy duet of Red VA's, and Burley with cigar like notes seem to keep expanding until suddenly tamping and repeated application of flame no longer yield any more. I am consistently surprised to find that I'm done! Well behaved and cool burning throughout, this blend is a definite all day smoking candidate. With Silver Flake, #633 and a good Balkan blend, I could retire to a desert island without regrets. This mixture provides near complete combustion every time, yielding perfectly dry white ash.

Supplemental Notes: This is a regular part of my rotation as something reached for when a Virginia and Burley mixture is craved. Absolutely a perfect smoke for anytime of the day. **** 4 full stars

Tin note of pungent, vinegary and stewed sour fruit. Tobacco is a Flake of marbled reddish brown and dark brown. Moisture content is great, rubs out with a little effort. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is medium. No flavoring listed, but there is a sweet alcohol flavor more prominent in the first 1/4 that slowly dissipates to nothing within the first 1/2. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of toasted bread, wood, sweet alcohol, spice, leather, spicy, floral, earth, nutty, peaty vegetation/hay, dry, mildly acidic, tangy zesty, orange peel/bitters, mildly savory, a stewed rich dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Virginia is leading with Kentucky supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

I bought this is 2018 at a local B&M after a recommendation by the tobacconist. I was warned about going ahead and jarring it due to the cellophane packaging. I had a few bowls then and jarred the rest of the beautiful flakes.. and promptly forgot about it.

Que October 2020 when I was going through a tote looking for something else and I found the jars of this. Man this is delicious with a couple of years on it. Dark long flakes that are easily broken up or cut to be folded and stuffed. It is easy to light and keep burning.

The taste to me has a great combination of sweetness along with the spice of the Kentucky and if I didn't know better I'd think it was a VaPer. It reminds me of ODF except that the sweetness is kicked up a notch. The strength to my taste/tolerance is a shade higher than medium. Not something I'd smoke all day.

I'll definitely be picking up more to jar-up for future smoking pleasure.

Solani has a wide range in a limited number of offerings. All of them are top rate, even if some are not for me. I am not the biggest fan of Burley or Dark Fired Kentucky in general but there are a few blends that showcases these leaves in a way that makes me take note. Uhle and Peretti seem to have my kind of Burley. DFK I like, among a few others, HH Vintage Syrian, Three Nuns and now Silver Flake. The leaf Solani uses is first rate. The Virginia’s area sweet and earthy at the same time. Bread, and some hay like notes are also present here and there. The DFK gives some tang, spice and richness, maybe a sour hint from time to time. I only find one problem with this blend; I don’t know where if fits in my rotation. I think I have landed on “warm weather smoke”, probably in the evening when temperature drops and after dinner, come winter I dont’ know where to put it. I purchased this several months ago and played around with it in the colder months but with the warm weather I have hit it several times, at first just so I could write down my thoughts on the blend. I do think it has a place and wish I could say it is a year round smoke but I can see this fading into the cabinet once it gets cold.

Full natural taste. No aromatic addiction (even if whisky is quoted in somehow). Full day smoking, every charge has an incredible duration. Tobacco burns perfectly and no difficult is noted due to flake cut.

I smoke this paired with Assam or English Breakfast Tea, folded and packed lightly. It takes the match well, needing a couple relights, and burns at a typical Va/Per speed. It doesn't bite (with a beverage), and gives off a fair amount of smoke. The flavors are typical hay/wheat and a little citrus with a tiny bit of spice coming from the Kentucky. It burns clean to the bottom of the bowl. I get a little moisture about half-way through (as I do most natural tobaccos), and I think this is normally around the time I pack, purge, and relight. I would highly recommend this blend.

Presented in long leathery flakes that exude a delicious freshly dried fig aroma. The blend of Vrirginas are supple and grassy sweet with notes of peat and a light dry citrus efervessence . The Dark fired Kentucky balances the blend with nuttiness, a mild woodsy background and date undertones, At times, I notice a spicy white pepper note from the African White Burley, quality is superb. Jar the long flakes as the tin may not maintain moisture level for long. Burns smooth and clean to a grey ash leaving very little moisture, requires few relights especially when rubbed out. Room note is pleasant. Solani’s 660 is a well enjoyed classic that ages well.

I purchased a tin of Solani Silver Flake & Tropical Mango Flake at the same time. I didn't care much for the latter (and I'm an Aro guy) .... but boy oh boy do I like SSF! Excellent taste & aroma from this natural blend of high quality sweet & tangy Virginia Flake ... but the Dark Fired adds another dimension of depth to it. It somewhat reminds me of Rattray's HOTW (which I also enjoy) but with an added boost of earthy-woodsy flavor from the Kentucky. I'll be stocking up on more of this blend for sure.