Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake (No. 403)

Not sure what is the cause, but this stuff bit the heck out of me and even roasted the roof of my mouth as well as the sidewalls.

The strength was there, the Virginia flavor was semi-sweet and not at all tart or tangy. The tobacco was at a beautiful moisture level and the spun leaf rubbed out easily.

I'll give this one a tepid recomendation. My palate says this is a fine blend for strength and flavor. My body chemistry said NO!

Now then, I'm going to load up a bowl of something more forgiving and spend the next hour puffing slowly and reading the review below mine.

I'll try not to be to way over the top with this. This is a meat and potatoes type blend for me. Pretty basic, but it's just complex enough to be interesting. The sweet hay taste of VAs is prevalent and then the little bit of Cavendish adds a little more sweetness for a slightly sweet rather basic, straightforward smoke. Highly affordable. Highly enjoyable.

I very much admire most of Peter Stokkebye's blends, and I especially like Luxury Navy Flake. The type of matured (probably flu cured) Viriginias used are palatable, non-biting, smooth, and elegant. Périque is there but not in an obstrusive way. Rather than overwhelming the other components, it is used sparingly, just to add a piquant touch.

Well, Bullseye Flake is exactly that with the added Cavendish centre. It is not entirely black-sweetened-cavendish (as in Captain Black), but rather a mild, slightly sweet brown cavendish, which indeed "rounds" the taste and makes this flake smoother, creamier and diverse.

Though similar, this flake is not as pungent and sharp as Escudo (which I also love) or Dunhill's De Luxe Navy Rolls. If anything it's closer to Davidoff's Flake Medallions. Equally elegant, savory and smooth....but at half the price!

I highly recommend this tobacco to any VaPer or straight Virginia lover (Périque enthusiasts might be disappointed). It is a very nice smoke, delivering a fine taste. Truly first class

Its clear in my review of this blend's reviews that the majority of reviewers have not smoked the blend that is most directly in competion with Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake - Davidoff Flake Medallions. If they had, they would not compare LBF to Escudo nor to Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls, as neither has a black cavendish content. I have had the pleasure of smoking all four and, by far, prefer the Davidoff blend to the rest. Don't get me wrong, they are all good. However, my experience is that the Stokkebye blend smokes the roughest of the four.

At the time I acquired a two ounce bag of LBF I also had open a fifty gram tin of FM, making for a natural comparison. Here is how they stack up. There are three things I found different about the two blends. Number one is the very big difference in presentation: FM comes in fifty gram tins and LBF comes only in bulk. When you open a tin of FM you are greeted by a number of uniform spun cut disks beautifully arranged in a spiral. The presentation of LBF in my two ounce bag was very different; a disheveled and raggity conglomeration of whole disks, partial disks, arcs of the virginia/perique outer disk portions and dismembered cavendish cores. Number two difference: I retrieved the whole disks of LBF and laid them out next to the same number of FM disks and compared them. I think the overall size of the disks is the same - it was hard to tell on the LBF disks as they had very ragged edges and appeared bigger than the FM disks. I also noticed a difference in the cavendish cores. On the average, the cores seemed somewhat smaller in the LBF disks and they were different in color and texture. The FM cores were uniformly and solidly black; the LBF cores were varigated in black and various shades of brown with some kind of inclusions in them. Difference number three: although both are cavendish-containing vapers, they smoke somewhat differently. The FM blend smoked smooth and uniformly down the bowl. LBF, on the other hand, was more spicey and tongue-testing. Now, they both have perique in them, so some spiceyness is to be expected and, indeed, was present in both of them. However, I found LBF to be consistently tongue-tingling and, if smoked too hard and fast, would yield tongue bite. I was forced to adjust my smoking rate and style to make up for this characteristic in LBF - something that didn't happen with FM.

So, although I prefer Flake Medallions to Luxurey Bullseye Flake, I still can recommend LBF as a substitute if, and this is a big if, you understand that there is a more refined version of the same type blend out there. The only drawback is that FM costs more, but I think it is worth it.

Make no mistake, this is a natural blend. The cavendish is non-existent in the taste. This is a VA blend with a dash of perique. The presentation is excellent with its round, mottled medallions and it is worth keeping in the cellar for this alone. It tastes like semi-sweet VA with perique building only when you hit the zone. Smoke this is your VA pipe, not your multi-use or aromatic pipe, and you will be rewarded with a full tobacco taste and no more than a usual virginia nippiness.

You can use a single medallion for a small bowl and it smokes fine. A couple or more medallions in a larger bowl is just as well, and will build wonderfully. It has its share of nicotine, so it satisfies. This is an everyday, all day sort of blend that burns to a grey-white ash with little more than a single light.

Given the lovely presentation and it's level of satisfaction, this is my VaPer for now. All the tins in my cellar remain sealed as I enjoy this superb bulk. I am leaving several ounces to cellar in masons-- I am sure it will properly ripen further.

The recommendation is only for advanced smokers with a penchant for true tobacco flavour and body. Get some and enjoy it. I sure do.

Update 02-08-08

After aging for some time, here's my update. For those that like Escudo or Three Nuns or Capstan, this is comparable after some settling in a jar for a while. Defitinitely an all day VaPer blend with lovely prensentation. Rub the rounds and stuff into the bowl with air-pocket technique for the reward. Yes, it is not a deep VA blend, but most pleasant for those who like brighter, tangy VA flavours-- not hot, but certainly spicy & citrusy. Confirming my 4 star rating.

Peter Stokkebye - Luxury Bullseye Flake.

I love this blend! In all fairness, I adored Orlik's Bull's Eye and I currently get great pleasure from Paul Olsen's Dark Pearl and Davidoff Flake Medallions; so I expected to enjoy this one too.

As it comes loosely packaged the coins have broken apart slightly, but that presents no problem because they'll get broken whilst filling anyway! The moisture quantity's good, so immediate smoking can commence:

Straight-away, I adore it! I don't find the Perique as low as a few of the other reviewers do; I certainly find it less sharp and spicy as it can often be, but I seem to get quite a prominent dark fruitiness from it; of course, good Virginia can give that sort of flavour, but this one has more depth than just a straight Virginia's fruit quality. As you'd expect, I get the least flavour from the Black Cavendish; but seeing as there's only a Cavendish centre per coin, I only expected a small amount of it! Once this is lit, which in itself is an easy task, it burns splendidly. The only issue, for me, is if I puff too hard: that's when I get a slight bite. But, as it's only subtle, gentle sips remove the problem.

Finally, the room-note's pleasant, and I'd rate the nicotine as being medium.

This is immediately going into my favourites list: four stars.

Highly recommended.

This is an excellent tobacco which reminds me of dusky fruits (figs, prunes, raisins, etc.) and of freshly-mown hay. Both flavour and aroma are best described as being warm, fragrant, and substantial without being overwhelming.

It isn't going to replace Escudo Navy Deluxe as my preferred VaPer, but I have nothing but praises for this marvellous addition to the already outstanding selection of tobaccos from Peter Stokkebye.

These nicely formed discs have the darker cavendish rolled into the center and are easy to fold and pack without rubout. The moisture content is ideal and results in an effortless smoke. I didn't taste much influence from the Perique but a smooth, sweet and cool smoke was enjoyed in multiple bowl sizes and pipe styles. I've been a big Stokkebye fan for years and usually have Luxury Twist Flake on hand. Their consistency and overall quality of tobaccos from lot to lot is outstanding. With this great new addition, Stokkebye has another winner.

I'll give this tobacco 2 stars, although it's well crafted, and is of good quality. I like VAs a lot, I like Perique also. What I don't like in this blend, it's black Cavendish. Black Cavendish puts some darkness in the smoke, that reminds of the danish style aromatic junk. Especially the artificial flavor in them. Spiciness of the Perique is mitigated and darkened by the Black Cavendish. It's balanced, with the Cavendish, but in a way ruined. Vapers are to be wild and unbalanced, and that's the beauty of them. This one didn't achieve my expectations. About packing and burning quality, it's awesome. Burns perfectly and doesn't require any effort. I've had over a friend who never smoked a pipe in his life, and tried some of this, his first bowl of tobacco ever. He tried a full bowl of this, no relights, no heat at all, he liked it a lot. It was a revelation for him. We drank scotch, and Periquish spicy note really supplemented the drink. I smoke it now with black coffee, (smoked it with tea also) and it fails to astonish, moreover you don't get rid of the artificial cheapness that is present all the way. This is an excellent smoke for beginners, but not my cup of tea. If you are a beginner, this is top recommended. If you are experienced smoker, don't go for it, you'll stay disappointed.