Bulwark Flake

Smoked this years, decades ago and never thought I'd get the chance to try again...but then i stumbled across the news that Bulwark is still in production and made by Peter Stokkebye. This is a blend smoked by my grandfather and bears a slight resemblance to University Flake but with a milder berry flavouring. Quintissentially english in the depth and solidity of the tobacco. Very, very traditional flake this, along with the likes of Digger, Walnut Flake and B&H's Original Virginia Flake. Available in the UK from Black Swan online tobacconist

A good strength flake which I would have enjoyed much more were it not for the hint of soap and berries which put me off. A fine tobacco for strength, but as for flavour, not my cup of tea. Therefore only two stars.

Ah, this a joy. A friend from overseas sent me 25 grams of this tobacco some months ago and I have been enjoying it slowly. As the good Doctor mentioned, Bulwark Flake is wonderful companion to such legendary blends as St. Bruno, Condor, and I would add, Walnut Flake and Maltan Ready Rubbed. The flakes are very dark and lightly scented, in a floral way that gets my mouth to watering. Lightup flavours are not unlike St. Bruno, but the essences fade quickly and the overal tenor of the smoke is dark and heavy, but not rough on the tongue or throat. This tobacco burns slowly and seems best sipped; pushing it turns it bitter and tar-like. The room note is deliciously thick at smoking, but can smell stale later. An evening in the company of this flake, to me, is time well spent. Life is simply too short to smoke unremarkable or poorly wrought and excecuted tobaccos, but as long as I can access blends such as BF, I've little complain about. Recommended.

update: going through my reviews here, i find that i'll have to downgrade a good deal of the praise i've given so many blends. 4 stars should, i feel, be reserved for the blends i find truly exceptional. so, this is downgraded a bit. end update.

a fine classical flake tobacco!

tin flavour belies the taste, as the first whiff is definitely floral. once you set fire to it, you'll taste first class aged virginia and some kentucky+burley - and very little additional flavour, imo. it certainly is rather similar in composition and raw tobacco treatment to st bruno, but a lot less "soapy", and with more of a sweet, deep, spicy and fragrant virginia taste. quite strong, too.

bulwark flake is a solid, old fashioned british tobacco - now, i gather, being made by gawith & hoggarth in stead of imperial.

Notes: A kind gift from a fellow who had some of this old standard. I only had a few flakes to sample, not a full four or even two ounces as I usually like to have before I make comments, but one makes do with what one has. In this case, it seemed straightforward enough. Smoked exclusively in a Size 4-ish Ashton billiard I have dedicated to floral English blends, and it seemed to suit it well enough, smoking down to a fine white ash with little if any moisture or dottle.

Appearance: Fine four-inch flakes of dark brown to black tobacco with reddish strands working their way in here and there.

Aroma: Walnuts, chocolate, roses, dried chrysanthemums, sweet yellow corn, white cake, plums, dark stewed fruit, pure Virginia tobacco.

Taste: Immense. I was struck by an impression of eating a gigantic juicy plum spiced lightly with cloves. The smoke was vast and creamy with a bit of tingle on the tongue. A substantial but not overwhelming amount of nicotine added some delicacy and crumble to the mouthfeel. The flavor was deep, dense, heavy, and full without any oriental spice or latakia needed. Just pure Virginia flavors mellowed by time, with a hint of cherries jubilee and crushed roses and tar in the aftertaste.

Comparisons: A very traditional English floral flake along the lines of Condor and St. Bruno, being less soapy than the former, with more sharply Virginia flavor than the latter. Of these, Bulwark casts the largest shadow with a massive, if monolithic, presence.

Bottom Line: Not readily available, but for lovers of traditional floral English flakes, if you prefer a more solid, yet very subdued creamy flavor with a substantial nicotine hit, this is one to seek out.