Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake
(3.41)
Notes: Blender R.L. Will developed a unique toasting process to enhance the natural sweetness of this blend. No sugar has been added.
As of 2022, licorice is the main flavoring "with a hint of chocolate", as per the label. The burleys on the tin are now listed as white burley only.
Details
| Brand | Solani |
| Blended By | R.L. Will |
| Manufactured By | Kohlhase & Kopp |
| Blend Type | Burley Based |
| Contents | Burley |
| Flavoring | Cocoa / Chocolate, Licorice |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | Germany |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.41 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 11 - 20 of 21 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 19, 2016 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
The flakes are gorgeous, a lovely mottled brown colour showing off the mixture of burleys and a strong tin note of cocoa that's almost too strong to be natural. The flakes are incredibly sticky and for me require a little dry time.
Easy to smoke flakes that'll happily rub out or fold and stuff just as easily, it smokes dry and doesn't bite. I found it can be a little fussy with pipes but with the right pipe it had a sweet, nutty, buttery flavour that I find a little cloying. The flavour stays pretty much constant throughout the bowl but occasionally a metallic flavour appears but it rarely lasts more than a couple of puffs.
I can see why it get's a lot of love but it's just not for me.
Easy to smoke flakes that'll happily rub out or fold and stuff just as easily, it smokes dry and doesn't bite. I found it can be a little fussy with pipes but with the right pipe it had a sweet, nutty, buttery flavour that I find a little cloying. The flavour stays pretty much constant throughout the bowl but occasionally a metallic flavour appears but it rarely lasts more than a couple of puffs.
I can see why it get's a lot of love but it's just not for me.
Pipe Used:
Askwith Bulldog
PurchasedFrom:
mysmokingshop
Age When Smoked:
6 months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 07, 2013 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I guess I am not a burly guy I felt as though I was smoking peat moss. Sorry.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 16, 2012 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I'm sorry to say that I was hardly impressed. I found it too bland. It burns well, without tongue bite.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 21, 2009 | Very Strong | Mild | Full | Tolerable |
not my cup of tea this one! too strong and too full of taste..
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Mar 03, 2024 | Mild to Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
When I first picked this up I was still a newbie pipe smoker. Reviews were good and I liked the idea of a cocoa style robust flake, so I was excited to try this supposed caviar of burley.
Well, it bit the hell out of me.
More drying time maybe: still untamed.
I would rejar, give it a few months. Rinse and repeat. Regardless, this MO wouldn\'t get the flake to flow.
As I sit here, 5 or 6 attempts and a couple years on, and being again bit (though within bounds) by the first half of this bowl, I feel I can pronounce my verdict: not worth it.
The flake was well dried on the heater, dry in the sense that most other tobaccos would please the palate - and still I struggle with relights and sensitivity. I have a feeling PG is one of the culprits and I would suggest humbly that burley blenders offer their burleys on the drier side. But what do I know..
The taste is pretty good: robust, chocolatey earth, minerals, ash and sand, liquorice. But only after half an hour does the corrosiveness of smoke subside. At that stage, the smoke is enjoyable enough.
Would I buy this again? No, I would not.
Would I sample other burleys? Yes, I definitely would.
Well, it bit the hell out of me.
More drying time maybe: still untamed.
I would rejar, give it a few months. Rinse and repeat. Regardless, this MO wouldn\'t get the flake to flow.
As I sit here, 5 or 6 attempts and a couple years on, and being again bit (though within bounds) by the first half of this bowl, I feel I can pronounce my verdict: not worth it.
The flake was well dried on the heater, dry in the sense that most other tobaccos would please the palate - and still I struggle with relights and sensitivity. I have a feeling PG is one of the culprits and I would suggest humbly that burley blenders offer their burleys on the drier side. But what do I know..
The taste is pretty good: robust, chocolatey earth, minerals, ash and sand, liquorice. But only after half an hour does the corrosiveness of smoke subside. At that stage, the smoke is enjoyable enough.
Would I buy this again? No, I would not.
Would I sample other burleys? Yes, I definitely would.
Pipe Used:
All kinds
Age When Smoked:
0-2 years
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 13, 2022 | Medium to Strong | Extremely Mild | Full | Tolerable |
After almost finishing a tin of 14 years old 656 I can say this tobacco is a win/win . Earthy Burley Brazilian reddish tobacco with a great note of Kentucky in it . Looks for me a sweeter version of the HH Old Dark Fired. Overall a great choice.
Pipe Used:
W.O. Larsen flame grain model #62
Age When Smoked:
14
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| May 20, 2021 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild | Tolerable |
The only tobaccos which get 1 star from me are the ones that annoyed me, this one's close because I'll finish the tin rather than putting it in the compost pile.
I don't understand the hype around Aged Burley Flake, it's nothing bad, it's not bad tobacco at all, but it hasn't got much going for it.
I've had it twice, first was a flake from a friend who was equally bored of it as I am. The taste of that flake was odd, tasted very strongly of liquorice for the first half bowl, the next half was a bit better because the liquorice went away. That was when I had an unopened tin of ABF in my drawers, so I decided to forget about it knowing there's nothing exciting for me there.
That tin sat for about 3 years, but when opened the seal was intact and the neat pile of flakes perfectly moist. The Solani brand always means top quality preparation and presentation.
Smell from the tin is slightly sour. The tin lists liquorice as flavouring in the back. Another friend told me to dry a flake to a crisp and then crumble before smoking, so I did that, since then I've tried smoking it stuffed and folded at various degrees of moisture, cube cut, and dry crumble. Dry crumble works best for me to get any flavour off it.
The taste is earthy, with whiffs of liquorice, occasionally, very occasionally cocoa, some grass too. Nicotine is very low. There's really not much in terms of taste or development. I don't know that I'd smoke that tin if I could give it away, but actually there are people I offered it to and won't take it, citing the same reason as me: it is boring.
Ageing is not meant to do much to Burleys, this one was 3-year aged Aged Burley Flake and really not seeing anything in it. Aged Boring Flake.
P.S. in terms of straight Burley, and single leaf Burley to boot, Wolfway's Epos Green (Greece only sadly) is far FAR superior in every way.
I don't understand the hype around Aged Burley Flake, it's nothing bad, it's not bad tobacco at all, but it hasn't got much going for it.
I've had it twice, first was a flake from a friend who was equally bored of it as I am. The taste of that flake was odd, tasted very strongly of liquorice for the first half bowl, the next half was a bit better because the liquorice went away. That was when I had an unopened tin of ABF in my drawers, so I decided to forget about it knowing there's nothing exciting for me there.
That tin sat for about 3 years, but when opened the seal was intact and the neat pile of flakes perfectly moist. The Solani brand always means top quality preparation and presentation.
Smell from the tin is slightly sour. The tin lists liquorice as flavouring in the back. Another friend told me to dry a flake to a crisp and then crumble before smoking, so I did that, since then I've tried smoking it stuffed and folded at various degrees of moisture, cube cut, and dry crumble. Dry crumble works best for me to get any flavour off it.
The taste is earthy, with whiffs of liquorice, occasionally, very occasionally cocoa, some grass too. Nicotine is very low. There's really not much in terms of taste or development. I don't know that I'd smoke that tin if I could give it away, but actually there are people I offered it to and won't take it, citing the same reason as me: it is boring.
Ageing is not meant to do much to Burleys, this one was 3-year aged Aged Burley Flake and really not seeing anything in it. Aged Boring Flake.
P.S. in terms of straight Burley, and single leaf Burley to boot, Wolfway's Epos Green (Greece only sadly) is far FAR superior in every way.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 10, 2021 | Medium to Strong | None Detected | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
This is a placeholder review while the tin I bought ages in a jar.
It's very good, high quality tobacco, like most of Solani's products. I was really excited to try it, especially after enjoying Prince Albert.
Well, the nicotine content is too high for me. I get a headache and nauseous while smoking this. I smoke at least one pipe per day, and for over a year now, so I'm not a complete novice, but this reminds me of that first cigarette that turns high school kids green.
Maybe after aging for a long time it'll mellow out, and over that same time, my nicotine tolerance will increase. Until then, it will sit in a jar.
It's very good, high quality tobacco, like most of Solani's products. I was really excited to try it, especially after enjoying Prince Albert.
Well, the nicotine content is too high for me. I get a headache and nauseous while smoking this. I smoke at least one pipe per day, and for over a year now, so I'm not a complete novice, but this reminds me of that first cigarette that turns high school kids green.
Maybe after aging for a long time it'll mellow out, and over that same time, my nicotine tolerance will increase. Until then, it will sit in a jar.
Pipe Used:
Various briars
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 21, 2020 | Medium | None Detected | Medium to Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
I like this blend. From the first taste, I knew I had found something special. It has a '19th century farmer' quality. Subtle, woody, balanced. I rub it out and let it dry a short while before packing. Smooth smoke, relaxing experience.
PurchasedFrom:
SmokingPipes
Age When Smoked:
Fresh from a new tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 10, 2011 | Mild | Very Mild | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
After so many good reviews for this tobacco, i bought a tin. I'm not a fan of flakes (i maybe will) and the taste was mild, to mild for a good pipe smoking. I almost forget this tobacco and i finished it 5 days ago. I'm not going to buy it again for the moment, because it's too expensive for what it is.
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