Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake

This review is based on a tin smoked 1year ago . Purchased online , covered in the usual annoying health warning stickers , the tobacconist had also put his own sticker over the Solani name , anyway opened tin and immediately whiffed a strong chocolate aroma thought ide been sent a wrong tin , as far as I was aware there was supposed to be no flavouring in this , well there IS . Flakes were all clumped and stuck together , managed to dry and rubbed out a pipefull . There is no doubt about this being a beautiful tasting tobacco , but I found it hard work , have just ordered another tin in the hope it might be easier to smoke , knocking one star off.

Nothing but Burley, or so they say... Dark Kentucky is rich and tastes like toasted chestnut with a touch of molasses. The Malawi brings mild spice and a fermented quality akin to cocoa nibs. Brazil imparts sugarcane and leather to the mix. Burns clean and slow, very dense and will require relights. The nicotine strength of this blend can sneak up on you, a word of caution to the over eager. Smooth and consistent but will develop in the bowl. Will not bite your tongue. May leave a bit of moisture in the bowl. Has a unique room note.

Note: tins dated 2018 and later seem to be a much different blend, the cocoa topping is very present and identifiable when opening the tin. Tastes like more american burley is in the blend

While not being a fan of burley tobaccos, based on good reviews here, decided to give this blend a try. Rich dark scent upon opening the tin. Reminds me very much scent of dried plums and caramelized honey. Neat uniform flakes containing mostly darker tobacco leaves. The tobacco is a bit too moist to be smoked right away. After 20 minute drying time it is just perfect.

As I usually do with flake tobaccos, I used fold and stuff method. This gives me cooler and longer smoke.

After charring light I am greeted with the taste of dark chocolate and some sugar like sweetness. This doesn't change much throughout the bowl.

This blend is pretty strong in nicotine department, so it is better smoked after dinner or good meal.

Room note is not unpleasant but definitely noticeable.

After second third of the bowl buzz from nicotine increases dramatically and the nutty taste from the burleys are in the front row. Very good burley based tobacco. Would not recommend this for beginners because of nicotine level. MacBaren's Golden Blend would be more suited burley blend for beginners.

Solani has generally not disappointed me in the past and this blend is no exception. Nicely prepared brownish flakes ~ 3/4"x3"x1/16" give off a great, true tobacco aroma from the tin. I don't rub out my flakes and had some problems with numerous relights initially but they were caused by my packing technique. Once I mastered the proper method & looser packing for this moisture content and pliability, those problems disappeared and a cool smoke without condensation resulted. Although the strength was fine and this smoke was not bitter to the end, I prefer the sweeter taste from my VAs and VaPers. Certainly worth a try if you enjoy burleys.

It is really nice to see all of the great Burleys that are now being blended. This great leaf is no longer associated just with junky drugstore blends. Now you have wonderful Burleys like Uhle's 255, Pease's Barbary Coast, Wilke's Nut Brown Burley and Wessex' Burley Flake. All being wonderful tobaccos in their own right, although my personal favorites are the tobacs from Uhles and the Wessex flake.

Solani's entry is very, very similar to Wessex' Burley Flake, which itself reminds me of Edgeworth Slices. Solani's entry, however, is quite a bit stronger. This tobacco comes in flake form and is relatively dry. Break it up a bit and pack - but don't worry too much about it. Easy to light and keep lit irrespective of the preparation. Burns very dry. A bit of dottle but not too much. Full burley taste (perhaps toasted), gently sweet (in a natural burley manner - not cased), good aroma. Healthy kick of nicotine.

A worthy entry and something you should try if you are a Burley fan - particularly if you are a fan of Edgeworth. But it is stronger to me.

High marks all around although a bit too full for all-day consumption.

I suppose Burley isn't every smokers cup of tea. I had been curious I have to admit having had very little exposure to purely burley blends, and so I took a chance on this one.

The tin bouquet gives little doubt as to the contents therein. Four lines of regimented flake giving off a rather strong deep almond-like roasted aroma. Boy, was it sticky or what? It was so gooey I had to wash my hands afterwards. It stuck under my nails and left really bad stains on fabric, much to the chagrin of my wife.

I expected numerous relights after this discovery but it wasn't as heavy on the butane as I expected it to be. The smoke follows the tin aroma and then dies down to a very pleasant and very smooth nutty tasting smoke. Most appropriate for an Autumn evening. One bowl per day was suffient, before I went off in search of something else with more complex properties.

Recommended for those that know and like burley and is more than worthy to have in your rotation and especially if you are getting bored with virginias. It's a taste to be acquired I think in the same way that you 'acquire the taste' of Gentle Giant in progrock, although I doubt many will get that analogy.

Good blend then but beware : despite it's somewhat adhesive properties this blend goes very dry and brittle very quickly so it needs finishing earlier than some blends or careful decanting.

This tobacco is very dense to feel and break up, its very moist, heavy and sticky. It smells great through. Deep earthy smell mixed with raisins, chocolates and I want to say hay... it’s grassy but a deep grass. Like haylage (half wet hay) it’s nice. Needs a little time to dry out before smoking, but this is one of the rare tobaccos that actually tastes as it smells. So that is a big positive for me. It is very wet and leaves a fair amount of moisture in the bowl. I have gone with recommended rather than highly as it’s a very sickly sweet tobacco with the kick of some of the stronger ones. A good flake tobacco to start off with though. Easy to smoke, light, enjoyable and no risk of bite

The pieces of flake are beautifully presented in a 50 gram round tin. Upon prying open a fresh tin, my nose was greeted with a dark chocolate or cacao scent with a note of oatmeal.

I tested this first in a large bowl, well broken in meerschaum billiard. After allowing about 45 minutes drying time at about 50% relative humidity, the flakes rubbed out easily to a semi-ribbon, with some larger pieces. I packed the bowl gently, as this one would expand in the pipe.

I wonder if this one will age well. What I got was nearly what is for me a perfect burley smoking experience. Some might say this is too one-dimensional, I would agree...but I think this blend is incredibly dependent on the size, composition and shape of the pipe. I will dig out a Peterson bulldog that I have and try this blend in that pipe, next.

If it had a hair more complexity and behaved just a hair better in my pipes, this would merit 4 stars. I like this tobacco, but I'll leave my rating at 3 stars. If it ages well, I'll update this review at that time. Maybe it will earn 4 stars by then.

I have waited long to review this one. I understand why just after reading Pryhosm’s statement just minutes before mine: “this tobacco is a finicky one in my experience. In the right pipe it is very good, in the wrong pipe it is like a mouth full of soot”. Holy words! If fact, ABF smokes better in sweet briars (Castello). It goes without saying: strictly IMHO.

We are talking about a great quality Burley, indeed. Not to the point that I prefer this Vs. Peretti 333, but still very good. Smoked as a whole flake just screwed into the bowl of KKKK sized Castello, takes the fire easily and burns very even and absolutely cool, no bite. Just don’t rush the smoke to avoid some ashy flavour, but that’s typical of Burleys. I don’t taste any chocolate, I’m more towards the nutty & musty/sweet thing, with some faint acidic note. Flavouring agents ? Not detected. Strenght and body are on the medium side.

A consistent all day smoke for the committed Burley pipster. Missing the fourth star just because it’s a bit monolithic.