Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake

Solani made a great offer with this blend. The true tobacco smell from the tin is very inviting. The flakes have a good humidity level to smoke immediately. At your own choice you can also air them a bit. These can be rubbed and pack easily. However I prefer to pack them without rubing.

Lights easily. It has a cool, very dry and very delicious smoke. It also burns very slow. You can enjoy a relaxing and long lasting real tobacco taste with it. It is not very sweet. With a slow and relaxed puffing you will taste its less sweetness rounded with the pure tobacco bitterness. This natural flavor is catched at the beginning with the very first puffs and lasts till the end of the bowl.

Just perfect for the true tobacco taste lovers!

Burley lovers take note. Get this. Easily one of the best I have ever had. If for some reason you should try this and not like it, send it to me! I'll take all I can get!

I would echo the sentiments of our brethren who prescribe the excellence of this Burley blend. A strong tobacco, with the taste of walnut and dark chocolate. Best when not overly dried on a sideboard.

Highly recommended.

A companion infusion: a cappuccino...or two.

Wow, just wow. This is the best burley I've had to date, and probably ever will have. I will probably purchase another tin in the future and let it age for a year, just to see how it reacts to aging...

It smells of coffee, bittersweet chocolate, and slightly of dried fruit. There's a nice depth of flavor, the "nuttiness" of the burley comes through, a unique coffee/chocolate undertone, and a smooth dark sweetness.

It smokes very cool, so feel free to rub it out fully. My flakes were fairly dry upon opening the tin, so they didn't need to be dried more than 15 minutes.

Now, the nicotine is sneaky in this blend. It doesn't smack you in the face like FVF. Rather, it sneaks up on you half-way down the bowl you've been enjoying for the last 30 minutes. So, don't smoke this on an empty stomach, just say you've been warned...

I have smoked this blend in both a briar and a cob dedicated to burleys. The briar had more depth of flavor, while the cob was noticeably sweeter. So I'd definitely recommend trying this blend in different kinds of pipes to see how it reacts.

I started smoking Edgeworth flake just in time for it to be discontinued. I am delighted to find a more-than-worthy substitute in this blend. I find that SABF has a bit more depth and complexity that did EF. As noted, it delivers flavors of bread crust, toasted nuts, and hints of black coffee and cocoa with a touch of sugar. These flavors may be too subtle to be appreciated, at first, by those who enjoy VA flakes; however, if given a chance this flake offers a delightful change of pace from the mown hay, brown sugar, and dried fruit flavors of VAs. I must stress that SABF is not anything like Prince Albert or his relatives. Rather, it is most closely related to Five Brothers, albeit with several added layers of polish and refinement. I like to think of SABF as the sixth brother - - the one who left the farm, joined the Navy, saw the world, went to college on the GI Bill, and has ever since distinguished himself as a gentleman and a scholar without ever forgetting his roots. SABF lights easily, smokes cool and dry, and does not bite. With its moderate strength and flavor, it makes a great first pipe of the day.

not my cup of tea this one! too strong and too full of taste..

This is my favorite cob blend, I like to rub it out well and load the pipe loose. It has a great burly flavour that starts out mild and fragrant but picks up intensity as you smoke through the bowl to a sweet tasty finish. It never bites, is cool, and is very consistent throughout the smoke, and from tin to tin. No surprises, just a damn good Burley.

Update 2011 August: Same as above, not once through maybe 20 tins have I had quality issues. Very good blend.

I debated with myself whether to give this three or four stars. On the one hand, this is as good as straight burley can get. It reminded me of Edgeworth RR, but of an obviously higher quality. Same chocolatey, mouth-watering smell in the tin, but with very little sweetness in the flavor. There's a bit more smoothness and sweetness in SABF, not QUITE as much of that annoying dry mouthfeel that I get from most burleys.

But in my book, burley needs something besides burley to make a really great tobacco. It's like if someone tried to play a round of golf using only their putter...impressive if he breaks 100, though that score isn't that great in itself. 4 as a straight burley, 3 in comparison to other tobaccos.

A wonderfully rich and nutty tobacco that smokes dry and cool with no bite. Grab a flake rub it out and load up. Beautiful.