Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake

Tin note is nutty and sweet with a nice deep cocoa. Flakes were well presented, dark with some lighter components here and there. Packs well either rubbed out our folded and stuffed although from a flavor perspective I feel the folded and stuffed method on this one is best. The smoke is mild with no bite. Burns cool with a flavor profile of soft cocoa, Brazil nuts and a nice sweetness. Overall an excellent burley.

Smoking this blend was like an illustration on how to get to a classic three star rating; a constant push/pull of positives and negatives with the positives winning out in the end. I got this tin at last year's NASPC show in a trade with a friend and put it away at the back of my personal stash until recently. When I pulled it out I thought that it didn't quite look right; too flat in the lid. When I opened it there was only a mechanical click and no air rush; proving that the vacuum seal was gone. This is negative one. On opening I found a beautiful tin presentation that looked like an umber brown solid rectangle of tobacco. On closer inspection it resolved itself into two thinly sliced horizontal 1 and 1/2" by 3" rectangles of a slightly caramel colored mottling. This is positive one. When I opened the tin and set it on the counter in front of me I got no particular aroma. Closer whiffing yielded a somewhat subdued and narrow range aroma that reminded me, vaguely, of caramel apples and tobacco. This is negative two. When I roughed out the first smoke I felt that the tobacco had lost about one third of it's original moisture from losing it's seal. This was no problem, as it was almost in perfect condition for lighting. This is neutral in the equation. The blend was well behaved under the match and lit instantly and burned evenly. This is also neutral in the equation. The top third was okay but a little distant in taste and aroma. Then, as we crossed over into the middle third, things improved greatly and the smoke was richer and more satisfying; almost four star quality. The bottom third was a typical decline in enjoyment, but still enjoyable in a bottom third way. So, all in all, this is positive two. Then I began to substitute Aged Burley Flake for other burley tobaccos I was currently using in micro blending. This didn't work out so well as ABF lowered the tenor of most of them, and I didn't want that. This is negative three. On a whim I threw together a 50/50 blend of ABF and C&D's Big n' Burley and, wowie zowie, that was a four star Burley smoke all the way. This is positive number three. I then smoked the blend in other pipes and discovered that it smoked better in most of them than the Becker. This is positive number four. I agree with reviewer rattdogg99 2019-07-27 that this blend is very pipe/shape sensitive. All in all ,I feel comfortable with a three star rating and agree with reviewer Skando 2018-06-06 that this blend missed a four star rating by virtue of it's monolithic overall presentation.

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.

My favourite Burley.

Typical Solani good looking tin design. Round 50 g tin, but the insert paper is squared, that’s a little odd... Perhaps they had some leftovers hence don’t match.

Thinly sliced good looking quality flakes. Coffee brown with small golden spots. Medium moisture.

Tin note is typical pure burley. Lots of cocoa, cigars and coffee. Very pleasing and mellow, could smell all day.

Stuff and fold is fine but might require some re-lighting. Had some issues with tamping though when stuffed moist. On the other hand, it’s still a good smoke when accidentally completely dried out. Actually drying out more than average surpised me: no bite, doesn’t burn too fast and retained its aromas.

Burns wonderfully tastes wonderfully. No harshness, mellow and round, full bodied smoke. Chocolate and very subtle dried fruits in the background. Ppl who like to drink Italian-style espresso: pair with it!

Medium in almost all aromatic factors. Nicotine high. I am a former cig smoker and pipe tobaccoes barely make me feel uneasy. This one, however, did. Could be that I had a bad day, but be careful, choose a smaller bowl not like me with a larger bent Rhodesian. Definitely has the Burley signature similarity with cigars in taste and room note but not overpowering.

It gets better with age, at least 6 months helped my tin. I’ll definitely consider to stock up and cellar a lot, see how it goes.

Excellent tobacco.

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.

From a freshly opened tin the moisture level was a tiny bit to the moist side. Flakes pack perfectly with folding. The tin aroma is magnificent. My trouble with this blend is it seems to taste kinda flat to me and burns hot, so at times feels like smoking hot steam.

It's obviously high quality tobacco, just not for me, probably. Keep in mind that the tin is not very good at keeping the tobacco fresh and moist, so transfer into a jar if you won't smoke it within 1-2 weeks after opening