Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake

The gentlest introduction to Kentucky blends, in my experience. For me, it was a gateway smoke to HH Old Dark Fired and Pease Triple Play. It's a bit one dimensional (not surprising, I guess) but interesting. Flavors of dark leather, graphite, burnt pine and toast, and just a few faint and occasional floral notes. Burns like a dream (rubbed out well) and serves up a healthy nicotine kick.

This is my first Flake. I'm very satisfied with how it is reviewed, and it lives up to the hype. The flakes are slightly moist out of the tin. The tin can be sniffed for hours in my opinion. Natural, slightly sweet, earthy smell. Something I enjoy in the summer when the nightly mist is on the tobacco fields here in NC. I used the "s" fold that fit perfectly in the pipe. It took a while to light, so next time I'll let it air out for 30min. I also jarred the rest of the flake with hopes that it will be so much more enjoyable next time. Vitamin N is definatly in there. Would probably be great with a cup of of coffee. The flavor is enjoyable with a slight coco/nutty or maybe a toasted marshmellow "s'more" flavor. I tried to find the sweetness, and found what others review about. Very nice, relaxing, complex.

This would be a four-star blend if I hadn't run into serious variations between batches. I don't know if this is a quality-control issue or simply the result of the blender using different batches of leaf from year to year, but I've had tins that were almost indescribably good and others that were nearly unsmokable.

The presentation is that of uniformly gorgeous, deep brown flakes. Unlike many burlies, they smell sweet even before lighting. Upon firing up a bowl (of the good batches) this sweetness manifests itself immediatly in the smoke. In fact, if it weren't for the manufacturer's insistence that there is no added flavoring or virginias in this blend, I would insist there was one (or both). The flavor even changes as the bowl progresses, much like a good virginia, becoming darker, sweeter and even smokier (in the same sense that latakia is "smoky"). This is a full-bodied mixture with a decent nic-hit, and it almost never bites the tongue.

Other batches, however, have been flat and dull to the point of being tasteless. Also, I've had a couple of tins that burned ridiculously hot and shredded my tongue.

Depending on the tin, I could give this four stars or one. I'm giving it three because I get a positive experience more often than not, but I feel compelled to add that I've stopped buying new tins of this because I simply don't know what I'm getting. My first few tins had me convinced that I'd finally found my "desert island" smoke, but obviously that hasn't turned out to be the case. YMMV.

Nice easy smoking flake! and that is a good recommendation.. Solani has a good true burley tobacco here and that is hard to come by.. It smokes cool and has a traditional nutty burley flavor.. with slight hints of cocoa.. If you are looking for something you can smoke at any time of day that doesn't require too much attention but has enough flavor to keep you satisfied this is a fine choice.. If you are looking for fireworks look elsewhere (maybe solani 633 virginia perique.. which has a richer more complex yet more difficult smoke) But this is no drug store burley! this is as good as burley gets in my opinion and as a burley gets 4 stars.. my tastes favor virginias but this smoke is an exception.. well worth the extra money. by the way i found it got slightly better after the tin was open for a week..

This is one of the very few straight, unflavored plain Burley flake available today, this is a top quality tobacco with beautiful flake cut, this is an excellent change of pace when you are in mood for just plain unflavored burley, the flavor is nutty but somehow bland if it is smoked all day long, the nicotine level is enough high, finally this is a good quality burley tobacco for an occasional smoke, I don?t see myself smoking this tobacco every day. I have one tin that I have opened 2 years ago, it is still there, only half empty.

Ordinarily a straight burley does not get my attention. Solani Aged Burley Flake is not ordinary. R. Will is always worth exploring and he does not fail here. Opening the tin is a great pleasure as you are greeted with a pure clean tobacco aroma. The flake is perfectly sliced and medium brown in color. It breaks easily for loading and burns clean to the bottom of the bowl. This has a nicotine kick so don't be fooled into thinking you can puff quickly and walk away unscathed.

Overall I enjoyed this tobacco but would not necessarily have it in my rotation. I will however smoke it again.

First of all, I love all tobacco. I am not partial to any particular type of blend. I love VA, VApers, English, Balkan, Burley and good aromatics. With that said, here is my review of Solani Aged Burley Flake:

The day I ordered my tin of this blend I had also ordered a tin of Wessex Burley Slices. When they arrived I noticed that the tins were identical with the exception of the label. The interior packaging is also identical including the little picture of a Burley leaf. I will not compare these two tobaccos but I did find it interesting that there was no difference in the packaging.

The Solani flakes are pliable without being too moist. I smoke flakes unrubbed so I fold two flakes lengthwise then fold them once over width-wise. I place this plug into the bowl with the bent part of the tobacco facing the bottom of the bowl. I thrn gently work the top of the plug around so it makes a nice tight pack yet with a good open draw.

The flakes light up quickly and evenly. The initial taste is a bit of rasin-like flavor followed by some good dark nutty Burley taste. The smoke is very smooth and mellow. There is little to no sweetness during the smoke, just a nice nutty smokey full-bodied flavor that grows in strength as the bowl progresses. It provides a very good olfactory (through the nose) taste that compliments the flavor that the mouth receives. There is very little bite even when producing some huge clouds of smoke. It also smokes quite dry and needs only one pipe cleaner throughout the entire two-hour smoke. It burns slow cool and easy.

Solani Aged Burley Flake leaves the pipe clean and burns down to a fine light grey ash. There is no mouth fatigue so you are ready for more as soon as the bowl is complete. The nicotine content is pretty high but not overpowering like some ropes can be. This is a true Burley without the sweetners or perfumes so this may not be the best choice for a beginner. For those who really love a good honest Burley, this is it!

I'm not the biggest burley fan but Solani really did something special with this one. The cocoa flavour is, presumably, purely natural, and the tin note is probably the best I've ever experienced. Seems like kentucky refers to the origin of the burley, not to the processing method. Needs good drying.

The most delicius looking flakes I ever seen. Deep brown, with a wonderful cocoa scent. Easy preparation, thanks to the the precise, thin cut. Just folded and stuffed. Lightin the tobacco was also effortless. But... Nope. Thi is not for me. The taste is too woodsy, too earthy for me. You see, its high quality, but far from my taste. But... combined with my favorit virginias: Oh my Gosh! I tell you, the very best VA/Burley I ever had. 2 stars for me as a standalone smoke. 4 stars as a component!