Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake

Wish I didn't have to write this. Opened a tin of this about 3 weeks ago. Been trying since then to dry some out the way I like it. It's not possible. Laid a bowls worth on a paper towel like I always do. Usually have several blends drying at the same time. Dozens of blends dried over the next seven days, most in just an hour or two, except for one, That would be this one. Seven days and it was still as wet as it was when I put it out. How wet? Very wet. You can use dozens of matches to get through a bowl. This is unacceptable. I tried the microwave method next. 8 seconds, fluff it till it felt dry. 8 more seconds, fluff until it felt dry. Still takes dozens of matches to get through a bowl. I don't know how you folks managed this stuff. There must be a secret that I'm not privy to. Never got a good enough taste of it to properly comment on that. Also, you shouldn't pay any attention to the ratings of strength or such. I have no real idea of what they should be. I'm through trying. They should have named this Aged Humectant Flake.

I like wild burleys. In the wild, the burley is quite a rogue beast. It can severely bite an unsuspecting smoker or choke him by the throat. Burleys are born naturally bitter and harsh and are very hard to tame. Quite a few blenders are skillful enough to take a firm grip of them, which is why most tobacco producers would just soak wild burleys in aromatic humectants and then sell us not the living thing but just its heavily perfumed dead pelt.

Rudiger L. Will is an experienced and renowned burley-tamer. Tonight on the ring he presents us three live creatures of this kind: one from Africa, one from Kentucky and one from Brazil, all together on a single leash. It's beyond imagination how much skilled effort it took him to force these vicious predators to jump obediently through the ring of fire. They are the tamest of the tame, as much tame as it's ever possible to subdue a wild beast by beating the hell out of it, by castrating it and by pulling out its teeth and claws. It's still alive and even plays tricks on command but it's just a shadow of its real self.

That's why one star. No fraud complaints, I got exactly what I wastefully paid for: three rare live burleys. Three well-aged non-perfumed burleys. Three well-tamed burleys. Tamed to the point of complete blandness and dullness.

I did not like this one at all. Most of what I smoke is Burley or Burley forward. I found this to be too bold, bitter and lacking of any offsetting sweetness. I followed later in the day with Lane Ready Rubbed, a favorite Burley, and found my ability to taste sweetness completely shot. I later had a bowl of Half and Half, another favorite, and still could not detect any sweetness. In short, ABF spoiled my entire smoking day except for my final bowl of the day of Match Walnut which doesn’t have any sweetness to spoil. It could be my lack of smoking experience as I have only smoked a pipe for 50 years.

Summary: a sweet Burley brownie with a berry topping.

"Aged Burley Flake" combines three Burleys and then presses or stoves them to bring out their inner sweetness and decrease the nutty, vegetative and sometimes bitter taste that Burley can have. This mixture seems to be topped with a humectant and a berry flavoring similar to Peterson "University Flake." It smokes well and is gentle, but loses a lot of the Burley taste and strength, making this an unconvincing smoke.

Being a Burley lover, I was intrigued to find this addition to the Solani product line. I looked forward to a great smoke.

Boy, was I ever disappointed! There is no question that this is a tobacco of exceptional quality, but it made me ill everytime I put a match to it. The nicotine content of this stuff is off the charts! Even on a full stomach, this weed made my head spin.

All those who gave this four stars must be made of sterner stuff than I. Being a pipesmoker for 35+years, there have been only two blends (before this) that I could not handle because of harshness or UMMPH. This is the third. It is smooth as can be...but the strength made me reel for hours afterward.

All the comparisons to other Burley flakes on today's market seem, to me, illusory. Edgeworth and Kingfisher are wimpish compared to this stuff.

Solani offers some outstanding tobaccos and, for some, perhaps this is one. Speaking only for myself...glad I smoked only a sample; I'd sue if I'd paid for this noxious, vile intoxicant.

Bland. Little flavor. Medium strong in nicotine. Relatively expensive. Overall, this flake misses the mark. A less than stellar attempt by Mr. Will.

Like the other Solani offerings, it is a beautiful tobacco. The flakes have just the right moisture content. It loads, packs, and lights easily. Burns cool. But there just isn't anything to get excited about.

If it is nicotine you are after, there are stronger tobaccos that actually offer some flavor. If it is burley you crave, there are better burleys out there.

This stuff is just boring and bland and not worth the money. Not even worth the time. I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.

I have been smoking a great deal of burley lately and was very excited about this flake from the reviews here. One person had commented on how it reminded him of Peterson's UF and I happen to like that flake very much. Well it smelled like UF without the fruit topiing, but that's where the comparison ends.

The amount of smoke was poor after I finally got it lit well.

The flavor was non-existent...this seems to have been pressed, steamed, processed or whatever so thoroughly that it tasted like..well....nothing.

I even had a hard time detecting the typical nutty aroma of Burley. This is by far the worst pure/mixed burely flake I have ever experienced.

If I could give this Zero stars, I would....so one will suffice. And with taxes and money tight, I was exponentially disappointed. I threw away the rest of the tin without blinking an eye!

This review is based on smoking through a whole tin of ABF.

First things first - this tobacco is not downright horrible even though I give it only one star. My reason for the low rating is that out of the many many tobaccos I have smoked so far, this one really is one of the very few blends I just cannot warm up to at all.

If you are into burley and do not mind the (light) chocolate flavoring, by all means try ABF. As you can tell from the high aggregated rating of this tobacco, ABF seems to be quite a pleaser to most people so do not be turned off by my review. I just thought it would be a good idea to add my 2 cents as well.

So what's wrong for me with this tobacco: 1) in the morning, when my taste buds are still fresh - this tobacco just knocks me off my feet (vitamin n), which seriously hampers my enjoyment of this baccy. 2) in the afternoon and evening, I just don't seem to get much taste out of this.

And to round things off, one good thing about ABF: 1) the flakes are beautifully manufactured

Happy smoking to y'all.

PLZ READ IT COMPELETLY!!!Its a big lie that this blend is natural and havent any additives.its good tobacco but aromatic tobacco not natural tobacco.cocoa essence and molases added to it.another problem is that its oily tobacco and makes the pipe very dirty.if someone wants to taste a natural burley tobacco try irish flake cause its more like to burley altough mixed with virgini.I dont like agb because i like natural taste.never even try