Solani 656: Aged Burley Flake
(3.41)
Notes: Blender R.L. Will developed a unique toasting process to enhance the natural sweetness of this blend. No sugar has been added.
As of 2022, licorice is the main flavoring "with a hint of chocolate", as per the label. The burleys on the tin are now listed as white burley only.
Details
| Brand | Solani |
| Blended By | R.L. Will |
| Manufactured By | Kohlhase & Kopp |
| Blend Type | Burley Based |
| Contents | Burley |
| Flavoring | Cocoa / Chocolate, Licorice |
| Cut | Flake |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | Germany |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
None Detected
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
3.41 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 21 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 06, 2018 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
First a commentary: I notice that there are often debates of the manufacturers claims on tobacco's; it is essentially, "Are they lying about the ingredients or not?". What I find funny is that the tin says what it says and then you read 10 reviews and 6 say there is and 4 say there isn't... so to me this shows that it is not clear and then I ask why question the manufacturer. We taste what we taste and it is there or it isn't. If it is to you, then it is there. Perception is reality.
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. The problem I have is that it is not easy to tell so once I found the one briar I liked it in, that is where it is going to stay. In a meer or a cob this is consistently good but different in each. The tin note is like nestle's quick and some straw, a very nice smell. Simple and light. The smoke, as others have said is very straight forward and uni dimensional, but that is good in this case. It is a light grassiness to it, lightly sweet and slightly bready. This is where I break from the crowd. I smell the chocolate in the tin but get no such flavor in the smoke, which is unusual for me since most Burley blends have a chocolate note to them. This is lauded as THE Burley and I don't get it at all. There is a slightly woody/light honey/vaguely floral like taste to it that is very pleasant but also, for me was hard to pinpoint. I have often felt like using "nutty" as a descriptor, but I cannot tell you what nut it tastes like. The best I get is like acorn, but I have never eaten an acorn...nor do I know if that is actually categorized as a nut. The mind is a terrible thing. Light finish and crisp aftertaste. Burns well and clean.
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. The problem I have is that it is not easy to tell so once I found the one briar I liked it in, that is where it is going to stay. In a meer or a cob this is consistently good but different in each. The tin note is like nestle's quick and some straw, a very nice smell. Simple and light. The smoke, as others have said is very straight forward and uni dimensional, but that is good in this case. It is a light grassiness to it, lightly sweet and slightly bready. This is where I break from the crowd. I smell the chocolate in the tin but get no such flavor in the smoke, which is unusual for me since most Burley blends have a chocolate note to them. This is lauded as THE Burley and I don't get it at all. There is a slightly woody/light honey/vaguely floral like taste to it that is very pleasant but also, for me was hard to pinpoint. I have often felt like using "nutty" as a descriptor, but I cannot tell you what nut it tastes like. The best I get is like acorn, but I have never eaten an acorn...nor do I know if that is actually categorized as a nut. The mind is a terrible thing. Light finish and crisp aftertaste. Burns well and clean.
Pipe Used:
meerschuam, cob and briar
Age When Smoked:
new tin
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 09, 2020 | Mild to Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
Flavor Profile: 60% wild damp/airy/spicy mushrooms (earthy note), 15% woody, 15% Nuts, 7% cocoa, 3% molasses
Nicotine strength: 3/10
Mechanics: Bad, it expands while you smoke and blocks the airflow and you find yourself using the pick on the tritool a lot. Heat also caramelizes the flame and makes it really hard to tamp.
Bottom line: I find it hard to be in the mood to smoke this flavor, and adding to that the complicated mechanics will make this blend a sleeper in my rotation.
Nicotine strength: 3/10
Mechanics: Bad, it expands while you smoke and blocks the airflow and you find yourself using the pick on the tritool a lot. Heat also caramelizes the flame and makes it really hard to tamp.
Bottom line: I find it hard to be in the mood to smoke this flavor, and adding to that the complicated mechanics will make this blend a sleeper in my rotation.
Pipe Used:
Savinelli 311 KS
PurchasedFrom:
SmokingPipes
Age When Smoked:
new
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jun 12, 2019 | Mild | Extremely Mild | Mild | Tolerable |
What's all the fuss about? It's a nice baccy, but not one I'll be writing home about, so I'm a little puzzled by all the rave reviews!
Appearance: medium brown, somewhat moist, regularly cut flakes.
Tin aroma: mild to none! Very faint tobacco aroma. According to the manufacturer's website this is flavored, but I don't detect any added scent.
It takes a light easily enough, but seems to need a few relights through the bowl. The flavour is very mild, nutty and more bitter than any other tobacco I've smoked and as such, fairly unique among tobaccos I've tried. I enjoy a hint of nutty bitterness from some of the Irish burley/Virginia plugs, I suppose the burley must be the source of it. I'm not averse to bitter flavours, enjoy well hopped beer, bitter chocolate and so on, so it isn't to my tastes detrimental, but rather enhances the nutty flavour, like wet walnuts. It has minimal sweetness until the last half of the bowl, and never tastes very sweet. I don't detect any chocolate flavours here, despite the power of suggestion from others reviews. What I do notice is that this tobacco is a bit of a ghost finder, and I've picked up resiny latakia while smoking it, having previously smoked Samuel Gawiths Commonwealth Mixture in this pipe.
After a few relights it becomes impossible to burn the greasy dottle left in the bowl, and we're done. Aftertaste is bland. Nicotine is low, so a large bowl may be advised if you are seeking satisfaction.
All in all, this tobacco has no great defects, and the bitter nutty taste is quite unique among tobaccos I've smoked. That said, it's not exciting, so I'll probably stick with pure Virginia flakes when I want fairly plain tobacco without condiments.
Appearance: medium brown, somewhat moist, regularly cut flakes.
Tin aroma: mild to none! Very faint tobacco aroma. According to the manufacturer's website this is flavored, but I don't detect any added scent.
It takes a light easily enough, but seems to need a few relights through the bowl. The flavour is very mild, nutty and more bitter than any other tobacco I've smoked and as such, fairly unique among tobaccos I've tried. I enjoy a hint of nutty bitterness from some of the Irish burley/Virginia plugs, I suppose the burley must be the source of it. I'm not averse to bitter flavours, enjoy well hopped beer, bitter chocolate and so on, so it isn't to my tastes detrimental, but rather enhances the nutty flavour, like wet walnuts. It has minimal sweetness until the last half of the bowl, and never tastes very sweet. I don't detect any chocolate flavours here, despite the power of suggestion from others reviews. What I do notice is that this tobacco is a bit of a ghost finder, and I've picked up resiny latakia while smoking it, having previously smoked Samuel Gawiths Commonwealth Mixture in this pipe.
After a few relights it becomes impossible to burn the greasy dottle left in the bowl, and we're done. Aftertaste is bland. Nicotine is low, so a large bowl may be advised if you are seeking satisfaction.
All in all, this tobacco has no great defects, and the bitter nutty taste is quite unique among tobaccos I've smoked. That said, it's not exciting, so I'll probably stick with pure Virginia flakes when I want fairly plain tobacco without condiments.
Pipe Used:
Chacom lazur 297 Canadian
Age When Smoked:
1 year ish
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 15, 2017 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild | Pleasant to Tolerable |
As is customary with Solani, presentation is very classy. Nice tin and very neat slices of flake. Tin notes are mainly on the dried fruits side: figs, dates, ..., and is very pleasant. The tobacco smokes best wit the fold/stuff/twist metod for me. It tastes beautiful on light up, with initially notes of dry fruits, fully in line with the tin aroma, developing into licorice, tar and pine sap. Overall very dry, with hardly any sweetness detected. Burns well, but was a tad too moist on opening the tin, giving a bit of the hot steam effect, but after a few months of drying out the flakes burned solidly from tip to heel. Room note is woody, with a strong note of burned biscuits, as is characteristic of good Burleys. I found the flavour a bit flat. Nice, but nothing special. I can see that some people would love this, but there are better pure Burleys out there in my book.
Pipe Used:
Corn cob
PurchasedFrom:
Dan Tobacco
Age When Smoked:
0-2 years
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Nov 16, 2008 | Medium | Extremely Mild | Medium | Pleasant |
We have here a beautiful flake broken down in what seems to be equal proportion of dark, medium and light-golden brown. The flakes are thicker than most and require a bit more effort to properly rub out to the smoker's preferences.
The tin aroma is nutty and somewhat impregnated with a sweet-molasses like-aroma. The first impression is delectable! The moisture level is higher than usual but becomes dryier after less than a week, making the leaf more manageable.
Easy to light and smoke, it has a tendency to be slow burning, even when rubbed out. The taste range varies from sweet to pure tobacco with occasional bitter episodes. The bitterness frequencies seem to increase when, for some reason, I will finish the pipeful over a couple days period. When smoked the same day, it seldom happens.
Aged Burley flake is definitively interesting the first week, when the nutty-sweet flavours dominate, but it eventually becomes a unidimensional smoke with only pure tobacco taste. Which is a pity! I give it 2.75 for complexity but 3 for the perfect level of nicotine.
The tin aroma is nutty and somewhat impregnated with a sweet-molasses like-aroma. The first impression is delectable! The moisture level is higher than usual but becomes dryier after less than a week, making the leaf more manageable.
Easy to light and smoke, it has a tendency to be slow burning, even when rubbed out. The taste range varies from sweet to pure tobacco with occasional bitter episodes. The bitterness frequencies seem to increase when, for some reason, I will finish the pipeful over a couple days period. When smoked the same day, it seldom happens.
Aged Burley flake is definitively interesting the first week, when the nutty-sweet flavours dominate, but it eventually becomes a unidimensional smoke with only pure tobacco taste. Which is a pity! I give it 2.75 for complexity but 3 for the perfect level of nicotine.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 07, 2013 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Nothing special, but still enjoyable. It is very good quality burley, but this blend really doesn't offer too much. Best if treated in the same manner as a VAPer. Sip it slowly.
PurchasedFrom:
smokingpipes.com
Age When Smoked:
6 Months
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 30, 2023 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild to Medium | Tolerable |
Fair warning: I'm not a 'burley man' in particular. I am mainly into Latakia, Virginia's and that sort of thing. That said, there are some burley-based blends that I seem more inclined to.
For me many burley's tend to taste bitter -- I've heard it described like the flavour of walnut shells (not the nutmeat of the walnut; the shell). That's not a flavour I'm fond of, But if you can find a burley without that bitter edge and just more of a nutty angle, then those burleys I find more enjoyable, especially in the autumn.
I wondered if the aging of this flake might mellow things out. Early on in the bowl I got that "throat feel" that I'm also not fond of with some burleys. Fortunately that went away after about 10 minutes. However this blend does indeed very quickly move into the bitter walnut shell notes.
In the end I was left with the conclusion it wasn't a blend for me, but I would say its smoother than some burleys can be, but if you're not into "bitters" then you may just want to skip this blend.
For me many burley's tend to taste bitter -- I've heard it described like the flavour of walnut shells (not the nutmeat of the walnut; the shell). That's not a flavour I'm fond of, But if you can find a burley without that bitter edge and just more of a nutty angle, then those burleys I find more enjoyable, especially in the autumn.
I wondered if the aging of this flake might mellow things out. Early on in the bowl I got that "throat feel" that I'm also not fond of with some burleys. Fortunately that went away after about 10 minutes. However this blend does indeed very quickly move into the bitter walnut shell notes.
In the end I was left with the conclusion it wasn't a blend for me, but I would say its smoother than some burleys can be, but if you're not into "bitters" then you may just want to skip this blend.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Aug 25, 2022 | Medium | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Have you ever been on a blind date? I don't normally go for a Burley tobacco as I find them a bit too cigarette-ish for my palate but I ordered a tin to satisfy my curiosity after reading and watching the reviews. So when the package dropped onto my doorstep first thing in the morning I approached the tin with a hint of scepticism and nervous anticipation. Tin note is like rye cereal with a faint whiff of chocolate and the flakes are extremely delicate so you will need very light fingers when rubbing them out or they will crumble almost to dust. Lights easily enough and required a second light halfway through the bowl. Flavours are dry earth, with a savoury nuttiness with the cocoa very much in the background adding a little sweetness to lift the dry earth feel. Room note is quite easy to live with which surprised me and I found it lingered pleasantly enough. I found that it blended well with Louisiana Flake which also has a cocoa topping and I preferred it like that as the Virginias lifted the experience from being a fairly one dimensional smoke; not that its a bad thing but I couldn't smoke this one all day as I prefer a tobacco that piques my palate a little more. All in all its a very well put together blend and not the usual Burley blend. 6/10 for me, my blind date was passable with a bit of makeup, but I wouldn't want to wake up to it after a boozy night out.
Pipe Used:
Various
PurchasedFrom:
GQ
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Feb 21, 2017 | Medium | Very Mild | Full | Pleasant to Tolerable |
Cigarette smokers should like this one. Strong tasting, medium in nicotine and bitter, there's little sweetness or complexity here, maybe a hint of coffee bean/cacao. But it's really a one-dimensional burley bruiser.
Don't get me wrong. I like burley and dark fired, but blended with other tobaccos. Alone, this is just too much. It is the second tin I've tried over the years in multiple pipes and the result is the same. I feel like I'm smoking a filterless Lucky Strike cigarette.
Don't get me wrong. I like burley and dark fired, but blended with other tobaccos. Alone, this is just too much. It is the second tin I've tried over the years in multiple pipes and the result is the same. I feel like I'm smoking a filterless Lucky Strike cigarette.
Age When Smoked:
New Tins
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2016 | Mild to Medium | None Detected | Mild | Tolerable |
I honestly believe this is a decent tobacco, however, it is not my thing. It just does nothing for me. It does not bother me, but I find nothing interesting or compelling. It burns and smokes great. Very cool, even with heavy puffing, which to me indicates a quality blend. Difficult to comment on room note as I live alone. I don't want to discourage others from trying this. It is just not me. I suppose, based on the other reviews, if you like burley, you will like this.
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