Davidoff Flake Medallions

My first Virginia?perique blend. Bought a 50g tin at my local tobacconist in Belgium for 12.20 Euros. The very high price is the only negative thing about this tobacco.

The tin says made in the EU. Upon opening I saw nicely stacked circular medallionswith a yellow and brown mottled hue and the black core. The tin aroma was very strong and sweet-sour, like a sweet vinegar. Th emoisture content was just right.

I smoked the medallions folded, but I now prefer to rub them out completely. Rubbed out the packing is very easy and it burns really cool and slow. It makes the softest light grey ash.

The taste is pleasant and clearly differs from plain Virginia, spicier. I notice little from the black Cavandish core, which could be omitted in my opinion.

An excellent, luxurious blend that is, unfortunately, highly priced.

Fresh tin note was that of quality tobacco with a slightly sweet topping aroma which I cannot identify. The topping is minimal & does not negate the tobacco flavor. It expands well & has a good burn rate. These silver dollar-sized, twist flakes possess a hard, dark Cavendish core which requires a little extra work to break up & creates an added dimension of flavor. A very nice VA/Per/Cav blend, if you will. Moisture content was minimal...just about right. It is very smooth, weightless & presented a subtle sweetness at about the halfway point which I thoroughly enjoyed.

FM didn't ring my bell like Three Nuns or Escudo, but would be a satisfactory substitute that I could easily adapt to. Vitamin N content is satisfactory...about medium to strong, that seems to sneak up on you due to its mild smoking characteristic. I don't care for mouth-burning Latakia blends or the bitterness of straight Burley. That may just be a mouth chemistry thing, but we are all different, aren't we? For me, this blend is easy on the tongue & palate. I concur with other reviewers in that this blend is very similar to PS Bullseye Flakes & doubt that I could discern the difference in a blind taste test.

If you like very smooth & mild smoking VA/Pers with a touch of Cavendish & a subtle hint of sweetness, this blend may be to your liking. I am partial to VA/Pers & FM is a good choice. Certainly worth a try if you don't mind parting with a little extra $$. Some will love the flavor...some will not like it well enough to rate it four stars and I fall into the latter category. Many a good blend falls short of being highly reccommended due to varying differences in smoker's taste receptors. This is good stuff, but I will have to downgrade it one * simply because the flavor did not "ring my bell." Therefore, IMHO, Davidoff's Flake Medallions merits three s***s!!

I am nearing the end of my first tin of this. I have to say that my initial impression of the blend was not terribly high. Not negative in any way, but it took a few smokes to appreciate. It is a very fine tobacco and the presentation is excellent with a good tin aroma and attractive coin cut flakes. Initial flavor was kind of flat and it did not provide the thick mouth filling smoke I have experienced in some other VA blends. As I have worked my way through the tin I have warmed to it considerably and enjoy the more subtle nuances of the blend. I have tried the fold and stuff method on this and it lights and burns well enough, but rubbed out properly it really comes to life, burning very evenly with few relights. The major shortcoming of the blend is of course the price. Overall, well executed VA/PER flake.

A very well matured virginia, with a buttery unsweetened cavendish and a good amount of perique. Very well rounded, smooth, tastefull, easy on the tongue and with good burning qualities. A high class pipe tobacco, highly reccomended.

An excellent offering from Davidoff. Similarities to the current Escudo offering should not be made, as I (in the minority) find the A.C. Petersen offering quite harsh and having no endearing quality at all.

These medallions are not overly sweet, and possess a pleasantly detectable nuance of Perique. The Cavendish adds a dimension that contributes to the body of this tobacco. To suggest that this blend is only fit for beginners is absurd and unwarranted.

Highly recommended.

A companion infusion: pints of Newcastle Brown Ale.

UPDATE: 05/16/10 Think I'll do a 180 here...eat my words...and agree 100% with Eulenburg.

Upon opening the baggie that was given to me almost 8 months ago, I was suprised to find this baccy ready to go. Age helped this particular blend greatly. It was in the usualy medallion shape and crumbled easily. It provided a good smoke, and great taste. I don't think I would go out and purchase this blend, but if it was given to me...as it was, I would gladly accept it.

Powerful tobacco, intriguing presentation (medallions with complex colouring-black centre and blondening circles), pungent and complex aromas pre-smoke. (leather, smoke, earth, nuts).

Upon burning one gets cigar-like sensation with the virginias at times embracing the palate and the perique adding a bitter spicy pepperiness. The perique determines this blend quite strongly in my view. It is uncertain as to what the cavendish adds (some coolness?) but I suppose its absence would alter the blend altogether.

Not in any case an all day smoke, it overpowers one's palate and requires mouth-rest after smoking it. Tremendously expensive in the Greek market.

Very nice sweet virginia taste with spicy perique. Top vaper, I doubt if the cavendish really adds anything. While there's no question that this really is a first class smoke (imo), I still wonder if this tobacco is not the same als Luxury Bulls Eye flake of Peter Stokkebye. Blind tasting makes me tend to beleive that the tobacco's are identical. LBE is twice as cheap, compared to FM. On a German website I read that LBE and FM both are made by Orlic and that they are identical. Does someone know for sure?

Nice presentation in the tin, round nicely packed flakes with golden and black flecks; the scent is refined and sweet. The rounds were a bit too moist in the tin so I dried them out. I had bought a 50 gram tin as part of my paranoid tobacco buying spree before the new federal tax and had been planning on aging this tin for a while. I wish I had, it was a bit disappointing. From the reviews on this site I was expecting something special, if I hadn?t had expectations I probably would have given another star, maybe. It took three rounds rubbed out (to help with drying) to fill an Ashton X Canadian which is fairly small, like a Dunhill group three or four. The first half of the bowl was almost flavorless, even with some tamping and enthusiastic puffing. The second half some sweetness and a touch of pepper kicked in, and the last quarter was very flavorful and left a good aftertaste. If I judged it just by the last quarter I?d say this was better than Escudo (which seems the comparison of choice here) but my experience with escudo is that it?s consistent throughout, no burst of great flavor but no dull flavorlessness either. I want to give it four stars but in the price range it competes more with things like Reiners Long Golden flake (except there?s no Cavendish in LGF but the Cavendish in flake medallions doesn?t really add much anyhow) IMHO flake medallions is not in the same league, though I really think it would benefit from aging. I had meant o age it. I don?t mean to suggest this is marginal at all, I just wanted it to be a four star badly and I can?t in good conscious give it four stars. As always this is a first impression, maybe when it?s had more time to dry out I?ll appreciate it more, it?s not like I feel ripped off or anything, it?s a quality blend with a refined presentation.