Davidoff Flake Medallions

To be clear here....this is not *like* escudo....escudo has no cavendish in the center. It is not like dunhill navy rolls either. It IS like Stokkebye bulls eye flake and it is like Paul Olson's My Own Blend Dark Pearl. There is a significant difference in these recipes and in the intent of these blends. The core of Sweetened Cavendish provides a very nice softening of the Perique and Virginias that surround it. In Escudo, or Olson's Big Coin, you have straight Virginia and Perique. And while I love those blends, mostly, this is not the same. Now...the Davidoff is the gold standard for this kind of blend. It is just excellent. The Stokkebye is a great bargain and a fine tobacco, and the Olson is even better I think, but neither is as good as the Davidoff. There is firstly a very nice dark Virginia coiled and stoved a bit and full of that expected stewed prune and fermented sweetness. The Perique is mildly applied and not really very noticeable unless you concentrate, but it does provide a bit of nicotine and an edge that gives this blend its specialness. I rate this as a five star or ten star ot whatever blend -- in other words its just a top flight great tobacco. It is mild overall, but not in the way, say, some Macbaren products are mild. The nic hit is two notches over mild, but a notch away from medium. Its very smooth and impossible to make bite. Smooth, slow-ish burning, and cool. And just delicious. There is more cavendish in there than in the Olson or the Stokkebye. Hence it is a bit sweeter overall. But it is not an aromatic so don't expect that. Just first rate stuff.

Of the tobaccos I've smoked thus far, this is hand's down one of my favorites.

First, the most negative aspect: I'm not a giant fan of the room-note. This is not an "aromatic" blend; that is, don't expect to be bowled over with the topping.

Also, unlike (say) cigars, the room-note from this tobacco makes one think of an ashtray more than some wood-paneled room in the Diogenes Club filled with men quietly puffing away, sipping Scotch, perusing the newspaper.

That said:

The medallions remain moist and fall apart to the touch quite easily.

They have a mild sour scent, a hint of sweetness, but the fullness and depth of a quality tobacco.

All of this becomes much more apparent in taste, especially about half-way through the bowl.

There is just the slightest bite, which (for me) is just right - a little pepper, but not "in-your-face." Like the difference between white peppercorns and black peppercorns.

The draw is full and rounded, but gentle and delicate. There is a sourness that reminds me of Meyer lemons as opposed to the common lemon.

Like Davidoff's cigars, I find this tobacco UNDERSTATED.

Over all and again, one of my favorites.

This is a great Vaper and highly underrated. It starts out sweet, but be patient, because the perique ultimately pushes through, delivering a tart, tangy and light peppery spiciness that is not overbearing -- providing just enough tingle to clear your sinuses without becoming harsh.

It's also very well behaved. I prefer it to Escudo and DNR by a large margin, because it never gets bitter, bitey or ashy. Just rub it out and let it dry for a bit and be sure to mix all of the components together. It is complex and round, fairly robust and cool smoking with a great aftertaste.

I see many reviewers lament the addition of black cavendish, but I opened a tin today and measured the medallions' black bullseyes. They're only 1/3 of an inch in diameter. As such, the cavendish is essentially a light condiment, and I enjoy it in this mixture.

Beautifully looking, tidily arranged, large Curly Cut coins in the tin. The black centre of each coin is Black Cavendish. Surrounding the black eye we find bright Virginia and darker Perique. Delicious tin nose, being that well known of Virginia and Perique.

Fantastic blend, impeccable tobacco. Perfect moisture. I fold the medallions and stuff them in my pipe, without braking or rubbing. Superb balance of Virginia and Perique. The Black Cavendish rounds up the blend, adds softness, and some sweetness to the natural sweetness of the Perique and Virginia. The body of this mixture is tangy Virginia, which never covers up the delightful Perique. In the first half of the bowl the Perique shows more its fruity aromas and only a little pepper. In the second half of the bowl it’s the opposite. Pleasant after-taste. A Rolls-Royce mixture on the sweeter side for all Va/Per aficionados.

I am a long-time english blend smoker, as you can tell from reading my other reviews. I do smoke other types of blends from time to time and use them in microblending. This is what happened with Flake Medallions. I had four or five tins acquired in a large buy from another reviewer and decided to open one up. I had previously smoked and blended with Escudo and had heard that Flake Medallions was similar but different. Boy, am I glad I opened this tin - it is, simply put, one of the best non-english blends I have ever smoked in my fifty-plus years of smoking a pipe!

The tin appearance is like Escudo or Deluxe Navy Rolls, but with one difference - the dime-sized black cavendish core in each disk. I found the tin aroma to be similar to the other two blends, but the smoking aroma was noticeably different. More soft and rounded; I attributed this to the black cavendish. The bowl started out a little spicey - not bitey, just spicey, and very similar to Escudo. This only lasted for about the top quarter of the bowl and then this blend's magic began. The smoke became very toasty and mellow and exceedingly satisfying. This quality lasted all the way through the remainder of the bowl - just wonderful. Subsequently, I made some small blend batches with Flake Medallions and various english blends I am smoking and they all were good. The best batch blend was one-half Germain King Charles Mixture and one-half Flake Medallions.

I whole-heartedly recommend Flake Medallions to every pipe smoker and give it a strong four star rating.

A very nice roll tobacco.well balanced with great taste.when you open it you get the citrus and spicyness.i noticed that it bahaves defferent when you rub it than pack it as it is.i personally rub it because it gives me more intense flavours.it needs a few relights in the beginning.it has a simillarity with dunhill navy rolls but it's not equal.a bit strong for an all day blend.it doesn't burn a lot the pipe if you go normal.despite the price it's really worthy trying!

This blend is very nice. No matter what anybody says, there is still magnetism to beautiful presentation. The tin on this blend is so classy, and the tobacco inside is so refined and well displayed. Even the shape and layout in the tin screams luxury.

All the eye candy aspects aside this is really good stuff. Looks exactly like PS Luxury Bulls eye Flake and Escudo, but in my opinion comes out the top of of its class within these ranks. The taste is of bright zesty notes, and the slower you smoke it, and the more attention you pay to it, the more flavors you can evoke. I do not know if the black cavendish really makes much of an impact of flavor or not, it may be more of a visual thing, and also possibly some placebo effect. It is possible just knowing it is there makes you think sweet note. I feel the sweet notes in the blend are found in other Virginia blends where no black cavendish is present.

The one downside of this blend is the price. Let's just say it sure aint cheap. Although the flavors are better than the PS Luxury Bulls eye Flake, the value of the latter helps it to stay in contention.

This is a very nice blend and I highly recommend it.

This flake is quite a bit similar to Stokkebye's Bullseye with one difference. It is better, IMO. Davidoff's Flake Medallion seems to be everything Bullseye is only taken up a notch. It's just a bit sweeter, in taste and aroma. It's tin aroma reminds me of Peterson's Irish Oak. Like a sweet sherry wine. Now, is it worth paying the much higher price for a tin of Flake Medallion as apposed to the less expensive bulk Bullseye? At the moment, yes. Being that I can't seem to get my hands on any Bullseye Flake, I have no problem picking up a tin or two of this very fine tobacco. It's that good. Once Orlik gets on the ball with the Bullseye, I will cellar a couple tins of the Davidoff and go back to Stokkebye. As for Flake Medallion, it is a wonderful Va/Per that I highly recommend if flakes are your thing. Smoking this stuff reminds me of how glad I am to have picked up the briar! It is so good. I doubt this review helps much, but I just had to say something about this delicious tobacco. Happy puffing.

Ridiculously good tobacco, if VA/PER is your thing, you really owe it to yourself to try it at least once. Dunhill's Deluxe Navy Rolls are similar in appearance, with the exception of the delicious cavendished center of the Davidoff, but the similarity ends there. Where DNR comes out as as a bit vinegary, bitey and lacking in body, this is beautifully full and round in taste, also a bit sweeter than I expected, but not so much that I think it would deter anyone. Decent amount of nicotine, too, which is never a bad thing. Very pleasant room note that lingers on for a good amount of time.

With the risk of sounding like a Davidoff salesman, this is simply too good to let it pass you by.

4/4.