Davidoff Flake Medallions

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 is an expensive blend, but all Davidoff tobacco products are. It is definitely for the experienced pipe smoker and it is not recommended for the novice smoker, since the transition from the taste of the different tobaccos comes slowly and unexpectedly, in a way that an experienced smoker can detect and appreciate (as in all medallions). Very nice presentation. The flakes are perfect for an insta photo and you can impress your wealthy friends too that don't know much about pipe smoking.

The fourth star is not there because you can find many blends with the same characteristics in a much better price. Coming from cigars (where Davidoff is the only non-cuban cigar, equal or better in quality), I would say that I would expect something exceptional. In this frame of thinking, I cannot justify the price for such a mixture. In a period of 5 years, I think I have purchased 3 tins and if you think that this is the only quality tobacco readily available where I live, says the whole story.

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.

Davidoff – Flake Medallions

I picked this up about a year ago at a tobacconist that I’ve never been to before and not been back to since given its location away from the Subway. I asked for a suggestion and the owner sold me a tin of this which struck me as a very expensive option. This was my first “VaPer” blend.

The scent in the tin is typical VaPer so grassy and bready, perhaps a bit grassier than Peter Stokkebye LBF to my nose.

The tobacco itself was very well presented, perfect coins with almost no fraying, all arranged in a perfect circle inside the wrapping paper. Very nice alternating stripes of light Virginia and darker Perique, with a jet black cavendish centre.

When I first purchased this I was not a fan, so I shoved it in a mason jar and forgot about it down in my basement storage locker. Recently I discovered it while cleaning out the shed and decided I should give it another shot since it had been about a year. The tobaccos had grown noticeably darker in the interim.

I found the smoke to be bready and I thought I was also getting tongue-bite until I realized it was just the peppery Perique assaulting my tongue. This has to be one of the spiciest tobaccos I’ve tried. I found the bread and grass taste was overpowered by a taste almost like copper, so the aging doesn’t seem to have done much to calm down the Perique.

I think I’m drawing the conclusion that Perique just doesn’t work for me. Every blend I try that contains it has an acrid coppery taste and I just don’t seem to be able to acquire it. I will keep trying periodically. This tobacco is obviously high quality despite my personal dislike for Perqiue so I would recommend it to those who like VaPers. I’m sure you’ll get more than I did out of this. I’m just happy that I managed to finish the tin without wasting any of the rather expensive contents.

Two generous sized coins loaded one at a time into the pipe folding the sides over the cavendish center. The well aged Virginia is reminiscent of toasted hay and citrus and similar to Dunhill fake. The Perique used is quite peppery and loaded with dark stewed fruit and is on par with the Virginias as the base flavors. The Cavendish core rounds out the blend with a sugary touch and malted fruit undertones. Very pallet filling. Burns smooth to an off white ash but has a harshness at times from the Perique, perhaps it will mellow out with a bit of cellar time. Requires average relights. Overall, a must try for the VaPer enthusiast.

This tobacco is a real treat. Opening the tin, you are greeted with very handsome medallions, with a core of Black Cavendish. The smell is a bit on the sour side yet also sweet, and the moisture is perfect for filling your pipe without the need to air it out.

Rubbing this out, from my experience, tends to improve the flavor. Not drastically, but it smokes better and cooler, and becomes more complex. Or, you could just take two medallions (depending on the size of your bowl) put them on top of each other, fold, then stuff it in. Lighting this tobacco and keeping it lit is not a concern.

Mid bowl, the tobacco really develops, and the Virgina taste is absolutely amazing. The Perique is there for sure as well, and adds a nice, soft, peppery touch. Unlike other smokers, I was able to detect the Black Cavendish, though it is pretty far in the background.

Burns cooler than anything I've ever smoked before, and leaves no mess in your pipe.

Scheda tecnica:  Blended: Orlik Tobacco Company, Produttore: Davidoff,   Composizione:  Virginia maturo, Perique della Luisiana, Black Cavendish,  Taglio: Curly Cut,   Forza: Media,  Aromatizzato:  no.

Davidoff Flake Medallions è un tabacco molto particolare, anche per la costruzione del flake che gli appassionati del defunto Navy Roll conoscono molto bene.

Il tabacco, di ottima qualità, è bellissimo da vedere. Umido al punto giusto, si può caricare da subito. I dischi si sfilacciano facilmente e si trasformano rapidamente in filamenti  pronti per la carica.

Affondando il naso nella latta siamo ammaliati dal profumo, completamente e golosamente virginioso, temperato dal cavendish. Solo sapendo che c’è il Perique, ritengo di riuscire a rilevarlo anch’io, ma non sono sicuro che lo identificherei senza esserne preventivamente a conoscenza. La composizione dei roll è particolare: la parte esterna è costituita da Virginia pressato e Perique, la parte centrale, scura, da Black Cavendish.

La carica la effettuo sfilacciando i tondini e caricando la pipa coi vari filamenti ottenuti, c’è chi sostiene che il massimo del gusto si ottiene caricando i roll interi, ma occorre una pipa dal fornello molto largo.

Ben caricata la pipa si accende facilmente e la combustione procede molto sicura.

Fin dall’inizio c’è da rimanere stupiti dalla gran mole di fumo prodotto e dalla sua densità quasi cremosa, comunque molto fresco per una miscela a base di virginia.  Le note aromatiche iniziali sono molto virginiose, col Cavendish che tende a mitigare l’esuberanza di questo Virginia maturo.

Proseguendo nella fumata il Cavendish aumenta lievemente apportando dei toni più zuccherini, fruttati all’insieme. Non è dato di conoscere se e con con cosa sia aromatizzato questa tipologia di tabacco, ma è un dato di fatto che ha un compito essenziale per bilanciare la miscela.

Solo dopo emerge il Perique con le sue tipiche note speziate.  A questo punto il mix è completo e i sensi sono davvero appagati: il dolce del Cavendish è mitigato e il Virginia è esaltato dall’aroma speziato del Perique, che accompagna e rende interessante, distende, una miscela decisamente pastosa .

Alla prova di surriscaldamento il mix si comporta benissimo dando pochissimi sentori amari, e fatto raffreddare torna agli antichi gusti.

Questa è una miscela a base di Virginia che non si smetterebbe mai di fumare, priva di qualsiasi tono bruciante alla lingua, caratteristica di alcuni Virginia anche blasonati.    Un tabacco di reale appagamento, giustamente complesso, che può essere consigliato anche a chi si approccia per la prima volta coi flake.

Naturalmente non è importato in Italia, e non è propriamente economico, ma la sua costruzione unica e l’esperienza gustativa davvero completa che regala rende ragione del viaggio sino in Svizzera.

Il voto finale è di 4,999/5 non ho fornito il massimo solo per il prezzo.

The presentation is nice. The coins are neatly arranged in the shape of the tin, similar to that of Escudo, Dunhill Navy Rolls, etc. This is not a blend comparable, to me, to Escudo and Dunhill Navy Rolls. The Cavendish core of Flake Medallions gives the blend a different character. For that reason, I would compare this with Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake.

The tin note is grassy and tangy. Nectarines come to mind, and that comes through at times in the smoke. I did not dry this at all before filling the pipe. It was moist, but didn't burn too hot, and it was forgiving when puffed aggressively. I smoked through this tin, I only smoked it rubbed out. At the time I wasn’t as comfortable with folding and stuffing, but I would try it if I were smoking another tin by just gently forming a broken flake, and breaking up the Cavendish pieces so that they aren’t concentrated anywhere within the mix. This takes the flame easily, and immediately I got a cane sugar-like sweetness. I got notes of tangy fruits, like nectarines I mentioned earlier. There are spice and raisin notes that come together nicely. Some reviews maintain that this is mild and light, but I found it to have some richness. The flavor begins to waver at the end of a bowl, which is a downside, for me. It’s not a tragedy though. It happens with a lot of Virginia blends, and it could have been poor technique at the time on my part. However, the tanginess and sweetness are so enjoyable it is worth smoking again.

I found this to be mild to medium in strength, and the nicotine strength to be mild. This smoked and tasted best in narrow bowls with chambers of straight sides. In bowls of ~1.5in in depth, I found it really hurt the taste towards the latter third of the bowl.

The biggest downside for me is the price. For the price, and this style of blend, of similar quality, you could go with Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake. I would not buy this again for that reason. I would still recommend this though. This blend ages well, but I imagine it's good fresh as well. It’s a good blend.