Davidoff Flake Medallions

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.

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.

I'm sure it's just my tastebuds, but I did not like this tobacco. I usually enjoy Davidoff tobaccos, but this one had a foul taste to it that I just could not grow to like. That's not to say you shouldn't try it. Those in the room said they liked the aroma. It was easy to light and stayed lit and it burned all the way through.

Davidoff, Flake Medallions: An Amazing Vaper with a Catch

The Virginia varietals in this blend remind me exactly of Dunhill DLNR. They are earthy, quite sweet, with some grassy-bright notes. Overall, they are quite nice and complex. The perique is pretty spicy with some undertones of dried prunes, which is exactly how I like it. The addition of black Cavendish is actually quite nice—adding a smooth body to the smoke.

However, there is a flavor from something in the smoke that I find off-putting. I am not sure if this comes from a casing or just how the smoke interacts with my own body chemistry. I am a bit bummed as I thought I found a replacement for my favorite tobacco (Dunhill DLNR). Yet, your mileage may vary.

Nice mild Va/Per. Tin tone is is sweet grass like with hints of figs and raisins. Not as good as Escudo....but what is! As for flavor..it tastes mild...wish there was a bit more perique. The black cavendish is an interesting touch but, quite frankly I could do without it. As for the tobaccos presentation..I love the coins. I like to rub them out.

This is a very high quality yet ultimately bland and unsatifying tobacco. I much preferred it folded and stuffed to rubbed out. It packs and burns wonderfully, but the flavors are so muted that I always want to smoke something else immediately afterwards. There are those who like extremely mild tobaccos, and to those I somewhat recommend this.

I don't mean to be a party-pooper, but after trying this blend in differing pipes with varying methods of bowl packing it continues to come up as a straight Va.

Presentation is classic Dunhill, it's a present, and as always a small joy to open. The baccy is formed well, my tin was aged a year and nearly perfect moisture content.

My concern was in that I expected some input from the cavendish, maybe a small voicing from the Perique-it wasn't there. It was Dunhill flake rolled into medallions with the slightest softening of flavor. That's not a bad thing, btw, it's just that it isn't marketed as such.

I have a tin of Escudo that I'll pop after this is finished, and even if showed itself to be even in taste, it would have a much improved price-point. It's a novelty at best, I won't be buying again.

Objective: Beautifully spun coins. Price was a little high. Coins were wet, but dried out well. Lit well and only needed a few relights. Moderate amount of smoke produced.

Subjective: A very mild tobacco, not unpleasant, but lacking in depth and oomph. Nice aroma from the tin, packed well, no problems there. I just prefer something stronger.

Having smoked about four ozs. of Stokkebye Luxury Bull's Eye Flake and now a full tine of Davidoff FM, they are so very close in flavor and strength that I account for the slightly richer flavor in FM to tinning and more aging.

A nice gift to give and get, but I'd probably buy the bulk PS and age it in jars for the same effect.

I am going to bump the flavor rating to "medium" from the "mild-medium" I gave PS LBEF for the reason giving above.