Vauen No. 14 Virginia Flake

I happened upon this at my usual local B&M. I would tend to agree with another reviewer that this definitely is produced by MB. I have had MB's Navy Flake and it is presented and cut in exactly the same fashion. If they were in unmarked tins, you couldn't tell the difference visually. A fine flake this is too. It lights up easily and stays lit with no problem. This has a decent dose of nicotine and it burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. Definitely recommended for those who like a very good Virginia flake.

Vauen No. 14 represents a great Virginia blend for beginners since it is easy on the mouth. This blend can be best described as pleasant and mild. It doesn't blow you away with flavour, but it is a very gratifying experience. The tin note reveals exactly what this blend is about — woody, hay, citrus. The character of the smoke shows itself to be akin to that note. Wood forward, giving away to more hay and citrus, and then delicious stewed fruit towards the end. There is some additional nuance if you retrohale, a bit of spice and more pronounced fruit. The nicotine level is a satisfying medium. Burns cool with no tongue bite, making this blend pleasant throughout the day. 3/4 - There are no surprises here, this is just good tobacco. I would not purchase this again as it is not the most exciting Virginia blend for veteran smoker, however if I walked into a B&M I didn't find anything more interesting this would be a no brainer. I must reiterate that this is a great choice as an introduction to the genre.

Tin note of dark fruit and spices. Tobacco is a Flake of marbled yellowish brown and dark brown with flecks of tan. Moisture content is ok. Most pipe smokers will want to dry it a bit. Burns moderately with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. There is some flavoring listed on this page, but not on the tin and I didn't detect any. Taste is medium and very consistent, with notes of tangy ripe dark fruit, spices, tart citrus, floral, sugar, lemon grass, bready, orange peel/zest, savory, herbal hay, rich earthy, wood, slightly acidic, a sweet vegetation background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Vauen No. 14 has been my go-to summertime smoke. A light, sweet and refreshing, smoke with not a lot of nicotine and a pleasant mouth feel. No chance of bite with this blend.

K&K assembles some of the best Virginia blends on the market and they all rank highly in my rotation.

Nice looking pretty slim cut flakes which both: rubbed and fold fit perfectly into the pipe. Tin smell is a bit more sour than expected but comes along with a sweet natural Virginia note. Burns very cool and evenly if given a little space to the flake. When smoked there's hardly any acidity but hints of hey and citrus and rich finest Virginia taste that reminds a bit of almond sweetness. To the end it gets a bit stronger in taste but still very mild in whole with enough character to not get too boring. Room note is smoky but natural and not unpleasant.

At the heart of this are the mild bright VA flakes. There is a touch of a mild something not quite almond and not quite hazelnut in the tin note, but that doesn't really come out in the bowl much. The touch of vanilla, however, does come out. Not fantastic, but a solid every day (or even all day) blend. The flakes fold easily, and keep the light well.