A classic sailor flake from the best American and Indian Virginia, whose flavors are produced by traditional pressing and subsequent maturation of storage under less pressure to be richer and smoother abundance has been completed, look for the connoisseurs in a summit-flake. Slow burning, cool and soft on the tongue.
I really could not resist to review this one before having completed the first tin&
This is a very good classic Virginia flake indeed, in the fashion of others by the DTM (read: CAO/Dan) line, a younger (and more refined) cousin of Skippers Flake and even of Patriot Flake.
Smelling at the small round tin, a very inviting fruity, raisiny (sweet & sour but not exagerately pungent) aroma with fresh notes of green tea.
Removing the paper disc (bit stained, not wet) the flakes are discovered, randomly loaded in the tin, all the degrees of brown from golden through dark.
The flakes are very much elastic, and rubbing into the preferred degree (I have opted for a couple of balls without any drying out) is easy.
The smoke is creamy and round, with just occasional sharp notes. At the nostrils Im smelling a mature Virginia burning: malty, faintly peppery with some fruity notes. Thinking at the tin aroma, Im frankly seeking the presence of some Perique, which is not declared in the description on the DTMs web-site. I would think to a fruity topping of some kind à la Perique has been gently applied.
The ash proceeds white and light grey: true sign that this tobacco is very good quality. The pipe is not getting much hot, but I must stomp the brake and remember this is Virginia, only the slowest sipping makes obtain the best results.
Having smoked through about half of DanPipe's many VA flakes before, I must have made the decision to not try this one at some point about ten years ago, there being so many similar VA flakes on offer from DanTobacco. Recently ordering a refill for just about everything in my cellar, this time around I did order a tin of this blend just to get the order total price to the point of free shipping. And it looks like I made a mistake roundabout ten years ago.
In the tin is a bright yellow flake with a few layers of medium brown in there--so far, nothing out of the ordinary. The tin note is fruity citrus: pretty much all VA blends are flavoured with citrus, even if the manufacturer claims no flavour added, so I'm not complaining. The slices are pretty large, about twice the area one would expect from a certain Danish company, so I divide the lump of fused-together slices in half lengthwise, then peel off individual slices as best possible.
Peeling off half a slice, it falls apart too easily for folding, so I rub out. The leaf is definitely ready-to-smoke right out of the tin, the moisture level is refreshingly low compared to most other brands. The resulting ribbon/ready-rubbed lights up very easily and starts out with a rather dry flavour, with sweetness starting to build up over the first third. Virginia flavours are forward throughout with a goodly amount of spice from the American components and a very satisfying sweetness towards the end, with no dottle whatsoever. The metallic flavours of cheap, unaged VA that are all too common to, well, cheap VA blends are also missing completely.
Slow sipping is strongly recommended, this being pure VA, and with all that, this has become my go-to VA flake after having smoked about half a tin, with a bulk package already ordered.
I love straight Virginia, so for me it is very difficult to make a review about this kind of tobacco. I would not, but I have to be inflexible. I like this one, but not too much. I mean there are a lot of straight Virginia better than this one. In my opinion, this is wonderful in the first half, but mediocre in the second half of the bowl. Tasty and sweet in the first half, tasteless and slightly bitter at the end. Unfortunately. Because it could be a four stars. Partially recommended (surely recommended for Virginia lovers).In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two and a half stars.
A nice very pliable and very sweet Virginia Flake. There seems to be quite a bit of casing (honey? maple? sugar?) but it still tastes natural enough for a Virginia lover. It simply is on the ripe/mellow/soft/fruity side. Packs well, burns well, tastes good... only at times it smells a bit funky and over-processed. I tend to prefer more natural flakes, but this one is definitely recommended. No tonguebite at all.
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