Dan Tobacco Hamborger Veermaster

Nice sturdy round tin with a rubber seal to ensure freshness. Very similar to other premium blends. The leaf comes in pressed flake form and is easy to manage practically disintegrating into perfect shreads if too heavy a hand is used-all one needs to do is pull a bit out and pack it directly into the pipe. The leaf lights very easily and burns cool without any excessive moisture. The flavor is thoroughly Virginia. Smooth with the perfect toasty bottom that I look for in a Virginia leaf. This is a wonderful flake, and I highly recommend it to any lover of Virginia pureblends. It is a remarkable, and honest leaf that I hold in high esteem along with Marlin Flake, Stonehaven, and Escudo.

It lacks the depth of some of the dark stoved VA's that I enjoy, though there is a zesty light flavor that is remarkably not unlike Dunhill's Light Flake, and Tordenskjold Virginia Slices.

Highly recommended to the VA smokers interested in a tobacco with no bite and a hankering for a straight VA profile.

The flake crumbles easily, lights easily and burns cool, slow and even without any bitterness, steam or excessive moisture. The flavor is a smooth VA with a slight hint of chocolaty top notes and toasty base notes. This is of the same quality as Marlin Flake and Orlik Golden Slices, maybe even better. Overall this is just a super smooth and tasty VA that is a constant in my rotation.

Ah, Veermaster. This is what i think of when Virginia flake is uttered. It's the polar opposite of marlin flake. Air cured, light, undertones of honey and hay, absolutely delicious. The flakes are very thin and pliable, gorgeous threads of golden virginia. Upon popping the tin and loading a pipe, the moisture level is perfect. Every shread is consigned to fluffy pure white ash, making the experience ever more perfect. End bowl gets a little spicy, and reveals blasts of the carmelized sugar/honey notes. This, along with Tordenskjold Slices, are highly underrated masterpieces of Dan Tobacco. Highest recommendations.

This is nice tobacco - but it must contain Burley and I definitely smell chocolate after rubbing the flakes out.

The middle/roundness of this blend is far too robust for a pure virginia. Now, the added leaf may be another varietal but to my sense of taste it's burley.

The chocolate? This is subtle but I promise that if you'll rub the flakes out and immediately smell what you've just rubbed.. it's chocolate. Pure VA reminds my nose of orange pekoe tea.. not Ghiradelli!

Nice flake tobacco but this doesn't have the usual "woody and bright" flavor of the types of virginia flakes that I prefer. About halfway through the bowl the virginia started to peek it's head through the mix but it never developed much sweetness or sourness.. that doesn't make this a bad blend but it certainly isn't what I expected.

From the first light I waited for the Virginia taste and this never really happened. Some compare this to Orlik Golden Sliced but frankly, I don't see it at all. OGS has that woody VA taste even though the burley is there. HV doesn't. Is it the chocolate? Could be. Is there more burley in HV? Could be. I believe it's a combination of both.

The chocolate (or, what my smeller detects to be chocolate) is subtle yet once you look/smell for it, you'll find it - like Heinz Ketchup in McClellands blends.

A good smoke, middle-weighted and rather monochromatic. This doesn't bite and provides the smoker with a nice experience. But, it's not a classic pure virginia flake, IMO. HV gains strength as you get into the meat of the bowl but at no time does it get strong.

I'll smoke this on occasion but recommend Freiborg & Treyor "Cut Virginia Plug" as a weighty virginia with no bite.

I like this Virginia. Whatever, if any, flavoring has been added is slight. I like the smell in the tin and the flavor when smoking it. This is one I keep on hand.

Assuming Dan still sells a 250g tin, it is an interesting way to purchase this. The flakes were a good foot long as they didn't have to be cut to fit a 50g tin. They just folded them up to fit the larger tin.

I was pleasantly surprised when first tried this tobacco. After smoking some F&T Cut Virginia Plug, I loaded up my Charatan expecting a light citrusy grassy virginian but, however, an earthy plain tobacco flavor was detected. I loved it. Some people may disagree but there are similarities between the flavor of Hamborger Veermaster and my old favorite, Samuel Gawith's Brown Rope #4. HV is not as strong as the rope but has a certain natural plain taste that's enjoyable. It is also slightly sweeter and smoother. Now, I know the description is virginian, but I swear there is a substantial amount of burley in HV. This is not a pure virginian tobacco. The smoke is wonderful, especially when you are outside grilling a steak and drinking a beer. A good solid no-nonsense tobacco.

Simply put, this is one of the finest virginia blends available. It burns extremely clean and the taste is remarkable. It seems to become even more flavorful further into the bowl.

Similar to Orlik Golden Sliced, but with better flavor.

4 stars!

Without a doubt, this is a "holy grail" smoke. VA at it's ultimate finest. Slow-burning, cool-smoking, nice, and sweet. VA's in my opinion is a tobacco for the experienced pipe smoker. Not because it is particularly dangerous, or hazardous, but because a neophyte most likely wouldn't have the ability to appreciate it until they've had at least 20 or 30 different pipe tobaccos.

This is a fine, fine blend, and will be an integral staple in my collection. One of the absolute best VA's that I have ever been privileged to smoke. Hamborger Veermaster should be an award winning tobacco.

Cheers!

Daniel

A good Virginia flake, mild and smells like good hay in the tin. Not the best Virginia I've ever puffed, but this one is worth a try. It seems to have an aged taste and puffed slow the good Virginia flavour sweetly rolls out.Not bad at all.