John Aylesbury Sir John's Flake Virginia

I'm going to do my best to describe this one. This is an interesting and pleasant Virginia tobacco. The tin note is almost a spot on match to Orlik Golden Sliced. Bright, hay-like, and grassy.  Comes in a long winding flake that is folded up on itself. Looks like a nice chunk of Virginia tobacco. The moisture out of the tin is absolutely perfect. You can smoke it right away with zero dry time. Takes a light and stays lit well too. I don't really ever have to relight it due to its own qualities.  Any relights were user related 🙂

Onto the smoke itself.  It's very light, flavorful and pleasant to the taste. Doesn't get harsh and is not prone to tongue bite, although it could nip if pushy extensively. I have had no issues with it however. It's sort of "buttery" in flavor and has a very nice honey note throughout and it builds in sweetness as you move through the bowl. Here's where the difficulty comes in, this combo butter and honey is unlike any other Virginia that I've ever had and I've had A LOT of them. Pretty much every top Virginia that you have heard of, I have tried and many of the other ones as well. Sir John's Flake Virginia is in an area all by itself because of how unique tasting it is. I happen to like it a lot and rather than plan on it being a regular in my rotation, I am leaning more towards cellaring about 5 tins so that I can have it as a change of pace blend when I'm in the mood for an interesting Virginia that I would like to sip, sit and think about in terms of flavors.  I really enjoy it and it's hard to imagine finding a really unique Virginia, but it appears that's what this one is for me. It's the perfect Spring/ Summer day smoke, but I had it on a 50° day here in Minnesota today and it was terrific! It's a very nice Virginia that is worth your while if you can snag a tin. Happy Smokes fellas!

All these positive reviews and my preference for virginia flakes added this blend in my wishlish.once the tin opens a nice smell of citruses accompanied from a sweet topping comes out.the long cut flakes are mostly consisted of bright virginias with some spots of darker virginias.the moisture is perfect and once it's rubbed or broked it is ready for lighting with a few relights needed through the process.while smoking you instantly realize that this flake stands in equal quality standards and taste with the best virginia flakes like Orlik Golden sliced,Reiner golden flake and some other.the flavours are very natural and pleasing.citruses,grass,hay and some sour notes combine perfect with the light applied sugar topping wich adds some additional flavour without sublimating the tobacco.rarelly some spices and dark fruits come out completing the experience.burnns slow and medium hot to perfect ash with a lot moisture left at the end of the filter.nicotine level is almost medium and the aftertaste is pleasant.room note is bareable with no tongue bite present even though some harsh spots might appear if pushed hard.an all day blend.generally i am quite pleased from this blend and i totally recommend it.

Thanks to Steverino for his accurate review that I agree with. Although the light topping doesn't spoil the taste for me and the flake preparation is ~ to Reiner's Long Golden, that one is still my favorite in taste. If you enjoy Va flakes, this will give you a smooth, cool smoke without relights or condensation. This was my 1st experience with an Aylesbury blend and it was a good one.

This is one of the best pure virginia flakes out there today. (now that McClelland is gone). Aylesbury took over the Sillem virginias and now offer Major Flake, which is an old sillem recipe and excellent. Sir John is rather old school, straight virginia, with a subtle honey topping, but its VERY subtle. Its quality tobacco and moderately stoved. Smokes very cool and has a distinct natural virginia taste to it. I rate this very high.

Here's the deepest virginia I have ever smoked. I had opened a tin of it 9 years ago and let it age in a sealed jar after a not so convincing first smoke. I'll never know who aged better between the tobacco and my tastebuds, but when I reopened it last week, I couldn't smoke anything but it until the jar was dry empty. It sure is a straight virginia, but still feels like a perfect mix of every bit of anything that could have been added to it. A pinch of Perique ? A nano-strand of Cavendish ? Secret danish toping ? I honestly don't give a f**** as long as I get a chance to get a ton of this and let it age for - then - better days. Before this, my favorite blend was Capstan Original Navy Cut, which I still adore but has been now replaced. This tobacco deserves a success that would make it available just everywhere.

I bought this about a month ago at my local pipe club meeting. I tried it and passed it around. It was good but did not get to appreciate it as I had smoked a variety of other blends and it did not mesh. It has a pleasant sweet tin note and the really long flakes were folded in a triangle in a round tin. Guess square tins are going the way of the Dodo. It was pretty moist also. It has dried out quite a bit in the tin that has been sitting on the shelf since then and I had already forgotten about it. Right now, I am a recovering pipe tobacco buyer and am going through some of the blends I have bought in the past few months. After a few puffs of this fantastic blend I had already made up my mind on the rating. It smokes cool and sweet with a touch of honey it seems to it. This burns really slow as I walked away from my pipe for at the most five minutes and returned and was still able to keep the fire going. It did not hurt that I was using my Savinelli Goliath pipe, one of my first pipes I owned. This to me is a 4 star but I have way too much right now to buy more though I would like to.

This stuff is unbelievable. A true masterpiece of Danish style tobacco! Rich, sweet, complex and always satisfying. Everything from the presentation of the folded-over flake in the tin to the ease of preparation is a wow factor. It burns reliably and consistently, and has so much depth.

The top of the bowl starts with lighter, grassier lemony notes but quickly transitions into deeper notes of hay, sweet bread, and even sugar cookies! By the end of the bowl I feel like it's had some sort of delicious metamorphosis like no other tobacco I've smoked.

I just can't say enough good things about this, my favorite currently produced tobacco!

The tobacco is cut into long, thick flakes that, when folded over themselves, form a kind of loop so that they can fit into the tin. The degree of humidity is on the low side so it is not necessary to dry it beforehand, although it is not something that I usually do with almost any mixture. In cold it is not too aromatic, and you have to put your nose in the tin seems to appreciate some virginia aroma.

It usually takes about three or four pipes to get a taste of a tobacco virginia when I first taste it, but with this one it was an immediate hit. As soon as I started smoking it, it already seemed like a very rich tobacco. A great surprise. I understand why it is so difficult to get it and I am surprised that it has so few reviews here. Perhaps the second is a consequence of the first.

Its high sweetness beats any other virginia I have tasted to date in that respect. The explanation to this would come a little later, when I enter this page and find that it has some kind of coverage, it seems to be that of honey. The first time I smoked it I didn't even realize it as it doesn't seem to outshine the natural flavor of tobacco. It does not bite the tongue but it is advisable not to rush it too much. Of course, it remains quite homogeneous in taste from the first to the last puffs. In that sense it is a simple tobacco.

I would highly recommend it to those who are starting to smoke a pipe and do not find the flavor of other straight virginia. Having tried other virginias with similar coverage, this one seems to me the best of its kind. Without any doubt, highly recommended ... if you can find it, of course ...