John Aylesbury Sir John's Flake Virginia

Summary: a bright and brown Virginia flake with lots of natural sweetness.

When you open the tin, the plum- or fig-like smell of fermented sweet tobacco wafts upward with a hint of something honeylike and citrus in the background. Amazingly, you get exactly what that olfactory landscape promises, namely a mix between the tingly acidic bright Virginia and the richer, almost malted and vinegary flavor of the darker Virginias. Pressing has caused fermentation and brought many of the sugars to the point of caramelization, and a warm topping, perhaps even maple or honey, lightly tweaks this allow the different Virginia flavors to meld seamlessly. While this one smokes great out of the box, it is still rather acidic, so would benefit from the usual six months in the cellar.

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 ...