Dunhill Light Flake

Dunhill Light Flake is a nice example of a very well done straight Virginia.

On opening the tin, I was greeted with a nice sweet grassy scent ? that freshly mown field aroma I love about Virginias. The coloring could possibly be why they called it light. Not that it is all that light, but maybe they did this to separate it from a stoved Virginia.

I prefer to rub out my flakes, and DLF rubbed out into a (mostly) narrow ribbon. The darker pieces were the exception. As I was rubbing it out I could smell the sweetness with just a hint of underlying spice.

DLF stays lit very easily, to the point that a couple of times the charring light took me all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It has to be smoked slowly? very slowly. But that?s fine, because it tastes best that way anyway! Of all the pipes I smoked it in, the narrow bowls proved to be the best.

The flavor is very honest Virginia from start to finish. There isn?t really any complexity to jump out at you, but if you pay very careful attention you will note the changes between the Lemon and Bronze leaf. It?s very subtle, but it?s there. The taste is sweet with a hint of spice wandering in and out, but always subtle.

Again, smoke slowly for maximum effect ? and to keep from frying your tongue. Virginias aren?t known for being forgiving. Treat it right, and it will be a treat. If you take your time and watch your technique, you will not be bitten. This is DEFINITELY NOT one for beginners. FWIW, I never detected the soap that others did.

Dunhill has maintained their reputation for top-shelf quality with Light Flake. Just don?t let the name fool ya!

Beside having a heavily flavored aromatic blend (Mac Baren Original Choice) in my take out pouch, I decided to switch to this for social gatherings. The aromatic is great for the person sitting next to you but I guess I wanted somehting that can be excellent for me as well. I usually rubbed half a tin's worth and pack it into my pouch. I found that after 2 days away from the tin, the tobacco even taste better.The flavor is so light and smooth and sweet, a perfect virginia it is. But don't let this fool you. It is still very high in terms of nic/tar content and if you are not carefull with it, you can have a bad bit. The most enjoyable part of this flake is the mid/end bowl puffed in a super slow manner. The flavor does not come jumping out from behind scarying you off the chair kind of satisfaction, but rather a gentle voice from the back of your thoughts saying 'everything is going to be alright' kind of feel. Oh and that creamy flavor of the smoke, it is produce by the tobacco itself. One might even be so bold to say that this was the reason why manufacture put casing on thier blends to mimic or enhance this effect 'un-natually'. This, I think, represents the elemental of smoking tobacco.

Standard grassy smelling virgina that bites like hell. That about sums it up.

Sight: The flakes are uniform and balanced; no surprises here.

Touch: Flakes are a little more moist than I like in a straight VA. I find rubbing them out considerably and allowing a little "air time" before packing provides my desired cooler smoke.

Taste: Not sure why this would be called a "light" flake. It is definitely medium on the taste/smell scale to me. The VA leaf is very balanced, and the subtly sweet smoke is very consistent from beginning to conclusion.

Smell: I enjoy the smell of straight VA, although this one definitely isn't an aromatic!

Conclusions: IMHO, there are definitely some better flakes out there, but this one is good enough to be worked into the routine. It doesn't overwhelm one with superlatives, but it also doesn't disappoint. I think this VA is a good VA for non-VA smokers...hmmm, does that make any sense?

About a year and a half ago, I came across two tins of this that were about 15 years old. Condition was good, seals were in good condition, and this is the result of the first of those tins.

Appearance: This tobacco comes in flakes that are about an inch wide and three inches long, with a mixture of medium and dark brown tobacco. The flakes in this tin were not capable of being rolled, but rather, crumble under handling. I assume this is a sign of the age. Crystals were present on the surface of the flakes.

The nose out of the tin is fresh and on the fruity side, as might be expected.

I generally fully rub out flakes, and this is no exception, by necessity as well as habit. The burning characteristics are good. It burns dry and fully.

This is a sweet blend to my taste, not as sweet as a few, more so than most. The room note is pleasant. I find that I have to take care with all straight Virginia blends, and this one is no exception. The early part of the bowl is somewhat light in flavor, but the sweetness is promising. The latter part of the bowl is the most enjoyable and deepens considerably.

This blend does not have the complexity that I enjoy in the tobaccos that I favor most, but it is enjoyable, albeit simple in flavor, readily available, and acceptable. I do not place this amongst my favorite blends, and prefer CR Light Flake for this light, yet slightly tangy VA.

Flavor: 70/100 Smoking characteristics: 90/100 Overall: 75/100.

January, 2004

November-2003.Light Flake. A very pleasant light to medium smoke that provide's plenty of taste in a very pleasant not to suttle way.Anyone who want's to get away from cased aromatic's & try a very nice Virginia couldn't possibly go wrong with this one.Beginner's,take your time & don't puff fast!Though it has never bitten me,I don't wan't a newbie to be put off by puffing rapidly & getting a scorched tongue.Light's & behave's extremely well,burn's very cleanly all the way through leaving a nice clean looking ash.Can be smoked as an all day smoke very easily. I love Dunhill's M/M 965,Night Cap & Aperitif also,but as some of us know they are much stronger.But this is still a very excellent quality tobacco provided once again by Dunhill.

Does Dunhill make a blend with anything less than the highest quality? Even when I don't particularly like one of their tobaccos, I still have to admire the level of craftsmanship that goes into each one. One of my favorite reviewers on this site recently updated their review of this blend, and made the comment that it seemed that this blend came very heavily topped these days. I still decided to try it and found out that he was correct. I didn't care for the topping in the least, and found it distracting, and bitey as well. I put the tin up and promptly forgot about it for several months. When I came back to it grudgingly, I found that the topping strength was greatly reduced and that it had cooled considerably. The VA flavor was rich indeed and I have to say I ejoyed it a whole lot. This is one of the better VA's out there and I will keep a tin on hand (and opened!) for those VA occassions.

I hadn't had a bowl of Dunhill's Light Flake in a while, not being that much of a bright virginia kind of guy. However, I have been exploring the Lakeland flakes recently and thought I would give Alfred's unflavored LF a whirl.

One cannot help but be impressed with the quality presentation of LF, the flakes as intact as if they had just been custom cut for you. I guess this is one of the benefits that one gets with a tinned tobacco.This is clearly a quality tobacco- one would expect no less from Dunhill.

My tin had aged about 18 months since last exposure to the open air, and it had a great grassy bright virginia aroma. The cellar aging seemed to have mellowed the tobacco somewhat, tongue-bite wise, plus I am a more cautious flake smoker now days. There is less fruity sweetness to LF than to more stoved varieties e.g., navy flakes. Instead there is an slightly tangy sweetness. But mostly, a rich traditional tobacco taste.

I remember the first time I tried this thinking, "Well, this is nothing special". I am impressed at how much the aging has improved this tobacco, but... we all know that virginias in particular age well.. I will have to visit this tin more frequently, but most important, I must get another one aging. Soon.

I have never smoked a Dunhill tobacco that I did not believe to be of the highest quality - this is no exception. I've stuffed fairly full flakes into medium and large capacity bowls and slogged through the winter with my retriever, windy and wet, with a smile. I've rubbed it out fully and gently puffed it in small capacity pipes to discover it's subtlties (and they are certainly there). But all this huff and puff about the NAME!?! Medium being light...light being medium...oh my...ad nausium. Boyos, it's simplicity itself. You see, the British tar has never been known to be the brightest of fellows...and so with special compassion and consideration, Dunhill (in addition to their own branding, of course) titled the flake...with directions for its use. End story.