Dunhill Light Flake

I smoked quite a few of these older tins & enjoyed every one. Not a complex smoke, but alternately grassy, sweet, spicy, all in good proportion. Good for an all-day Va if you need one. I look forward to the new "Flake" version.

First opening the tin the smell reminds me of unfiltered wheat beer. Very light and sort of citrusy. Also the flake is not as tight as a plug; it feels flimsy and falling apart, even though it is staying intact. Presentation is beautiful. Layer upon layer of earth colored leaves with hay colored speckles dotting the flake, almost reminding me of a perfectly marbled NY Strip steak. One hour later and the scent of wheat beer is overwhelmed by grass clippings and sour grapes or apples. Very pleasant.

A whole flake stuffs my Bertram easily with about 2mm Of space left to the rim. Now for the fun stuff: The smoke itself is veerrrryy smooth. Very Virginia, not much else. It smokes nicely, no need to relight or bother sipping slow; it doesnt matter whether a long or short pull this stuff smokes the same regardless. Also, exhaling through the nose has minimal tingle, which is a nice change to the horseradish tingle I get from other Va-per blends Ive tried. Not having the tingle allows for the woodiness of the VA shine through. There is a nice sweetness in the aftertaste as well.

The smoke is light and creamy, and it smells nice when it lingers about. The scent is warming like boiling spiced tea in the kettle. Overall great flake and mellow enough to be in an everyday rotation.

Update 10/31/13: the more I smoke this stuff the more I love it. For those of you with a sweet tooth, that don't enjoy aromatics, TRY THIS! It's excellent in a corncob. Also goes well with Grand Mariner liqueur.

Other reviewers refer to my review of this tobacco, but my review has dropped off. There is definitely a program problem here.

I like this blend very much, but agree that they have loaded their hand a bit too much with the topping, lately. It tends to obscure the lovely sweet baked bread taste of the basic tobacco.

Now this is a proper virginia flake. You fold and stuff, you light, you smoke. As with most Dunhill products, I find this tobacco to feel very ''full''. Even when their taste is not strong or has no high notes, I find Dunhill tobaccos to have a common ''leathery'' taste which binds all components together and makes them so satisfying. Dunhill Flake is a middle of the road Virginia, a well behaved flake, and what some other reviewers have noted (and denounced) as some ''aromatic'' lakeland essence sometimes creeping in, well, i cannot say for sure whether this is indeed a casing or natural tobacco taste. What I know for sure is that I personnaly like it. Fruity-floral flavours suddenly come out of nowhere, but to me they dont feel out of place or overly artificial, then they're gone, and you are left wondering and amazed. I like it.

Based on a "non - Orlik" tin, if I may.

Fairly tasty for light coloured VAs. A good kick. But the room note, because of its composition, is close to that of a cigarette.

This would be a sound choice for someone who wishes to quit cigarettes and make the transition to pipes.

Dunhill Flake: Tin note of spices, mild ketchup and honey. Tobacco is a reddish dark brown Flake with tan specks. Moisture content is good, some may want to dry it out a bit. Flakes rub out easily. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. No flavoring is listed but I can detect a mild to medium note of sweet honey. Taste is mild to medium and moderately consistent, with notes of bready, sweet grass, rich earth, citrus peel/zest, acidic/spicy, mild wood, spices, mildly savory, mildly floral, a sweet, dried hay background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant, and aftertaste is good.

Well this one surprised me. I've never smoked this blend before and a friend gave me a ten year old tin of this stuff. Being named Light Flake plus having ten years of age on it, I expected a really mellow smoke. This was not the case at all. The tobacco was rich, strong, and spicy. The flavor was like toast sprinkled with a generous portion of black pepper. I found the nic content to be rather strong. Overall this was a nice smoke but again, it was nothing like I thought it would be. I have a tin of the newer Dunhill Flake and look forward to comparing it with this ten year old Light Flake.

Soli Deo gloria!

Dunhill Light Flake is a nice tobacco. It is a beautifully presented flake that burns well and has that nice sweet crisp Virginia taste.

This is a nice product, and I really cannot knock it for what it is, but I think there are much better Virginia flakes out there. Amongst the pantheon of better offerings I would put the products of Rattray, McClelland, and of course the always respectable Orlik Golden Sliced.

This tobacco has great burning qualities and all Dunhill hype aside, it is a good product. It is a higher end Virginia in terms of taste, and the flake is rather light in color. As with all Virginia tobacco this one really comes into its own with some age on it.

It is good, but you can do better. Recommended

Update 7/22

Just finished a bowl of this I had aging since 2003. What a treat. Just sparkling with sugar crystal yumminess. My last review (10 years ago, man I am getting old) ended with me stating it is good but you could do better. That may be true for fresh stuff, but with some serious age in it, this stuff is fantastic. I know not everybody can get their hands on an aged version fo this, but if you can....

I picked up a Lane era 2003 vintage of this at last weekends West Coast Pipe Show - much preferred over the current offering Dunhill Flake by Orlik. A strong 3 stars!