Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation 1931

The Virginias offer a little grass, some tart and tangy citrus and a small acidic note. The burleys are naturally sweet with a little wood, earth and some nuttiness, and stands out over the Virginias. The black cavendish is a very minor player, adding a small mild sugariness. The honey topping is sweet and pleasant; while always noticeable, it's smooth and mildly sublimates the tobaccos. The taste is very similar to Mac Baren Navy Flake, but this has a few minor flavor nuances to differentiate itself from NF. The strength is a couple of steps past the mild mark, while the taste is just past the center of mild to medium. The nic-hit is just past the mild threshold. Won't bite or get harsh. The flake is easily rubbed out or folded and stuffed as you please. Burns cool, clean, and a tad slow with a very consistent flavor from top to bottom. Has a nice creamy subtext to the sweetness. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste and room note. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

I love this blend! A very powerful and old fashioned style Burley/Vuirginia with flavor and kick. It has enough Burley to keep the nip-O-Meter at a minimum level even with fast puffing. Just wonderful!

Pipestud

4th Generation tobaccos are made by Mac Baren and many of their blends have Mac Baren counterparts, yet they are across the board of higher grade and quality. The counterpart to this one is Mac Baren's Navy Flake. And 1931 is much better. I'm normally a straight VA smoker but I can't get enough of this stuff. The Burley and Cavendish in the flake at depth and dimension that I absolutely love. The top note is of sweet floral honey and comes across in the room note as well. This is in my top rotation and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good Danish flake 🙂

Apparently my resistance to the latest new tobacco is non-existent so here are my thoughts on 4th Gen. 1931.

Over the years most Navy Flakes have left me disappointed but I keep trying them. Upon opening this tin you will be greeted with two stacks of light to medium colored flakes perfectly sliced.There is absolutely a clover honey aroma somewhat stronger than MacB's Navy Flake, this is not off putting as the smell is quite pleasing. Fold, stuff and twist and it takes to the match easily. The honey (or whatever it is) does not interfere with the taste and provides only a faint sweetness throughout the bowl. Unlike other Navy Flakes where I find myself puffing too hard just to get some taste, 1931 consistently provides flavor even with a gentle puff.

This tobacco has surprised me and if the entire 100grams continues to hold my attention I will cellar a few tins and probably give it another star.

This is, Hands down, one of the best tobaccos, for my opinion. I smoked it with several different pipes, and except for the Peterson System, in all of them it was nearly perfect. This is a strong and flavorful blend, with an almost-bite, which I particularly like. The Burley inside is very dominant and gives it a nutty-fermented aroma and taste. There is no added flavor to this – just a complex taste of a well-treated tobacco. Nicotine count is medium-high in this one, so (for my taste) it’s more suited for an evening smoke, although I enjoy it all day long. I smoke this flake (as all flakes) folded, not broken. Just let it dry for a while inside the pipe!

This was a very good vabur. Perhaps a little light to my tastes, but still an enjoyable smoke nonetheless. I know that a lot of people compare this one to Mac Baren Navy Flake, and I can see why; they are very similar tobaccos. They are both mild vaburs that seem to be led with the Virginia leaf.

To my tastes both this and NF are kind of average smokes, but I would put this one above NF as it just seems to taste a little better to me; there is more depth of flavor in 1931. What I don't know is what is causing this. It is either a fuller, sweeter burley/Kentucky or it is a topping of some sort.

At present, the contents above list no topping, but If memory serves me right, I thought this one did have a slight topping. Perhaps it is something that is in the Cavendish, of which I assume to be processed from Virginia in a customary European way. Whatever it is, it has a nice sweetness that seems as though it would be tough to get from tobacco alone. But the sweetness is not something that I can directly identify to a popular topping. In some ways, this blend reminds me of Peterson's University Flake, but the topping in that one is far more obvious.

The bottom line is that this is a three star tobacco to my tastes as I would have no problem recommending it.

This is my third review. I have been smoking pipes for a few months, and cigars for a few years.

Tin note is hay, honey, and some baked goods. Nevertheless, it doesn't smell sugared or artificial. In fact, it smells fantastic and easily fills a room on first opening. I would recommend sealing the product carefully to avoid lost aroma or mixing with other products; I could detect its aroma straight through a plastic bag enclosing the closed (but opened once) tin.

Flakes are dark brown with lighter and darker streaks. They are a bit fragile. I was new to flakes when I started smoking this; I tried rolling and stuffing, but found just loosely crumbling it up and shoving it into the pipe more effective. Don't pack it; flakes expand on heating.

Moisture was right straight out of the tin. If you smoke it in a tall and narrow pipe, it's pretty easy to light and keep lit. I've found that I could even keep it going with a single light, but it usually benefits from a second light. Smoking it in a wider, smaller pot was a bit more of a challenge, but still possible.

It's hard to describe the taste other than "natural." It's full and a bit sweet, but like the natural sweetness of grains, not like added sugar. Relights can be a bit smoky and cigarette-like, but a few puffs later, the good taste comes back. Nicotine is "mild plus." Room note is not bad, except for the aforementioned relights.

I shared this among friends at a pipe-smoking session recently. Two of them, who are heavy cigar smokers, kept reaching for this flake. I was surprised, because one of them prefers light aromatics with his pipe. (He has been smoking Dunhill A21000 for over 30 years.) They had even brought new tins of something aromatic from Denmark, but still opted for 1931.

This was a great introduction to flake for me, and it makes me want to try more.

I got a 100g tin of this in a Secret Santa. My stipulation was no latakia and preferably a VaBur. I was pleasantly surprised.

Beautiful flakes that are at an excellent moisture level. Mostly golden strips with some specks of dark leaf. The smell at first kind of reminds me of a biscotti.

Easily packed, and lights just as easily. I got a lot of VA and sweet honey towards the first half of the bowl. The Burley comes through towards the latter half of the bowl and thickens up in the final stanza. It burns very evenly and with little to no bite. I could usually get no leftover dottle at the end of the bowl.

I will say that when fresh out of the tin the topping they used is in the way a bit. That biscotti flavor comes out in the smoke when fresh. Taking the tobacco out of the tin and leaving it in a jar for a week or two will help remove that flavor.

A great tobacco for smoking around others as the room note is grandpa in a tweed jacket. I like this more than MacBaren's Navy Flake as I think it's less sweet and has more of a natural tobacco flavor (after that biscotti flavor goes away) A must try for any VaBur/Burley fans.

When you open the tin and take a deep smell you get that classic and quintessential raisiny tobacco smell, one that makes its way to your palette and reminds you of the old tobacco barns of the Carolinas.

This is definitely a burley forward tobacco, which I happen to appreciate, with the Virginia's making known their presence all throughout the bowl, and with the Cavendish helping to smooth things out just a bit. The combination here creates a true tobacco smoke that is honest and flavorful. I was not overwhelmed by the honey topping/flavoring (something slight is there), but rather found it to give the smoke a slight sweetness and creaminess in similar fashion to the ways that a touch of honey affects a cup of tea. A wonderful, satisfying, robust all day kind of tobacco.

1931’s good looking flakes are mainly Burley forward. The mature Virginia’s add some, grassy sweetness and the small amount of Cavendish is noticeable. I find it hard to believe the claim that there are no added flavors as for me, there is a sweet topping, although it adds to the sweetness without taking over. I can’t say that it tastes of honey to me, rather just lightly sweet. The Burley is nutty and it didn’t offer any bitterness. It burns cool without a bite even and when I pushed it a bit it didn’t burn hot either. 1931 has been compared to Mac Baren’s Navy Flake, but for me this offers deeper flavor and more body. I found that a light pack, comprised of smaller pieces really allowed 1931 to best show off its flavor. I put off tasting this blend for quite a while and now wonder why? I am going to add some of this to my cellar as I am sure it will age very well with the Virginia's adding additional sweetness.