Fribourg & Treyer Cut Blended Plug

This is an outstanding flake. Wonderful flavors. Citrus and dark fruit with some toasted bread in the second half. To go with that is a nice bit of tang, a mild spice and best of all a sweetness with some depth of flavor to it. The sweetness is sometimes caramel-like, sometimes like brown or demerara sugar. The topping seems to mostly match the natural flavors of the Virginias making them richer. My best guess is that this is a blend of Bright, Red and Stoved Virginias. Delicious.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burns very well.

Colors: Dark almost black to brown/reddish-brown and a dash of orange

Tin Aroma: Upon opening the tin, the aroma is fantastic! At first, fig newtons with a dash of pear settling down into a ripe dark fruit with light brown sugar.

First Impression: This is my first ever Fribourg & Treyer purchase. This company was unknown to me until another tobacco enthusiast mentioned it in a potential trade. I was roaming about my local B&M and happened upon a tin. Very unassuming, with a mostly blank red label with the company logo and name at the top.

Taste: Starts out with light brown sugar notes, very mellow, as the bowl progresses the Virginian’s stove, dark fruits finishing with a bit of citrus tang. If you move this along too fast, it will get peppery but didn’t seem to bite me too hard, regardless of my transgression.

Smokability: 5 stars. I could smoke this all day, and in all likelihood, I will.

Pipes: Savenilli 614, Rossi 8670

Will I buy more? I will be purchasing quite a few tins of CBP for cellaring in addition to exploring their other blends.

Thoughts: While I am sure this will taste good with some age, it was a fantastic smoke fresh. I am not going to worry about jarring this up as the tin will suffice for storage. I will be smoking this every day until it is gone. Fribourg & Treyer - Cut Blended Plug is a cellar-worthy blend that I will be ordering more of soon.

This is my second blend that I have tried from Fribourg& Treyer. These people know Virginia.........In a Bibical way. I don't think anyone does Va. blends any better...very few do them as well. This little tin is full of pleasure. The flakes are absolutely beautiful...light brown, with some golden streaks, and a some small black specks. I have tried this rubbed out, and folded. This is the easiest flake to get a good burn without the need to rub out. The pack light, and burn are exceptional. The flavor is full, sweet, and well balanced. I find no bight even when I puff aggressively. I only wish these people would release thier blend in bulk. For now I have filled a small drawer in my cellar with tins of CBP. I have another with the sister blend Cut Va. Plug. In my book they both get * * * *

Broken flakes at perfect moisture. No need to rub, just stuff and go. Very easy lighting, very easy handling in general. Does not bite at all and never gets hot. Surprisingly full flavored for such a mild strength and nicotine tobacco - on the mild side of medium. It also produces abundant smoke and is slow burning and smooth.

Bright hay-like Virginias with juicy sweet and tangy fruitiness reminiscent of plums or figs together with a mild (Oriental I was about to write, but it does not contain) sourness and possibly a touch of molasses (or caramel as other reviewers have mentioned).

Flavours evolve throughout the bowl. As the smoke progresses it becomes headier, darker with notes of cocoa. A very easy to like tobacco.

Maybe it’s a little too sweet and repeated smoking might make it feel cloying. Otherwise, its smoothness, mildness, fullness of flavor would warrant and all-day smoke.

Fribourg and Treyer - Cut Blended Plug.

When I opened the tin I was surprised to see only two rows of wide flakes. I expected the usual three rows but Fribourg & Treyer have been more daring by keeping their flakes fairly thick in width. I'm not exactly sure what the added flavourings are but I find a fairly strong berry like aroma. The aroma has a slightly higher touch of fruit than the smokes taste does.

The taste has without a doubt been livened up with berries and citrus, there is a zesty edge to the smoke along with a caramel type of sweetness as well. When I light up a bowl of this it burns very stable throughout, mind I expected this when I noticed the good hydration level from the tin. There isn't a great deal of nicotine in Cut Blended Plug, it's present but if you crave N you may have to take a big puff of smoke. I feel the word mild is applicable for many factors of this. I notice a subtle Virginia hay taste, not the big grassy one that can often be found. The added tastes are again soft, I can notice them but they appear delicately added. Nicotine, again, mild.

As others say, this could possibly be the quintessential blend to begin the pipe smoking hobby with and even the more experienced may enjoy it. I love it, highly recommended.

This is one of the best VA flakes I have ever tried. The Va leaf are sweet, bready, and tangy. The casing is noticeable but enhances the tobacco flavor notes rather than being distracting. Like other Va flakes from K&K, Blended Cut Plug smokes quite smoothly and will keep your interest all the way through the smoke. It is my favorite in the Fribourg & Treyer line.

Well this was a pleasant surprise. Upon reading that this one was flavored with citrus an fruit juice I wasn't expecting such a pleasant smoke. The sweetness is definitely there but it does not overpower the wonderful full Virginia flavors which remain the backbone of all of F and T's flakes. Back in the days I was fortunate to visit the F. and T. shop at Burlington arcade in London and purchased a 4 oz. tin of their Special Brown Flake which in those days I believe was probably blended for them by S. Gawith. If you were to take a tin of S.Gawith FVF and age it for about 5-6 years you would have a pretty good facimile of what that nicely fermented Special Brown was like fresh out of the tin. One of the reasons so many old timers like me lament the greenness of todays tobaccos is simply because the blenders just do not bother to age their leaf like the old days. Ask Mike McNiel. Anyway I will lay down a few tins of this one, a couple of years should make it even tastier but frankly it is pretty darned good right now.

Like its "sister" Virginia Cut Plug, this blended cut plug is warm, inviting, mellow, and somewhat rich.I say somewhat, because at different times of the day and in different weather, this smokes in varying overtones making it richer depending on those variables and of course, pipe size, packing method, and how you crumble or rub out the slices.

Not a complex tobacco, but genuine good tobacco taste and flavor. A reasonable all-day smoke for me and one I keep in regular rotation with my other Virginia plugs and flakes.

This tobacco smokes well in almost any pipe and I tend to smoke it in a number of my Castello's and Dunhill group 5 size straight billiards.

A great all-day smoke for Virginia flake cut smokers or for the beginning Virginia flake smoker seeking a mild, good tasting tobacco with a wonderful aroma.

Regards, Peter

.....a pipe is to be savored

Having previously tried Cut Virginia Plug and Vintage, I find Cut Blended Plug as good as the other two, with a difference: this one seems to me a richer, denser smoke, with more variety in its flavor, with a slower burning rate.

The point here seems to be the use of red and dark Virginias, giving it a slightly sour-sweet touch, yet presevring all the natural qualities of a straigh Virgnina. It kind of reminds me of the polite elusiveness of the bygone B&H Original Virginia Flake (or, if you prefer, a lighter form of Astley's No. 44 Dark Virginia).

Mild, without a bite, this indeed is one of the best Virginias I have tried. It is easy to smoke, though it is a trifle moister than its two brothers. It has a rich, dark undertone that soothes and enlivens the spirit and satisfies the palate. In short: it belongs to that same linage of straight Virginias like Old Gowrie, Marlin Flake and Astleys' . Kudos.