Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug

Having mastered at least a modicum of smoking technique, I tend to reach for full bodied, full flavored blends that can still provide pleasure when sipped very slowly. So it comes as quite a surprise that I enjoy this blend as much as I do, as it is extremely mild and light.

F&T's CVP is a dead ringer for Capstan Navy Cut Medium, an old guilty pleasure no longer available here. The tin aroma appears identical, and although it lacks the overt sweetness of the Capstan, it does have a lovely sweetness of its own, one that is mild yet persistent. It's cool, clean, and as easy to smoke as any flake.

The word that always come to mind while smoking this blend is "delightful."

Definitely one of the top Virginias in the market, along with Old Gowrie, FVF, and a couple more. Sweet, complex, hayish... Everything you expect from a great Virginia, and then some.

Came to stay in my regular rotation.

A great Virginia flake, very rich in taste, smooth and never bitey.

It burns well (either rubbed out or in larger chunks), slow and regular and requiring few relightings.

It has all the flavour you can wish from a flake: dried plums, apricots, a wonderful sweetness with some tart notes here and there. Never too strong, or getting bitter towards the bottom of the bowl.

Excellent.

superb. Just superb. Its an interesting blend because while there is a bit of casing....it is very very very mild and adds just the right amount of added depth. Its perfectly blended. F&T are underrated I think. Vintage flake is similar but without any casing. The added flavor is likely apricot and something else...citrus perhaps. It might remind some of Royal yacht in that sense. Its close, though, to Special Brown flake only apricot and not rum. Its absolutely a joy to smoke. Cool,slow, no bite ever.

I originally had this firmly planted in my rotation/cellar list. I was able to acquire a 10 year old tin to do a test vs my tins are now two years aged. I also asked some of my friends to participate in this test. 3 of is, including myself, actually preferred the fresher tin. It was during this testing thatI really discovered that the topping is so evident and not preferable to yours truly. The aged tin topping tasted a bit like a rotten orange. The fresher tin had the orange and possibly vanilla topping slightly more pleasant tasting. I ended up trading all of my tins away as I just didn't enjoy this tobacco anymore after figuring out it wasn't as pure as I first thought. I just prefer more natural tobacco flavors. This is a good Virginia flake for someone who is transferring from aromatics to more straight tobacco's, but it is far from straight.

If I was on a remote island with plenty of pipes but could only take one tobacco , this would be the one . This is usually my first smoke of the day . The folded flake is easy to pack and burns well down to a white ash . The tin note leaves one aroused for the smoke to follow . The taste is pure Virginia with really slight overtones of a light topping . I don't find it at all spicy . Although F & T's Vintage runs it a close second this is still the one . I also enjoy the cut blended plug but never as much . This is best smoked in a small , group 3 sized pipe . It needs to b lit only once and should be puffed slowly to enjoy the subtle treat within .

There are two toppings that I really dislike and this has one , "Vanilla". I love vanilla ice cream, cake, candy but not on my tobacco ( I should have read the header under flavoring closer). It smells great to others but it's cloying to me, even in small quantities like in this blend.

The quality of the Virginia is very nice , but I'm so distracted by the Vanilla I can't even give a fair evaluation. If you don't mind Vanilla you should like this , but it's not for me.

Oh, the other topping I hate......" Lakeland Floral"

A fairly strong orange-like citrus note, some of which is topping, and a mild note of hay. Some sweetness and spice. The vanilla in the topping adds more creaminess than vanilla flavor. Some bread notes in the second half of the bowl. A very nice smoke, but you need to mind your cadence or it can burn hot and the flavor will disappear.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burns very well, perhaps a little too well.

This has been a very enjoyable smoke. In the interests of full disclosure, my tin was a gift and was dated 2008, so I am smoking some well-aged Virginia.

I mostly rubbed this out and a flake is just a little too much for the various pot variants I used to smoke it. I decided it worked well in a Savinelli 121, and so almost half the tin has been smoking in this particular pipe. Hydration from the tin was very good for me, and I just smoked it with no time to dry.

The gold Virginias are a delicate hay with some citrus. The topping may add to the citrus, but it tastes fairly natural to me - just bumped up a little. The red Virginias provide some depth and a stewed fruit. I get a tart when puffed. As one of those curious things, I know the description says there is vanilla in the topping, but I don't taste it - even when I "look" for it.

The rating here is a tough one for me. This was very good, but so are the Capstan Original and Gold. I gave them threes. Cut Virginia Plug comes at a better price point. If you are looking for a really good Virginia flake, this is one to get. It does not rise to the 4 - everyone should try.