Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug

Summary: nice tangy Virginia flake with a fruity citrus topping.

Upon first light, the apricot-citrus flavor rises up but rapidly dissipates, leaving the zesty sweet-sour flavor of bright Virginia with what feels like a support structure of brown Virginia in a minor role. This produces a sweet smoke that is thoroughly enjoyable at a slow pace, since it does not take much of it to produce an impression! The topping provides a background that steers the Virginia toward more of a lemon curd flavor and fills in some of the gaps, but the real star here is the Virginias. Like most Kohlhase & Kopp blends, this one is well-conditioned to make it mellow, including some humectants and sugars. Low in nicotine, not inclined to bite unless you puff, good for all-day slow breath-smoking, this blend is great but I would look at alternatives from Newminster (#400) and Comoy's (#4) for a similar effect at lower cost, even if those may require a few months of aging to reach the same performance.

Appearance – Small, thin flakes that are pretty much the same size and shape as the MacBaren flakes. Occasionally you will get a tin where the flakes have been broken up a bit.

Prep – This one I always cube cut with scissors. Gravity feed while tapping the bowl to settle everything. That’s it. Easy peasy.

Smoke – Ahhhhhh, sweet Virginia goodness. There are all of the Virginia players with this blend but the sweetness is what stands out to me. I’m not sure if it is a topping or something added to the blend to up the sugar. Don’t know….don’t care. I love it. With that said, it is not an artificial sweetness flavor that I am talking about but more of an aged Virginia sweetness.

Summary – This is one of my favorite blends of all time!

This pipe tobacco is a great example of a straight viriginia flake which has been handled and produced in a delicate and thoughtful way. It is bright and citrusy, with some flavors that also remind me of a good sweet vermouth (red fruit, herbs, acidity) with a fair amount of creaminess, and an ever-so-slight vanilla flavor (likely a casing rather than simply a naturally occuring flavor). It smokes clean, relatively dry, and is pleasant for those around you. It is a great option for the virginia smoker who wants something a bit lighter and sweeter and pleasing to their companions without sacrificing anything in terms of quality or flavor.

I was given a nice size sample of this to try out and I have finally gotten around to it this afternoon. The strips (flakes) were about a half-inch in width and the usual brown tobacco. My first bowl I took three flakes and crumbled them up and placed them in my Altinay Poker Meerschaum which I only smoke Virginia type or dark fired blends in. This was almost too much tobacco as I had to pack it kind of tight but it still lit up nicely and after I got it going, I detected a sweetness to this blend. This is described as a Straight Virginia with Fruit/Citrus, Vanilla flavoring. Would I have known what the sweetness was? No. Only after reading the description did I know what the flavoring was. I believe this blend is a cased tobacco which brings me to a side topic. I always get casing and topping intertwined. I watched an excellent video while smoking this about the subject by Jeremy Reeves, from C&D and to paraphrase. Casing is done before the blending process and is usually a neutral flavor such as sugar, honey, molasses, etc. Topping is done after the blending process and is usually of a more pronounced flavor. My second bowl, I did the fold and stuff and as the previous bowl smoked it down to the bottom. This is good tobacco but I do not care for the flavor profile of this one. I do not find this sweetness offensive but just does not appeal to me. Okay, now I am in the Twilight Zone. No one has posted any reviews in the last two days except me? Creepy.

A lovely virginia flake with a mild flavoring.. what is the flavoring? hard to say.. it is a creamy smoke.. with almost a slight soapiness to it (not quite lakeland strength soap) and possibly something oriental in there as well.. Mellow is the key word for this smoke. I prefer a slightly more pronounced virginia flavor, but really there is nothing to dislike about this flake. It does have a nice progression down the bowl.. gets sweeter at times.. Often compared to capstan.. I wish capstan was available in the US to try them side by side.. A great change of pace from other virginias.

This is an excellent example of a Virginia blend. This has moved into my top 5 and I will alternate this with Old Gowrie as my morning smoke.

It has that creamy taste that I associate with Virginia blends. It is something I look forward to when cracking open the tin of a new blend and more often than not I am disappointed.

I was really looking forward to trying it and am very happy to report that I am a very satisfied piper. I filled my pipe for the first time and, not expecting much, lit this wonderful weed and smoked the first few puffs while going over some documents. The wonderful taste caught me offguard and I put the paperwork down for a moment and savoured the toe curling, creamy, smooth deliciousness coming from the mouthpiece of my beloved briar.

In no particular order, HOTW, OG, LGF, CVP. These are the reasons I am a piper for life.

Mo, South Africa

I used this to break in a "new" 1992 Savinelli POY. I don't know if that was a good idea or not. This has a top dressing that reminds me of licorice of which I am not a fan of.

I have tried it folded and fully rubbed, and I think that I prefer it rubbed out.

My only substantial complaint is that it tastes so good the first half of the bowl but gets quite bitter toward the end. It does burn well, but a nice slow smoking pace is required to get the best from this tobacco.

It is presented well in the tin and does require some drying time.

The tin I smoked was 8 months old. I have one more tin that I will let age for a few more months and see if it mellows out a tad. I will try it in the same pipe because in all fairness, the pipe is not fully broken in as I only smoked 16 bowls through it.

I will report back if the results change.

These F & T virginia flakes have grown on me: I liked them originally, I have come to like them a lot. They are all similar, with gradations of intensity that are not always apparent to my senescent boomer palate, yet their clean-taste smoothness and well-balanced finish are continually good for the soul: these are just about the most civilised "new" [to me] blends I have tried in a while. This one in particular looks especially pretty in the tin. Try them all!

CVP is a basic, grassy Virginia flake with a dark side sweetness that I'd put in the date and prune family -- perhaps even approaching anise. It produces lots of caramel overtones and has an ever-so-slight sharpness that suggests spice. I can't recall ever smoking a Virginia flake that produced sweet tastes in a part of the spectrum that is this dark. It is well worth investigating for its uniqueness and distinctive character -- let alone its wonderful taste.

It has medium strength; full body (character); full flavor; and good balance among these traits. There is no bite, and it delivers a dry, invigorating smoke right down to the bottom of the bowl. This is a "must try" for those who appreciate a smooth, high quality Virginia flake.