Fribourg & Treyer Special Brown Flake

First things first: If you’re after rum from Fribourg and Treyer’s Special Brown Flake, try to buy a young tin and smoke the stuff ASAP after it’s opened. Pretty sure the (newer type, large, round) tin I bought had been sitting there for years, and the rum was quite subdued, just mildly sweet and fragrant, and not at all proof-y, as often happens with aged booze-topped blends. The tin is big for two short stacks of well-formed flakes that are mostly dark brown, with lighter brown and tan striations. I suppose this means there is some flue cured leaf and perhaps some orange in there with the featured air-cured brown VA. Tin note is light and very fragrant, something like rose and lavender over plum blossom. I think this might be Mirabel plum over fragrant, bready, slightly earthy and musty, meadow grass-y, citrus-y, hay-ish VAs. Though it burns better rubbed out I prefer the extra strength I get from keeping it more intact than that. 1 flake, broken, folded and spindled fills my VA pipe loosely. It takes a while to get it well lit like this, then it smokes all the way down with slow draws and regular, light tamping, along with some stirring at the tail end, and it’s a lengthy smoke this way. Scents and tastes follow the tin note, except combusting scents and tastes are actually better than the tin notes. IMO, SBF is far from being an aromatic, and after it’s rested it would be a stretch to call it a crossover, based on the tin I got. In any case, the lot is well-melded, tasting and smelling like healthy type pancakes. What was once rum is now more like natural cane/rum sugar, sweet with a bare trace of molasses, and I am not concerned with trying to unravel it but I just take it fairly easy and let it all come to me. After my VA pipe got “conditioned” to it I smelled and tasted something like a memory of an alpine meadow, with faint, pine-y dust. Soft, sweet, and savory, with a very mild zing to it, SBF is at once both natural and refined. Very nice. In terms of strength, it ramps up smoothly from mild to near medium, and the tastes get to medium. Room note is pleasant. Aftertaste is a drawn out, sweeter best of the smoke.

Here’s a First Class offering for experienced VA lovers that shouldn’t put off beginners. No doubt it will continue to age well. 4 stars.

When I first smoked Special Brown Flake, I was immediately smitten with its close resemblance to Capstan's Navy Flake (Blue) in terms of appearance, aroma, tobacco composition, and smoking characteristics, but at a much better price point. The rum is mildly applied and barely noticeable. The dark Virginia leaf offers a smooth and mellow smoke with slight fruity (figs) hints if sipped at a slow cadence. The bright leaf offers more undertones of grass with less citrus notes than similar leaf in blends such as Orlik Golden Slice. There is little chance of tongue bite even when puffed quickly, though you will see the subtleties in the flavor disappear.

If you prefer a more intensely flavored straight Virginia, SG FVF is a good alternative. That said, I prefer Fribourg & Treyer Special Brown Flake, because it is mmm good.

Special Brown Flake provides a very pleasant smoke that is consistently good and one I look forward to. The charring light is robust with richness. There is sweetness from the Virginia and something extra that I can’t put into words, yet it is very enjoyable.

The simple description from Fribourg & Treyer says that there is a Navy rum top note; from the tin, I cannot detect it and in the smoke, I cannot taste it unless it is the source of the enjoyable charring light.

Nevertheless, the initial pleasure gives way to a completely satisfying and somewhat sweet Virginia Tobacco smoke. There is a spiciness that begins to come forward around the 1/3 point and stays along for the ride. While F&T did not indicate the inclusion of Perique, SBF acts like a nice full and rich VaPer with no bite.

Some have written that this blend does best with some age. My tin is 4 year old is superb and now is half gone. I’m going to buy some more to age and save this last half for the days when I want to enjoy a Proven Champ.

This one gets the 4 Stars and will be missed if it ever goes away.

Friborg & Treyer - Special Brown Flake.

My flakes are a medium brown in colour with many light spots all over. They are only a little too moist, drying would be a benefit however it isn't imperative as without airing they can still be easily rubbed out if you wish to do so. The smell from the tin is stronger with rum than the flavour, the aroma is a definite rummy one but the taste just has a slight rum embellishment to it.

From start to finish Special Brown burns good, to initiate the burn it only requires a quite short touch of the flame which then becomes almost redundant due to the only necessity being the odd tamp. The temperature is fairly cool, a good feature well accompanied by zero bite. I find the nicotine quite mild, not fully mild hence why I tick mild to medium!

My initial thought upon my first puff was "four stars" and a few bowls have done nothing to assuage that feeling.

Four stars.

F&T'Special Brown Flake is exactly what it says it is,'a medium brown Virgina flake with a rum top note. The rum seems to fades as the smoke reaches mid bowl. It is an inoffense brand which over buns well and delivers exactly what it promises. It is though somewhat a neither nor. The virginas are not quite top shelf nor is the rum flavoring worth remembering. I would think that you would better suited with something Wilke's Rumcake if you looking for that sort of experience. Over all 2 stars.

I agree with the previous review entirely. I too smoke Cornell and Dhiel Afterhours and the GH rum flake. The difference here is that it is less intense, better balanced, in the right quantity (the rum) and the smoke is perfect. One of the best Rum flakes, if not the best available. This is my second tin. Update: after the thrid tin, even more convinced this is a top quality, exceptionally good stuff.

I am a rum flavor fan. I have tried Cornell & Diehl's After Hours, Garwith Hoggart's Rum Flake, and now (drum roll please) Fribourg & Treyer's Special Brown Flake. I like them all; however, F & T stands out on top in my opinion. There is a good rum flavor, slight sweetness on the tip of the tong, and a smooth all the way through smoking experience.

In comparison to the others, I would say there is a slight tong bite with each of the others that occurs during the smoke. It reminds you to slow down a little. They both have nice rum aroma but F & T has the most rum taste.

If there is any downside the F & T's Special Brown Flake is that it is a little fast burning and it won't be around much longer. I wish it came in bulk. I would buy it by the pound! If you like rum, this is a must try.

The tin aroma is definately rum, with hints of chocolate/cocoa and raisin. It comes in a square 50g tin, with the only downside that it doesn't hold the moisture very well if left as it is after opening.

Packing this tobacco isn't any harder than any other flake, although they have a tendency to stick together and can be a bit of a nuisance to separate. But you get used to it. In my experience it is best smoked by folding and twisting rather than rubbing. When newly opened the moisture content is perfect, almost a little on the dry side.

The first puffs after the false light can be somewhat harsh. But it quickly settles into a very much well behaved and delightfully sweet experience. The aftertaste at this point reminds me alittle of liqueur, somewhere along the lines of licorice.

As the smoke progresses it takes on a slightly bitter cocoa taste, which starts to intermingle with sweet and dark stoved figgy notes. The mouthfeel is really quite velvety and a good body to the smoke develops making this an excellent smoking experience.

Burning characteristics are very good and there are no problems keeping it lit. Despite its tendency of being stout and heavy, I've never had any bite problems with this blend, even when tempting fate - but of course, keeping the puffing rate slow and steady keeps the flavour consistent and enjoyable.

It burns down to a white and dark grey ash, it sometimes leave a little oily goo by the airhole, but nothing a pipe cleaner won't handle.

The room note is pleasant and leaves a small tingle in the nose for a while, nothing out of the ordinary besides that that I can sense.

Final verdict? This is an exquisite and deeply satisfying virginia flake. Not one I smoke on a daily basis, but rather when the mood strikes. I seem to find it especially satisfying on cold autumn or winter evenings. When the conditions are right, I find it pretty much flawless.

I tried some F&T flakes or cut plugs at the Chicago Pipe Show which led me to buy four of them. Special Brown Flake appears to be a thinly sliced plug, medium brown throughout with a light sweetener. The aroma in the tin is a faint peach or apricot and Virginia tobacco. No fruitiness comes through in the smoke. It appears to be well aged because the flakes come apart quite easily, almost like a Krumble Kake, although this may be the result of the F&T process. The tobacco packs, lights and burns easily to a white/grey ash all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The smoke is a very mild, slightly sweetened Virginia flavor. This tobacco reminds me of Dunhill Light Flake but with less nicotine. I fill the pipe by making a dottle and then folding the flakes and inserting them endwise. This is extraordinarily good tobacco with a great, lightly sweetened Virginia flavor. I will be keeping the F&T cut plugs on hand as part of my regular rotation. Highly recommended. Paddy.