Watch City Cigar Flake #558

Another classic from Ernie Q, this VePer with Kentucky crumb cake is a bit darker in color than his Slices. The aroma is sweeter and tangier as well, which is far from surprising. Ernie moves to the Virginia spectrum but still adds a bit of Kentucky to keep this one from hovering towards the "too sweet". As a result, it's excellent.

The tang from the Virginias is not of the typical "grassy" nature but more of a sweet hay. The perique strikes a perfect balance between darkly sweet and spicy that works wonderfully, while the Kentucky provides a bit of down home grit to the proceedings. This was another blend that just wouldn't stay out of my pipes. Generally I smoke a lot of bowls of my favorites alongside the blends I'm reviewing but this and the Slices wouldn't hear of it. Those two blends are extremely complementary, one being bold and earthy and the other tangy and "upscale". I have no doubt this one will age beautifully. If you have yet to check out the Watch City blends, don't wait any longer. I wish I had gotten onboard sooner.

How many cigar/pipe shops in America still create their very own flakes and kakes? My guess is that it is less than five. But as with the other flakes and kakes that I have tried from Watch City, Flake #558 doesn’t disappoint. #558 is a flake that is cut a little on the thick side and the pouch sent offers a deep, earthy, slightly sweet scent. Flake #558 is comprised of red, bright and stoved Virginias with added perique. The flake is a little on the darker side than Old Dominion, another WC flake I am working my way through. I thought there might be just a pinch of added Cavendish in there too, but it was just the effect the stoved had on the blend. But that is just a guess. Due to the thickness of the flake, I prefer to let it dry a bit and then break it up into small pieces with a little fully rubbed out to get the party started. In the pipe, this is one smooth flake with no hint of bite. #558 burns cool and slightly sweet. Kudos to Watch City on another fine blend. I can’t wait to see what three or four years in the cellar will do to this one. Good stuff!

It's very, very good. The stoved VAs are at the forefront for me. There is a lot of tangy, ripe, dark fruit. The perique likely contributes to that, and while I don't find it spicy in flavor, I do notice a bit of a spicy tingle on the lips and mouth. The Kentucky adds a bit of body and stoutness, but I don't get much of that BBQ smokiness. It's very well-blended. I bet this ages an absolute dream. I just find myself reaching for my jar all the time.

Recommended for fans of: McClelland VAs, H&H Anniversary Kake, some of the Pease VaPers.

Strength I'd peg at medium for both nicotine and flavor. YMMV, of course

A kind friend gave me a small sample of this leaf. Well...it has now rocketed to the top of my favourites. Ernie Q. is a skillful blender that's for sure. The leaf smokes fairly easily and has a most pleasant and full taste. A great pipe out walking on a moonlit night. Absolutely highly recommended.

Watch City Cigar's No. 558 Flake is a broken flake that rubs out easily, yields up figgy Perique, smoky and spicy Kentucky and hay-like Virginias. What a treat! When asked to describe the room note, my family voted "strong." Delicious all the way through - - if you like Perique you'll really like this one (Perique is toned down from the similar No. 556). Moisture in my batch (a free sample) was just right.

A dry and cool smoke that is never boring nor too sweet. This just tastes really, really good. Nicotine is about in the middle. Another great Watch City blend. Their blends are just really special, and if you haven't tried them you really should. If every other tobacco source disappeared but WC, I would miss a lot of great tobacco but could get by just fine with WC's marvelous (and high-rated) blends.

Fat, juicy flakes with a pouch aroma that's mostly perique with some nice matured Virginia and a hint of leathery Kentucky.

Nice and moist, rubs out easily. A bit of drying time does it some good. Smoking a very fresh batch, I've had a slight gurgle when I light it up too fast.

The smoke itself is on the thin side; no billowy clouds of white here.

The flavor is all spice and leather. The sharpness of the perique is very noticeable, held up on a solid spine of pleasant, well-behaved Virginias. The dark fired is very much in the background but provides a nice, subtle, earthy accompaniment. The room note is spicy and a bit pungent, but not overpowering.

Despite the flavorful components, this seems like it could be an all-day smoke, especially for perique lovers.

(I am a newer and irregular pipe smoker. My reviews are subject to my preferences and tastes and pipe smoking habits)

As before, SteelCowboy has really done the heavy lifting in describing this tobacco, so I will only add any differences I may have noticed in my smoking experiences. As Ernie at WCC had treated me so well in the past, I knew I had to give some return business and especially to his house blends. He informed me that he felt his blends were presented in a 'Crumble Flake' form, a little bit of both worlds. This thick cut flake was rubbed out and packed gently. Took a flame easily and required only a few relights on my part. Aside from the aforementioned VaPer flavours, there is a woody/earthy note in the background throughout the smoke. I didn't get much in the way of strong sweet and sour, but a more rich, dark meaty smoke that was a little drier than I was expecting. Still very nice and different from what I normally have experienced in VaPer's. The Burly adds that extra little something to the taste, yet stays cool with little to no bite. I did get some Perique spice but it was very slight. Overall a very balanced smoke and a surprising treat. WCC is one of the hidden gems with a great in store selection and an honest, no BS proprietor who knows how to blend and sell his own tobaccos.

I pretty much concur with Steelcowboy's review, which will spare you a lot of redundant reading. I was surprised to see such thick, crumbly flakes -- a unique presentation in my experience. It is a crumble cake sliced into thick flakes. Slow burning and satisfying with a good whole mouth feel, great body, and a pleasing combination of bready Va flavors and fruit-like Perique. Nothing sharp nor grassy, nor peppery here. It has a sweet woody edge, as if there was some nut-like Burley in the mix. Top notch!

Customer service needs a wee bit more attention. In a recent (2017) online purchase one of two bags arrived without any label, and the shipment was packaged without an invoice. No reflection on the quality of the tobacco, however.

Very nice choice in the category of sweeter and milder VaPer. I’m a big fan of St James Flake, and I would say this is fairly similar, but a notch sweeter, milder in perique, and, IMO easier to pack and smoke, with few relights needed. There is some tanginess to the perique, but as the bowl progresses the flavour develops into a very well integrated, smooth and sweet smoke. And the smooth quality definitely stands out here.

Taste: What strikes me is how well integrated the flavour is. It starts a bit more on the perique-side, but soon you get at farily consistent brown sugar type of sweetness with an earthy body with almost a bit of (very) dark chocolate note (a bit like burley). Nothing tart or harsch here, just mellow and smooth. To be honest, I don't think it is the complexity of nuances that characterizes the flavour profile. In no way is it flat, but the flavour is more integrated than it is complex. I would say it's just perfectly integrated in the way that you want your VaPer to be. The flavour is just mild sweetness and well balanced amount of perique that provide a little robust backbone and spice.

So, for those looking for a sweeter VaPer that is easy to handle and smokes smoothly, this is a good choice. The only thing I reacted to was the tin note, for some reason it did not smell very nice, but that is something I could not care less about, as long as the smoke is good. It is just funny sometimes how the smell of the tobacco has nothing to do with the taste when smoked. So don’t be fooled all you aromatic sniffers, in the world of pipe tobacco something can smell like shit but smoke deliciously good in the pipe. : )