Bjarne Flake de Luxe

Probably the best introduction to straight Virginias I have ever tried. This is a velvety smooth, natural tasting and slightly sweet smelling flake, very mild yet flavoursome, tangy, with no tongue bite whatsoever. Elegant, fresh, polite, it has all the elements of a high quality Virginia, perfectly pressed and exquisite in its overall structure.

I have been smoking this in a Dublin Brebbia, in a semi bent Stanwell and in a Savinelli Oscar, with excellent results all the time. It is very mild, but it has enough spiciness to make it enjoyable. In the tin the tobacco comes tightly pressed and it has an aroma not unlike Duinhill´s Three Year Matured, and similar to G. Smith?s Old London 100% Virginia: sugary, very much like molasses and dried raisins. The aroma, however, does not carry onto the flavour, nor the pipe. The flakes are easy to rub out and pack, and it lights easily.

On the palate the smoke is clean and fresh. It has that peculiar zest that I also find in Virginias likes Rattray?s Marlin Flake and Dunhill´s Light Flake. In fact, Flake de Luxe is as good and savoury as these tobaccos, simply in a milder form. The flavour remains constant throughout the bowl. It is quite cool for a straight Virginia, and as an early morning smoke it is unsurpassable. If you want to turn anyone into real pipe smoking, this is the tobacco to do it with. Even for a seasoned palate, this Virginia is an excellent choice. Highly recommended.

Flake de Luxe is a winner - pure and simple. Classic VA aroma and taste with a light top dressing for extra flavor. The flavoring is the best rendering I have ever experienced of that ubiquitous "Danish-Style" casing that so many brands and blenders have attempted to use through the years - often without success.

Here the topping comes through as a citrus-apricot-tangy-creaminess that merges seamlessly with the natural VA flavor that possesses a similar flavor profile. The marriage of natural VA grassy-creamy-tanginess with the topping works wonderfully, complimenting the tobacco, not masking it.

Rubs out easy with a scent almost identical to fresh cut hay sun-curing in the field.

Pack this one medium to lightly, it gets hot and wet in a hurry if packed too tight.

Light on nicotine, but that's OK for the majority of my smoking moods. I suspect that this is a result of the VA being young. Such young, light blond VAs have never been to my liking before, but this time they shine.

This is the best flavored VA flake I have tried thus far. I will be buying more of this for sure.

EDIT UPDATE : I bought 10 tins of this after posting this review. That should show what I think of the blend 🙂

Update: This is superb, particularly in whole form, dried some. Now four full stars.

This is to me an example of Danish-style scented flake, quite delicate in the scented aspect and a touch spicy or tangy due to its maturity/fermentation. No where as scented as some of G&H blends (not much is).

Overall a mild-to medium flavor leaving a nice aftertaste, provided you have puffed gently. There is a lot of residual sugar to burn hot if allowed to, and maybe a bit of added glucose, fructose, sucrose, whatever. There is enough flavor in this flake to allow for the slow smolder. Expect a dry bowl when finished after a steady, even and clean-tasting pipeful.

Noteworthy is how this behaves in a meerschaum distinct from a briar pipe. Bright and lilting in a silicate, and FdL wanders in flavor more and is still substantial. In briar, deeper, more musty overtones come out and the sparkling high-lights just barely come through. Both pipes were impeccably clean for the comparison.

If you found Briar Fox too sooty, Golden Sliced flavor-challenged, Dunhill's Light Flake funky and non-descript, Brown Clunee and Old Gowerie too subtle, Flake de Luxe is a worthy peer to other fine tobaccos of this sort. Though, I do think the Samuel Gawith's Best Brown Flake is the place to start for beginners and one might never leave such beginnings.

They should finance a tin of this to every new pipe smoker as the prfect intoduction to real tobacco! Where was it 25 years ago when I had my first bowlful?(Erinmore, I still hurt in the tongue when I see the yellow tin!). Yes it is very,very mild and certainly not an evening smoke for a more seasoned piper. But it makes an excellent morning tobacco that packs and burns beatiful with no harshness and no bite. I have devoted a nice Viprati to it as my first morning pipe. I have a reliable source here in Denmark, who says that the topping is chocolate and the secret is not in the topping but in the very unusual way this topping is applied ;). Gathers power in the last third and needs a pipe cleaner somewhere there with my overpuffing cadence, but I'm simpy loving it! Everybody owe themselves the favor to try a tin. Try it in the hot weather time of the year, you will not regret

Flake de Luxe is an excellent blend. Slightly sweet, crisp, clean, with no bite, and a very nice room note. In the tin it smells a little like hay with some honey on it. A great choice for a nice peacful evening smoke. My fiance will actually tolerate it too. Highly recommended.

A tobacco which shouldn't miss in my tobacco bar. I have always one tin for reserve. But first from the beginning. When you open the tin a lovely natural sweet smell comes out. The tobacco is not to dry and not to wet. It's perfect for packinng the pipe and smoke. There are no tongue bites at all. The flake has a tiny flavour they didn't write it on the tin. But for me it is honey or maple juice. I highly recommend this flake for pipe smokers who love natural ones. 4 stars

Flake De Luxe.26/03/07. In my opinion,this tobacco is really,really good!!! I love virginias and found this to be truly wonderful.The oriental added a superb nicely rounded back ground taste,making the flavour's of both mixing splendidly.I loaded my pipe's for approximately ten min's before lighting up,then,only a second light up was occasionally required,along with the odd soft tamp here and there. This tobacco gave me great enjoyment,along with a result of delicious,non,over powering flavour's all the way. I suffered no tongue bite at all and next to no goop at bowl's end,leaving me with a very clean whitish grey ash. "Highly recommended"

My favorite VA flake. A very nice, sweet, round, nutty, pure tobacco flavor. Doesn't bite me. For a straight tobacco flavor without lat, without perique, without smoky overtones, in short without anything at all other than high quality pure tobacco flavor, this is the king of them all.

A very accurate description...a very mild Virginia flake. For those who want to enter the world of Virginia flakes without the risk of tongue-bite or nicotene overload. Truly an all-day smoke. Too light for the infrequent smoker who is looking for quick satisfaction. Very user friendly for a flake. A bit too moist as recieved, it rubs out very easily. The slightest hint of the Danish honey flavor. Highly recommended.