Butera Blended Flake

Creamy, flavorful, and tangy. Has that slight McVinegar when first lit. Virginias play the major role, but they are supported by a good amount of Perique and fine orientals. The blend is sweet but on the dark side and full bodied. Reminds me very much of "Tudor Castle" or maybe one of the McC Cajun series blends , Dark? I believe the processing is similar with that, "Pressed Stewed Perique" process. The overall blend is smooth , without bite and the flavor lasts the entire bowl without bitterness. Probably better than any of the for mentioned blends. I do agree with those that say to let this breath and dry before smoking. I'd be a buyer again.

Medium to dark brown broken flakes which deepen and homogenize somewhat in color as the tin is allowed to breathe, the aroma is rich and a bit spicy with an inviting earthy quality. While easily rubbed out to suit just about any preference, the flakes are tinned quite moist and require a bit of initial drying before coming anywhere near the pipe. Experimenting with a variety of preparations is suggested, as the character of the smoke has a tendency to change noticeably at varying degrees of moisture and with various styles of rubbing and packing. This reviewer has found the blend to perform at its best when in between just slightly pliable to a few ticks away from crispy, and when moderately rubbed out to just a bit chucky. Individual mileage will vary, of course, depending on pipe and preference.

Dominated by a mild woody spice, in the bowl Blended Flake offers dark notes of citrus and black tea alongside flavors reminding of figs, currants, and lychee. The piquant character of the Perique is notable throughout the bowl and at times seems intensified by the Oriental leaf. Securely coupled to a core of semi-sweet, aged Virginia, these two components are distinct enough to be recognized with little effort while at the same time creating enough of a synergy to generate a whole which at times transcends all three. While not a ‘balanced blend', Blended Flake is certainly not ‘out of balance' either. A smoke which seems to shift and change as one works his way through the tin, an interesting range of divergence and convergence are revealed as increased familiarity brings the blend's various aspects into focus. Medium to just a tad mild in body, the finish is long and lingering.

There is something about a Virginia-Perique-Oriental blend in a flake preparation which this reviewer finds eminently satisfying, and McClelland has done a nice job in producing an example which stands up to other well-known representatives of the genre – both those birthed in Kansas City and those coming from further afield. Blended Flake is a standout among Butera's Royal Vintage line and deserves the consideration of a wider audience than perhaps it has been given thus far. This review is based on a tin dated 2004, and while certainly more than ready to smoke at that vintage it does seems that laying some up to age for much longer would not go unrewarded.

First off the tobacco in the tin I have is not ready rubbed, but is in flake form. The tin aroma is wonderful, spicy, sweet,tobacco without flavoring. It packs ok as it is a bit moist out of the can. It charrs and relights without problems. It does not burn as nice and evenly as it would if it were a rubbed out blend as advertised. The taste is the important thing, and the taste is very nice. The blend is not too strong in nicotene either. It is a good smoke and worthy of many returned visits for any smoker who likes natural tasting tobacco, or some one who wants a non aromatic-non latakia blend. I am of the understanding that this tobacco is actually from McClelland. I'm not sure if this is true, but if it is I wonder under what name it is sold by.

I had taken a break from pipe smoking, was doing e-cigs for a while. E-cig reviews are pretty silly, it's a good review if it tastes like watermeleon and kiwi. Tobacco I had cellared seemed a little to sacrosanct into I got back into the rhythm, so I bought a number of american blends. It seems everyone, including butera, in america is using McClelland Virginians. The ketchup smell has turned into a vinegar smell. I don't know why I dislike that so much, it's not like it tastes like it smells, but, yeah, it bothers me. That's why I'm giving it a lower ranking, not the lowest because I didn't dump the bowl, but I'm smoking it in my S. Bang either.

Wow...this is fantastic, the tin I am smoking has 14 years of age on it, so this may not apply to fresher vintages, but this one is spectacular. The tin smells like the tobacco was stored in a port wine cask, with a deep dark fruit and earthy aroma. The taste in the pipe is sublime, I taste the Red Virginias mostly, the Orientals and the Perique are unnoticeable, but I do believe that would miss them if they were not there, as the years have muted their distinct flavors and they have become a spice for the Red Virginia. There is a rich tobacco flavor is up front, make no mistake, but the addition of the Perique and the Orientals has caused the blend to become greater than the sum of its parts. I would give this five stars if i could.

This smells like McClelland in the tin. I don't like that Ketchup note, so that's a minus if that matters at all. When smoked however it's awesome. Different types of tobaccos are clearly distinctive. Flavors are not "married" and mixed together, but here it's a good thing. You can feel the sweetness of the Virginia on the tongue, and at the same time the spicy pepperyness of the Perique in your nose. This is as if you have picked three totally different types of tobacco, put them in your pipe immediately, without giving them a chance to blend together and mellow each other out. And all that in a good way. I like tobaccos where Perique is wild and unbalanced, there's a lot of joy in it. Very few Vapers achieve that. There is however a hint of the McClelland "emptyness" if I may say so. McClelland Virginias often lack body to a certain point due to the way they ferment it. Here is noticeable also. Perique and other leaf compensate it and give more dimensions, almost like latakia usually does. It has freshness, and can be smoked in the summer, but also as a winter smoke. An everyday treat with slightly cigarettish note barely detectable, and not disturbing.

Well upon opening the tin a very bitter and almost malt vinager smell hit me like a brick wall, i wasnt very optimistic at this point. After rubbing it out in my hand for a minute a smell of tomato paste came to mind and this turned me off even more. It took a bit to light it, and when i did it was heavey and spicy, and quite hot. I really dislike it so much i gave away the rest of the tin. In all honesty though i could see how some smoker may like this so im me impartial and fair in my descrition.This blend has turned me off flake, i think for good.

Strange tobacco. Ever now and then this smoke reaches 'four star' level, you can taste figs and chocolate. But it's a pity that this happens only incidentally, most of the times there's nothing more than a very very strong vinager taste, which dries out your mouth and throat. I like McClelland (the producer of this tobacco) 'catsup' a lot but this is way over the hill. "Royal Vinager Blended Flake" would suit better as a name for this blend.

The appearance of this flake is fine, really nice to look at, the rubbing is easy and the moisture perfect: all that's needed for a fine smoke. After the first puffs where you taste the usual McClelland ketchup flavour, the body and taste set both on a light/ light to medium level, while the three components start to play their role. The first important impression is about the incredible smoothness of this blend, rather strange knowing the components. The Virginias and Orientals make the first half of the bowl a little "cigarettish", while the Perique adds some sourness. The second important impression is about how much this tobacco is drying my mouth. The burning is cool and regular, really ok. In the second half of the bowl the Perique comes out stronger, but everything remains light, too light for my taste.