Butera Blended Flake

This was maybe the third or fourth tinned blend I ever tried and I guess soemtimes you just have to get lucky. I went into a shop looking for some more Blackwoods Flake and was told by the clerk that they were out. He suggested that I'd like this just as well. Well, obviously they didn't move much of this stuff as it the tins were about seven years old. Darn, just my luck.

I honestly don't know how this stuff is newly blended but with some age on it it's fantastic. The various orientals and the perique play a great game of dueling flavors all the way through the smoke. The Virginias lay a great base with their delicate flavors underpinning the stronger topnotes of the varietals. The Carolinas contribute just an extra something. If Mike Butera's label wasn't also the one that brought us Kingfisher I'd say the man is a full blown genius.

Even if I didn't know who blended this tobacco, the tin aroma would have told me. It has the McClelland fermented smell that you either love or hate. I guess it might be an acquired taste, as it put me off at first, but now is quite welcome. In addition to the sour aroma, there is also a spiciness present which is intriguing. The color is mostly red, with some lighter and darker elements present. The tobacco is cut in small, slightly thick flakes which rub out easily to any roughness desired. I favor a medium rub of small "chunks" and some strands for easy lighting. The blend lights well, and burns slowly, requiring an occasional relight but just about right for a flake. The initial flavor is fantastic, the Va. richness enhanced by the spicy turkish and the peppery perique. This is a combination I truly love, but had never before found in flake form. The flavor develops even richer toward the middle of the bowl and continues to the end without getting noticeably harsher. I do like to let it dry a bit before smoking, but this is typical for me. Others may like it just the way it comes from the can. I would recommend it highly to anyone except aromatic smokers and Latakia junkies.

Comes in heavily pressed broken flakes as per tin description. They need a lot of rubbing out in order to light and smoke properly as there are a lot of very compressed chunks which, if not broken thoroughly do not take well to light. Tin note is tell-tale McClelland: an enticing vinegary fruitiness!

Now to taste. Blended Flake is dominated by the sweet and nutty Red Virginia taste (with a McClelland sauce I guess) which is very reminiscent of 5100 but thicker. The Orientals are also prominent – true and unadulterated they add a strong dry and sour note and their incomparable aroma. Perique is measured. It is spicy and I can feel it mostly after the middle of the bowl. It adds backbone and a nice rough edge to the blend.

Strength is at least medium, as is nicotine. Room note is very tobaccoey and strong – I like it – but smoking Blended Flake is not recommended among the company of non smokers.

Not an all-day tobacco for me (even if I wanted now it’s too late…), rather one to savour and contemplate upon. In any case it’s a great Va/Or/Per blend showcasing one of the best Oriental leafs I have ever smoked. Much truer to the Oriental taste than any of the tobaccos in the Grand Oriental series. Needs preparation before smoking. Even when well rubbed it smokes quite slow.

Butera - Blended Flake (Royal Vintage).

I'm not too sure why it's currently badged 'Ready Rubbed', my tin contains some fairly dark, only ever-so slightly broken flakes. They're on the thicker side so need a thorough rub if you like your flakes to resemble a shop bought ready rubbed mixture. I just give them a gentle fold and break, then stuff them straight in.

I opened this as my morning smoke, and it will fill that vacancy perfectly. The flavour's deep and rich. I find the Perique mellower for the first part of the smoke; the main flavour's a buttery and creamy Oriental/Turkish one, initially. It takes a while for the Perique to come over. The burn's very good from Blended Flake and not too quick; mind you, I have mine virtually folded and stuffed and that usually keeps the burn slower. Although this was opened as my morning blend I think it would be great any time of day; it doesn't bite, the nicotine's medium, the taste would be good to relax with as an evening smoke yet it would also give me that 'get up and go' in the morning.

I enjoy this a great deal: highly recommended.

Four stars.

I found a couple of tins dated from 1997, so this is some well aged tobacco. Popping the tin, my nose still told me McClelland, but that's OK, as I don't think anybody does Va's better. My tastes have always taken me to VaPers and Oriental blends; I enjoy very few burleys and latakia blends. This on has it ALL; quality Virginias, St.James Perique, and fine Orientals. As good as McClelland does tobacco, I believe that some of their best blends go out under different labels, like Butera's Royal Vintage, and Hamlin's PCCA. This could easily be a "desert island" blend.

If you are a lover of va/per blends, you will positively flip over this. I normally shy away from anything that contains more than a whisper of perique, and this has about a shout of it. But it is so well done, that even those of us who are perique intolerant can enjoy it.

I need to preface the rest of this review by saying that this is based on smoking a tin that had aged for ten years; anything younger, and I can't vouch. But, what ten years has done for this tin, marvelous! The tobacco was leathery, sugar coated, and reeked of tanginess (this is made for Butera by McClelland). It wasn't very attractive, unless you knew what you were looking at; and I knew that this was gonna taste goooood.

Lighting was surprisingly more difficult than I expected, more like an unaged McClelland flake. But, once it got going it never went out, and it smoked down to pure white ash. The flavor was sublime; sweet va., tangy/spicy perique, but without the overbearing fermenty flavor I usually get from perique. I think the orientals helped tie everything together during the aging process, as the musty flavor of these peeked through around the edges of the perique. Smoking this tobacco brought to mind images of a beautiful, exotic and musky scented woman. I won't go beyond that. It was just really good stuff.

I intend to pick up a few tins of this to put away for another ten years. While this is too much of a good thing for me to smoke all day, I think it would really be a suitable evening smoke for the cooler months. I only wish it hadn't been my only ten year old tin (du'oh).

What can I say this is my favorite tobacco. To me it's perfect in every way. Taste, complexity of flavors, differences in flavors, Balance between flavors....

A winner. There is a wonderful balance here between the three major aspects: VAs, Perique and orientals. None dominates nor do any wilt into the background. The VAs are not overly sweet, the orientals are not overly cigar-like and the Perique is not overly potent. There is a continual dynamic of reassertion of each aspect so that this blend is never boring. On the flip side, it is also hearty enough that it does not require a alot of attention to enjoy its flavors and complexity. The Perique supplies an adequate amount of nicotine.

Moisture content was a tad high, and only modest drying was required. I would call this 'broken flake' rather than 'ready rubbed', and my packing procedure was the same I would use for an all-VA broken flake.

The only downsides were: 1) a slightly astringent quality which could lead to a bit of scratchiness at the back of the throat, 2) the signature McC vinegar quality which I felt interfered with the orientals to some extent, and 3) it burned fairly rapidly which was disappointing because this blend is so enjoyable.

Open the Butera labeled tin and you can easily smell McClelland as the blender. Under either name this is a winner! A partially rubbed out flake with a mix from light brown thru red to black. Packs nicely and burns uniformly without a bite. None of the vinegar-like tin aroma comes thru in the smoke. I sense a slightly nutty flavor intially but that soon disappears into a richer by smooth tobacco taste. The Orientals & Perique become more evident but do not dominate the flavor right to the end of the bowl. This is great natural tobacco flavor. An interesting, tasty blend that results in a cool and enjoyable smoke.