Kohlhase, Kopp und Co. KG No. 88: Virginia Flake

The golden Virginia is a little more evident than the darker brown Virginia. There are small streaks of bright Virginia in the very long, hundred grams, easily broken apart, mildly moist coiled tobacco. They provide an abundant amount of tart and tangy citrus and sugar, a little sour lemon, plenty of grass and some hay, earth, wood, bread, vegetation, light tangy dark fruit and honey, along with a couple of pinches of spice. They also have a very mild floral and acidic quality. The honey, vanilla and coriander toppings mildly sublimate the tobaccos. The strength and nic-hit are a step short of medium. The taste barely reaches the medium mark, and does so because of its inherently rich fruitiness. It won’t bite, but the spice and acidity may result in a light tongue tingle and a harsh note to a fast puffer, so I recommend a slow smoking cadence. It has a few rough edges. Burns clean, and a tad warm as brighter Virginias often will. The deeply fruity, honey, sugary sweet, grassy, floral and mildly spicy flavors are very consistent from first light to last puff, and translates to the pleasantly linger after taste and room note. Hardly leaves any dampness in the bowl, though it does require some relights as it burns slow, unless you totally rub it out. Can be an all day smoke for the veteran, and repeatable for the less experienced.

-JimInks

This was an exciting find for me . Delivered in a 100 gr can with no markings at all , it is a coil of tobacco similar to Reiner Golden or Ratray's Marlin Flake . The long cut makes for easy packing and a slow burning smoke . The tobacco is a basically bark brown Virginia with a near perfect moisture level and no topping that I can discern. Upon lighting we find a pretty much straight Virginia . The taste is nothing less than outstanding . Real deep Virginia flavor with such a natural taste that one might be in the tobacco fields . This is not a complex tobacco , the same level of taste being delivered throughout . The lack of complexity did not bother me , quire the contrary , I did not want to lose a moment of this terrific taste .There is no tongue bite and no moisture left in the bowl . In today's tobacco most Virginias use a topping , many in the Danish or Lakeland style or toppings with fruit overtones . This tobacco delivers a naturally sweet taste , high in sugar content . Since the departure of Mc Clellend few tobaccos can make that claim . K & K makes many excellent flakes but I believe this one tops even the storied F & T flakes such as Cut Virginia Plug or Vintage . Never such a pure taste , never such a totally Virginia experience . I would rate this at or near the top of the Virginia range . The only bad news is that it is available only in Germany . The next time you or a friend is in Europe pick up a tin

The sample of that tobacco is a sample sent by a web store when I bought a pipe. It's also my first flake. I've always wanted to try a flake and I'm not disappointed. The taste is very sweet but not mild. The perfect compromised between sweetness and strength. Unfortunately I can't buy any tobacco by the web where I live or I'd buy at least a tin. Anyway I recommend this blend...

I can tell the quality of the tobacco in this one is good, but I will give this a very subjective review based on what I like and not. I find this to be a very difficult tobacco to smoke. The smoke is thick and nice, there is some nice taste to the virginias in the brighter register, with some sweetness. But overall this one is tart and sharp, leaning towards a vinegar type of taste, and on big puffs it can also be a bit peppery, one could almost mistake it for a vaper. This tobacco gives an acid burn on my tounge that stops me from enjoying it. And even if you take it slow and sip on it, the tart quality is nevertheless constant and it dominates the whole experience (hence I rate it full in taste, referring to this dominant quality). I have never had a tobacco that is so tart and acidic. I will give it 2 stars because it might work better for someone who is chemically compatible with this choice of tobacco, but at the end of the day smoking is subjective and this one does not work well with my tounge. So if you (like me) prefer sweeter virginias and if you want to stear away from the tart vinegar types of VA:s, you can happily skip this one. Someone compared this to Marlin Flake (one of my absolute favorites), but I think MF is very sweet and smooth. IMHO, they are worlds apart.

Truly a great smoke. Sweet and tart. I find slow is better as it can bite. I rub the flakes out extra small for a better smoke. It may have coriander as an addition but it’s barely noticeable. One of my all time favorite smokes.

Bright haynotes out of the tin when taking a whiff I find a long coiled band sort of flake in the tin.
They translate beautifully into the actual smoke. The moisture is just about right and I fire right away. Burns great, few relights required as a slow cadence of puffing/sipping is mandatory.
The flavour profile I experienced starred mostly bright notes of hay, the slightest spiciness .A slight nuttyness comes to mind, a rich sweetness paired with a subtle taste of apricots.
It reminds me somewhat of „Golden Glow“ by GH which I liked quite a bit.
So I find this „a bang for your buck“ as they say. I payed 19€ about 2 yrs ago, at the time of my review it sells for 20,90€ - for a 100g tin that is.
Vitamin N is light. The smoke provides a silky, dare I say somewhat thicker (in comparison to lets say Dan Tobaccos Veermaster) mouthfeel. Not exactly one-dimensional with a subtle change in leads of sweet, fruity, creamy, acidic, bready, nutty flavours as one would expect from a light pure Va.
When in mood for a straight Virginia this hits the spot.
Has aging potential to it. My tin was about 2 yrs of age when cracked.
Definitely recommended. I prefer this over Veermaster on any given day.

I bought this tobacco approximately a year ago. Left in its original tin to mature a bit more. I've already smoked it and was a pleasant experience. A nice and delicate flake of medium/dark Virginia interspersed with few lighter 'strokes'. A bit tarty and tangy but really enjoyable. No tongue issue but I need to slow down my too fast cadence. Needs few relights since, after more than 40 years of pipe smoking, my technique has never been top-notch!? Really a great everyday smoker both for medium and large bowls. Way recommended.