Orlik Tobacco Company A/S Dark Strong Kentucky

I found this to be a complex blend of Virginia and Kentucky. In the tin, the smell is raisin/fig with something else I cannot identify. I folded one slice and packed my pipe. It took a few charring lights and a couple of relights before it was all over. The taste in the pipe was fantastic! Again, it’s complex and difficult for me to describe but I tasted sweet oats and toffee. I smoke a little too quickly, but there was no tongue bite and the bowl did not over heat. I expected a bigger nicotine hit, but it never came. I can’t wait to try this in one of my better pipes to see if I can better identify the various flavors!

Smoke one tin and just opened another. Brown sugar and hickory is what I get. The dark fired Kentucky is also similiar to Peterson's Irish Flake. Kind of burns a little on the hot side but overall a good one to try. Never had it before the re-release but I'm glad it's back to stay for now.

12/15/15 Just an update regarding this blend burning on the hot side. I discovered it's the pipe I was using and the prep of the flakes.

The draw back that aggravated me about this blend is the flakes are so sensitive that they fall apart very easily, but if I find a couple of good ones I just take them and stand them up in the bowl and fluff the tops up some and lightly pack it even with the bowl. This cut out the hot burn all together and brought more of the flavor out of this blend. Also the pipe I was using was a bulldog with a deep chamber. I stopped using it and started using my Eriksen pot style pipe (not the new ones, the ones that were full briar). I dedicated this pipe to all VA/BY flakes for now on. It does so well with flakes.

Loved this.

Has a deep brown sugary, almost spicy molasses esque note to it and smoked like a creamy dream. (The smoke that is...the smoke!) It doesn't bite and smokes similar to its red brother but with a nicer flavour.

Sadly though this is no longer available which is a bloody crying shame. I have one tin left and I will guard it with my life!!!!

In my top three....

The only products from the Orlik range I've ever seen on sale in Britain are Bull's eye, Golden Sliced and Dark Kentucky Flake. I would love to try some others because the three available are very good indeed.

For me, Golden Sliced is a solid three stars, Bull's eye a definate four and Dark Kentucky Flake somewhere inbetween. It has a good strong flavour, which I like, a novel appearance and an appreciable amount of nicotine.

On first opening I did find the tobacco a bit moist with a sticky quality that led me to believe there was a casing present. It was actually quite difficult to seperate the flakes without destroying them. Anyway, they rub out easily enough and, after a bit of drying time, light ok. The smoke is wonderfully flavoured and, although I can't really taste any (of what I understand to be) Kentucky flavours, it is dark and strong. The topping tastes lightly of muscovado sugar and liquorice and manages to never get in the way or become over powering.

Much like the other two tobaccos I have tried from Orlik, this does leave a slight sticky coating in the pipe but only a very thin layer.

The biggest suprise for me was the price. In the UK it's currently around £2 a tin cheeper than tobaccos of equivalent (or lesser) quality from Samuel Gawith, Rattray's, etc. and less than two thirds of the price of Davidoff's offerings. Bargain!

UPDATE...

I've been smoking more and more of this recently and it really is wonderful stuff. There is nothing I dislike about it. It makes me wonder why I even bother with other blends!

Boy is this great stuff, but packing it right can be tricky. I don't think you want to fully rub this one out, best results for me come from a kind of broken flake. When I smoked the old version of this in the early 2000's, I remember someone saying they made a parfait where they rubbed out the black ends and va center separately and did cav/burley-va-cav/burley, which I thought was hilarious but way too over the top for me.

What I like to do is to just coarsely chop it up with a knife, against the grain, and drop fill.

I'm nearing the late middle of the bowl now, and the predominant flavoring I detect here is some sort of brown sugar/maple or perhaps a vanilla. It's certainly noticeable, but very well done and pleasant. The cavendish adds creaminess and body, the VA's add sweetness and tartness, the Dark fired Kentucky, which is strong powerful stuff, is not a primary component of the blend to my palatte, only used in sparce amounts but you still detect it when you hit it-- just a touch of that very characteristic, smokey and stout DFK note. I think it's all perfectly blended.

I'm having my third tin of this stuff after loving it so much years ago, and I notice the same pattern: I open the tin, smoke it right away, mess around with packing, have some good bowls and some so-so bowls, but then after a month the tin breathes and bit and dries out, and I don't know what happens but after having time to breathe for about a month the stuff just blooms and becomes a killer smoke. Creamy, sweet, savory, tart, something different with every puff. Pack gently, smoke gently, leave the tin alone for a bit after opening and you're in for a pleasant smoke.

This blend is great. Buy it. Now the details. These are flakes, and you have to rub them out. This should be done vigorously, thoroughly and for at least a minute. You may have issues with relighting, but that's remedied by having a good charring light. It burns smooth and even. I think it works better in medium to large bowls. This is certainly what you would call a complex or sophisticated blend. You can smoke it different ways and get different results. If your charring light is poor and you have to relight you will end up puffing frequently and on hot air, leading to a tongue bite. If it's lit but you are puffing fast trying to get more of the subtle taste, you will probably get tongue bite. If you take huge puffs, guess what? chemical tongue bite. I think moderation and patience is key with this blend. It definitely has a semi-sweet flavor, although I wouldn't go so far as to label it licorice. I don't find it tangy at all. If I close my eyes and not force the smoke, it almost smells like incense, deep and "serious". It's something to smoke at an office, if you're the boss. It has a character of no nonsense. The only minor complaint is the aftertaste, still here after a few hours and brushing. Still, great tobacco blend.

Very nice blend. The anise/licorice is noticeable, but never overwhelming. It has a nice nutty sweetness that balances with the Virginias. An enjoyable, relaxing smoke when you desire more than a straight Virginia, and less than a full burley.

This is an amazing tobacco.

Beautiful presentation in the tin. Dark and bright flakes pressed together in a nice square cake. The smell of sweet virginias, hay, and licorice sting the nose upon opening.

The tobacco is easy to load in flakes or rubbed out into your pipe. Lighting can take some effort if you haven't let the flakes dry a bit. Once lit it behaves well and produces good amounts of smokes. The sweet typical flavor or Orlik's golden slice come out in the smoke with a heavier and richer flavor, probably from the kentucky. Very sweet, robust, deep, rich, strong flavor is present with a perfect balance of sweetness. Hints of licorice and anise are present around mid bowl til the end, but not overpowering. A good N kick to this tobacco but not too much. Great smoke in the morning with coffee to get one going.

Excellent tobacco and one of my current favorites.

I like to try new tobaccos so when I saw this one on sale at P&C I had to buy some. I got the 50 gram tin (1.76 oz). I've not had many burly based blends, actually only a couple, Mac Barens Golden extra and London blend. So this was a gamble. The dice came up in my favor! I opened the tin and was greeted by an excellent aroma (I really like black licorice) and a gorgeous appearing flake. Resisting the urge to eat the contents I peeled off a couple of slices and rubbed them out and left them to air dry for about 15 minutes. Using the 3 stage method I packed my pipe and lit up. Well! Sure was tasty and kept on giving throughout the bowl. The flavor delivered was delicious and of a medium strength profile such that there was never a temptation to puff harder to get more. A good dose of our Lady nicotine but not over powering. It went very well with a cup of Darjeeling and on another occasion with a nice cappuccino. I would not pick this as an every day smoke as I liked it too much to risk getting accustomed to the flavor. I want it to stay in the treat category. I'll be getting more of this to cellar.