Orlik Tobacco Company A/S Dark Strong Kentucky

Upon opening the tin, you notice right away that this is gonna be different -- Flakes that are two tone! Visually, a winner. Half of the flake looks like Reiner Golden while the other half resembles Dark Star -- but again, as one flake! The tin aroma first starts off like caramel, but then develops a licorice type odor. Base on odor alone, I was fairly certain this was not gonna be for me, and I was right. The tin odor carried over to the smoke flavor -- I don't like licorice, and that's what this tasted like. Bleck! I smoked about half a bowl and dumped the rest in the yard -- frankly, I'm worried about the yard. I shipped the rest of the tin off to a fellow piper who likes Burley.

A nice surprise, after I was disappointed by the overly mild Orlick Golden Sliced!

The tin contains very dark square flakes with golden stripes: their dark, caramelized aroma reminds of dried plums and is very delicious. The taste is quite mild (in spite of the name, even the nicotine content is perfectly tolerable!), nutty and toasted with dark sugary notes. In a fresh tin, the flakes come quite moist so if you don't dry them a bit you can end up with a a watery and weak taste (and some bad moisture in the shank). It burns well when rubbed out, and may take some relights if you just press a couple of flakes in the bowl.

Dark? Yes, in color and in taste. Strong? Not at all, actually quite delicate and subtle. Kentucky? Yes, of a very high quality, not rough like in some other brands.

I usually don't like Danish tobaccos, but this one is good (although a bit TOO delicate for my taste). Definitely superior to the similar W.O. Larsen Dark Flake.

I hate to do this but . . . . . I have to rain on this parade.

Upon opening this tin I was very impressed by the A+ quality of the tobacco. Beautiful rich flakes that are 1/2 dark and 1/2 bright. Excellent moisture level.

The aroma was interesting. Strange but I sensed licorice. Not sure what is up here but it made me a tad nervous.

Once I started smoking it, the licorice scent I noticed in the tin became prominent in flavor. I actually have no idea what this is. It sure seems to me that this tobacco had something added to it. It simply did not taste like straight Burley/VA. Whatever it was, I hated it. Yak.

I am in the minority here so you might want to try this anyway.

Oh well . . . one thing about pipesmokers; we are all individuals. Pipe smoking is not something you do because everyone else is doing it. So while I did not like this stuff at all, others will surely disagree.

To start, this blend is not for me personally, but I endeavor to judge it fairly.

When opened the tin note is that of the sweet Virginia with a very noticeable Licorice topping, not overpowering but it is there. The tobacco in my tin was more moist than I'd like it and I left it in the tin to dry for about a week.

It comes in wide flakes that have a characteristic dark/brown/dark pattern. They fold and stuff well, and rubbed them out before jarring them.

The flakes pack well, and needed no more than the average amount of relights. When it comes to taste the licorice topps the Virginia nicely without covering too much of the inherent flavors of the tobacco. There is a hay like quality and overall the smoke is pleasurable. Personally I just don't find much about this specific flavour profile to get me to buy another tin, but I fully acknowledge the quality of the tobacco in this tin.

Would I smoke this again? Probably not. Would I reccomend this for other people to try? Most definitely. It's a good blend, but just not what I look for. Happy smokes.

The flakes are beautiful. A golden strip sandwiched between dark borders.

The tin note is complex. Bright Virginia’s hit the nose up front, followed by a sweet smokey note. There is a noticeable molasses casing.

This flake smokes well. Rubbed out and dried for a few minutes, it packs and lights easily. The smoke has body, but not a lot of nicotine. It’s easy going, but has an oily and thick molasses and licorice aftertaste.

Bacon! Upon opening the tin and seeing the flakes neatly arranged, my first thought was indeed that it looked like bacon. But I don't want to smoke bacon. I want to eat it! But that's all the similarities this fine blend has in common with bacon.

Instead, this is one sweet and delicious tobacco. The tin note is mouth watering. Sweet and fruity is what I smell. If I can smell what "tangy" is, that's what I smell when I open a tin. The taste does not disappoint either. The sweet and tanginess comes right through in the smoke followed by the presence of the dark fired Kentucky. But for me, it's the sweet, molasses and brown sugar that has me hooked. Even smoking it, I want to linger on the sweet and tanginess of it.

Since it's a flake, it does rub out nice and easy. I let it dry out for a bit and then it smokes nice and easy. Occasionally, I will rub out the entire tin at one time, but most times, I rub out a few flakes at a time, replace them in the tin to dry out for a bit on their own and place the remaining flakes in a pint jar to breathe. When I come back to it, it's even better.

Finally, it does have a nice nicotine punch. I don't think it's as strong as it has been rated as, but it's there and it's pleasant.

Enjoy!

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!

The review. I never tried the old one so this is reviewed for its own merits and not compared to Heinrich's or old Orlik.

Beautiful little short squared cut flake pieces with a bright stripe of grassy bright Virginia through the middle. Dark stripes of Kentucky dark fired mixed with black Cavendish to sweeten a bit surrounding the bright stripe. Smell from a freshly cracked, slightly aged tin is of a little fermentation smell mixed with licorice. Taste profile is well balanced grassy VA, dark fired Kentucky, and a hint of Cavendish to round it out. The licorice hangs in the flavoring at just the right amount throughout the whole bowl. The Cavendish just helps to round it out and falls a bit in the background. This is excellent stuff.

I picked up a tin of DSK for Christmas and tested several bowls.

First, this is beautifully presented pipe tobacco - thin sliced flakes in three colored layers; correct moisture content; a lovely nose. You can read about that in many of the reviews here.

Second, and the heart of my review is to write that this IS strong tobacco. But what does "strong" mean? For me it was deceptively strong. It smoked like many other VA/Burley Flakes with a nice balance. It didn't burn hot and do likewise to tongue and palate. Nor did it give a huge nicotine hit. My best analogy is that it's like sipping Ardbeg or other Islay Scotches which have a very full and long finish. Like Ardbeg Ugendahl, I could still taste DSK the next day.

There is nothing wrong with this. I like Ardbeg when I want a very rich and full drink, perhaps after a steak dinner. However, it's not, my go to everyday drink. Likewise for DSK. That's just me.

So I am not marking this down in stars. It's quality baccy, just not an easy light smoke. So, be aware. I would think this flake would age well.