Orlik Tobacco Company A/S Golden Sliced (Red Tin)

Orlik Golden Sliced (Red) is described on the English language label as being "composed of golden Virginia tobaccos with a touch of perique." Readers of this and other pipe tobacco forums are aware of the fact that for years the label listed a touch of burley rather than perique. A spokesperson for the Scandinavian Tobacco Group has asserted that the previous mention of burley was a mistranslation (?!) The debate continues to rage as to whether Golden Sliced has perique. I always thought so even when the label did not so state, not because I tasted perique, but because I got a slight perique tingle when exhaling the smoke through my nose.

I personally do not think the perique versus burley controversy matters at all. Golden Sliced should be considered just a Virginia flake--and a very fine one at that. The taste for me has a slight citrus undertone, not perique. I do not taste burley. Burley in small amounts will smooth out a mixture, but it takes a significant amount for the burley taste to come through. (Kentucky, smoked burley, asserts its taste with much smaller amounts.)

For me, this is a golden Virginia with a taste on the mild side of medium and a pleasant room note. The label directs "rub the tobacco slices gently before filling your pipe." I have had equal success both with a gentle rub out and just cramming the thin slices down into the pipe.

Golden Sliced is well behaved for a Virginia in the bite category.

This tobacco holds up well when frequently smoked. Some tobaccos tire the taste and are best smoked as a change of pace. Not so with OGS. I have not given it the fourth star, but I seriously considered it.

I've been smoking this flake tobacco for many, many years and after reading the reviews I have gotten many, many laughs. Let me set the record straight; THIS TOBACCO HAS NEVER EVER HAD PERIQUE IN IT, NOR DOES IT NOW HAVE PERIQUE IN IT. The label on the back of the tin has always said "Virginia and Burley",but all of a sudden the maker says they meant to say "Perique" when they said "burley". The maker of this fine tobacco knows darn well between the two tobaccos and their spelling. Ok, enough of my soapbox. This is true pressed Virginia with a just a smidgen of burley tobacco blended in. Smooth,satisfying, and tangy. The burley tobacco gives this flake a roundness. A very fine flake I've been puffing on for more than thirty years.

NOTICE: Look back on reviews of this tobacco a few years ago before the maker stated there was perique in the blend. You will see no mention of tasting any perique in the blend at all.

I've had this 100 gm tin in my cellar for the last 2 years, but always put it off for something else. Finally cracked it and I've finished over half of it. The 2nd half will be an occasional smoke.

I'm very glad others have mentioned the citrus nature of this blend. Specifically, I taste a huge orange essence with a slight bit of lemon. The VA's take center stage and I can't say with any certainty that I tasted burley, unless it's cased with this orange flavor. The entire concoction tastes like it's mildly cased, as it is the most "citrus-y" VA I've ever smoked, even more so than Mac Baren's Virginia #1, and fans of it should also like this one. The tobacco is presented beautifully in spun form and breaks apart easily for rubbing. It came at near-perfect moisture in the tin and I've experimented with various degrees of dryness. It's a very congenial blend, never biting or hot, always smooth and flavorful.

The only downside - if it could be considered one - is that I could never smoke this all day. The orange taste would wear me out. It never dies down, even when bone dry and even down the bowl. When I'm in the mood for it, this tobacco was a refreshing change of pace. When I wasn't, it became a bit cloying. But it's an excellent tobacco and should be tried by every confirmed VA smoker... and from the number of reviews written here, it has! Glad I finally got to it.

Agree with those reviewers who say the "dash of perique or burley" issue is not an issue. If there's something else there beside sunny Virginia leaf, it's in such miniscule quantities that it's undetectable.

I'll only reach for a straight Virginia occasionally, but I like this one. Nice roundness to the tin note, which is the classic bright VA aroma of sweet, freshly mowed grass as well as some enjoyable citrus notes. The flakes are well made and the moisture level is just about right. They don't need a whole lot of dry time to smoke well (although it helps), and you can fold and stuff or rub and pack. I find it burns at a very leisurely pace. The nicotine is on the soft side. The flavor is really nice--soft and toasty with a little tang. And my tin seems to be aging very nicely. I'd recommend it, especially given the relatively low price.

This is about the OGS sold in Germany. Over here it is a light aromatic. The German STG catalogue states a pure golden Virginia flake (no perique) with an orange-lemon aromatization (2 out of 5).

The German government states 138 mg aroma per 1000 mg tobacco. This is quite a lot. Stanwell Melange has 122 mg / 1000 mg.

UPDATE Feb 2018: Considerung my discovered love for Mac Baren's Virginia No. 1, I have to readjust to 3.5 Stars. Also in the meantime the casing of OGS tastes more and more annoying for me. I think it is still one of the best virginias out there but no more for me, because I always reach for my MB V1 while the OGS dries out more and more.

In taste and roomnote, there is only a very slight, barely noticeable citrusy aroma. I guess, the aromatization is more an enhacing and smoothig agend (much like flavor enhancers in food).

I think it is the reason for this very smooth and wounderful round taste which should not be possible with such a light virginia (you would expect much more harshness - flake or not).

So, what is ist? To me ,the OGS is a light, golden virginia flake which does taste more virginia-ish than virginia (like strawberry ice cream does taste more strawberry-ish than real strawberrys) -- and it does so in a wonderful and perfect way (and, hey, who doesn't like strawberry ice cream?!).

So, this is a perfect virginia, a perfect summer smoke.

It goes well with a mild fruity coffee, and with Darjeeling tea (esp. first flush) as well as with a fruity Oolong.

Orlik’s Golden Sliced is definitely a friend to flake lovers that enjoy a lot of high notes. The flakes come neatly cut and offer the nose a little bit of citrus, some of which I believe to be manually added. Some may view this as the “poor man’s” Long Golden Sliced, but I think that Golden Sliced is a better tobacco than that moniker describes. The lower price point shouldn’t put you off either. If there is some Perique in LG, it is just a whisper. I know that in addition to the Perique debate, Burley is often debated with this blend too but I don’t taste any. However, I wouldn’t bet the farm on that. The topping smells stronger (especially on an aged tin) in the tin than it tastes in the smoke. GF offers a clean, burning, refreshing smoke. It won’t win any awards in the complexity department, but it’s an enjoyable smoke.

What can I say, this is a nice, consistent, smooth tobacco. There's nothing out of the ordinary about it, no super wow factor. Having said that, I will always have some on hand. Its a tobacco you can count on to deliver consistently.

Very smooth smoke. The tin note is exactly the same as dried apricots with a slight hay like smell. You can detect a little bit of apricot in the smoke, but mostly it's the sweet even toasty hay with a hint of citrus. Very clean tobacco. Really nice and light change of pace. I find the nicotine on the high side as I seem to experience with most virginias.

I am reviewing the 100 gram round tin, not the square tin with flakes. Very interesting and peculiar cut with rarity value. It is basically a Flake Cut that has been sliced into very long, narrow ribbons, which sets it between a Broken Flake, and a Ready Rubbed Cut. I like this cut. I do not rub it out, I cram it into my pipe straight out of the tin for best results.

There is this never ending controversy whether or not this mixture contains Perique. My tin description, which is rather long compared to others, does not mention Perique. Since original Saint-James-Parish-Perique is a quite expensive and exclusive tobacco, I think the producer would be delighted to mention it on the tin description, if there was any. The other side of the story is, on the internet homepage of (former Lane Ltd., now STG) Scandinavian Tobacco Group of USA www.stglanepipe.com they mention, that there is “a touch of Perique” in this blend.

GOLDEN SLICED is what I call a typical Danish Mixture, which by definition is mellow, pure natural tobacco with a gentle, subtle fruit (or liquor) casing. This mixture develops a remarkable fan of delicate aromas, mainly those known of Virginia, citrus fruits and some hidden fruit-flavours commonly attributed to Perique. I’d say this blend is young, bright, fresh, crisp; an ideal hot weather smoke. There is a reserved hint of sweetness in this blend. I am not a Danish, even less an Aromatic smoker, but I somewhat like GOLDEN SLICED, because all casing has been done unobtrusively, with great prudence and skill.