Solani 639: Tropical Mango Flake

The Solani, in my opinion has excellent tobacco blends and this one is no exception if you like to take a trip down the aro side. I bummed a few bowls of this from a friend of mine that brought it to the club. The jar was dated 5/6/21, a relatively new born. My first impression was the powerful note of fruit, (mango) that greeted me upon opening the jar. This was a consistent flavorful smoke, from beginning to end. A good aromatic, not goopy, soggy, etc. You could still get the tobacco experience

A pleasant tropical aromatic, light flavors of mango and passionfruit are present in every puff without obscuring the tobaccos too much. Sweet, spicy virginias and rich nutty burleys interplay harmoniously with the malty, tangy, fruit steamed cavendish. Burns at a moderate pace. A touch above mild nicotine strength. I tend to smoke this blend slowly as it can burn on the hot side. May require a few relights when on the moist side. Pleasant finish and enjoyable tropical room note.

I don't always smoke aromatics... But when I do, I prefer Solani 639.

Fresh briars my friends!

I first tried this on my 33rd birthday and wasn't the biggest fan. I tried it again this May (5 months later) and discovered how much it had grown on me. It's sweet and slightly sour simultaneously. The first taste I had was burley, but it was quickly followed by the taste of virginias. I was wondering where the mango was, when suddenly moments after exhale I had the hint of mango in my mouth. It was quite delicious and this blend has grown on me significantly. Had a decent nic hit and a full body taste.

Tropical Flake is the second aromatic I have opened in a row that suffers from the same problem; overzealous application of the aromatic component in the blend. The first was Grand Central by Drew Estate and, now, Tropical Flake by Solani. In a free society, we can have Apricot, Mango and any other flavor our hearts desire. I feel if the application rate was cut in half, these blends would still be very solid aromatics and you could find the qualities of the base tobaccos more readily. I had a lot of trouble in the top thirds of both of these blends figuring out just what it was I was smoking; the odorants on both were that dense. Only in the middle thirds of each, did I find tobacco flavor. Their respective odors persisted right on down into, and through, the bottom thirds. Prolonged air out times cured this situation, but, that also dried both blends out quickly. As to the Tropical Flake experience, I liked the tin presentation; darkly marbled slices in a bundle and wrapped in smooth white paper with perforated tear-away sections. Mostly dark-colored tobaccos with a very dense aroma and an average moisture content. Once aired-out, I thought the blend smoked like a typical solid Va/Bur with the Burley in the lead. The Black Cavendish added a smoothing touch to the smoke. I learned early on that you don't want to pull too hard and too many times in a row. Tongue bite was a lurking problem in all top thirds I smoked and lessened toward the middle of the bowls. Yet, in all that, I wound up liking this blend in it's thoroughly aired-out version. Tropical Flake worked well as a blending component and, all in all, I recommend it to the reader at three stars.