Savinelli Brunello Flake

I think this is superb. Took a few bowls to "get it", now I got it.

Closest kin is probably Mac Baren Navy Flake. This is more virginia-forward, and I find an odd almost sour note (macedonian?) against the sweet zesty virginias and whatever gentle sweet casing there is. I don't smell fruit outright at all. So where Navy Flake moves in the spicy dark direction with the "patented cavendish" this moves more in a sweet/sour sort of way.

In the bowl, it's soft smoking and pleasant, nothing earth-shattering. Room note is nice. To me this is any-time all-purpose tobacco. I expect it to age wonderfully, and am started to cellar this.

Not a ton of nicotine here - a typically Mac B virginia offering in that way too.

There is a little sweetness, but this is more sour than sweet. The fairly strong citrus notes from the Virginias (I think some of it is topping as well) combine with the sour note of the Orientals to create a lemon-like flavor. It literally makes my mouth water. The Burley, in the first half, provides a nutty earthiness in the background. In the second half the sour citrus fades a little allowing the Burley notes to catch up and this is when it gets downright heavenly. Burns cool and burns very well. This isn't the type of smoke I usually go for, but this one is a bit unique and very tasty.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Flavoring is mild.

Everything about the presentation of Brunello Flake says quality. The perfect flakes are piled neatly in the center of the tin in a little gold paper box, reminiscent of the way Old Dark Fired is packaged. The tin note is lovely too. It smells of honey, citrus, and various spices. I generally rub out flakes, and Brunello breaks up perfectly. Some blends take more effort to rub into the right size... not Brunello. It almost seems to fall apart into the exact perfect consistency. It's a tiny tad moist, so I dried it out for around 10 minutes in the dry winter air. First few puffs... so nice. Very fresh flavors. The Virginias are prominent, and are a sweet grassy, slightly lemony flavor. Less fruity and more vegetal/earthy with a bit of bready-ness. The Macedonian leaf's lightly sour and floral flavors compliment those Virginias perfectly. The Burleys are there, but really only slightly. They seem to just firm up the smoke with a touch of nuttiness. The mildly sweet topping is there throughout adding a nice spiced honey and (fermented?) dark fruit flavor. It's really not flavored enough to call this an aromatic. Brunello Flake behaves really well too... as I said, it rubs out perfectly, plus there's no bite, and I hardly needed any relights. Plus it burns fairly slow.

Bottom line: Brunello Flake is excellent. It's just a high quality blend all around. It has a crisp, herbaceous quality that is refreshing... and original. I can't think of any blends to compare it to. Easily 4 stars.

Savinelli’s Brunello Flake is a premium crossover. Everything about it is TOP, including the leaf, the blend, preparation, presentation, handling, smoking, aroma, taste (and the price). It's also amply cased, and it’s topped enough to make it important to this blend; but IMO it is not an aromatic.

In a newly opened tin one sees two perfect stacks of well-formed, medium sized flakes. The lot appears at first to be golden but one soon notices the gamut of shades reflecting not only flue cured but also air cured, and even some stoved leaf. The tin aroma is an enhanced, souped-up version of the best of the actual fermented tobacco smells, along with some citrus (orange), honey, vanilla, apricot, currants, cardamom, and a few more I have not nailed down yet. But trust me, it smells good, all right. I started by folding, twisting the hell out of it, and stuffing a moist flake into one of my VA pipes, and I still fold and seriously spindle it, though I found I much prefer it dried some before stuffing and smoking it. When it’s too moist, it’s got a little of the usual-for-aromatics oily and acrid tastes. When it’s just right, everything harmonizes into a delicious, tobacco rich treat. The predominant VAs are very sweet, like sweet grasses and honeysuckle, and they are mild without being the usual corollary to “mild”, which is to say [it’s not], hot. There is also some taste and aroma from a smattering of rich, red VA that adds depth and complexity, including some "earth". The Burleys used are nutty but not tannic, and they lend some “volume” and “roundness” to the smell and the taste, alike, along with a little cocoa (or is this the topping?). The Macedonian leaf is excellent, loamy, with very faint, Middle Eastern lamb kabobs, and the lot remains sweet and “exotic” without being cloying. I recommend loose to medium packing, also try to keep it slow while avoiding re-lights. It burns to a very fine ash, so watch the stoking or stirring. Strength is mild to medium, and I doubt it will satisfy anyone looking for a buzz. Room note is truly, actually pleasant. I don’t smoke BF for the aftertaste, since it seems to go flat for me as soon as I stop smoking it, or, if I’m careless, I can make it turn out slightly ashy and acrid. In any case, it fades away pretty fast.

Savinelli’s Brunello Flake is the best crossover I’ve smoked since Fribourg and Treyer’s Cut Virginia Plug. In fact, I like BF better, and the two blends are definitely comparable in terms of quality. I give BF 3 stars on my Absolute scale; 4 stars on my Crossover scale.

Update, 11-22-2017: I recently smoked some BF that's been jarred since before my original review. The toppings have faded significantly, and the varietals are melded and softened. IMO it is still a "4", but I am surprised to realize I actually prefer it fresher, with more of the toppings in play, smoked as a crossover! Looking back, I also feel this way about F&T's Cut VA Plug; in fact I had to down rate that blend when it "mellowed out" with age.

Rather expensive flake, but one that I happily repurchase. Sweet, sour, somewhat complex, lightly citrus, and all around well behaved. A wonderful smoke I reach for often.

In the tin, it smells sweet, fermented, and citrus. Others have suggested strawberry and I'm inclined to agree. There's a faintly familiar smell of the orientals under what you'd expect for a Virginia flake. The burley doesn't offer much aroma of it's own. There has to be some level of topping, milder than many aromatics but present. Color is generally light brown with a few tan strands here and there. Made by MacBaren, the flakes are perfectly consistent in shape, size and thickness.

I like this best rubbed out completely; folded and stuffed it seems to require a lot of relights even when fairly dried out. It loses a little bit of it's flavor charm as it dries too, making rubbed out the better option for my tastes. Flavor is generally sweet, occasional sour, with citrus notes present throughout. Slight spice, very minimal. The Virginia tastes well aged. The burley is faintly noticeable really, but does play backup. The oriental leaf is a little above condimental levels, it is noticeable enough to pick up on. Mixed with the sweet toppings (slight honey / strawberry), this flake has enough going to keep me interested all the way through the bowl. Nicotine is just above mild, enough to get the job done without being overbearing.

Burns well once lit (rubbed out at least), and leaves little moisture behind. Certainly no "goop".

I saw somebody compared this to MB Navy Flake, and agree they are 2nd cousins. Navy Flake has a different topping, the burley is more forward, and doesn't have the oriental leaf, but I enjoy them both and find them similar enough in the smoke to agree with the comparison. This doesn't have the rum splash of Navy Flake. I smoke this more often, as I find it to be the superior of the two.

In the end, I feel the quality of Brunello Flake offsets the price premium enough to justify keeping it in the rotation. I consider it a treat every time.

Summary: a nice Virginia flake fortified by Burleys with a tang from Orientals and toppings.

Most reviews focus on this blend as a Burley flake, but it makes more sense to explore it as being something like "Erinmore Flake": a Virginia flake with a lot of Burley and possibly Cavendish to soften it and make it burn less hot. The volume of smoke on first light suggests Burley, at which point the main flavors are the roasted almond of white Burley in the background with a gentle tang from the Orientals that melds into the topping like a chord, bringing out the floral, fruit, and berry flavors which mostly burn off after the first quarter of the bowl but remain as a sort of "spin" to the Oriental sweet-sour zest. Once the bowl gets going, the Burley makes more of its presence known, suggesting some fermented dark Burley as well, but then the sugars in the Virginia caramelize and that flavor dominates. At this point, the Burley warms up the citrus-honey-brioche taste of the Virginias while the slightly herbal ginger-like flavor of the Orientals guides the taste as a whole. Although pressed as a European-style hard flake, the Orientals (and possibly Cavendish) are drier than the Virginias, so these flakes open up easily and light without much effort. Like the MacBaren "Navy Flake" or "Erinmore Flake," the bowl burns like an OTC and stays flavorful to the last bits, burning to a fine dusty ash.

Here's a hybrid for ya. Reading the list of tobaccos in the blend and then finding out that it's flavored would make one wonder if this blend is worth trying. Open the tin and smell the strawberry topping. At least it smells like strawberry to me and another reviewer.The flavoring is used with a very light hand and it actually gives the blend a nice semi-sweet sour note as it plays along with the Macedonia leaf. I know it sounds crazy but this tobacco is balanced and tastes more like a sour-ish sweet Virginia. Burns well with very few re-lights. I tried my best to get this tobacco to bite and it never did. A very different experience that I really like and would buy this again.

One tobbaco that seems to fall in and out of my rotation is this. First you have to open the tin and let it dry for about a day just to make it smoke. Has a very strong lemon grass note. Lights well. Smokes very well. One of the better tobacco blends by Sav. First tried it at my pipe club meeting. Has been with me ever since. Nice smooth smoke. Highly recommend.

Nicely prepared flakes that are pliable and easy to fold and pack without rubout. The tin aroma is inviting and the sweet VAs are prominent. Didn't sense much influence from the Turkish but enjoyed the citrus/grassy taste from start to finish. Smoked cool without bite or condensation. A mild , all day smoke that will be ideal for the hot summer months.