Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake

While I love several of Peter Stokkebye offerings, this one leaves me a bit flat. Expecting something labeled ?Luxury Navy Flake? I expect Rum flavoring, and a cavendish treatment. This product is simply Vaper flake and light on the Perique.

Appearance: A mostly chestnut brown with some lighter brown and tan mottling with a few yellowish bits leathery flake of uniform thickness.

Tin aroma: The first thing that is apparent when opening a tin of Luxury Navy Flake is quite simply tobacco. You couldn't possibly mistake this for anything else. I don't detect any casing or topping at all, just a fresh tobacco smell, deep and rich. There are nice stewed fruit tones, with leather and spiciness and a lighter almost citrus note.

This tobacco is absolutely perfect for smoking, no drying time required. As with most flake tobaccos I simply take several flakes together, fold them in half and insert them length-wise into the bowl trimming off the excess. I find it has a much better burn this way and makes for a long enjoyable smoke.

For this review, I?ve chosen an Nording Silver Series Canadian which is dedicated to Virginia based flakes.

A first light is brings billows of rich white smoke, followed with a brief visit of the tamper to settle the light crowning effect and then a tamping light. Immediately there is a citrus note followed with medium bodied Virginia flavors. When exhaled nasally there is a slight sharpness and citrus quality and deep leathery flavors and scents. The first third of the bowl gradually builds in slowly increasing intensity. This has a very rich creamy mouth feel which I find irresistible. What seems absent is Perique.

Mid Bowl: Approaching mid-bowl, the fullness tends to build and while I wouldn?t call this mixture particularly complex, the flavors slowly deepen into a rich harmony. The Virginias build in depth and character while the Perique remains so far in the background as to remain un-detectable. The quality of tobaccos used in this mixture are very fine, and it remains a cool even burning Virginia, and quite flavorfull, sadly the Perique is in such a small portion that I've never really tasted it.

Home Stretch: As end of the bowl approaches, I find that it really is a fine ?autopilot Virginia flake? lacking enough Perique to be of much interest. This really doesn't detract from it being a fine product, I just prefer a larger dose of Perique. As for it being Navy, well forget it. There is nothing navy about this at all. All things considered, it's a fine Virginia Flake, at a very reasonable price.

Supplemental Notes: This might make the grade for a Virginia Flake without other expectations for a budget minded smoker. ** stars

Just another VaPer. A bit tangy to my palate, and with less perique than desired. I feel that aging should improve it big time, and I might update accordingly in a year or more.

Tongue bite is also an issue. Mild taste notwithstanding, nicotine level is medium, so it doesn't lead to overpuffing.

The upside is the price.

There's a sweet smell upon opening the bag, perhaps the rum topping. The same smell and taste were apparent through the first half of the bowl, a bit too much for me. The flakes are ~60mm long rectangles (10mm taller than a 125ml jam jar, requiring a cut or bend to fit). The Virginia tasted a bit fresh, while the Perique added a peppery spiciness. It smoked to the bottom with minimal relights. Moisture was left in the bowl, even though I had packed it the night prior to dry.

I'll let this one age a few years and revisit, as it seemed rough around the edges. Perhaps I am spoiled, as I've recently been mixing well-aged PS701 (Peter Stokkebye - Virginia Long Cut) 80/20 with Perique. Hopefully the sweet scent mellows, and age works it's wonders on the Virginia.

This is a much better deal than Dunhill's flake and OGS. And in my opinion, it tastes better. It packs nice and burns nice all the way down. Some say there is some perique in it, but not enough for me to notice.

I've had some of this tobacco for several years and have left it largely alone because of the first experiences with it right after I bought it (this was back around 2002). Back then, I recall putting it away because it gave me a helluva good tongue-roasting but didn't have a spectacular enough flavor to make me want to endure this sort of roasting on a routine basis. So I gave much of it away (actually thought I'd given it all away until I found a 1/2 gallon jar filled with it a few weeks ago) and made a mental note not to bother with it again.

So.... I found this jar of this stuff I'd put away (still don't remember doing it) in a box in my garage and opened it up...well, it was dry and brittle, had almost no odor at all and I expected it would probably be much the same as it was when I tried it the first time. But I'm nothing if not curious, so I steamed it a little to revive it (whereupon it fell apart, of course), let it cool and dry back out a little, loaded up my favorite pipe (an old 4 dot) and away I went. I'd like to be able to give a glowing review of it, and to say that those years of maturing made a difference...I'd like to be able to rave about what a fantastic smoke it's turned into, but I really can't. It's the same reasonably nice flavor I remember, the same decent aroma, the same tongue roasting I got the first time around that makes the two former points not worth the latter.

Honestly, I think if I were to slow way, way down it might be a nicer smoke, but the VA's in it would still burn my tongue a little, and it's just not worth the trouble. It's great if this is your thing, but I expect a little more out of a tobacco, something that makes me want to brave the roasting I get from it. I'll be putting this away for now and trying it again later, mixed with some more perique, or some oriental, or maybe both. As it is, I just don't really enjoy it that much.

Just not a huge fan. Very nice Va/Per that serves this purpose, just shouldnt have tried Orliks before. The hay like smell, the grassy taste, and no, no juicyfruit smell. I think thats it. As I enjoy this flake more I will revisit this review. Maybe Im missing....

This is alright. Like another reviewer, I preferred it over MacBarren which I thought was a bit too spicy. I appreciate this more when I add some to a blend (Prince Albert plus BCA, with a bit of this is an awesome home blend), but I no longer care for it as a stand alone smoke. Lately I've drifted back toward aromatics, and I'm not sure if VA flake on it's own merit is something I'm all that fond of.

I am not sure if it is because I have been smoking for many years, but I can hardly taste anything when I smoke this tobacco. About all I can detect is the slight spicy note of the Perique.

It seems to produce a cool smoke, and is incredibly smooth. It also has a noticeable level of nicotine.

This would be good as an all-day smoke, as you can smoke a lot of it without any ill effects, but it does lack a certain depth.

A very light VaPer. Too light for me. Quality tobacco, well behaved in the pipe. Can bite if pushed. Overall, not near Escudo or Flake Medallions. Good bulk price.