Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake

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.

Like its brothers Twist flake and Bull's eye flake, this is a quality Virginia flake. A stronger presence of perique makes this a spicier smoke that can still yield the sweetness of Virginia's if puffed slowly enough.

Like many blends reviewed here, the Recommendation ratings have been all across the board. Yet, there are some common denominators. This is a straightforward blend, light in VaPer, a good all-day smoke. I'd guess that cellaring might yield a greater maturity to it, but it likely won't be monumental. I'm sure that the base tobaccos are of high quality, but it will never lead any list of best VaPers. It rubs out well, burns well, I got no tongue bite whatsoever. It's just not very complex. As has been stated, a pound of this represents a great bargain, and that has prompted me to give it a low 3-star rating. If this blend cost any more, I'd have dropped it to 2-stars. Their Luxury Bulls-Eye is a lot better blend, and is still a bargain.

I don't know what the problem is. It made me sneeze and I threw it out. I'll come back to it later after I give up the Ryan perique cigarettes for good. Maybe then I'll be man enough for this minor straw/perique whiff.

AUGUST 2008 UPDATE: Well, after a year and a half of aging, I popped (or, more accurately, strained and pried) open my heat and paraffin-sealed jar of this blend.

Time has mellowed it, but more as a matter of degree than metamorphisis. In the jar, it still does not evoke the deep, fermented VA sweetness of, say, McC 2015, but is robustly assertive in ways that suggest tomatoes and metal (think sun-dried tomatoes and the taste of keys, or a low-voltage battery on the tongue, if that makes any sense).

I'm smoking it well rubbed-out, and am finding it a reputable and economical -- even if not superlative -- example of a VaPer flake. It shifts and develops throughout the bowl, beginning with a the sour brightness of cut grass, before settling into broader mid-tones that intermittently suggest yeast and toasty figs. The perique tickle is there throughout and -- although it has been friendly to me -- hints that modest sipping is advisable. Toward the end there are insistent murmurs of a sour mash tang, punctuated by momentary flashes of Eggo waffle left in the toaster a bit too long.

All in all, it credibly (though temporarily) fits the "non-latakia" niche in my home rotation, even if it doesn't threaten to supplant any of my beloved English and Balkan blends. As something "different" it fits the bill just fine. If you're a VaPer afficianado, you may want to buy, age, and try some for the experience, particularly given the bulk price. It has earned my respect, but not my raves. I would enjoy it more if it were sweeter. Still two stars.

ORIGINAL REVIEW: In my experience so far, this is a very temperamental tobacco, or else of uneven production quality. My first couple bowls (a sample from a friend) were fantastic: Sweet, grassy, and complex. A revelatory break from my usual rotation of English blends.

Based on that experience, I purchased my own stash, but have since not been able to wring more than a mediocre smoke out of it. Sadly it has been flat, one-dimensional, and ashy tasting during the last half of the bowl. I've jarred it up, and hope that it will blossom with several months on the shelf, into something more like the bewitching flakes I first encountered.

This was my first flake tobacco in a series of tests to arrive at my 12, that is the 12 best tobaccos in 3 categories: Burley, Virginia/English and Flake. Needless to say there are many exceptional tobaccos out there in all three of these categories. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. No, I'm not prepared to totally tank this tobacco but I found it rather bland and unremarkable. Every once in a blue moon, a fair virginia taste emerges but if there is perique here I surely could not detect it. Technique with this one is huge and it becomes very hot and bitey when puffed even a bit too fast. If you're looking for straight virginia taste (which is, on a good day, all you'll get here), I would have to recommend Old Gowrie or even MacBaren Va #1 to this. This is not a horrible tobacco mind you, just a bit bland and a bit of a disappointment. I only have four seats in my 12 for flakes and I suspect this one probably won't make the cut.

I'm slowly making my way through the couple of trial ounces I bought of this. Not that impressed. Looks nice. Rubs out well, packs easily and burns steady. Tends to be harsh without much taste. I haven't found any sweet ar tangy presense - just smoke. I think Bullseye has a slight edge over this one but not by much. I don't see buying anymore of this once it's gone.

I wasn't too hung up on this one; it was easy to keep lit, but the flavor just didn't seem to really shine in my sample. I think if I want a virginia flake, I'll stick to the McClellands or something like that. It's certainly not bad, but it did bite quite badly, and, well, I just didn't taste anything to get too excited over.

SWEET, GRASS

I cannot tell if this is cased, I thought no- I also cannot detect the perique... I did taste a nice Virginia and smoked about a pound of the stuff. It is sweet, a little grassy, and will bite the hurried. I find it similar to Orliks golden slices with greater flavor, but the grassy/hay eventually turned me off of it. (after an awfull lot of it however!!!) The Twisted Navy they offer is sweeter, smells better-

BETTER PICK: MCCLELLAND CHRISTMAS CHEER 05' OR 06