Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake

The very grassy, mildly tart and tangy citrusy Virginia also offers some toast, earth and wood. The earthy, woody perique is spicy with a little raisins, plums and figs in a support role; just a tad more than a background player. Has a light rum topping. The nic-hit is just past the mild level. The strength is in the center of mild to medium. The taste is a step past that mark. Burns a little warm on the tongue if puffed fast, so I recommend a slow smoking pace. You shouldn't experience any bite or harshness. Has no dull spots, and barely has any rough edges. Burns clean at a moderate rate with a very consistent flavor from beginning to end. Requires an average number of relights, and leaves a little dampness in the bowl. The pleasant after taste and room note will linger just a mite. Benefits quite a bit from aging as the Virginia often seems a little youthful. Could be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker.

-JimInks

Luxury curly cut, Luxury Twist Flake, Luxury Bull eyes flake, and Luxury Navy Flake.

After smoking 1 pound of each, here below I write a small review for all:

Luxury curly cut: I wasn?t terribly happy with this blend, there is some topping with unpleasant flavor and it is hot on the palate, the good news is that it has been discontinued. 2stars

Luxury Twist Flake: very pleasant hay/ burnt caramel flavor, great first WOW effect, high impression when you start smoking few oz of it, unfortunately there is a diminishing return effect, after smoking 7 to 8oz of it, the caramel topping starts to be boring, the flavor is great in the beginning, but this is not a natural VA flavor. Try Astley's No.109 Virginia Flake for the same flavor but with true and natural VA and without casing. 3stars.

Luxury Bulleyes flake: This one is really good, natural flavor with minimum perique and delicious Cavendish, Great Virginia!!! However, despite the very low price, it is not as good as Davidoff Flake Medallions or Escudo Navy Deluxe. This is a very good choice for money saving pipers, with Hi quality VAPER spun cakes, but if we talk strictly about enjoying a VA/Per pipe, this blend is not the best of its category. and since I do not care how much the tobacco costs, not because I am rich, but because life is too short, also because I smoke 1-2 bowl only per day and I believe that the best way to save your money is to sell all your pipes on Ebay and stop smoking for good, therefor I Definitely prefer Flake Medallions over LBF. 3star

Luxury Navy Flake: This is my favorite one so far, it will not impress you with WOW flavor when you start smoking it, but it will start revealing its hidden secrets after maybe 10-15 bowls, it just needs your patience and commitment (do not smoke anything else while smoking it) this is truly a great smoke, with unmatched quality for a Navy Va flake, extremely well balanced, natural flavor with slight sweetness that comes from the very light rum casing, creamy and fresh, very pleasant all day smoke. Definitely one of the best in the "navy" category. I am very happy with this one, this is my preferred one, 4 stars.

This is one of my top 10. It has far less Perique than PS LBF. I'm not a big fan of too much spice, and go through stages where I prefer a bit of Perique with my VA. I primarily smoke VA's, VA/Per, English, to give an idea of my preference of taste.

I found this tobacco to be the absolute best in a marriage between VA and Per. Like a perfect formula, the VA's dominate with a sweet grassy flavor and aroma, while allowing the perique to offer only a mild input that takes the Va's attributes to a slightly new and different level. Though the blend is not complicated by any means, the sophisticated palate will find that the delicate and sweet VA overtones are changed ever so slightly in a way that creates a touch of complexity, wherein the product of VA and Perique combine to form a melody somewhat unique among Va/per flakes. Mild with very little bite, the flake produces a delicate fig aspect with a raisin vanilla finish. PS Va's are underrated IMO. Some have called them bland, yet I would suggest they are subtle, and the patient smoker will find their flavors and aromas to be equally amusing, yet different in a pleasant way, to other VA flakes.

An excellent go-to VaPer, at an excellent price. Presentation is classic rectangular flake. Virginias are smooth and the Perique content is just right. As with any Virginia, gets better with age, but this one is smokable right out of the bag. Moisture level just right for those who rub out their flakes.

The Perique adds a delicious stewed plum note to this blend that becomes more pronounced as the tabocco ages, yet there's a subtle pepper note in the background as well. When I'm in the mood for a straight, uncased VaPer, it doesn't get much better than LNF. Excepting Escudo, this is probably my favorite straight VaPer flake. There aren't layers of flavor here as much as there is one, direct and consistent flavor. Fortunately, that flavor is sublime. In this regard, Luxury Navy is similar to Escudo in straightforward consistency, though Escudo presents more pepper and Luxury Navy showcases more plum.

Had I discovered PS's bulk VaPers earlier, I would have saved myself a lot of money on tinned tobacco. VaPer smokers: Buy a pound or two and jar it. You won't regret it.

Edit: while already an excellent tobacco, this improves dramatically with a little age. Truly a classic and value cannot be beat. This is a blend I cellar by the pound.

Update 2020: Just cracked open a mason jar full of 2015 LNF, rubbed it out and loaded it into a nice little meerschaum bent brandy. A third of the way through the bowl and I’m reminded that this is the best value VaPer on the market today. Just thought you all should know.

This is a very nice Virginia/Perique blend. I lightly detected the Perique but the delicious flavor of the Virginia came at me in waves. One of the finer Virginia/Perique blends on the market, especially for those who enjoy their Perique in laid back manner.

If you think you want to try a VaPer flake, start with this one and you may never look for anything else. I like this one a lot, and I have smoked it cubed, rubbed out and folded and stuffed. It is sweet and spicy. It has a good VaPer flavor that tastes a little harsh if it is puffed too fast. Keep it at a slow smoulder, and you are in for a treat. It is a quality, inexpensive VAPer flake

I have had this aged, and found it more mellow and a slightly different smoke. Age improves it, but not a lot. The flakes darken in the jar, and the flavor is a little sweeter and the perique is more subtle.

I know folks who smoke this every day. I am not one of them, but I could.

Edit: Dec. 2014 - I have smoked over a pound of this, and I have discovered I have a few pipes especially suited to it. They all happen to be pots. The last purchase was the 24 oz box and my review should probably reflect a "3.5" now. I have smoked this at least once a day for the past three weeks, and I think this flake is underrated...

This is a really nice, inexpensive flake. I have to admit that I was tentative considering the fact that I wasn’t thrilled with Luxury Twist and I thought Bullseye Flake average compared to Escudo and other VaPer “coins.” But this is a nice mild light flake that is light on the Perique and ages well. I do think there is a hint of topping on LNF. This is not a complex tobacco, but it doesn’t have to be when it’s good for what it is and this is good for what it is. If I had to pick two words that come to mind, it would be clean and sweet. There are other adjectives, but that sums it up for me.

Impressions based on a 4-bowl sample I received from a friend. Certainly this is not enough to really get to know a tobacco but it's enough to make some personal observations, which is all any tobacco review is anyway!

Beautiful flakes! This is a nice, light Vaper that, like all the Stokkebye blends I've smoked, does not seem to aspire to greatness, but is very good indeed! I wished for more strength, but that's not the point of this blend. As someone who's Vaper education began with Cope's Escudo and original Three Nuns, this is positively lightweight. And I think that's its charm. There was still good VA flavor that developed nicely down the bowl and a bit more than just a hint of perique. Too much perique can spoil a good VA and this stops well short of "too much". This is honestly a tobacco that I'd like to experiment with further. I thought it was quite good. This would make an excellent starter VaPer for VA fans that are curious about perique. Even so, as they progress, they just might find themselves coming back to this one. Nothing not to like here.

I love virginia tobaccos. I love perique tobacco. I love a combo of virginia and perique. And that's why I'm in love with Luxury Navy Flake! I tried LBF first and I will always have some at hand . But Luxury Navy Flake is the VaPer for me. First of all, I love the sweet taste of the virginia which is the dominant factor here. The spicy perique in the background is perfect. This blend is perfect as an all day smoke for me. No tongue bite what so ever, it stays lit without effort, burns down nicely right to the bottom of the bowl. The nicotine is there but not in a way that it will make your head spin.

If you are looking for a soft, sweet and spicy tobacco which you can smoke all day long, look no further. LNF is the baccy for you!!!

Edit: It's amazing what only a few months of aging does to this tobacco! I've opened a jar which has been sitting for 8 months only and the VA's are much sweeter. The perique moved into the background and the allround taste of the tobacco is fuller and more satifying. Soft and smooth and NO tongue bite what so ever. I'm going to cellar loads of this one.

Very nice presentation of a navy flake. Blonde highlights of virginia, sweet fruit-apricot like aroma. My flakes didn't really need much drying out time, and it's easy to stuff it in the pipe any way you want. Clean taste, smoke slowly to get all the flavours, otherwise it can tend to get harsh or slightly bitter. Leaves a nice aftertaste of fruity apricot kind of in the mouth. I only smoke half a flake at a time as I am not a lover of nicotine.