Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake (No. 402)

Adding to the other reviews here: I will say that this is an excellent find for me...I truely enjoy it. The initial pouch/tin aroma seems more floral to me than others have noted. Too, these poor old taste buds pick up a steady assault of cocoa from start to finish - the change of pace from my usual English, Peace-y and Froggy favorites is most welcome. The burn is quite easy, even with flakes rather stuffed into the bowl to allow a slower burn when I am out in the Portland wind and slop (my job requires it so I march along with my left hand cupped over the bowl so it won't drown...trudging along with a smile on my face in the worst weather. In my poorest excuse of a pipe this tastes and burns well...seems to like my Nording and Stanwell deep-bowled free forms best...isn't enhanced much in my Meerschaum. Like my beautiful long-suffering wife, respect her and she will treat you well. Let's see...not fussy, burns well in any bowl, lovely flavor and aroma, yes - a winner indeed!

The first half of the bowl is like smoking raisin bread. Wonderful flavor. I think it even has a touch of cinnamon spice to it. The topping is sweet and I'm not sure what else. It doesn't seem to be over applied to me. The second half is more fruity, the bread notes nearly gone at this point. I wish it would remain as that's my favorite part of this flake. All in all a very nice smoke.

Mild to medium in body and flavor. Burns very well.

====This is a 2014 update====

Considering the other flakes I've had this year (2014), Luxury Twist Flake must be reassessed. Sadly, I've underestimated this one, and must upgrade it. In short, this is one FANTASTIC tobacco! When set against all the other flakes I've tried over the years (especially this year), this one rises close to the top. Last year, this blend fooled me, it came across very low key, mild, yet a nicotine viper nested in this butterscotch-topped grass—if one's not use to its mysterious ways, one could be put off, but, lo! give it some time, and this veiled beauty will caress you with its wanton ways, it will tease you, yes, but, in the end you'll go to bed satisfied! Luxury Twist Flake is a work of genius. I'm upgrading this blend from a strong three stars to a full four. Great stuff!

Cut: Rolled twist flake, pure Virginia blend. Pressed and cut into rope strands and then rolled into coin and square shapes. This is an aromatic. Moisture: Goldilocks. Smell: Caramel, maple, hay barn, bread. Taste: Light taste of maple, some vanilla, caramel. Very smooth body and mouthfeel. Likes: Wonderful aroma so I assume the room is delightful. Very enjoyable with abundant flavor. No nic hit. Burns well with some caution and cadence. Dislikes: None. A really nice introduction to twist flake. The aroma with this blend is so pleasant. The flavor and taste carry throughout the entire bowl. The maple is very evident about 1/3 of the way in and to the bottom. Sweet but not overly so and delicious. I highly recommend it and will add this to my list of worthy aromatics.

This is really, really good tobacco.

I bought 4 oz. based on all the favorable reviews I read, and I wasn't disappointed in the least.

Right out of the shipping box, I loaded up one of my larger billiards to almost overflowing and went at it.

Must be sipped rather than puffed this early on, as it's still a bit moist. Can't wait to see what it's like after 30 or so days in the jar.

Excellent flavor, which changes midway down the bowl.

I will be ordering a lot more of this.

After transferring from the bulk bag to a mason with 30 days untouched, the "tin" note is wonderful. Minute wisps of sweetness with very subtle notes of dried fruit, raisins maybe. Lovely flakes of zig zagging streaks strewn with speckles of pale straw colored bits.

I find hand rubbing into the long ribbons then light stuffing to be the easiest means to light and smoke. The flavour is mild and rather monotone to be honest. Not a "wow" flake by any means. But still an enjoyable smoke nonetheless. French inhaling is yet another means to taste this flake. I am hopeful that aging will help this flake grow in flavor.

I enjoyed this flake.. It is on the milder side with no spicy notes. It has a sweet taste to it, and the pouch note is sweet caramel, dried fruit. Very mild without a lot of nicotine. It's a nice change of pace when you want a milder flake on the sweet side.

I was gifted about 4 oz of this by a friend. I tried it cubed and rubbed out. I think the cubed was better and smoked most of it this way. I found it a little moist out of the bag, and it needed a little air to dry. My daughter commented that this tobacco was less stinky than what I normally smoke, so it gets a pleasant in the room note.

The topping is pleasant and sweet with a hint of vanilla maybe. There is a sweet fuit taste and some honey. It was hard to identify the flavors exactly, but they were good, and a subtle addition. I could taste the virginias, and I was not overpowered by the topping. The flavor profile overall was pretty mild for me, and the greatest hazard for me is puffing it too fast to get some more flavor out.

If you are looking for mild and lightly topped Virginia, this is good. The price is appealing as well for what you get.

Jar note is typical grassy African Virginia that was totally overwhelmed by a fruit casing: tropical, citrusy, plum, mandarin orange. The casing reminds me of Juicy Fruit - akin to Golden Sliced, but more intensely flavored. Erinmore Flake comes to mind.. I was completely unprepared for this level of flavoring agent. From charring light through the first third of the bowl, I picked up none of the honey or vanilla mentioned in other reviews. As the bowl progressed, the flavors mellowed a bit. But the flavoring agent remained dominant. That's not necessarily bad, but as a big fan of the other PS "luxury" flakes, I simply was not prepared for this level of fruit casing.

The flakes performed well, with no bite or excessive heat. So the casing is well done and doubtless applied to the same fine Virginia that makes up its sister flakes. But the final third of the was a bit ashy, with the remnants of the flavoring agent distorting the Virginias.

I was a bit disappointed relative to my expectations, though this would be a great choice as an all-day smoke for fans of Erinmore Flake, OGS, or even University Flake. As always, a great value from PS, though regrettably not to this reviewer's taste. The fruit casing was simply overdone. Though my opinion is obviously in the minority of reviews and should be taken as such. It pains me to give a PS flake a two-star rating given my love of this label's other flakes.

I'll jar this one for a year or two and see what some time does for it.

Update June 2014: I opened the jar and gave this blend anther try. As is typical with Virginias, a little time has worked wonders. The overt citrus casing has mellowed considerably. I now get delicate mandarin orange with hints of honey and sugar and framed by light plum and grassy Virginias - as opposed to the in-your-face citrus fruit flavors of the fresh product. Can get a bit ashy at times, and smokes a tad hot, another characteristic of African Virginias. But overall a pleasant smoke and a nice change of pace. Would make a good crossover blend for aromatic smokers looking to expand their tastes.

My recommendation to those who have acquired this blend, whether you like it or not, is to jar it and let it think about itself for six months or a year. You'll be impressed, and find a more delicate, subtle flavor. As such, I'm raising my review from two to three stars.