Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake (No. 402)

I purchased this from Captain Hunt?s in San Diego. The flakes are beautifully presented in a square swirl. The smell is very sweet, as if the tobacco was soaked in hazelnut liqueur. This topping flavor comes through on first light and lasts for the first third of the bowl. The taste is otherwise somewhat hollow and thin, here, but a richer tobacco flavor builds and by the last third of the bowl it can be quite nice. Not a rich, deep taste, just pleasantly malty and nutty - if you get it going just right. At suboptimal burn rates the taste is hollow and flat. This tobacco seems to work best for me in a briar with a narrow bowl when the flakes are just mashed or rolled into a cylinder. Actually, I like it best mixed with McClelland VIrginia #25, which adds depth. I?m glad to have tried Luxury Twist but I guess I don?t like it well enough to purchase more.

I bought an ounce of this in bulk, and the aroma of it in the bag was slightly sweet, with an almost creamy air to it. The flakes were incredibly uniform and easy to handle, and they were just the right moisture. Lighting was easy, and this tobacco stays lit.

However, even despite the very attractive price (two bucks an ounce), it falls short of being a virginia capable of standing on its own. It's not a mild virginia, it's more a bland virginia. The flavor came through fairly well, just very one dimensional (even for a va) and plain. At first I thought it was rather like a milder version of MacBaren's Navy Flake, but it isn't even near approaching that flake for flavor. And, it even makes Orlik's Golden Slices seem exotic and spicy in comparison.

Still, I find it hard to say that this is a "not good" tobacco. It's unexciting; that's the word. But, for someone looking for a very mild biteless va flake that smokes clean it will do. And the price is right, even comparable to cheap drugstore blends (most of which this is still far above in flavor and quality). I just can't really give it a full endorsement due to it's overly gentle nature.

I find the Luxury Twist Flake to be quite plain and not very interesting. When I want a light gold Virginia, I greatly prefer Mac Baren's Virgina #1 or Virginia Flake.

I've bought this leaf twice, in 200g portions, and as I finish my last purchase I probably won't be buying any in the near future. Don't get me wrong; it is a very good tobacco, pretty in its cut form, nice aroma and very easy texture for rubbing out and smoking. It's just not hearty enough for my tastes and I wish for a thicker slice of tobacco than the paper thin cut I received. As an all day smoke, I can understand how some may love this blend. Myself, there are other blends I would reach for first.

Beautiful presentation, and the Virginias burn smooth and tangy like Orlik Golden Sliced. There is a strong flavoring of molasses or a bland tree nut. Unlike Golden Sliced, there is no Perique in the blend. However, retrohaling the smoke through the nose does give a taste and experience similar to a Virginia/Perique blend. Unfortunately, the topping flavor overpowers the Virginias, and gives an undesirable after taste, that is likely to lightly ghost your pipe. This blend might be acquired taste, or it might be appreciated by those who enjoy aromatic blends. Presumably, you can smoke this same Virginia leaf by buying the Luxury Navy Flake by Stokkebye, instead.

Has a light sweetness from start to finish, i can pickup some kind of flavor but can't place it . Burns Easy for a flake but it is a bit bitey

This is a smooth Virgina. Nice for a tasting with some caramel flavor. Personally, the caramel flavor became annoying with time and I had to move on.

This flake is quite amazing to look at, it's unusual twist making it visually striking. The colour of the leaf is much lighter than it appears in pictures and it doesn't really need much rubbing out for packing.

Lighting is easy and burn is really good, going down to a fine ash. Room note is leafy, smoky, vanilla and tonquin notes.

However, the tonquin tends to dominate the palate and there are also hints of vanilla that suggest it is cased and not entirely 'natural'. I would advise a dedicated pipe for this one.

It is certainly worth a try if you like a milder smoke and tonquin flavour and aroma.

This is good stuff for those who like Virginia tobaccos with a slight topping such as Vanilla/Maple. It's not quite as good as McClelland's Fragrant Matured Cake, but it is comparable.