Peter Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake (No. 402)

Wow. I don't think there's an element of this blend I don't enjoy.

The look is incredibly appealing right off the bat. It has a kind of farmlike, hay smell that I really enjoy.

The taste is a mellow, grassy Virginia, very smooth and relaxing. As the blend is older, I found the caramel flavor more prevalent.

You can view my video review of this blend here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG2-GIQPF7w

A very sweet all Virginia blend with hints of honey and caramel. This is one of the best looking flakes I have seen; I love the way this one looks. Very easy to rub out and my bag didn't require any drying time - the moisture level was just about perfect. The sweetness that you find in the "tin" note goes away quickly after the light and you are left with a really good Virginia taste of hay and grass. I tried it in several pipes and found that it works best (for me) in a bent pot shaped pipe (Peterson's 01 shape in my case). The nic level was mild to medium and, as with most Virginia's, it can bite if smoked too fast. This was the first time I tried this one, but really like it and it is one that I will be keeping on hand from now on.

I'll start this review with a brief reference to PS LNF and LBF the two other PS offerings which I have reviewed previously. The added effect of the casing here is reminiscent of the cavendish centres of LBF but as it is a casing which, although mild, stays present throughout the smoke, I must say I prefer LBF when I completely pulverize the cavendish centre and sprinkle the resultant crumbs after each half of the rubbed out virginas in the coin (most of my pipes will accomadate two coins) so that the sweetness of the cavendish has an intermittent presence. In comparison to LNF, this lacks the gentle zip zip zip from LNF's perique. As for appearance superb! Burning characteristics - easy and for a cased virginia no tongue bite unless you really puff deep and/or fast keep a easy pace (sipping not required as is the case for Macbaren's Va#1) and its quite a friendly smoke. Taste - a bit too sweet for me and I really could not find the citrusy tang I get with LNF and other VA's. I tried this using three methods of preparation: 1) fold and stuff, 2) rubbed out throughly, 3) cut up into tiny cubes. The best smoke (both flavour & burn) was with method 3 while method one was a close second. Method two got a tad hot for my puff rate but still did not result in more than little warnings to slow down from my tongue. I used the same pipe for all three methods - a BC Calabash with a tall narrow bowl and recommend something similar as I imagine a pot and method two could quite likely punish your tongue. To summarize, the casing is ok but I think it is responsible for the masking of the citrus essence I was expecting, actually had a slight hint of butterscotch flavour so for those with a sweet tooth this might make a fine after dinner smoke with way fewer calories than a butterscotch sundae. Room note: No complaints here. Price: WOW!!! If you like VA's you should give this a try before you spend all your money on more expensive offerings like SG FVF or Escudo.

I will smoke this stuff all day long. Well that's kind of a lie, because I only get a bowl or two on a good day, but still, it's fantastic tobacco.

You owe it to yourself to try some LTF. Its cheap, it nice to look at, and smokes good. Its got some kind of honey, or vanilla, or something that I just can't put my finger on, but its suttle, and its good. Grassy. Several ozs in the cellar and I order a few more ozs with every order but it never seems to stack up because its getting burned constantly.

Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Twist Flake.

Take it slow “Big Daddy”, real slow now, that's it, what a sweet baby! This tobacco for the money is mighty fine, there, I said it, mighty fine!

If you smoke this little flake too fast, it's going to light you up and leave you with a bowl full of ugly, and something so gorgeous and sweet should not be treated that way period.

The Virginia's give you that taste, well, it reminds me of days gone by, walking down that dirt road and grabbing that long stalk of grass with the seeds on its end, that you would break off and chew all day. It has an ever so slight kiss of Vanilla and that's it, plain and simple, but if you're smoking Virginia's, what else do you want.

I have two ways of smoking this flake, one is to take a single flake, fold it once, then fold it over and tuck it in my 1950 Dunhill Shell Briar “Bulldog” and sip. Second is, take three flakes, rub them out slightly and pack my Neerup Classic Bent Sandblast and settle down for a long relaxing smoke.

I will say this, if you don't like Virginia's, then leave this baby where you found it, if you like Virginia's and you can refrain from abusing this sweet little flake, then you are in for a treat. In closing the “Retro-hale” is the best part of this smoking experience.

I can hardly taste anything when I smoke this tobacco. It seems to produce a cool smoke, and is quite smooth. It also has a medium 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.

Well, really 2 1/2 stars because, as a couple of reviewers noticed, it can smoke a bit hot and harsh if not treated with respect. But this has to be my favorite (unlit) smelling tobacco of all time. I like to open up the glass jar I keep it in every once in a while and stick my nose in-not sure what the flavor is: Fresh pastries perhaps? I almost detect coconut sometimes but this is probably my imagination. The presentation (appearance) of the flake is Art. I would rather smoke Bullseye and will buy that one by the 1.5 lb. box, but I keep Luxury around for the scent; and yes, if you are careful it can be a good smoke as well.

5-20-10 Smoking a bowl now, nearly an hour in and still some time to go. I have had some of this in a jar for a year, and have gotten no harshness from this bowl, just pure (other than the mild and pleasant topping) Virginia goodness. I used fold-and-stuff on this bowl, and the tobacco is a bit aged. This bowl, for what it's worth, almost earns four stars!

1-5-11 Revisiting this tobacco lately, and ordered some more. I really think you have to keep this one in a jar for a year after you buy it in bulk. I have been getting some good results. The wonderful aromatic smell does not translate to the smoke, which is slightly fragrant Virginia that will bite you if you are not careful. Sipped, this tobacco is sublime. When I get the new stuff, I am going to put it in the jar on top of the older. That way, I will always have a few well-aged flakes. I'm thinking about adding that fourth star...

1-19-23 Yeah, four stars. Got some more today after all this time. Bites and burns hot only at the beginning of the bowl, but treat it with respect, and tamp correctly. The dregs can be magnificent; the mark of a quality Virginia.

I must be in my Virginia phase(and loving it)I recently tried all three Stokkebye Luxury offerings. Not a bad blend out of the three. Most everything has been said about the virtues of this fine blend.Presentation is great. As with most tobacco that I recive of late,the moisture level is high. I dried it out a little and it was good. I, by mistake, dried it out to what I thought was "way" to dry. I decided to try it,and what a pleasant surprise. I crunched up a few flakes and put them loosly in my Vipratti POY 2004,lit it up and was rewarded with one of the best smokes in recent memorie. Smoked great,stayed lit,lots of cool dry flavorful smoke,and surprise....no bite. I'm glad I recently purchased 1.5 pounds of this fine tobacco...some for now,and some for the cellar.My opinion ****