Peterson University Flake

Nicely prepared flakes ~1 3/4"x 3"x1/16" that are a bit moist to my preference from the tin. I used the fold and pack technique and easy lights resulted in a cool, slow burning smoke without any bite. Although a sweet smoke, I really didn't feel the advertised plum flavoring was overpowering and thought that the VAs were in just the right balance.

The more i smoke it, the more i begin to really like it. As usual, I'm smoking it right now, as i'm writing this short review.

tobacco appearance in the tin: very neat arranged flakes in a dark-brown color.

smell: fantastic...to me it smells like Swiss dark chocolate.

filling the bowl: these flakes are so moist! at least in my tin they were...almost the consistency of dough. Rubbing the flakes impossible, they wont crumble, so moist they are. So i put some flakes aside to dry them a little. The folding method doesnt work for me...so i just rip them apart or cut the flakes with scissors in moderate chunks and fill the pipe very loose since flakes are pressed and they will expand.

lighting up: it takes me twice as long as other tobaccos to get this baby going...because of the moisture. but once lit this tobacco burns cool, slow and stays lit fairly easy.

taste: nutty-sweet. at first i didnt believe it when i read the reviews that there is some blueberry-flavour in this tobacco. but i'm starting to taste this gentle berry-aroma, too. and what can i say:" i love it!"

strength: in the beginning (first few bowls very strong). Once u get used to this blend it's a fine smoke.

Sometimes i love this blend...sometimes i dont like it too much...because it can be a little harsh on my palate.

This is top-quality tobacco. Worth a try. Will i buy it again? probably not...it's just too inconsistent on my palate.

For me this is a robust tobacco that I prefer to sip on gently in a small pipe. I smoke it in a prince shaped pipe with a small chamber (19 mm/30 mm), and honestly I don't find any need to fill up a large bowl of UF. And I just try to sip as gently as possible, just to keep the tobacco burning, the more gently smoked the better, because every puff is very full in character. So that is my advice on how I think this tobacco is best smoked, IMHO. Small pipe, and stay away from the wind.

Taste: What you get in UF is a casing of sweet plum flavour that is consistent, and naturally integrated with the tobacco (even if it diminishes a little by the second half). The plum casing provides a very nice sweetness to what otherwise is a full bodied tobacco. Without this, I think it would simply be too full, and probably a bit one dimensional.

I ended up smoking UF fully rubbed out, and on the dry side (using this "dry-method", it helps to breathe a little into the bowl when packing to provide some moisture). It lights and burns well, with only a few relights. I like my pipe with coffe, and I think this passes the test.

This is not an all day smoke for me, but it will sure be a satisfying smoke when in the mood for a more hearty choice of tobacco. And yes, I think the level of N is a couple of nothes above medium. I can recommend UF for what it is: a sweet but nevertheless full bodied VA/Bur that is nice to sip on gently in a contemplative setting, and that will deliver enough N to sharpen the mind when needed.

University Flake is one of the blends that changed my mind about Burleys. I wasn't much of a fan of them at first, but this is a really enjoyable smoke. The tin note, upon opening, is mildly sweet and pleasant. You can smell the dark fruit (supposedly plum), and it has a blueberry syrup or fruit roll-up scent. The flakes can be a bit moist, so a little bit of drying will help, but I'd be careful not to over-dry this one as it may diminish the topping. And it's far more faint in the smoke than it is in the tin note.

First few puffs: high quality tobacco flavors. It's mostly good quality Burley with a pleasant mix of Virginias. The grassiness and a bit of floralness of the Virginias are there, but few of the typical bright tang Virginia flavors come through. The topping isn't as strong as it seems from the tin note. Every so often, you catch some of that dark berry/blueberry syrup flavor. It's very faint, but it works really well with the lead Burley flavors. This is an old school, sipping tobacco. The kind of blend you smoke while just sitting on the porch in a rocking chair listening to the birds sing. I really enjoy it. I tend to smoke a bit fast, and even so, there was no bite at all. Though the strength is, I'd say, about high medium.

Bottom line: This is a really nice old school Burley/Virginia blend with a small touch of dark fruit flavor. Just a good solid smoke.

When I saw this at Carolina Tobacco Emporium I was pretty psyched as I’ve been smoking a lot of MacBaren flake for some time and wanted something to compare Old Dark Fired with from the HH line. To be fair to STG , the Dark Fired I smoked had been un tinned and sitting for some months and the University Flake was out of the tin and like all of the Lane Limited products I get here in Ct. , they frustratingly don’t date anything. With that being said, I give this blend a 3 and the Old Dark Fired got a 4 because of a harshness that hits the sides of the tongue about halfway through the University Flake. I like everything else about this blend and I will leave this alone for some months and come back to revisit this review if it merits it especially since Peterson’s products are quite a bit more expensive than MacBaren’s. 7/27/22. As I expected, after un tinning this tobacco and letting it age for only a month, the rough edges I experienced my first time around with University Flake have disappeared. I will give this a 3.5 as there are flake out there that are just as good, but less expensive than this.

Very sweet and strong blend. Sometimes both of these can be irritating. But once you get used to it, it will bring the sweet pleasure. This blend isn´t for everyone. It´s a little bit sweeter and less strong sister of Irish Flake.

Plum? Sorry, I really don't taste that in this blend. What I do taste is a lovely citrus note that reminds me of bergamot. Topping aside, another excellent flake from Peterson. Not much real tobacco taste with this one though. The topping sublimates the individual components. Dark, moist and aromatic-like in flavor. This does not really transfer to the room note, which is the typical woodsy note. Burn is excellent and slow. No tongue bite. If you're looking for an aero that redefines the norm, I would a go at this blend.

Smoked it out of multiple pipes both folded & stuffed and rubbed out. It burns and smokes much better thoroughly rubbed out.

Initial opening of the tin gave me a smokey, meaty smell with a sweet bread/raisin bread in the background. After its been open for a day it's all dark fruit and sweet bread.

A very light tobacco at first but the longer you smoke it the better it gets. This is certainly becoming a favorite of mine. It will get a permanent spot in my cellar. It takes some searching at first but as you get down the bowl the flavor is more pronounced. I taste a lightly sweet bread and get grassy hay notes. The sweetness seems to be more pronounced the longer its smoked. Of course as with any virginia it will bite you if you puff it like a freight train. Smoke it slow. Highly recommend!

A Virginia- Burley blend that has some hay and grass with toasty bread , some molasses and some floral notes . The fruity berry plum topping is the main flavor though . The Virginias probably add to this flavor . The topping is pleasant to my tastebuds . The blend needed some drying out for me . The nicotine is mild/medium . Some dark fired leaf is noticed occasionally. Smokingpipes.com has it listed as an ingredient on their website so I don’t think I imagined it . This is more of a Virginia blend though . No complaints but nothing exciting about it . 2 1-2 rounded up to 3 stars .