Peterson University Flake

This weed hits you like a ton of bricks from the very first light. The flake is just flat powerful and also just flat delicious!

If you want a pleasant, laid back smoke, I urge you to look elsewhere. This one commands your attention with its relentless waves of a sort of naturally sweet and strong Virginia flavor with the nuttiness of a quality Burley in the background.

Pipestud

Peterson - University Flake.

This was one of the first blends I reviewed, but when I re-read my review I didn't find it particularly 'helpful'. Having been smoking this as a very regular go-to I wanted to re-post. I'll also add it's been in my favourites list for ages and I can't see it going anywhere!

Of all the tins I've had I can't recollect any having an issue with being too wet or dry. A tin holds two rows of fairly thin, dark brown, flakes. I normally rub my flakes, but because of the thinner build U.F. would smoke easily if folded and stuffed.

University Flake takes the flame easily, and I adore the smoke. It's primarily the tobaccos, with the nutty Burley leading. The topping is evident, albeit mild at first and I'm unsure as to what kind of dark fruit it's from: plums, currants, dates, or berries?. It seems to strengthen quite quickly, it only takes a few minutes of being smoked, and that's where it seems more certain to be a currant topping; still no more than mild to medium at the very most, but a lot clearer. The flavour seems to have the same character throughout a bowl, once the burns settled and the fruit's strengthened. Bite? I've never had so much as a peck from it!

I've always enjoyed the room-note, and the nicotine's medium.

Simple: highly recommended.

I've been without this tobacco for quite a while, due to a shortage of all Peterson products in South Africa. I picked up a tin resently and this morning filled a smallish Old England with quite a long stem. Sipping it very gently, I experienced a delightful NEW tobacco! First half of the bowl, the sweetness of the virginias and casing were up front. Very enjoyable. The second half of the bowl brought forth the taste of the burley, nutty and almost like newly baked bread. In the past, I liked this tobacco, now I fell in love with it and will go back to our B&M for another couple of tins. If you want to smoke a burley but, like me, can't smoke it neat, get yourself a tin of UF. I promise, no one will ever regret it!

Ohh this is some tasty stuff! A wonderful VaBur flake with a very pleasant berry-plum topping artfully applied. The topping is just strong enough to come through the background without masking the quality leaf. Smoke this slowly as it can get warm, but with good technique, you'll be rewarded with a very pleasant smoke. In addition, this flake packs a very satisfying amount of vitamin N, but not so much that novice smokers and lightweights should avoid the blend.

Opening the tin I found very nicely sliced thin flakes all standing at attention as opposed to laying down like the SG offerings. I has thought that UF would be closer to Erinmore Flake IE: darker and stronger, but what I found is a mild-medium strength flake more along the lines of Macbaren Mixture Flake in both looks and strength. The blueberry topping is very restrained and I could not taste it in the smoke aside from perhaps a slight sweetness but I thoroughly enjoyed the tin aroma and was praised on the room note. UF is perfect for times when I cannot concentrate like driving or watching a movie etc, it practically burns on autopilot, not requiring multiple relights when it is given a little time to dry and the very thin flakes rub out easily to thin ribbons but if left in an unbroken flake and stuffed it still burns easily. I do believe this would make a perfect first flake for the neophyte since it is easy to light, easy to master the flake technique and will not bite do to over puffing or carelessness. I overpaid at my local B&M but I knew that going in, I like to support them... but UF can be had for a song online and is worth every penny since it is an excellent mild-medium Vir-Bur and ranks up there with my favorites! Delightful and a must try!

**Interesting I see Pipestud did not like this flake one bit where I thought this flake would be right up his alley. Perhaps they changed the recipe since 2002?...I don't see what's not to like in this Virginia / Burley Flake**

The closest I will ever come to going to university.

nice even sized flakes, again this was a gift from a friend with 10 years age, flakes are a little on the dry side but it makes for easier rubbing out and filling, some nice Virginia sweetness along with a nuttiness from the burley which works really well with the fruity topping.

smoking is rather pleasant for a flake it is quite mild and is a good "thinking man's" smoke. even though my flakes are quite dry it burns at a pretty slow rate. An interesting observation from myself is when I was smoking this I got quite similar flavours to amphora full aroma.

it is a nice flavourful smoke with a decent amount of complexity, it's topping is easily distinguishable but it doesn't drown the true tobacco flavours.

Can bite if pushed too hard but taken slowly it is a rather pleasant smoke and it's mildness is refreshing for a flake, as sometimes when I fancy a flake tobacco i dont want a powerhouse blend, excellent to smoke any time of day and will make a good starting point to any pipe smoker that wishes to try flakes for the first time.

room note is great a nice fruityness that never overpowers so shouldn't offend most people.

All in all a great tobacco from Peterson which will serve the experienced smoker well and will also give a good guiding hand to less experienced smokers.

3 and a half stars

I bought a tin from the Peterson Importer in India to see if this blend was worthy carrying on my website. I was not disappointed.

First light: Floral hint in the smoke, the olfactory note is perfect !! The virginia are perfect, grassy, sweet, albeit a little too much because of hte sweet casing. It's written as plum but I have always tasted fruity berries from the blend. The burleys are present in the background with a subtle hint. The tobacco smokes slow and makes you savor every puff and exhale.

True light & first half: The light went out after the first 5 minutes, the relight brought out more intense flavors from the flake all at once. It's pretty fantastic to be able to taste berries, the Virginia hay and the bready Burleys all at once. It's a harmonious experience with all the ingredients giving each other space to shine !!

University flake is woody, nutty, fruity and grassy. The plum/berry topping keeps the smoke interesting by pushing the Virginia forward and not letting the burleys make the experience one dimensional. There is also a hint of dark fired, subtle but definitely there.

As far as strength is concernced, YMMV. It starts out as mild and grows in intensity barely kissing the medium scale as you approach the first third of the bowl.

First Half: Upon reaching the first half of the bowl, the Virginia give a more leeway to burleys to come out. The bready nutty Burleys slowly work their way to the front. Each puff still quite delicious although the Virginias are now slowly fading to the background. The aroma and taste of berries is still there, which is surprising as typical VaBur blends tend to get harsh at this stage. Not this blend though !! Each puff is still tasty as the next one.

Second half: This is the part where the blend is the most intense as the natural oils in the tobacco comes out, the smoke is a tad bit stronger to the nose. The Virginias have completely mixed with the Burleys giving the smoke an incredibly toasty profile.

Last third: As you approach the last third of the smoke, you may want to gently get the ash out of your pipe, as it starts giving out an ash taste. Also it makes relighting better otherwise you may end up heating up the leaves unnecessarily.

Conclusion: A very interesting and delicious blend. The journey was fantastic. I will definitely be stocking up on Uni. Flake.

Highly recommended for people who dislike goopy aromatics but would love to try something sweet.

White ash with minimal dottle.

I'm fairly new to pipe smoking and due to its ubiquity in Canada have been mostly smoking Brigham aromatics (do they make anything that isn't an aro?) and have been quite disappointed by the wetness, aftertaste and inconsistency of their products.

I recently purchased a tin of Peterson's Irish Whiskey and was blown away by the difference in quality. I then found this site and started reading reviews of what to shop for at my local tobacconist. This led me to UF and my first flake.

Great aroma in the tin. A little moist. I let a flake dry for 15 minutes before folding and stuffing.

Wow! What a pleasure!

Mild but not underwhelming.

Artfully flavoured to bring forth the berry/plum without assaulting the flavour buds.

A nice little kick of vitamin N at the beginning.

Smoked slow and it burnt cool, though the bottom of the bowl at the fold got pretty hot.

No tongue bite and no soapy aftertaste. Aftertaste is of blueberries.

A bit of moisture in the bottom of the bowl but no doddle whatsoever (have set aside some flakes to experiment with drying time).

Only required to be relit at the halfway point and near the bottom.

Flavour was consistent throughout, though as other reviewers have commented it became 'nuttier' in the second half.

Though I am newish to pipe smoking I was previously a 3 pack a day cigarette smoker so I do tend to smoke 5 bowels a day. Will definitely purchase again and add to my daily rotation, and seek out other Peterson products.

This is a very enjoyable smoke, thick white smoke throughout the bowl, with a wonderful flavor that reminds me of warm bread. The Burley and the Virginias work well together and give a most satisfying bowlful.