New Blend Winners? Dunhill Dark Flake?

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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I just saw that SP has Dunhill Dark Flake has anyone tried it and what are your thoughts. Are there any other new flakes that are total winners? I never remembered Dunhill making a Dark Flake. I began smoking a pipe in 1997 was it around back then?

What other old blends have been brought back to life other than Stonehenge and DDF?

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I'm a big fan of Dunhill Dark Flake, it has great depth with dark chocolate and molasses notes and I would say it's in the same class as Wessex Campaign Dark Flake as it has a similar taste profile, although Dunhill Dark Flake has the addition of Perique. Give it two years in the cellar and I think it will be even better.
Ye Olde Signe is another smooth, ribbon cut VA that people often compare to being a milder Royal Yacht but I think it taste much more similar to the VA's in Elizabethan Mixture, minus the Perique of course. Worth checking out in my opinion but I personally prefer Dunhill Dark Flake to it.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
I think DDF has red Va in it, which may not agree with you. Verify this with jiminks. http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/jims-dunhill-dark-flake-review#post-1032731
Also re-released (straight Va ribbon cut):


Edit: dammit, scooped again! :oops:

 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
Dark Flake is one of my top 5 blends. Deep and rich, with molasses undertones. Very little drying time required. It tastes great right out of the tin. I have a few tins aging as I believe 2 or 3 years will really have this one knocking it out of the park!

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
Love Ye Olde Signe (despite the name) and Lakeland Dark. Looking forward to the new C&D blends. Also rather fond of Firestorm, from the small sample I had, but am not sure when this was released.

 

glassjapan

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 11, 2017
270
56
Another new flake would be McClelland 40th Anniversary. Mostly a broken red VA like some of the Christmas Cheers. Maybe not so new ('15 I think) is SG Brown Sugar Flake from The Danish Pipe Shop. Really liking this one and trying to cellar what I can.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Thanks for all the recommendations. I will definitely try the Dunhill Dark Flake and hopefully it won't have too much red virginia in it. The DDF sounds tasty as can be. Does anyone here remember the older version and how does it compare? For those who don't know me, I have an allergy that precludes me from smoking too much red virginia. I get a nasty tongue burn from the stuff. I can handle very small amounts such as the amount in Solani Silver Flake.
I love the taste of red virginia and blends like Christmas Cheer would be in the top ten of my favorites if I didn't get that nasty tongue burn.
" SG Brown Sugar Flake from The Danish Pipe Shop." I can't find a review on this stuff at tobacco review.com. Is this a special blend just for that shop? I love Best Brown,St James and Full Virginia and would love to try this flake.
Ye Old Signe also sounds interesting, even though I am not a big fan of ribbon cuts, I think I will grab a tin of it.
I read the review in the review room about JA Dragon Flake and was wondering how many of you have tried it. I am not a huge aromatic smoker, but I do enjoy them from time to time and that one sounds really sweet tasting. There are times after a big steak dinner when I want a sweet after dinner smoke,it is similar to drinking an aperitif.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
60,846
553,689
Harris, due to EU laws, Brown Sugar Flake is now called B.S. Flake (oh brother!). Here's my review:
This flake has a pinch of nutty sweet burley and woody, floral Oriental. I don’t know how much a “pinch” is, but I get minor amounts of both in most every puff, which is likely caused by how the flakes are processed. The cavendish offers a honey note. The Virginia reminds me of a sweeter Medium Virginia Flake: a little grassy and earthy with citrus and minor spice notes. The hot pressing of the tobacco adds a little brown sugary sweetness, too. Medium in strength, this is a little richer than Best Brown Flake, and is sort of like a sweeter, smoother, creamier, slightly less earthier Full Virginia Flake with the same level of nicotine and tanginess, plus more nuance of flavor. Needs some dry time, but will burn slow with a consistent taste and a very pleasing after taste. Needs a few relights, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. The nic-hit is a shade past mild. Can be an all day smoke.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Thanks jim, great review. Is it available for sale in the states or only from that one shop? Is it better than Best Brown or FVF and is it worth chasing?

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
Harris, Brown Sugar Flake is only available from the Danish Pipe Shop as it is 'their' blend though made by Sam Gawith.
It was briefly available from Mysmokingshop.com here in the UK but they were told they shouldn't be selling it and they weren't allowed to buy anymore.
I adore the stuff but only have five tins left so I just might have to visit the DPS website to restock.
Regards,
Jay.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
Thanks Jay. From reading the reviews about the SG BSF, I am not going to chase this one. It doesn't sound like it is better than my 4 SG flakes I stock(Kendal Plug,Best Brown,FVF and St James). If it were significantly better than either of those 4 I might chase some down, but since it isn't, I don't feel like dealing with buying over seas.

 

alan73

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 26, 2017
666
653
Wisconsin
for cigrmaster (more like flakemaster) to be asking about flakes is like Tom Brady asking how to throw a football.
The majority of my cellar is directly because of cigrmasters' flake list recommendations of yesteryear. For that I say thank you.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
alan, when you are out of the game for as long as I was there were bound to be new flakes on the market. Thanks to guys like you who love flakes, I can get some good reviews. I am glad I was able to help you find blends which you enjoy, even though I was not active on the site. That list took me a number of years of trial and error,and other than Solani Silver Flake, I believe the entire list is devoid of red Virginian tobacco. My list is missing a ton of good flakes for that reason alone. I would have another 30 blends on it for sure if I could smoke the reds.

 

perdurabo

Lifer
Jun 3, 2015
3,305
1,575
If you like European Virginia's, give C&D Dreams of Kadath and Mad Fiddler Flake a shake. Wonderful bready virginias, something different from House Cornell &Diehl.

 

davidintexas

Part of the Furniture Now
Jun 4, 2013
673
209
Harris, I have recently acquired and tasted the JA Dragon Flake, due to someone's post on here couple of weeks ago. It is certainly a dessert smoke for me. It is a rich and sweet tasting smoke, but as far as aromatics go it is one of the best to my tastes. It was practically smokeable from the tin for my tastes. I prefer it on the dry side, so I was a little surprised about that it didn't need much dry time. I only had a minimal of relights. Hope this helps. Glad to see ya back

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
Dang man! Now ya got me interested in it and I swore I wasn’t going to try anymore new blends. It’s going in the wish list.
Temple Bar by Pease blew me away! I’m not a huge Pease fan but he knocked this one out of the park! I’m also interested in C&D’s Dreams of Kadath.
I think you are around for Cabbies Mixture but worth a mention just in case you weren’t. Put 2 years on a tin and it’s up there with the best VaPer’s I’ve ever smoked.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
hawky, I do have a tin of Cabbies but cannot remember if I like it. I will try a bowl later today for a revisit. I just read some reviews on TR and gave you a like for your review. I noticed a few people mentioned they got a floral Lakeland taste. If I remember did GH and SG merge or did one buy out the other? If SG is using GH machines there could be a cross contamination issue which it sounds like is happening based on the reviews I read. If that is a real thing it sounds like all of SG blends could be in jeopardy of being tainted. Has anyone talked about this in another thread?

 
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