Prior to this purchase, I had absolutely NO experience with Lakeland Floral or Tonquin flavoring. NONE. Never tasted or even smelled it. I’ve read countless reviews describing a wide variety of what these things taste/smell like and I wanted to try it for myself. As 1792 is virtually unobtainable, I went with G&H Dark Flake Scented. I ordered 4 ounces (bulk) from P&C.
Just as a point of reference, I prefer stronger tasting (and nic-filled) blends. Irish Flake is my absolute favorite and I smoke probably 5 bowls of IF a week. I also enjoy OJK.
Now, when I opened my package from P&C (which contained several tins of other blends), I was immediately hit by what I knew was the aroma from the DFS. I pulled the bag out and smelled it without opening. Yikes. I opened the bag and took another sniff. It was like a punch in the nose. The smell was…VERY strange. I have no description for the smell of the unlit tobacco. Maybe some very alien cologne smell. NOT a good smell (to me). I’ve heard other people talk about an aroma of tobacco from the tin making their eyes water. That has NEVER happened to me, but this stuff smelled like it came from Hell. Strange is the only way I can describe it.
Not to be deterred, I got myself ready to fire it up anyway. I took some pieces of the rather loose flake and rubbed them out fully, leaving them on a small saucer to dry for an hour. The smell was still there, but not nearly as strong. I packed the stuff into a Full-Bent Savinelli Dry System (which has a rather tall and narrow bowl). One match – rich, heavy clouds of smoke. Tamped it down a bit to a charred upper crust and let it sit for a few seconds. I tried to not even think about the scent at this point. Then, I re-lit with another match and sat back to taste. This is what these flavorings taste like to me: The pages from a VERY old book that have recently been sprayed with a very pungent and aromatic hairspray. The first third of the bowl was dominated by this flavor. I could taste the tobacco, and can honestly see the references for G&H DF to the taste of Irish Flake --- but with the aforementioned taste slathered on.
By the mid third of the bowl, the hairspray taste subsided but the mustiness remained. Now, a VERY strong licorice taste emerged.
The last third of the bowl (for me) had the least amount of flavoring. It seemed to settle into more of a (relatively speaking) naturally strong tobacco flavor. I don’t know if I had gotten used to the flavor or if it had subsided. Nonetheless, this stuff kind of grew on me a little by the bottom of the bowl.
When I first pulled the bag out of my package, I was pretty disappointed. Now, I feel better. I gave this a chance and was ultimately intrigued by what I found. At this point, I don’t think I’ll be smoking this every day. However, I’ll try to keep it reasonably in rotation to see how it grows on me. I would recommend that anyone try this – but maybe buy a little less than 4 ounces at the onset.
Just as a point of reference, I prefer stronger tasting (and nic-filled) blends. Irish Flake is my absolute favorite and I smoke probably 5 bowls of IF a week. I also enjoy OJK.
Now, when I opened my package from P&C (which contained several tins of other blends), I was immediately hit by what I knew was the aroma from the DFS. I pulled the bag out and smelled it without opening. Yikes. I opened the bag and took another sniff. It was like a punch in the nose. The smell was…VERY strange. I have no description for the smell of the unlit tobacco. Maybe some very alien cologne smell. NOT a good smell (to me). I’ve heard other people talk about an aroma of tobacco from the tin making their eyes water. That has NEVER happened to me, but this stuff smelled like it came from Hell. Strange is the only way I can describe it.
Not to be deterred, I got myself ready to fire it up anyway. I took some pieces of the rather loose flake and rubbed them out fully, leaving them on a small saucer to dry for an hour. The smell was still there, but not nearly as strong. I packed the stuff into a Full-Bent Savinelli Dry System (which has a rather tall and narrow bowl). One match – rich, heavy clouds of smoke. Tamped it down a bit to a charred upper crust and let it sit for a few seconds. I tried to not even think about the scent at this point. Then, I re-lit with another match and sat back to taste. This is what these flavorings taste like to me: The pages from a VERY old book that have recently been sprayed with a very pungent and aromatic hairspray. The first third of the bowl was dominated by this flavor. I could taste the tobacco, and can honestly see the references for G&H DF to the taste of Irish Flake --- but with the aforementioned taste slathered on.
By the mid third of the bowl, the hairspray taste subsided but the mustiness remained. Now, a VERY strong licorice taste emerged.
The last third of the bowl (for me) had the least amount of flavoring. It seemed to settle into more of a (relatively speaking) naturally strong tobacco flavor. I don’t know if I had gotten used to the flavor or if it had subsided. Nonetheless, this stuff kind of grew on me a little by the bottom of the bowl.
When I first pulled the bag out of my package, I was pretty disappointed. Now, I feel better. I gave this a chance and was ultimately intrigued by what I found. At this point, I don’t think I’ll be smoking this every day. However, I’ll try to keep it reasonably in rotation to see how it grows on me. I would recommend that anyone try this – but maybe buy a little less than 4 ounces at the onset.
Although maybe I've missed something so any answers would be great.
