Orlik Golden Sliced - My First Straight Virginia

Wellington · Jun 17, 2013

AND I HATE IT! WHY?! I want to love virginia so bad. I didn't like my cavendish blend I bought, and I didn't like this. I want to so bad, everything from the sweet tin, to the smell, to the flakes, but it tastes like i'm smoking a bowl full of wooden matches. I know blends always grow on me, but with the cavendish it hasn't grown on me much and its been over a month for that one. I love latakias with or without perique now, I love burleys, but virginia seems to be the odd ball out. I've heard that virginias sometimes take a while for people to appreciate, but I don't know. It irritates my throat a little as well. I didn't even finish the bowl.

Its really frustrating. I'm still gonna finish the tin eventually, and I'm still gonna try the Capstan, but its looking like these sweet tins of virginia flake is something I won't be stocking up much on.

barleynbaccy · Jun 17, 2013

Loseth your tastes sound a lot like mine. I still have a jars of orlik, and fvf that I light up a bowl of every couple of months, but I still have yet acquire the taste. I do think some of it is coming from improving technique though because they are starting to taste better.

mso489 · Jun 17, 2013

I loved Orlik Golden Sliced right off the bat. But you don't have to! Here's the glory of it, for

one smoker. It has this simplicity, not layered or complex at all, to me. But it also has a kind

of resonance that takes you to a certain level and holds you there. Things that would have spoiled

it are trying to smoke it too fast, trying to smoke it first in a big bowled pipe, and not rubbing it

out enough. You don't want it to burn real hot or real fast. It will last for quite a while in a Group

3 pipe, a nice little bulldog or Rhodesian. Give it another try, sooner or later. You may be surprised.

Might fine in a cob, too.

lostandfound · Jun 17, 2013

"Subtle" is the word I would use.

shutterbug · Jun 17, 2013

Any of those forum members that wish to dispose of the OGS, you are more than welcome to send it my way!

OGS is my daily smoke, and I can't get enough of it... It's orangey citrus sweetness is what I need to wake up with each morning...
Shutterbug

rcstan · Jun 18, 2013

Rub it out, dry it out, pack well in a narrow bowl and sip. That's how I mastered smoking straight VA with the mother-of-all-biting-ferrets-of-blends , McBaren VA#1 , which is a wonderful subtle blend if you can get it to not scorch your mouth.
However, it's still just an occasional couple bowls a week thing, and usually in a filtered Savinelli ....

Wellington · Jun 18, 2013

Hmm, I'll have to try it in my Brigham, its got a long narrow bowl.

ciderguy · Jun 18, 2013

Not everyone gets VA. If you've been smoking a bunch of lat bombs VAs are bound to taste ashy or like air. I suggest trying the one first thing in the morning on a day when you aren't in a rush to go anywhere.
VAs are subtle tobaccos that want to be smoked slow. If the pipe isn't almost in danger of going out constantly, you might be smoking too fast. I think part of the reason that it can take people years to understand VAs is because they tend to be more picky about packing and the pace of smoking compared to other tobaccos. Try breath smoking or DGT.
If you aren't having the best of time with the VAs, don't worry about it. Put a few tins in the cellar and let them age. Revisit them in the future. VAs can be divine after they have a few years of age on them.

barleynbaccy · Jun 18, 2013

It will last for quite a while in a Group

3 pipe, a nice little bulldog or Rhodesian

I second this my virginia experience improved when I heard Brian on the radio show talking about pipe shapes and sizes. He mentioned about putting simpler less complex blends in smaller pipes and thats when I started using my Rhodesian and it did help me find flavors a little easier.

jeff394 · Jun 18, 2013

I agree with Roth, if there is Perique in OGS it sneaked by me, and I'm a little sensitive to Perique. Definitely smoke it slow, and if you still don't like it, trade it away. Trust me, somebody out there will want it.

bentmike · Jun 18, 2013

It took me 20 years to warm to Virginias. Ciderguy makes a great point about the need to smoke VAs very slow. I think that might be why I enjoy them now. I'm older and much more patient than when I was younger pipe smoker.
As others have mentioned don't give up just revisit once in a while and your tastes may change.

hfearly · Jun 18, 2013

I LOVE Orlik Golden Sliced. But only in one or two particular pipes. Best experience is in a Stanwell Naval Series Admiral #62 Dublin, when I "roast" a flake in the open sunlight for a bit, then fold and stuff. Absolutely delicious! No wooden matches. Just fine, sweet, buttery, creamy Virginia and a slightly sour note and spice on the exhale from the Perique. Let it sit in a mason jar for at least a year (I usually bake it because I don't want to wait for a year) to let the flavors develop.

cigrmaster · Jun 18, 2013

I only like OGS with a minimum of ten years on it. To my tastes it takes that long to get rid of the very grassy component to it. I would recommend trying a tin of Fribourg & Treyer Cut Virginia Plug in a group 4 sized pipe in either a Dublin, Apple or Billiard. I would cube cut it and smoke it very slowly. When packing I would make sure it has some good resistance and you do not pack too loosely. I would also make sure you use a pipe that has not seen an English blend, the flavors from the ghost of the English will completely over power the Va, better to use an aromatic pipe or burley or Vapor, anything but English. If you do not like this blend after 5 or so bowls with good technique, you just might not be a Va guy right now. Another blend you can try is Astleys 109, that is a nice mild, sweet flake, great for beginners. I cut my teeth on that along with the CVP.

grumpynuts · Jul 26, 2013

I like OGS for the smoothness of the smoke. It's a good all-day smoke or one for when your taste buds have not been hit with a strong, spicy dinner. If I were looking for a more complex smoke I would go elsewhere, but I'm not always keen for that. I highly recommend this one.

drcarlo · Jul 27, 2013

I don't like Orlik Red Sliced. I've tried to like it but still tastes awful. It is impossible for me and Orlik Red Sliced to become friends.
Try yellow Capstan. The yellow is sweeter and more mellow than Capstan blue.

drcarlo · Jul 27, 2013

You are right in that "Capstan Yellow Flake is a blend that does sound ideal for anyone delving into virginia flakes for the first time". It is one of my "on the go" blends.

thesmokindragon · Jul 27, 2013

IMHO-Give Dunhill Flake a try, OGS can be a tough one to start with (fresh tin)
Also you may want to ease into pure V , so maybe a VaBur or VaPer flake like SG St. James , Solani 633, Peterson's UF
MC's advice says you need a good 4 solid days of smoking the same V blend for your palate to adjust ( now I smoke some heavy Lat blends and even when I had

my rotation setup for Pure Vs early in day and moving to the Lat blends late day , still was better when I stayed with Vs only for a week)
Hope all this helps out in being one with the V flake

pitchfork · Jul 27, 2013

I'm with Sam on this one. I love VAs, but the citrusy flavors in OGS just don't agree with my palate. Or, as the OP put it, "a bowl full of wooden matches."
For smokers just starting out in VAs, I always recommend Gawith and Hoggarth's Best Brown #2 -- it's very easy to light, very easy on the palate and almost never bites or burns hot. Plus, the flavor is just "there" -- less of a need to train the palate before getting some enjoyment out of it. For me, the same is true of McClelland's VA #22 -- the sweet VA flavors are front and center, and it rarely burns hot.
By the same token, I'd recommend against some of the GL Pease VAs like Union Square and Montgomery. They're beautiful tobaccos, with minimal processing, but they take very careful technique to get the most out of them.

troutface · Jul 27, 2013

I'd also suggest McClelland #27 or Brindle Flake with some age on them.

Orlik Golden Sliced - My First Straight Virginia

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Part of the Furniture Now

Can't Leave

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Can't Leave

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Can't Leave

Can't Leave

Lurker

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Lurker

Starting to Get Obsessed

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer