Search For Good Tasting Virginia

[DIYpiper]

Hello all,

Once again I find myself coming to you for some tobacco guidance.

I am happy to finally report I am beginning to develop a taste for some tobaccos that ring all the bells for me.

I have found light English blends have a great taste and tin note. I now want to find a good Virginia tobacco to add to my rotation. I have tried Sutliff Virginia Flake, PS Navy Flake and Yorktown. The issue is they all have intoxicating tin notes; grassy, hay, citris tin notes, but when it comes to smoking I get no taste. Yorktown did provide a little flavour but nothing like the tin note. I try to smoke slow and cool using a retro hale to maximize flavour with no success. I also use a dedicated cob to keep the experience untainted.

I’m looking for a Virginia that the tin note really comes through in the smoke. Nothing heavy in perique as I don’t love the pepper, especially on the retro hale. I’d love some suggestions!

Thank you in advance.

 

[workman]

The most important when it comes to virginias is to dry them. They should be crispy before you light your pipe. Only then will the flavors come out.
Oh, and smoke them really slowly.
I'm guessing, since you get no flavor from those, that you are doing sometjing wrong.
That said, my favorite virginia blends are Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake and Capstan Blue Flake.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Do you want to dig it out smoke it? Tin note rarely tells the trailer of the smoke, at least for me. You want full bodied Virginia's? Opening Night, Union Square, F&T Vintage, SG FVF and BBF, Astleys 44 would be good places to start.

 

[workman]

Do you want to dig it out smoke it? Tin note rarely tells the trailer of the smoke, at least for me. You want full bodied Virginia's? Opening Night, Union Square, F&T Vintage, SG FVF and BBF, Astleys 44 would be good places to start.

Tin notes of virginia blends rarely correspond with the flavor of the blend. Tin notes are often those of dried fruits, raisins or figs or something. They never taste like that.
Recently I popped a tin of FVF that smelled like hay. Nothing else. The flavor was as always, but the tin note was different.
The same day I popped a tin of Cabbies Mixture. Tin note was hay and sheep shit. It tasted heavenly.
Tin note says nothing about anything but itself.

 

[Tommy Boy]

The most important when it comes to virginias is to dry them. They should be crispy before you light your pipe. Only then will the flavors come out.
Oh, and smoke them really slowly.
I'm guessing, since you get no flavor from those, that you are doing sometjing wrong.
That said, my favorite virginia blends are Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake and Capstan Blue Flake.

I think you can overdrive Virginia's. I left some luxury Bullseye flake out yesterday for way too long very crunchy. I didn't enjoy the flavor near as much as when its still had some spring to it.

 

[rajangan]

If you're sure you like Virginias, I would recommend ordering whole leaf tobacco.

Store bought, I've always been a fan of MacBaren Dark Twist though.

 

[workman]

I think you can overdrive Virginia's. I left some luxury Bullseye flake out yesterday for way too long very crunchy. I didn't enjoy the flavor near as much as when its still had some spring to it.

Sure, experiences can differ. At least now you know how you like it.
I smoked many flavorless tongue boiling bowls of moist virginias before I found out to dry them more.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

If you're in the UK you should check out Germain's Brown Flake. It can be a bit hard to find in the US though. Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia is a favourite of mine as well.

 

[hawky454]

VA’s took me a long time to figure out, the one that started doing it for me early on that I still very much enjoy today is Orlik Golden Sliced. It’s technically a VaPer but the Perique is so light in it it’s basically a straight VA and a great starting point into the world of VA’s. It took me about 6 years to finally come around to VA’s. Some appreciate them much sooner but for some it takes a long time to really get any flavors out of them. Orlik is lightly topped with bergamot or some kind of citrus so it helps to accentuate the citrus aspects of VA’s. I should also note that not everyone agrees that OGS is topped but I definitely taste a top note that you would not otherwise find in a VA tobacco.

 

[kimbiker]

Peterson flake.....suits my taste. Cracking smoke.

 

[BROBS]

Sutliff 515RC-1

 

[troyniss]

I fancy Peterson Flake, Sutliff 507-C VA Slices, Sutliff 515RC-1, Newminster no.400 Superior Navy Flake and the list goes on and on. Some people rave of Samuel Gawith FVF and Best Brown. I can't tell you how many times I thought to my self that bright Va's are my favorite, only to smoke a red Va and be completely enamored by it and down the rabbit hole into red only Va's. I have tried MacBarens Pure Virginia but won't buy it again.

There are so many Va's to count. Your best bet is to just buy a few tins and test em out. Only way to tell. Besides, Va's are the best candidates for aging so if you decide at the moment you don't care for a particular blend, come back to it in 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, etc and you may have yourself a completely different experience. Hated C&D Carolina Red Flake fresh but came to it a year later and it pushed all the right buttons.

 

[kg.legat0]

Just here to "+1" drying Va.'s to a nearly inappropriate point -as others have suggested, I also really enjoy: Orlik Golden Sliced, Sutliff Va. Slices, Sutliff Sweet Virginia, C&D Opening Night, Newminster 400 (love this stuff), Mac Baren Virginia No. 1 and Sutliff 515 RC-1.

 

[tradition]

I really enjoy Amphora Virginia right from the pouch. No aging necessary.

 

[LOREN]

Good tasting Virginia.......oxymoron? ?

 

[kg.legat0]

I really enjoy Amphora Virginia right from the pouch. No aging necessary.

I really liked the Kentucky, I have had suspicions this would be a really tasty Virginia...reasonably priced, too.

 

[tkcolo]

Sutliff 515RC-1

515RC-1 jacks up my taste buds and has too little nicotine for me. Even if I mix it way down, all I taste is vinegar. If I drank a few bud light limes with a bowl of 515RC-1, I wouldn't taste anything for another week. I think I must have a chemical problem with all that vinegar, because the MCC blends aren't far behind it. It's a shame, because I have a bunch of 515 and MCC stuff.

 

[BROBS]

515RC-1 jacks up my taste buds and has too little nicotine for me. Even if I mix it way down, all I taste is vinegar. If I drank a few bud light limes with a bowl of 515RC-1, I wouldn't taste anything for another week. I think I must have a chemical problem with all that vinegar, because the MCC blends aren't far behind it. It's a shame, because I have a bunch of 515 and MCC stuff.

are you drying it to crispy dry?

 

[kg.legat0]

515RC-1 jacks up my taste buds and has too little nicotine for me. Even if I mix it way down, all I taste is vinegar. If I drank a few bud light limes with a bowl of 515RC-1, I wouldn't taste anything for another week. I think I must have a chemical problem with all that vinegar, because the MCC blends aren't far behind it. It's a shame, because I have a bunch of 515 and MCC stuff.

I think Red Virginias can harsh me out a bit ...I did find that the 515 calms down a ton the longer you let it dry. No denying the vinegar factor is kickin' tho.

 

[tkcolo]

are you drying it to crispy dry?

I have never been very patient. I live with 0% humidity, so everything dries pretty fast. I forget that until I take a pipe to visit family in Texas. Everything tastes different there. Seems like setting it out rehydrates it. I will try that. The twang is what I struggle with more.