FVF Not Working For Me

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mordy18

Can't Leave
Mar 12, 2019
381
1,369
Northern New Jersey
I’ve had a tin of FVF jarred for about a year and occasionally sampling from it, and one unopened tin. I started drying it overnight and focusing on really sipping it. I rub it out rather than fold. I’m just not finding it an enjoyable smoke. Very cigaretty and bitter. I think i will put this jar and the tin aside for a long time and revisit years from now - Perhaps the age will improve it for me.
Anyone else have similar experience. I really enjoy escudo so maybe its the absence of perique or any other tobacco thats the issue. Maybe full virginias are just not to me taste or maybe my technique is still off?
 

lightmybriar

Lifer
Mar 11, 2014
1,315
1,838
I’ve had a tin of FVF jarred for about a year and occasionally sampling from it, and one unopened tin. I started drying it overnight and focusing on really sipping it. I rub it out rather than fold. I’m just not finding it an enjoyable smoke. Very cigaretty and bitter. I think i will put this jar and the tin aside for a long time and revisit years from now - Perhaps the age will improve it for me.
Anyone else have similar experience. I really enjoy escudo so maybe its the absence of perique or any other tobacco thats the issue. Maybe full virginias are just not to me taste or maybe my technique is still off?
Gawith is a different flavor family than things like Escudo. It’s a bit of a shock to the palate if you approach it as just another Virginia. Jar it and set it aside for a while and give yourself time to approach it as a thing of its own, and then decide if it works for you or not. That’s what I would recommend. I did that myself.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
mordy, you've been persistent and sensible, giving the blend every opportunity, and you will try again after some more years of aging. I'd say this blend just isn't your thing. Usually I can come around to blend and learn how to smoke it to my satisfaction, but sometimes not. If you get a chance to trade off the unopened tin, that might be the way to go. Your efforts are commendable.
 

londonbriar

Lurker
Apr 17, 2019
29
97
London-ish, UK
Tobacco and taste is such a funny thing. I loved Best Brown Flake on my first bowl and still do, and yet it took me years to finally 'get' FVF. I really didn't like Germain's Brown Flake until a couple of months ago, and now it is one of my favourites!

For me, against all common wisdom (and unlike BBF), I enjoy smoking FVF quite wet. I rub it out fully, give it about three charing lights and then let it rest. Then I revive my palate with a drink and light again. It is the sort of tobacco that has a real subtle sweetness. I find that a good bitter moka (stovetop espresso) beforehand helps.

I think a lot of the virginias made on the continent (Rattrays, Escudo etc) have a little sugar added into the blend to help make the smoke more palatable. This can distort what our tastes are searching for in this blend.

But if you don't like it - don't worry. Put it in a jar and come back to it in a year or three. You may well get a hankering for it one day, and that might be the day it is a great smoke for you. If jarred properly, it will last indefinitely. And don't worry if you never get to like it - plenty more smokes out there to enjoy!

Steve
 

marconi

Part of the Furniture Now
May 17, 2019
694
5,321
England
It’s great that we are all different.I have no love for Escudo or Elizabethan mixture both seem cigarette/ashy,I know that’s not the generally held opinion.As to FVF it’s hard work getting the drying right but worth it when you get that perfect bowl.
 
Jan 28, 2018
12,954
134,644
66
Sarasota, FL
FVF is a strange bird. Looks and feels more like a strip of beef jerky than a tobacco flake. PITA to prep, difficult to pack right, tough to light and keep lit. But oh, when you finally get it going, what amazing tobacco goodness.

I mostly agree with London briars approach although not wet but still pliable. Get it lit real good then sit it down, come back to it later.
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
Tobacco and taste is such a funny thing. I loved Best Brown Flake on my first bowl and still do, and yet it took me years to finally 'get' FVF. I really didn't like Germain's Brown Flake until a couple of months ago, and now it is one of my favourites!

For me, against all common wisdom (and unlike BBF), I enjoy smoking FVF quite wet. I rub it out fully, give it about three charing lights and then let it rest. Then I revive my palate with a drink and light again. It is the sort of tobacco that has a real subtle sweetness. I find that a good bitter moka (stovetop espresso) beforehand helps.

I think a lot of the virginias made on the continent (Rattrays, Escudo etc) have a little sugar added into the blend to help make the smoke more palatable. This can distort what our tastes are searching for in this blend.

But if you don't like it - don't worry. Put it in a jar and come back to it in a year or three. You may well get a hankering for it one day, and that might be the day it is a great smoke for you. If jarred properly, it will last indefinitely. And don't worry if you never get to like it - plenty more smokes out there to enjoy!

Steve
The espresso is a great idea. I like to alternate genres when smoking for similar reasons. Sort of priming the palate for contrasts. Like alternating between the cold and hot pools at a hot springs place.
 

irishearl

Lifer
Aug 2, 2016
2,146
3,762
Kansas
FVF is a strange bird. Looks and feels more like a strip of beef jerky than a tobacco flake. PITA to prep, difficult to pack right, tough to light and keep lit. But oh, when you finally get it going, what amazing tobacco goodness.

I mostly agree with London briars approach although not wet but still pliable. Get it lit real good then sit it down, come back to it later.
It's been years since I smoked it and you perfectly nailed what I recall of the experience. I tended to like Best Brown Flake better than FVF.
 
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