Jim's C&D Carolina Red Flake 2024 (Small Batch) Review.

[JimInks]

This goes on sale Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. EST.

The two 2019 and the 2022 Old Belt orange and mostly red Virginias produce a wealth of tangy and rather tart citrus, grass/hay, bread, wood, earth, sugar, floralness, some tangy ripe dark fruit, vegetation, mild spice, sourness, light sour lemon, and acidic vinegar. The strength and taste are a step past the medium mark. The nic-hit almost reaches the medium threshold. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. Has a few light rough notes. The broken flakes are easy to prepare as you wish. They are a little moist, and may need a light dry time. As is my custom, I did not do that for this review nor did I see a need for it. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a very consistent, zesty, deeply rich flavor that extends to the moderately lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is fairly pleasant and sweet. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few relights; less so as you go along. Can be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker, and is repeatable under any circumstance. This particular production is not as sugary as the first two, which allows the inherent natural citrus to be a notch more obvious. It also has a tad more savory tart sourness than the others did. Should age well. Three and a half stars out of four.
©Jim Amash 2024.

 

[Merton]

Looking forward to this release and very happy to hear that there is, among all of the notes, a bit of vinegar. Hoping the Sutliff goe back in time on this years Cringle Flake and releases a version which hearkens back to the 2019 iteration.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

This goes on sale Sept. 24 at 6 p.m. EST.

The two 2019 and the 2022 Old Belt orange and mostly red Virginias produce a wealth of tangy and rather tart citrus, grass/hay, bread, wood, earth, sugar, floralness, some tangy ripe dark fruit, vegetation, mild spice, sourness, light sour lemon, and acidic vinegar. The strength and taste are a step past the medium mark. The nic-hit almost reaches the medium threshold. There’s no chance of bite or harshness. Has a few light rough notes. The broken flakes are easy to prepare as you wish. They are a little moist, and may need a light dry time. As is my custom, I did not do that for this review nor did I see a need for it. Burns cool, clean and a tad slow with a very consistent, zesty, deeply rich flavor that extends to the moderately lingering, pleasant after taste. The room note is fairly pleasant and sweet. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a few relights; less so as you go along. Can be an day smoke for the experienced smoker, and is repeatable under any circumstance. This particular production is not as sugary as the first two, which allows the inherent natural citrus to be a notch more obvious. It also has a tad more savory tart sourness than the others did. Should age well. Three and a half stars out of four.
©Jim Amash 2024.

Good write up as always. One thing I noticed is did you mean “all day smoke”. If so I saw the all was missing

 

[JimInks]

Looking forward to this release and very happy to hear that there is, among all of the notes, a bit of vinegar. Hoping the Sutliff goe back in time on this years Cringle Flake and releases a version which hearkens back to the 2019 iteration.

The vinegar is very light. You almost have to look for it.

Good write up as always. One thing I noticed is did you mean “all day smoke”. If so I saw the all was missing

Yes, I did. I'll get it corrected. Thanks.

 

[PipeIT]

hmm

tad more savory tart sourness than the others did

The first time I tried Red Flake, was the 2020 release, I found it to be on a sweet side. Ever since, I’ve always enjoyed VAs, that have a slight sweetness to them.

I wish this had something of a sweet side, maybe I’ll try a tin. I have only one Red Flake tin, a 2018, never had this year before, but it‘s going to be a few years before I open it.

Thanks for the review Jim, be well!

 

[JimInks]

hmm

tad more savory tart sourness than the others did

The first time I tried Red Flake, was the 2020 release, I found it to be on a sweet side. Ever since, I’ve always enjoyed VAs, that have a slight sweetness to them.

I wish this had something of a sweet side, maybe I’ll try a tin. I have only one Red Flake tin, a 2018, never had this year before, but it‘s going to be a few years before I open it.

Thanks for the review Jim, be well!

You're welcome. Btw, I didn't say it wasn't sweet. I'm saying it is less sweet compared to earlier versions. The sour notes are a tad more obvious due to a lower sugar content, but the more natural tobacco quality may be more to the liking of some smokers. I also think this one may age better than some of the earlier versions. I generally think that whenever I smoke a blend like this one.

 

[Mrs. Pickles]

Thank you for the thorough review!

I’ve appreciated the savory qualities in previous CRF so it’s intriguing to see those notes getting greater emphasis this time.

 

[seanv]

Thank you Jim. This is one I'll be very interested in

 

[craig61a]

Bought some to put away for several years… Notification popped up on my screen while I was perusing X. I would have plum forgot about it otherwise.

 

[MattRVA]

Grabbed two for a rainy day.

 

[dublinpiper90]

Grabbed 4 stashing away in a dark corner to forget about them

 

[rectifythis]

Grabbed 4 stashing away in a dark corner to forget about them

I did exactly the same. I pulled out the 2022 and smoked my annual bowl, it still needs more time.

 

[dublinpiper90]

I did exactly the same. I pulled out the 2022 and smoked my annual bowl, it still needs more time.

When the tin swells it’s time for me lol

 

[isaac]

I did exactly the same. I pulled out the 2022 and smoked my annual bowl, it still needs more time.

i just popped my jar from 2022 and found it surprisingly superb.

 

[kcghost]

Very good review, Jim!!

 

[danimalia]

Great review, per usual. I bought a tin, and am hoping I enjoy it as much as the last version I had (2019, maybe). I am glad C&D came through with a pretty hefty amount of tins with this release, so I should have an opportunity to buy another tin or two if I like it.

 

[Puffaluffaguss]

20,000 tins is alot kinda makes the small batch more of a medium batch. I even thought 12 and 8 thousand tins was alot. I miss the good Ole days when I had to be on the site when it dropped and might get it or might not, and it would sell out in seconds. That Might sound weird but it was a fun thing to me just knowing there is 20,000 makes me less in a fomo state to buy because the resell price won't change much. I'm all for more people getting ahold of the blend but if the next batch is 30,000 tins then I know it's all marketing. I love CRF but the hype Is fading with each release because each release just gets larger and larger.

 

[JimInks]

20,000 tins is alot kinda makes the small batch more of a medium batch. I even thought 12 and 8 thousand tins was alot. I miss the good Ole days when I had to be on the site when it dropped and might get it or might not, and it would sell out in seconds. That Might sound weird but it was a fun thing to me just knowing there is 20,000 makes me less in a fomo state to buy because the resell price won't change much. I'm all for more people getting ahold of the blend but if the next batch is 30,000 tins then I know it's all marketing. I love CRF but the hype Is fading with each release because each release just gets larger and larger.

Actually, it's 18,000 tins, not 20,000. I don't see anything wrong with C&D trying to get a decent size batch out there so those who want it can buy it at market price instead of higher prices on the secondary market. The more the merrier for smokers.

 

[geoffs]

because the resell price won't change much

Good. Gives people who actually want to smoke a chance to buy and discourages the flippers out for a quick buck.
The "small batch" thing is just marketing but who cares, they keep the price reasonable and keeping a regular annual schedule allows us to plan our purchases.

 

[danhester]

There are definitely marketing elements to the "Small Batch" series, and the use of FOMO, but they do seem to use special stocks of tobacco that are in limited supply. When they run out of a crop of Red VA for Interlude, there's no trouble substituting the latest harvests and trying to match the spirit of the blend. But if a blend is using specific vintages of varieties, they are limited to what they have.

As for the flippers, I have no more regard for them in tobacco than I do in real estate or event tickets.