Solani 633:
The bright Virginias have a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, bread, sugar, hay and grass, light floralness, and a honey note as a lead component. The earthy, woody perique has a very obvious spiciness along with some figs, plums and raisins as a strong supporting player. The spice is noticeable in every puff, and melds well with the Virginias. The red Virginia offers a very light tangy ripe dark fruit, sugar, bread, wood, and earth just above the condimental position. Has an extremely mild topping of some kind as I sense apple and rum notes. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step below that mark. Won't bite or get harsh, and has a few minute rough edges. It burns cool, clean, and slow, but loses a bit of its sweetness if it's dry, so I recommend leaving it a little moist. Has a very consistent sweet and spicy flavor with no weak or dull spots. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires a few relights. The after taste pleasantly lingers, and the room note is a notch stronger. Is almost an all day smoke, and an experienced smoker may consider it to be one. Four stars.
UPDATE 7-5-2022. The blend has been changed a little. The constituent tobaccos are similar in some respects with the same proportions, but the brighter Virginias are a little more potent. The red Virginia was replaced by a dark orange Virginia, which has less dark fruit, earth and wood. The less sweet perique lacks the sweet fig and raisin qualities from past productions, and is very dry and plumy. The spice content is a little less, and doesn’t have the tingly sensation now. It takes several puffs before it kicks in. The rum was replaced by the mildly sweet honey, which fades a tad after the half way point. But it’s more obvious than the rum was in earlier manufactures, which obviously tones down the tobacco a mite more. It’s possible that the apple casing may still be in use, but it’s not evident to me. It was slight in the past. There’s just a little more sourness, floralness, and lightly more acidity in this version that characterize the mildly weakened sweetness. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are all step below what they were. This blend gets three stars from me, now, and my current rating at TR reflects that.
Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake:
It has a deep cocoa taste, a bit of nuttiness, earth and wood, and is slightly bready and floral with a light brown sugar and molasses. The white burley adds mild sharp, sour, acidic notes in the background, and some strength. It's responsible for the slight bitter note at the finish. They say there's no cocoa or chocolate added. That isn't true. These toppings moderately sublimate the tobaccos. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. It burns clean, cool and slow, requires some relights, and the deep, rich semi-sweet, slightly savory flavor remains consistent to the finish with very little moisture left in the bowl. It has a pleasant after taste that slightly lingers, and the room note won’t offend a normal human being. Has no dull or harsh notes, and it will not bite. It does have a few small rough edges. Can be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker, and repeatable for anyone else. Four stars.
UPDATE 7-5-2022. The blend has been changed. The deep cocoa topping was replaced by an almost medium strength, mildly sweet licorice which tones down the burleys a little more than before. I do notice cocoa far in the background. Overall, the blend is less sweet by two steps now. The burleys are different, too. The white burley has a similar ruggedness to the new Wessex Burley Flake: moderately rougher, earthier, woodier, breadier, and nuttier with a savory note new to this manufacture of ABF. Those aspects are a little less obvious here due to the licorice, but it’s still a different presence than it originally had been. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels have not changed, and all other non-updated aspects still apply. Three stars is my current rating at TR for this current production.
The bright Virginias have a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, bread, sugar, hay and grass, light floralness, and a honey note as a lead component. The earthy, woody perique has a very obvious spiciness along with some figs, plums and raisins as a strong supporting player. The spice is noticeable in every puff, and melds well with the Virginias. The red Virginia offers a very light tangy ripe dark fruit, sugar, bread, wood, and earth just above the condimental position. Has an extremely mild topping of some kind as I sense apple and rum notes. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is a step below that mark. Won't bite or get harsh, and has a few minute rough edges. It burns cool, clean, and slow, but loses a bit of its sweetness if it's dry, so I recommend leaving it a little moist. Has a very consistent sweet and spicy flavor with no weak or dull spots. Leaves little moisture in the bowl. Requires a few relights. The after taste pleasantly lingers, and the room note is a notch stronger. Is almost an all day smoke, and an experienced smoker may consider it to be one. Four stars.
UPDATE 7-5-2022. The blend has been changed a little. The constituent tobaccos are similar in some respects with the same proportions, but the brighter Virginias are a little more potent. The red Virginia was replaced by a dark orange Virginia, which has less dark fruit, earth and wood. The less sweet perique lacks the sweet fig and raisin qualities from past productions, and is very dry and plumy. The spice content is a little less, and doesn’t have the tingly sensation now. It takes several puffs before it kicks in. The rum was replaced by the mildly sweet honey, which fades a tad after the half way point. But it’s more obvious than the rum was in earlier manufactures, which obviously tones down the tobacco a mite more. It’s possible that the apple casing may still be in use, but it’s not evident to me. It was slight in the past. There’s just a little more sourness, floralness, and lightly more acidity in this version that characterize the mildly weakened sweetness. The strength, nic-hit, and taste levels are all step below what they were. This blend gets three stars from me, now, and my current rating at TR reflects that.
Solani 656 Aged Burley Flake:
It has a deep cocoa taste, a bit of nuttiness, earth and wood, and is slightly bready and floral with a light brown sugar and molasses. The white burley adds mild sharp, sour, acidic notes in the background, and some strength. It's responsible for the slight bitter note at the finish. They say there's no cocoa or chocolate added. That isn't true. These toppings moderately sublimate the tobaccos. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is in the center of mild to medium. It burns clean, cool and slow, requires some relights, and the deep, rich semi-sweet, slightly savory flavor remains consistent to the finish with very little moisture left in the bowl. It has a pleasant after taste that slightly lingers, and the room note won’t offend a normal human being. Has no dull or harsh notes, and it will not bite. It does have a few small rough edges. Can be an all day smoke for the experienced smoker, and repeatable for anyone else. Four stars.
UPDATE 7-5-2022. The blend has been changed. The deep cocoa topping was replaced by an almost medium strength, mildly sweet licorice which tones down the burleys a little more than before. I do notice cocoa far in the background. Overall, the blend is less sweet by two steps now. The burleys are different, too. The white burley has a similar ruggedness to the new Wessex Burley Flake: moderately rougher, earthier, woodier, breadier, and nuttier with a savory note new to this manufacture of ABF. Those aspects are a little less obvious here due to the licorice, but it’s still a different presence than it originally had been. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels have not changed, and all other non-updated aspects still apply. Three stars is my current rating at TR for this current production.
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