Macbaren Vanilla Flake Questions

[brdavidson]

I received my first tin in the mail and plan on trying it out after the kids go to bed. Does it need to dry out first? How many fakes should I take out? Is there a better style pipe for this type of tobacco? Thicker bowl, wider or deeper etc? Sorry for all the questions but I'm excited to try this premium aro

 

[jah76]

I enjoyed my tin of this.
As to the dryness, I tend to like mine slightly crunchy. Not enough that you think all moisture is gone, but enough that it doesn't steam up on you. In my experience the drier the it is the more you can pick out a spice note.
I folded and stuffed mine and found it smoked good no matter what pipe. Now I'd probably try cubing it or rubbing it out a bit thick.
By aware though in my opinion the vanilla is very subtle. Its sipped, snorked, and retrohaled. The vanilla doesn't club you over the head at all and goes great with a glass of Makers Mark.
Hope you enjoy it!

 

[Perique]

How many flakes will depend on the size of the pipe you'll be smoking. For me, this tobacco is very nice but not one I want to smoke for an hour. So I rub out one flake and smoke up.
I personally do not dry these flakes.

 

[rcstan]

What they said about prep .... +1
I let my flakes dry a bit, take one out of the tin and let it sit around for about a half hour, then fold-and-stuff "my way" , which could be better described as "stretch, fluff, stuff and fold" :nana:
This stuff has a bit of nicotine in my book, and smokes pretty slow. A full flake fits perfectly in a Gp 4. I usually smoke only half a flake at a time, even if loading a full one. I prefer NOT to smoke it half way and come back to it hours later, as I find the vanilla flavour to sort of wear off every time I do that, so I usually do 1/2 flake at a time in a Gp 3.
YMVW
PS Sip, don't puff like a freight train, or it will bite ya :evil:

 

[chopsie]

I usually cube cut flakes with minimal drying time, but have found that if I leave out a flake or two (depending on how much I think I'll want the next day) overnight and fold and stuff it into my peterson standard system 31 (I think it would be best described as a group 3 pipe), which takes a half flake beautifully it delivers the best smoke I have found for this flake. I have tried rubbing out and cube cut as well. The extra drying time seems to eliminate the slight bite sensation that I was getting from this tobacco straight out of the tin and it smokes really cool with the fold and stuff as well requiring few if any relights.

 

[brdavidson]

I definitely noticed the nic hit, I rubbed it out nice and fine and it smoked ok. I don't think I'm experienced enough for this yet. The flavour was pleasant but I really had to work hard at it. I'm also used to more smoke, which is the problem for cigar smokers as we love our big plumes of smoke, so that was strange. I sipped as slow as I've ever sipped before and had a hard time keeping it lit. I could see myself really liking this down the road, but perhaps I'm just not ready for it yet.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

It does come a bit moist so, I'd crack the tin a let it sit open a bit before you are ready to smoke it. Personally I use the fold and stuff method rubbing out the bottom a bit while it's between my thumb and index finger. As for shape, Dublins or Zulus work pretty well. Something with a tapered conical shaped bowl seems to work best with flakes for me. Usually one flake is sufficient. It can give a bit of a nic hit but, I've only noticed that after the tin's been opened for a while. Other than that it gives a great combination of top dressing flavor and tobacco flavor and leaves a wonderful note in the air.