Peter Stokkebye - "Luxury Twist Flake"

[deathmetal]

Since this one's on sale, I pulled a review off the HD (SSD) and edited it for publication:

When you walk into the grocery store, which section grabs your attention no matter how hard you try to deny it? The bakery! Bread is delicious and sugary, but then we coat it more sugar, and it becomes a confection. Fried bread, sweetened bread, cake, bread drenched in sugar icing... fats and sugars together will always draw our attention.
It is easy to see why "Luxury Twist Flake" is so popular. Open up the package, and a delicious scent of grain and sugar wafts toward your nose. Draw out the anomalously soft and very thin flakes, and you might think you are looking at one of those spiral cakes they sell at Randall's. At first light, the caramel-vanilla flavoring jumps at your taste buds, but then you settle in to a mixture of bright Virginia grains and brown Virginia molasses, crested in the gentle nudge of the surprisingly light topping. It is slightly tangy from the lemony brighter Virginias or perhaps a slight citrus topping, but mostly just a gentle sugar-drenched grain like breakfast cereal or a donut. In fact, this blend is best described as a tasty donut.
With that it in mind, it is entirely possible to see how this blend is such a favorite. Everyone likes donuts, at least in theory. The only problem here is that this blend is dog day afternoon boring once you get past the sugar blast. Like too many Va/Pers, although this is a Cavendish-roasted pure Virginia flake, it is fairly monodimensional because the overwhelming sweetness crowds out anything else. Oddly enough, that is the same reason that I stopped munching on donuts in the office. Luckily, "Luxury Twist Flake" will not make you fat, and as a mild-flavored low-Nicotine and mostly biteless smoke, can be a companion all day.
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/917#review97074

Summary: it's a donut. There is nothing wrong with this blend, which is like a donut. But like a donut, it is not very interesting after awhile, and you may come to view it with suspicion when you consider your other options. But its popularity is very understandable.
I suppose that with Virginia blends, I am somewhat picky. I like Elizabethan Mixture and Royal Yacht, thoroughly enjoy Irish Oak, miss Straight Grain Flake, and will always get excited for Hal O' The Wynd. But, these bakery aisle blends do not do it for me, at least for more than twenty minutes.
And I have no idea what the correct spelling of "donut" is, but something tells me it should be as short and simplistic as possible.

 

[jah76]

That's what Louisiana Red is like for me. A great 10 minutes, but meh over time. That being said I think I have a few ounces of LTF jarred. I'll probably fish it out next summer.

 

[nevadablue]

You guys are no fun at all. Next time, try a Krispy Kreme donut, fresh out of the fryer. YUM!

 

[Chasing Embers]

And oddly it is out of stock quite often. Just ordered three of the 24 ounce boxes.

 

[josephcross]

And oddly it is out of stock quite often.

People love donuts.

I prefer the Bullseye, it’s like a cavendish filled donut, Yum!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Red Virginias cavendished with caramelized coconut, it's not an aromatic in the technical sense, but it is a wonderful smoke that has a nice balance of that coconut flavor and tobacco. But, for me, I take a flake of LTF and LNF and twist them and stuff them in my pipe, for more tang and sweet, with an aroma that reminds me of walking into a shop full of cowboy boots, leather and the stuff they tan them with. Mmmmm,.. a perfectly balanced flavor, IMO. The Cosmic Twist, tangy perique riding shotgun on your taste buds with "donut."
We all dropped by the local Krispy Kreme factory Friday night after the Squirrel Nut Zipper concert at the Lyric and plowed through a box of warm melt in your mouth donuts. The only donut I will eat is Krispy Kreme, and the only coconut tobacco I will smoke is LTF. Well, I will be open to trying other coconut tobacco, but LTF has a special Twist in my heart, plus it just looks so damned cool. ::

 

[tschiraldi]

My "go to" blend right now! I also love The Cosmic Twist (thanks, Cos)! Damn good mixture!

 

[irishearl]

Tried it once and not for me as I found that the topping was too aromatic- like.

 

[deathmetal]

Coconut, eh? I would not have identified that, but it was definitely an odd flavor, as if the mixture had separated before application.

 

[voorhees]

I left out some LTF out to dry yesterday. Almost half a day. Was a fine smoke, very delicious.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

The coconut is basically cooked in with the Virginia, giving it a new flavor altogether.
I find that it is slow to dry also. I like to plop a flake or two out on the dashboard of the truck. It's one of my favorite road trip smokes.

 

[deathmetal]

I mostly taste the vanilla. Still I'd prefer the actual donut.

 

[mcitinner1]

LTF might be my second favorite smoking blend, but it's definitely my favorite smelling in it's container. I just got three more 24 oz. boxes with this sale.

 

[newbroom]

I got some of this LTF for the first time last week. I don't buy tins, so a bulk flake is a nice addition to the rotation.

This one is very smooth, and tasty, burns easily without much prep (fold and stuff works fine, a few relights allows you to pace the bowl, allow it to cool between 'snorts')

It may be somewhat monochromatic, but it is a nice VA taste with a corresponding 'tin' note.

I think Newminster's Superior Navy Flake smells more interesting, but that's just a personal thing.
I'll be making up a jar of rubbed out flakes with added perique (a small jar) soon.

Of the 3 PS flakes, I think LNF is the best of 'em. They're all nice to have around.

 

[wyfbane]

I still have to get to my "contact" in Oregon for pick up, but I have 6lb each of LNF, LBF, and LTF from the last big sale to collect up and jar.