SG Full Virginia Flake

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alexl

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 23, 2013
105
0
Here is my review which was sitting on Tobacco Reviews site. I've updated it today. Maybe it will be interesting to somebody. Sorry for my not perfect English.
07/30/2012

After all the agony and ecstasy I've found here, and considering the absence of FVF in the online shop in which I usually order, I phoned to one good local tobacconist (I live in Tel Aviv) and asked him with my most charming voice if he have some SG tins. To my surprise, he has all the line of SG tobaccos, and for the nice price (half the price of Dunhill tins of the same size). So I loaded a full bag of different tins, and certainly the first which I’ve opened at home was FVF.

As so many reviewers already mentioned, it’s pretty damp. But I think that maybe it’s not necessarily bad thing for cellaring. Tobacco should have some humidity for further fermentation. So I took out one meaty flake, put it for 10 seconds in micro and folded into my favorite Savinelli. After a number of relights it took the flame and I’ve prepared to get heaven’s pleasure.
In the beginning I felt sweet Virginia taste. But towards the middle of the bowl it got lost. In the second half of the bowl the pipe gave giant viscous clouds. Seems I should dry it more. So, it’s undoubtedly good Virginia, with no tongue bite, but… is that all? Dunhill Flake at least gave me rich taste during all the bowl, and left flavorous aftertaste. Here, I only feel that I smoked something (maybe cigar?) and got a solid satisfying nicotine dose. Is it worth?
I’ll finish the tin and cellar two more. Meet me in a year.
P.S. After 3 days in unsealed tin these flakes are smokable without endless relights, especially when rubbed out. Still, too much hustle and bustle. It's like dating cinema star, after all the courtship and wooing you can get some pleasure. Maybe.
04/2013 Update:

After nearly a year I returned to this stuff. Cellaring made it better. It’s still moist, flakes were packed by the left foot, most of them fall apart… But the taste and just right dose of nicotine redeem this poor presentation. Upgrading to 3 stars.

 

salewis

Can't Leave
Jan 27, 2011
412
0
Alexl:
Very good review regarding FVF. I have found this blend to be flavorful but too moist. When I open a tin I let it breath for two or three days and it's fine. FVF is hard to find as Sam Gawith is often out of their stock. I to smoke Dunhill's Virginia flake which is a close second. If you want a light flavorful all day smoke try McCranie's Red Flack which actually made by McClelland.

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
alexl, good review and I understand why it is not a favorite. It took me a while before I began to get consistently great smokes from this blend. It is without a doubt the most finicky flake I have ever come across. What I do now is cube cut it into very small cubes, let it dry a good two hours sometimes 3 and then I only smoke it in a group 4 Dublin or my Scott Thile Cherrywood which is also a group 4. I think once you find the right pipes, the right humidity and the right cut, it could become a favorite for you.
Best Brown flake is also a favorite and I smoke more of it just because it is so much easier to smoke. It is not nearly as exacting and I can smoke it in a multitude of pipes and sizes.

 

alexl

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 23, 2013
105
0
You guys probably hate mothers, puppy dogs, and apple pie too!
Objection! My mother is not wet :D
I just do not want to feel like a member of the secret order that conducting the ceremony under the mysterious light of the full moon. I want to open the tin, put the tobacco in the pipe and smoke it without too much drama. Like I do with Dunhill Flake, for example.

 

rogermugs

Might Stick Around
Mar 10, 2013
61
0
FVF right now ranks highest in my love affairs with the fragrant weed. She has her faults, but I'm so in love i still think her perfect

 

rogermugs

Might Stick Around
Mar 10, 2013
61
0
FVF right now ranks highest in my love affairs with the fragrant weed. She has her faults, but I'm so in love i still think her perfect

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
alex, I am with you and that is why I do not smoke FVF nearly as much as Best Brown. It is a pain in the ass, but there are times when I am in the mood for that flavor and nothing else, so I put up with it. I have a bunch of flakes in my rotation like Dunhill Flake that need no drying, I cube cut it and I em enjoying a great blend with no effort.

 

crpntr1

Lifer
Dec 18, 2011
1,981
156
Texas
FVF is my favorite smoke.

I guess I'm the minority, I don't have lots of problems with it...

If I'm going to smoke it that evening, I set a flake out as soon as I get home and at 7:30 or 8 when I usually get around to it I prep it load it and go

I do have one pipe I smoke it in and thats the only thing I smoke in that pipe, maybe that helps

I get the high maintenance bit you guys are talking about all the time but really,be it fresh or aged, I have more issues with Stonehaven than FVF...

 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
This discussion is interesting. I've only had a couple of tins of FVF, but after the first one, I knew this was one I definitely wanted to cellar. And, as far as I can recall, I didn't have a single problem with it needing excessive drying time or being in any way finicky for me. Just remember excellent Virginia flavor/aroma, and a very mellow smoke. (Old Gowrie had been my standard VA before FVF, but I ended up enjoying FVF even more.)
Bob

 

chubbster

Starting to Get Obsessed
Mar 12, 2013
184
0
I have bought the bulk, and I have no problem smoking it. I think the bulk and the way it is packaged, alleviates some of the drying time needed with the tinned version.

 
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