Solani Aged Burley Flake

[Bassman65]

Quick question. Maybe @JimInks or another one of you fine gentleman can help me here.

I’ve been wanting to try this tobacco as I love Carter Hall but it is impossible to get up here.

Jim mentioned in his review that it had a liquorice flavour. How prominent is it? I absolutely can’t stand liquorice/anise flavouring.

 

[Briarcutter]

I've not noticed any toppings or flavorings on the Solani. But,that's just me.

 

[Briarcutter]

I really like Carter Hall, smoke a lot of it. I wouldn't say the Solani would be a match though. Solani is good tobacco,don't get me wrong but not CH. Prince Albert would be a bit closer, can you get that?

 

[philobeddoe]

I don’t taste any licorice topping in ABF.

 

[Bassman65]

No. Unfortunately not. Basically, we can get Solani, Gawith, some Cornell and Deihl, G.L Pease and some Amphora.

 

[renfield]

I’ve never noticed any toppings on ABF.

 

[pitchfork]

I haven't smoked it in years, but I smoke a lot of burley and I'd say ABF definitely has some kind of topping. That said, it doesn't distract from the underlying burley flavors and doesn't really stand out as a distinct flavor on its own.

 

[JimInks]

Quick question. Maybe @JimInks or another one of you fine gentleman can help me here.

I’ve been wanting to try this tobacco as I love Carter Hall but it is impossible to get up here.

Jim mentioned in his review that it had a liquorice flavour. How prominent is it? I absolutely can’t stand liquorice/anise flavouring.

Licorice became part of the toppings in 2022 which is why I revised my review of the blend. Those of you who have the older version have different flavor profile than what it is now.

Go to this site, click on the tin image and you may need a magnifying glass, but you'll see that licorice written on the label.

Auction #32930 [New England Snarfblatt] | TinBids.com

tinbids.com

Here's my review of the earlier and 2022 versions:

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.

 

[JimInks]

I haven't smoked it in years, but I smoke a lot of burley and I'd say ABF definitely has some kind of topping. That said, it doesn't distract from the underlying burley flavors and doesn't really stand out as a distinct flavor on its own.

I agree with this regarding the older version.

 

[Bassman65]

Licorice became part of the toppings in 2022 which is why I revised my review of the blend. Those of you who have the older version have different flavor profile than what it is now.

Go to this site, click on the tin image and you may need a magnifying glass, but you'll see that licorice written on the label.

Auction #32930 [New England Snarfblatt] | TinBids.com

tinbids.com

Here's my review of the earlier and 2022 versions:

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.

Any other similar recommendations to Carter Hall @JimInks from the brands I listed?

 

[JimInks]

Any other similar recommendations to Carter Hall @JimInks from the brands I listed?

I would have to say from my experience that none of the companies you mentioned in your earlier post have anything similar to CH. The only thing I can think of at the moment is Peretti's #333, but with the closing of Sutliff and me not trying the current version, I can't even be sure of that.

I have no idea if this will satisfy your CH craving or if it's available to you in Canada, but here's my old and revised review of Wessex Burley Slice:

Wessex Burley Slice:
There's an extremely light anise additive to accentuate the mild molasses and light cocoa toppings. The burleys offer a fair amount of earth, wood, some nuts, bread, and a small sharp note. No harshness or bite at all, and has a mild nicotine hit. The strength is a step or so below the medium level, while the taste level just misses the medium mark. The flake is lightly moist out of the tin and breaks apart very easily. Burns a tad slow with a cool, clean, very consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and can be burned to ash. Requires a few relights. Has a pleasant after taste and room note. A morning smoke with coffee that also serves well as an all day experience. Three and a half stars.


UPDATE 7-6-2022. The blend has been changed. The burleys (including white) are moderately rougher, more savory, woodier, breadier and nuttier with a hint of smoke. The sharp note is barely evident. The anise is a little more pronounced though it does weaken a tad by the half way point. The molasses is much lighter now. The cocoa is currently the lead topping as all the sauces mildly tone down the burleys. It won’t bite, but a freight train puffer may possibly experience light harsh and cigarette notes. The strength just misses the medium mark. The taste level is now medium. The nic-hit is a couple of notches stronger. The slices are darker, and less moist, so the burn rate is a touch faster than before. The room note is a little stronger, too, as it leans more toward tolerable than it does pleasant. Can be an all day smoke even though it’s more rugged and a little less sweet. All other aspects of the previous productions remain the same. It’s different enough to stand on its own as the old version was essentially an attempted clone of Edgeworth Slices. This is not, even though the base burleys resemble that used in ES are a little closer to that than older manufacture. The toppings and proportions are different than ES. My rating is the same as it was before: three and a half stars.

 

[Bassman65]

I would have to say from my experience that none of the companies you mentioned in your earlier post have anything similar to CH. The only thing I can think of at the moment is Peretti's #333, but with the closing of Sutliff and me not trying the current version, I can't even be sure of that.

I have no idea if this will satisfy your CH craving or if it's available to you in Canada, but here's my old and revised review of Wessex Burley Slice:

Wessex Burley Slice:
There's an extremely light anise additive to accentuate the mild molasses and light cocoa toppings. The burleys offer a fair amount of earth, wood, some nuts, bread, and a small sharp note. No harshness or bite at all, and has a mild nicotine hit. The strength is a step or so below the medium level, while the taste level just misses the medium mark. The flake is lightly moist out of the tin and breaks apart very easily. Burns a tad slow with a cool, clean, very consistent flavor from start to finish. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and can be burned to ash. Requires a few relights. Has a pleasant after taste and room note. A morning smoke with coffee that also serves well as an all day experience. Three and a half stars.


UPDATE 7-6-2022. The blend has been changed. The burleys (including white) are moderately rougher, more savory, woodier, breadier and nuttier with a hint of smoke. The sharp note is barely evident. The anise is a little more pronounced though it does weaken a tad by the half way point. The molasses is much lighter now. The cocoa is currently the lead topping as all the sauces mildly tone down the burleys. It won’t bite, but a freight train puffer may possibly experience light harsh and cigarette notes. The strength just misses the medium mark. The taste level is now medium. The nic-hit is a couple of notches stronger. The slices are darker, and less moist, so the burn rate is a touch faster than before. The room note is a little stronger, too, as it leans more toward tolerable than it does pleasant. Can be an all day smoke even though it’s more rugged and a little less sweet. All other aspects of the previous productions remain the same. It’s different enough to stand on its own as the old version was essentially an attempted clone of Edgeworth Slices. This is not, even though the base burleys resemble that used in ES are a little closer to that than older manufacture. The toppings and proportions are different than ES. My rating is the same as it was before: three and a half stars.

Unfortunately, we are tobacco impaired up here. No access to anything because they say the market is too small.

 

[VDL_Piper]

Can you get Peter Stokkebye’s tobacco’s?

 

[Brendan]

Would Gawith Hoggarth Best Brown No.2 scratch that itch?