Three And A Half Year Old St. Bruno Flake...Quite Sublime.

[mawnansmiff]

When I took to piping in September 2015 I tried pretty much all of the OTC blends available here in the UK. Naturally one of those was St. Bruno Flake.
I had read many rave reviews on the blend so was pretty excited to give it a go. Alas, for whatever reasons I didn't take to it. I found it lacking in strength and taste mainly and wrote a one star review on TR.com, my first ever to get such a low mark.
Last year I bought several aged tins & pouches from member Drennan which included two pouches of St. Bruno Flake dated june 2014. I decided to open one a couple of months ago and sampled a bowl or two and can say that it was way better than the fresh I had smoked but not 'great'. I put the remaining flakes into a jar and pretty much forgot about them until yesterday when I read a recent post by Hawky where he compared it to Condor which is one of my favourites. This can't be so I thought.
So yesterday I dug out the jar and took out six of the (now) very dark brown flakes and rubbed them out and left the baccy to air for an hour or so. I then loaded a bowl and fired it up....well, what a different smoking experience that was. Plenty of flavours from the Virginia and Kentucky leaves with a slightly floral taste running through the entire bowl. A little earthy and nutty too.
I can now see where Hawky was coming from in his comparison to Condor. Not the same but not far off either, kind of like a diluted Condor. I wondered if it was a one off experience but no, my last bowl of the night was the same and I've just now thoroughly enjoyed my third bowl.
I hot footed it back to TR.com to edit my review. Clearly for me at least this blend needs some age on it for me to enjoy it properly so I shall now be buying more for future enjoyment...and I have Hawky to thank for that :clap:
Regards,
Jay.

 

[deathmetal]

Good work Hawky and Drennan. St. Bruno has its diehard fans for a reason.

 

[didache]

I've been raving about St Bruno for years! I'm always glad when someone else sees its value. Jay: welcome to the club ... today St Bruno, tomorrow LATAKIA!!!! :twisted:
Mike

 

[deathmetal]

TR says that St. Bruno Flake is:

a distinctive blend of smooth Virginia and smoky dark fired Kentucky

I have found that with Virginia flakes, having some age on them helps a lot. A recent thread on Dunhill Flake reminded me of this, because when I tried it fresh it had the usual breakfast cereal taste of the bright Virginias, but as it browned, got closer to molasses or honey.

 

[hawky454]

Haha, I love hearing stories like this! So glad you finally discovered how good Bruno can be! I have several Jan 2016 tins aging in the cellar and I look forward to trying those in a few years. I’m betting that you’ll take to the fresher stuff now as well, since the flavors are now locked in your memory bank. Have you tried the Ready Rubbed? Some say they get a bit more flavor from it and I think I agree but I mainly smoke it because it’s about $3 cheaper per pouch (in the US).
Great happy ending here and I’m pleased to know that I had a minor role in inspiring you to revisit it! I myself was slow to come around to it but once I did, it became a heavy regular in my rotation. I probably smoke it more than Condor but that’s because it’s a lot cheaper, although I must confess, there was a good month or two where I was professing my love for Bruno over Condor but I quickly settled down and realized that Condor will always sit at the top of the list as my all time favorite.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"today St Bruno, tomorrow LATAKIA!!!"
Steady on Mike, there's no need for profanity :nana:
Actually I have been smoking and kind of enjoying a blend with Latakia in it, albeit in small quantities and that is GLP Fillmore. At first I absolutely hated it but am now slowly becoming more in tune with it. I doubt I could ever go the EMP route again, that was just too much.
Yes Hawky I did try the RR St. Bruno and thought little of it. Besides I much prefer flakes so intend to buy four pouches of the flake version, one for smoking now and the others for the bottom of my wardrobe.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

That ST Bruno Flake what I had from Germany is mighty good as are the Ready rubbed version from The States and England, maybe I find that Flake being a hair bolder in taste,I'm suspecting I'm deep in love with St Bruno brand, it has become a regular in my rotation alongs with Amphora Brown and HH Old Dark fired,

Thanks to Mr Didache (he kindly send me a sample of RR version) I'm convinced I have to have this stuff more in the future

+ one good thing to mention,that in addition to U.S & England,St Bruno Ready Rubbed is available in Spain as well,and its cheaper down there, whereas In Germany The Flake version costs about the same as the RR in The U.S

 

[hawky454]

Good point Paulie66scandina, I’ve heard that it can be had in Spain for under 6 USD a pouch. I’ve also heard that a lot of their stock is older and some say it’s a bit stronger. If you have a way to order from Spain, I say go for it!

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Hawky:Got my buddy who just went visiting there,will ask him to bring back some, because today no Spanish tobacconist is offering no international shipping any more,,

 

[mawnansmiff]

Of Spanish (and possibly Greek) versions of Condor, St. Bruno and others, I have heard their versions are very different from what is available in the UK.
I believe Simon (Condorlover) once made comments on the subject. I can say for certain that Spanish made Golden Virginia RYO tobacco is nothing like the UK version.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[hawky454]

Of Spanish (and possibly Greek) versions of Condor, St. Bruno and others, I have heard their versions are very different from what is available in the UK.

I can tell you first hand that the Condor RR is identical to the Condor available in the UK. I even wrote JTI regarding the Spanish Condor. They assured me that it's the same product. I think the only real difference is their stock is usually a bit older.

I believe Simon (Condorlover) once made comments on the subject.

I revived that thread to try and dispel that myth. Or at least share my experience with it. I really think that Simon may have gotten a bad batch. MLC in another forum just posted recently on the subject as well, he tastes no difference between the two either.

 

[deathmetal]

Now hungering for St. Bruno, which will result in me haunting the local tobacconist and getting kicked out again (last time it was for "advocating cannibalism," how intolerant is that?).

 

[condorlover1]

I swear its true! I had a batch of El Buzzard as I call Spanish Condor and both my friend Mr. 1920s and I said it tasted different. The cut was finer to the point that if you were mad enough you could roll cigarettes out of the stuff. I stopped buying RR from my Swiss supplier after that and went over to my Irish friends full time and have never looked back. That being said I am more than happy to concede I may have had a duff batch. As for St Bruno I have never liked the stuff although I happily acknowledge that it is an awesome tobacco and has its devotees. For some reason it always conjures up images from my childhood of being stuck in a seaside boarding house in Blackpool on a wet Sunday afternoon listening to a bunch of boring adults discussing their Mk 1 Ford Cortina's gas mileage! :rofl:

 

[hawky454]

Yeah, Simon, something was definitely wrong with the batch you picked up then as the RR from Spain is a true Ready Rubbed tobacco with some broken flakes in the mix. Maybe you got the bottom of the barrel stuff.
That’s funny that you don’t like St. Bruno, I know another Simon (SimonG) who is the exact opposite of you, loves Bruno but hates Condor. I love em both!

 

[mawnansmiff]

"stuck in a seaside boarding house in Blackpool on a wet Sunday afternoon"
I believe it's always raining in Blackpool, not just on a Sunday.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[didache]

Did I ever tell you how many miles I got to a gallon in my old Ford Cortina Mk 1? ... blah blah zzzzzzz
Mike