University Flake

[Old_Newby]

I am curious of others opinion and seeking feedback. I was gifted a new tin of University Flake and after reading reviews was excited about it. A plum or blueberry note. Upon opening it the flake looked great and smelled nice. I twisted and loaded. I did get an ever so slight hint of the fruit on char and almost undetectable tid bits in bowl (2-4 times) but more on the aroma rather than taste. It was like I could smell i blubbery pancake from 3 blocks away if the wind was just perfect for about 1.2 seconds. Not enough to enjoy

I want to like it but I don’t get it. Maybe I am not a burley person but I do enjoy some burleys. This one just has no sweetness which I do require. No molasses, almost flavorless to me. I did read to rub it out and let it dry out. I will try again another time but if no improvement I am going to have call it University Fake.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I have had a couple tins of this sitting around for years (one of them is the Rattray's labeled version). May have to finally pop them and try it.

 

[anotherbob]

love that one but it's a tobacco forward blend. Sure there is some type of plum topping but it's not really that strong or in the for front. I almost feel like people like pointing it out because it shows that they have a sensitive palate. Sounds to me like you're smoking it too fast. I suggest not rubbing it out too. I personally find my preferred way to smoke it and get the most flavor and all that is actually to pull the flake apart into strips similar to blends that are labeled ready rub. I find it smokes best and most flavorfully that way. I wouldn't really call it a burly blend it's University Flake. One of the tobaccos I really pick up on is the Indian leaf which is a bit like Orientals as far as flavor profiles go.

 

[Servant King]

Upping the ante on the dry time might help. Even to the point of it being seemingly excessive, or perhaps anxiety-inducing. Some flakes are just finicky like that, and the consensus is that this is one of them.

 

[anotherbob]

Upping the ante on the dry time might help. Even to the point of it being seemingly excessive, or perhaps anxiety-inducing. Some flakes are just finicky like that, and the consensus is that this is one of them.

last flake of it I smoked was so intensely dry I could make snuff out of it with my fingers. It still packed the flavors all of them.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Upping the ante on the dry time might help. Even to the point of it being seemingly excessive, or perhaps anxiety-inducing. Some flakes are just finicky like that, and the consensus is that this is one of them.

This is an excellent point. There are a lot of flakes out there that can go from gold to garbage with a mere hour or so of drying time difference. Stonehaven comes to mind.

 

[Davy Jones]

It's not for everyone, just like Erinmore Flake.

 

[ofafeather]

It is topped but not super strong. Too strong for some though, lol. There should be a good bit of sweetness from the VA and the burley should add some smoothness and body. You may have to slow down your cadence a bit.

 

[sablebrush52]

You need to give it some dry time. Too much moisture masks flavor.

 

[kola]

Aa a fan of Burley/Virginia's I love this blend and it's subtle topping. And it's always available. Dry it a bit and put some age on it as well. UF is in my top ten tobaccos.

 

[hawky454]

I wonder if they’ve tamed the topping some. I always enjoyed this blend as a treat but the topping was just a bit too much for me. I haven’t smoked any in a long time though, could be just another false memory.

 

[anotherbob]

Aa a fan of Burley/Virginia's I love this blend and it's subtle topping. And it's always available. Dry it a bit and put some age on it as well. UF is in my top ten tobaccos.

it opened up the world of tobacco forward blends to me. I have to admit before this one I was about aros. I felt like other forms of tobacco already covered the tobacco forward. Little did I know. Yeah certainly in the top 10

 

[dcicero]

I am curious of others opinion and seeking feedback. I was gifted a new tin of University Flake and after reading reviews was excited about it. A plum or blueberry note. Upon opening it the flake looked great and smelled nice. I twisted and loaded. I did get an ever so slight hint of the fruit on char and almost undetectable tid bits in bowl (2-4 times) but more on the aroma rather than taste. It was like I could smell i blubbery pancake from 3 blocks away if the wind was just perfect for about 1.2 seconds. Not enough to enjoy

I want to like it but I don’t get it. Maybe I am not a burley person but I do enjoy some burleys. This one just has no sweetness which I do require. No molasses, almost flavorless to me. I did read to rub it out and let it dry out. I will try again another time but if no improvement I am going to have call it University Fake.

I wasn't a fan, and didn't sense much blueberry influence. Then again I'm not into detecting hard to find flavors all that much. So it may be there but too much effort to me. Recently had St Patricks Day by Peterson and the blackberry is very well done and obvious.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Let it breathe for a week or two, let it dry out. It's a very good blend, give it some more chances.

 

[Brendan]

Yep, it really clicked with me after a few weeks of 'airtime', the Va comes through more and the blueberry, or whatever it is, really compliments it on the retrohale.

I had my first tin dried out pretty well in a jar, but I panicked thinking it was too dry and rubbed out a fresh tin to go in with it to 'rehydrate' it and now I'm back to square one.

But I learnt a lesson about how 'dry' tobacco can get, and my own personal preferences for this blend.

 

[Brendan]

I wonder if they’ve tamed the topping some. I always enjoyed this blend as a treat but the topping was just a bit too much for me. I haven’t smoked any in a long time though, could be just another false memory.

If the topping was that heavy back then, well I'm pretty disappointed in the current stuff.

I like to keep the empty tins and smell them from time to time, oh baby.

 

[condorlover1]

If you want to try the Plug version then you will find it sold under the Cascadia name on Pipes and Cigars - I am absolutely sure that the Cascadia Virginia Plug is unsliced University Flake. I happen to like University Flake on odd occasions and it seems I am not the only one who thinks the two are interchangeable!

 

[Streeper541]

Wayne, this is a blend you have to let dry out. You don't want alot of moisture present when you light it up. Also, rub it out. It smokes alot better if you rub it out rather than folding it. I smoke alot of University Flake... it is a bare bone, tobacco forward blend. Nothing fancy... a robust, old school smoke. Give it a few more tries and let me know how it goes.

 

[OldWill]

If you want to try the Plug version then you will find it sold under the Cascadia name on Pipes and Cigars - I am absolutely sure that the Cascadia Virginia Plug is unsliced University Flake. I happen to like University Flake on odd occasions and it seems I am not the only one who thinks the two are interchangeable!

All the Cascadia plugs need a lot of drying time, but I find them delicious. University flake needs some age in my opinion.

 

[blackpowderpiper]

University Flake is a tobacco that I enjoy. I don't enjoy aromatics at all and UF is as close to an aromatic as I want to get. If you're expecting blueberries to jump out on your palate with every puff, you will be disappointed. I can clearly detect the topping in the room note and with every puff I get a very slight, very nuanced taste of the plum or blueberry topping. As has been mentioned, this is a very tobacco forward blend. Dry your tobacco, rub it out and smoke slowly. You may just learn to like this one.