[Tobacco Review] Dunhill Flake

Blend Name: Dunhill Flake

Description on Tin: Medium strength flake of selected grades of Lemon and Bronze Virginias. One of Dunhill`s most expert blends of highest quality.

Looks: Beautiful flakes. Rich, bark like flake with lots of light strips mixed in. Overall, a lighter flake than ordinary.

Tin Aroma: Similar to sour virginia aromas. Sour fruit, a little bit of hay. There are also some light sugary notes.

Taste: Wonderful, smooth and mild grassy notes make up the foundation of this blend. The grassy flavors are light, semi-sweet, and just the right amount of heft. There are some darker sweet undertones, reminiscent of a warm sugar. Think like... the crystallized sugar on creme brulee. This donates some heat notes which keep the grassy flavors in check. All of this is supplemented by a nice lemony sheen which brings a hint of acidity and citrus to the blend. The finish is smooth and light, leaving a nice orange taste on the palate. I normally brush my teeth after piping but I was sad to let this finish go.

Room Note: Extremely pleasant. The hay notes in the tin aroma come out to give a rich room note that is mild but pleasing. Those hot sugary notes come out giving a almost bread like aroma.

Smokeability : Rubbed out easily and packed great. Burned nice and slow too, lasting a long time. As is typical in my experience with these light virginia's, it burns kind of hot. The smoke was always perfect, but the bowl was hot.

Compare to : Full Virginia Flake, Orlik Golden Sliced. To an extent Peterson Sherlock Holmes.

Summary: Amazing. The lemony notes are just superb. The grassy flavors are mild and soothing. The sugar notes are just enough sweetness to keep the blend from being sour or harsh. I really can't praise this enough. It has a great room note, a great finish, and a great body. If you've had Full Virginia Flake, this is like the lighter side of that. Whereas FVF has some richer summer fruit flavors, this is more delicate, but just as good. The perfect springtime blend.

Rating : 5/5

My background: Peterson's Irish Oak, Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake, and Dunhill's Nightcap are my favorite blends. I am a fan of Virginia and English blends, but I also like some aromatics, like 1Q and Dan's Blue Note. I've been piping for almost 10 months, and smoke frequently. I really enjoy complexity, and shy away from goopy 1-shot blends.

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