Tobaccos Wessex - Campaign Dark Flake (Brigade)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2013-10-17		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

The dark Virginias provide a lot of stewed sugary ripe dark fruit, earth, bread, wood, some tart and tangy citrus, vegetation, a little hay/grass, floralness, and a pinch of spice. There's a sugary topping that very mildly tones down the Virginias without detracting much from the them. The strength and taste levels are medium. The nic-hit is just past the center of mild to medium. It never bites or gets harsh, no matter how much you push it. Barely has any rough edges. Depending upon your preference, it may need a light dry time. Burns clean, cool and smooth at a reasonable rate for a broken flake. It's not complex, but it is very consistently sweet and that translates to the pleasantly, lightly lingering after taste. Leaves very little dampness in the bowl. Needs a few more than an average number of relights. Has a pleasant room note. An all day smoke with a little punch. Four stars out of four.

6-13-2022 Update. There are some differences in the blend besides the cut of the tobacco, which is now a regular flake cut. It’s just a little less fruity and a tad more sugary with less stewed fruitiness from the dark fruit. The tart and tangy citrus is a little more obvious than before as this aspect now lead the fruit factor. Even though it’s not visually apparent, the amount of red Virginia was cut with a lot of orange Virginia, which accounts for much of the decrease in dark fruit and increase in citrus in addition to a little more grass, bread, floralness, light acidity. So does the mild increase in the topping. The grassiness rates a couple of notches higher than the earth and wood now. There’s a small lemon note not previously present. The nic-hit is more potent, and is a step below the strength level, which is still medium. The taste is now a slot stronger than that. The rest of the previous comments from the earlier production still apply. I rate this as a three star blend, barely. My ratings reflect what this currently is.

-JimInks

45 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2006-01-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I'm with Newman and Tantric regarding this lovely, straight Virginia Flake. It is cool, well rounded in flavor, and packs just enough nicotine punch to suit even the harriest of chests.

Upon opening the tin, I found a somewhat dark, slightly moist compilation of slightly broken flakes. The smell was a subdued natural Virginia sweetness. I rubbed out the flakes (which is my preference) and loaded up the short cut, ribbon leaf which packed very easily.

At the match, the taste was delightful. Medium heavy tasting with a crisp, clean presentation that made smoking this tobacco nothing short of pure pleasure. It burned cleanly to the bottom of the bowl with very few relights.

This one beats similar tobaccos (made by the same blender) like Marlin Flake, Hal O the Wynd, and Astley's #44 by a country mile. A terrific surprise, this Wessex Campaign!

36 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-05-30		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Deep, dark flake with a pungent aroma of great virginia leaf, plus a whiff of some type of topping. Sweet and rich - and wet! I experimented with drying times and settled on 4 hours, to the point where the leaf was dry but not crispy. Too crispy and that rich molasses flavor was leeched out. Too wet and it burned poorly plus had a little too much topping flavor present.

I recently smoked Wessex' futile attempt at a VaPer and commented that it tasted like a Mac Baren roll cake with a bit too heavy a hand on the cavendish and honey. I was surprised to find a bit of that flavor here as well. Not nearly as much as the Curly Cut, which was smothered with Danish flavoring, but this had enough to notice. Kept it from a 4th star. But I don't want to make too much of that - this is still a very worthy blend. Just a bit too sweetened for my regular rotation. Still, it's worth a try for any virginia lover. Clearly, other reviewers like this one better than I do.

Well, there are no foreseen new blends in my future, although I do tend to get a lot of samples from folks. But reviews will be much reduced from here on out, as I focus on my favorites. This six year run of trying as many new blends as possible has taught me a lot, such as the value of a good blender of oriental tobacco (which I enjoy more than latakia), that flavoring is a sticky wicket... if I like it, flavoring is good. If I don't, it's bad! :) And much more. It's been fun. But after spending a few days with Stonehaven and a few of my favorites, the search for Tobacco Nirvana is over.

28 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	musicman (131)	2012-11-30		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I debated on whether I should write a review on this one. It is a bunch of reviews like this that caused the disappearance of blends like stonehaven, penzance, and Full Virginia Flake. If word of this stuff gets out too much, you can kiss finding it goodbye. This is the logic that causes me to suffer greatly from DCD or deep cellar disorder. Like a doomsday prepper I have this stuff stockpiled for years in advance waiting for the cat to come out of the bag and everyone to swarm the shelves of tobacconists and the sites of online stores. This stuff really is that good. Magicians never tell you how they do their tricks, hunters and fishermen never give away their prime spots, and a a true pipe smoker never gives away his sleeper blend. That's what this is for me, my sleeper blend. While the rest of the pipe world is staring at computer screens all night with bloodshot eyes waiting for Full Virginia Flake to come back in stock, I am sipping on a bowl full of campaign dark flake and loving life.

You don't hear about this blend much, which is purely ridiculous. This stuff is fantastic. I have yet to enjoy a bowl of this that has not kept me smiling from packing to dottle. It never lets you down. As you know from my name here on tobacco reviews I am a musician, and so to explain this blend I will use a music analogy. If Orlik Golden Sliced is the trumpet of the tobacco world, then campaign dark flake is the bass trombone. It is a little more powerful, a little deeper, a little more complex, but every bit as enjoyable.

There aren't many Virginia blends like this out there, definitely try some and you will see. Very highly recommended. Also, just to let you know, If I begin to see this sold out everywhere I plan to edit this review to say this stuff is horrid, and I suggest all the other reviewers who have lauded the virtues of this tobacco do the same.

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	quantumboy (130)	2009-04-20		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is the only Wessex-branded tabac I've had, and possibly the best Virginia I've had to date. A very fruity nose in the tin, almost like pineapple. It's a medium-colored flake, so I'm not sure why it's called Dark Flake. The strips are folded over and stuffed in the can but they come apart and rub out easily. Mine burned perfectly right out of the tin.

Quintessential VA flavoring as you "sip-n-ahhh." Or is that "sip-n-awe"? It really is delicious through the first 80% of the bowl. The last 20% is too, but it requires some TLC in my experience, to keep it cool and keep those sweet VA flavors rolling. Too hot at this point and it tastes like a cigar. A good cigar though. But maybe you'll like that! I would love to stash away 50 tins of this for a few years.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	derlict311 (71)	2013-08-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Oh ya. The taste here is quite complex and deep for a viriginia flake. I can pick out tangy Virginias, grassy Virginias and sugary, darker Virginias throughout the progression of the bowl. Syrupy notes, fruits, sharp pangs of bitter...all there. A very good smoke. The jury is out whether this takes me to the same place as Full Virginia Flake, but it at least would be a solid replacement. Darn good. If it was available in bulk I would have it on hand frequently but alas, the secret is out and it goes quicker than presents at Christmas. Stock up if you can get your hands on some. My tin was three years old so I'd say it ages like a Virginia should. It deserves four stars.

13 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2004-03-08		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

This blend is from the German house of Kohlhase & Kopp and is blended and packed by hand which may partially drive the high price. However the overall high quality tobacco must also be considered. This is the same Co. that gives us many Astleys and Rattrays selections and this blend could be included with #44 or Hal O' the Wynd with respect to overall enjoyment. I've tried other Wessex VAs: Brown, Gold, Red and enjoyed this one the best. However, this flake is darker and stronger and not recommended to new VA flake smokers. The room note of DF was also more intense than these other Wessex flakes.

The 6" + long flakes are nicely coiled into the screw top tin and are quite pliable and therefore easily packed even if not rubbed out. The natural oils partially stained the paper liner. The initial moisture content was higher than I prefer and I obtained bettter smokes after some drying. Without any rubout, this one burned evenly, coolly and without any hint of bite in pipes with various bowl sizes. The great, rich but yet smooth natural VA taste was consistent throughout the bowls and left a slightly spicey aftertaste. This blend is most enjoyable by me after meals. Experienced VA flake lovers should give this a try.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2017-07-28		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Wessex - Campaign Dark Flake (Brigade).

I ordered this without reading any reviews, and very often that can blow up in my face, but not with this beauty!

After ordering I skipped through the reviews and noted a few complaints/pointers regarding the moisture, but although the paper wrapping inside the tin was oil stained, the baccy was perfectly smokeable. It comes as no shock that the flakes are dark in colour, albeit, dark brown, not black.

My first bowl wasn't aired any, and gave a good burn, of a medium speed. The smoke doesn't bite, is cool in temperature, and has a lovely flavour. Deep, rich, satisfying, Virginia: there's enough of a molasses sweetness (as others note) to augment the flavour, without seeming cased. And then there's the rich Virginia side: not so grassy/hay-like, but full of deep, dark, tasty, fruity flavours.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: not its greatest feature.

Campaign Dark Flake? Four stars, easily:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Altinok Lee Van Cleef; Friday pipe

Age When Smoked: Four months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2014-01-03		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I have been doing my annual year end cleaning of my pipe room and stumbled on this little gem. In looking at all the great reviews, I somehow missed this one. Big mistake! For what it’s worth, this review is based on a five or six year old tin. Campaign greets the nose with deep figs, raisons and molasses. The flakes are very long and need to be cut to fit into a pipe. I mainly use the fold and stuff method, most often in a medium bowl. The nose scent was so strong, it led me to believe that there is likely a very light topping. At first light, there is a touch of hay, but quickly settles into dark, rich sweet molasses like flavor that can be expected from a darker flake. It is a simply delicious medium body flake. I now wish I had socked a lot more away now that it is difficult to get. Great stuff!

Age When Smoked: 5 years

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2015-04-29		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Dark fruity flavors, a touch of molasses and a nice bit of sweetness. While experimenting with moisture levels I found something interesting. It only came out when I smoked this bone dry (2 days on a paper towel). This has a mild Lakeland floral essence added to it. With moisture in the flake it's well hidden, but very dry it's easily discerned. Luckily for me, it's mild and tastefully done. If it were any heavier I would not be liking this. As is, this is a very nice flake and even more so when mixed with a quality Burley such as Wessex's Burley Slice.

Medium in body and flavor. The dryer it is, the better it burns.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gentleman, Diplomat Apple, Mark Twain

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: 4noggins

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	smallshinythings (7)	2015-09-28		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This has the very best tin note in recent memory. Maybe raisin? Not exactly sure, but fruit and, well, tobacco smelling in the very best way. I rubbed this out pretty fine and packed loosely. Easy packing, single light burned for almost half the bowl until I had to set it down and do a thing. Moisture was a little wet, but a loose pack had me fine without drying it any further. No gurgle.

I'm slowly coming around to straight Virginias after years of VaPer love, blends like this make it a tremendous ride. I've been buying and trying a lot in the Virginia family for the last year or so after few really great Va smokes, this being the new favorite. It's my first time with Wessex and I lucked upon this for a great price in a smoke shop that sells a lot of cigarettes . I'm saying its new, because I didn't age it, though I imagine the seller has had this for some time.

There may be a flavor, I said mild because I don't trust my tongue enough, but it's definitely a sweet smoke. Fruity, but not in a way I would immediately think of as cased. Dark, like a fig or a fruit infused chocolate. There are definite hay notes, but very little of the citrus I think of with some Virginias. It's a not very complex, malty sweetness. Molasses has been a descriptor before and I won't argue it. Hard to say this, but very clean tasting giving a brightness to it, though I'm repeatedly saying it's a darker flavor. I hope that made sense.

Room note raised no complaints, though no compliments either. Grey/white ash and it was fairly even through the bowl, only muting somewhat in the middle half, and by muting I mean it lost a hair of the cleanliness I already poorly described. The flavors went perhaps mono-chromatic for a few minutes. In the first three bowls I smoked I had a similar experience. The last two it stayed clear throughout, perhaps even a little brighter, Apple sweet, toward the bottom.

No tremendous nicotine hit, no tongue bite. Again, I packed it looser than I thought I should and it seems to have payed off.

Very highly recommended and I'll buy this when I can find it.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Local b&m

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2017-01-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Im surprised this doesnt get straight 4 stars. I mean if there are better straight Virginia flakes out there I'd like to see them. It is simply sublime. That is, if you are a Virginia flake smoker. Sam Gawith's Full Virginia Flake has always been sort of the gold standard, rightly or not (though its very very good, no question) but this might be better. Reminds me, too, of Butera's stoved Virginia. Its a very complex smoke for a straight Va. A lot of deep buried sweetness, fruity at times, and the flavors come in layers. If there is a casing (and many confuse fermentation for casing) it is very very very mild. One could accuse every Va flake of having some casing (as Greg Pease pointed out)...but this , if it is there, is extremely mild. I dont think there is one...I think its the natural pressing and ferment. McClelland's Blackwoods is similar, too. This is stoved, and hence there is a quality of fermented sweetness but I detected no casing. The nic hit is about the same as Blackwoods and a bit more than FVF. doesnt ever lose flavor. Just a great Virginia flake.

The pantheon of Virginia flakes: Gawith's FVF, Pease's Union Square, McClelland's 1776 and Blackwoods Flake, and Astley #44...and probably Butera's dark. Maybe half of McClelland's flakes inf act. This is as good as those. Id say 1776 might actually be best tasting, while Union Square is the strongest....but smooth all the same.But Wessex...a darker flake, like Astley's...is the equal. Not as strong as the Pease...but more so than FVF I think. I might add JF Germains medium flake, too. These are the best out there IMHO.

Purchased From: 4noggins

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2004-02-09		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Scrumptious. In structure, this is similar to Marlin Flake: a long strand of flake coiled up inside the silver Brigade Series tin, darker in color, with bits and pieces of an almost black hue. It is supple and easy to break up and light. Not as tasty as Marlin Flake, and a tad stronger, it nevertheless delivers a wonderful Virginia flavor that hovers somewhere in between Astley?s 109 (with a lot more body) and Gawith?s Full Virginia Flake (smoother, deeper). The quality of this tobacco is unimpeachable. It burns evenly, without a bite. The flavor remains consistent throughout most of the bowl, but it is not a boring smoke; every now and then there are notes of roasted chestnuts and a slightly bitter sweetness, that provide a greater density without making it overwhelming. Personally I am fonder of Astley?s 44 or Rattray?s Hal O? the Wynd, but this comes as a close second. Dark Flake is a very rewarding medium to full bodied smoke. If inclined to straight Virginias, I am sure you will find this tobacco delectable. Highly recommended.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2014-11-26		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The description on the tin is maybe for the past rendition. There are molasses and a cocoa topping, or should I say casing, that you can smell from the tin and it faithfully translates into the smoke. A meaty broken flake that looks very good but unfortunately comes short of a pure and true brown flake Virginia. It's cloying sweet, with cocoa accents and not much else. This is what a quality Aromatic should taste like, but I was supposedly smoking a " Dark brown Virginia, full bodied and smooth". After managing to get my hands on a tin and waiting on purpose to savor it... well you can imagine my disappointment.

Update: After some drying up, the sweet/cocoa topping is receding and this allows for a better smoke, closer to what a Virginia Brown Flake is supposed to taste for me.

Virginia lover

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2014-10-24		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Considering all the fuzz raised about this tobacco, I must admit I was fairly disappointed with Dark Flake. I have patiently monitored online retailers' websites in order to grab some. After almost a year, I was able to secure 6 tins at Pipe & Leaf. I cannot think but make a link with another tobacco making waves - Dan Tobacco's Hamborger Veermaster - which has also deeply disappointed me. Don't get me wrong, Dark Flake is not bad. But it did not amaze me, considering the efforts I deployed to get some. I think it's very similar to Rattray Marlin Flake as I can see, and taste, the Black Cavendish in it. But it's not dark in colour over all. At least, it does not bite. It's not quite sweet and not quite spicy; i will not deny the quality as it's obvious. But it's nothing to go crazy over, in my modest opinion.

Pipe Used: Rattray

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Somewhere

Similar Blends: K & K Honoré; Rattray Marlin Flake.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-01-20		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Original Review- This is an excellent Virginia flake. Mature with a nice molasses sweetness, no bite, smooth and easy to smoke. I found this to be great on the relight as it doesn't get ashy. Sweeter than Samuel Gawith's Best brown and I will use this as a substitute for Solani Silver Flake depending on price.

Updated 2/7/15- I've been trying to obtain more of this blend over the past year and it has been in very low supply. The new batch, that I just obtained, was a disappointment. I find it kind of bland and lacking in sweetness. Perhaps my initial tin had more age . I will have to cellar this batch. I'm moving this down to 3 stars

After 6 months cellar time ,this is still a disappointment from my original tin. Is Wessex taking some shortcuts to meet supply ? Still 3 stars

Pipe Used: cob

Age When Smoked: new/6 months

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WmZiggy (81)	2011-09-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is a wonderful flake. In the tin it has the new mowed hay aroma consistent with aged Virginia. The tobacco is mottled with black, red and bright leaf. I let the tobacco dry for a day, finding it improves the smoke greatly. It burns well to a dry white ash, rubbed out or chunky. I really enjoyed this flake - It was smooth, sweet, cool and complex from top to bottom with a variety of wonderful flavors. This is a top shelf tobacco.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-09-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake along with Old Gowrie are my first straight Virginia blends. I agree with Pipestud, Gae and Tantric. This is a great blend. Like OG, BCDF is a very nice change from the Latakia blends that I normally smoke, and will be a definite addition to my tobacco rotation. Great flavor, cool and clean burning. I tasted what I perceive to be an oats and molasses flavor, very nice. Every pipe smoker should try this at least once, if nothing more than to try a quality blend with no casing and no artificial flavoring. Those new to the pipe might be forewarned, however. Smoke it gently at first, or you will learn what tongue bite is. Being a pipe smoker for over 30 years, I experienced no problems with bite, heat, or gurgle.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2022-06-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Does campaign dark flake surprise me? Does it stray in any way from the German/Danish tradition of lightly flavored and thoroughly consistent if sometimes boring monochromatic virginia flakes? Nope.. not at all.. it fits right along side dunhill dark flake, astley 44, and marlin flake.. a virginia delicately trained to spotlight the deeper chocolate and molasses side of virginia.. maybe just a touch of spice and underlying fruitiness.. Although it doesn't surprise, it is tasty.. Maybe even a sweet treat.. Does it deserve the high praise it gets? In my opinion, not really.. it isn't something that requires any special thought or analysis.. just a decent smoke with a nice dark tone.. surely will improve with age.. Im neither disappointed nor deeply impressed.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2018-09-13		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Sometimes a blend doesn't have to be complex to excite you and this one is a great example.once the tin breaks a very natural aroma consisted of grass ,sweet and sour notes comes out.the flakes are very manageable either to rub or to fold with a bit moisture so some drying time helps with the packing and the lighting.while burning the flavours are clear and very natural.grass,citruses,sour and bread notes from the brown virginias combine well with dark fruits,earth and molasses that come from the dark virginias.the sweetness of the blend is more than expected so i guess a mild sweet topping is added that works very well with the tobacco flavours without tonning them down.generally the flavours are very natural and satisfying .burns slow and medium hot to total ash with a lot moisture being created at the filter.the nicotine level is medium and the aftertaste pleasant.room note is ok withput a chance of tongue bite.an all day easy going and very smooth blend !totally recommended!

Age When Smoked: 1 year cellared

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	1979 (62)	2017-08-05		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Wessex - Campaign Dark Flake

A more or less single, long folded flake inside the round tin.  I'm with other reviewers who mention a touch of molasses or honey.  The beginning of the bowl in particular has a sort of confectionary quality about it.  This is a very pleasant and relaxing virginia flake, sweet and creamy, with notes of raisins, molasses, earth, and some occasional hay notes.  It tends to leave just a little moisture in the bottom of my pipe.  Years ago I smoked a tin of this one and recently came back to it again, remembering that it had been a good one.  Now, as then, I found it to be just a shade bitey in a straight pipe.  This issue all but disappeared when I went to a bent billiard with it, so I'll recommend that you try it in a bent pipe.  Definitely in my top five of virginia flakes.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Train (118)	2015-12-27		Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Full	Strong

It's always a treat to smoke this dark Virginia flake , one most often reserved for later in the day or evening . This is what I would call a full Va. flake , and I mean really full . It seems to be very much like Astley #109 if not exactly the same . Dark flake , aptly named , it one of the best after dinner smokes you can have . Full and rich this satisfies in the P.M. like a full English blend Clearly not an all day go to smoke , this is more of a day topper . Burns great outdoors but a little cloying inside . A truly unique taste . 2019 - 8 - 28 K & K has changed the format of this tobacco and it's mate , Astley's 109 . Both used to presented as a long cut broken flake . Now they are folded flakes like F & T flakes or Silims flakes . Not a good change . The long flake format was unique and a pleasure to pack and smoke . This new folded flake format foes not get the best out of this tobacco . I believe the blend is the same but it loses something with the new presentation . Dito for 109 .

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2015-05-25		Strong	Mild	Full	Strong

This one started out real poorly for me. It has to be the wettest tin of tobacco I've ever popped. Upon loading my first bowl my fingers were so wet and discolored it gave me real concern—what is this I'm smoking? PG city, folks, PG city. It took me forever to get it lit, but, once I got it going the experience improved.

Wet, absolutely, yet at the same time it's one of the best tasting baccy's I've puffed in quite some time. The snork on this baby was outstanding! A hint of raisins and mushrooms weaved throughout, unfortunately, a real heinous backwash built up along with this, too (another gurgle fest). When I puffed fast, it bit me (I didn't find this blend 'smooth' as the back of the tin suggests). However, as the bowl went along, I learned this blend needs, nay, requires it to be sipped and not chugged. It's overall smoking characteristics reminded me of MacBaren's Virginia No.1 (if you chug that one, you also get nipped).

Bowl number two, and three, four and five, I dried out. This takes some time, more than an hour, in fact (and sitting atop my dehumidifier at that!). Drying it out improved the experience, but only marginally. All in all, I didn't like this tighrope baccy, too finicky. The tastes, for me, were very unique, though, in the end, I found this blend too strong (it actually gave me a headache).

To those who like strong leaf, this one will be a keeper. For those who do not like strong blends, not so. No regrets in trying this one, but I'll not be smoking it again. I've already passed this one on to someone else. I'll give it a strong 2 stars (2.65 of 4).

Keep on Pipin'!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blue Bayou (60)	2012-11-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Nutty, woodsy nose with a touch of pine needles. Very complex aromas. I find it delicious & it will be on the rotation.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-10-01		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

When I cracked open my new tin, I smelt an aroma that was deep and pungent and a bit different than what I'm used to from a fresh tin. Not sure how to describe it and now that my tin's been open awhile the tin aroma has changed. The top disc was stained so my sample may have set on the shelf for awhile before I got it.

This is perhaps where all the bottom end went that the Red Flake was missing. I didn't find much high end here. What I did find was a predominating chocolatey - cocoa sort of taste with the typical virginia hay taste to the background. A lot of depth to this blend. The flakes separated easily but were moist and did not dry out as quickly as I anticipated. I got a tiny bit of bite from this one but it was the "delayed reaction" sort of bite, it took me a couple hours to feel it.

This is a damn good virginia flake IMHO. Easily a rating of at least three stars , I just happened to like their Red Virginia Flake a little bit better overall.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-12-23		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is an exceptional Virginia blend, period. I concur with other reviewers in that it smells almost identical to Marlin Flake & IMO, taste is similar...very much like my first 50 Gram tin of aged MF. However, it does not have that initial harshness & bite that I noticed when smoking Marlin Flake. BCDF is totally biteless, smooth & cool with plenty of smokey, VA tobacco flavor.

Long, dark mottled flakes with minimal golden leaf break up easily for stoking & it burns slow & cool. I also noticed it may be a tad stronger than Marlin Flake. We like to make comparisons, don't we? What more to say...probably one of the finest VA blends on the market! Virginia fans will want to stock up on this one for sure & I'm confident it will age well. Time will tell. Therefore, IMHO, Wessex Brigade Campaign Dark Flake merits four **s+!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (197)	2022-04-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smoking now:

Bag note is sweet dark sugar, stewed and dried fruit. Rich. Flakes are almost black.

Ah yes. A dark straight Virginia. Natural sweetness, fruit preserve, tangy. A little grass and hay on the retrohale. A little fermented hay but mostly sweet dark fruits. Almost no after taste, very slight mouth tingle, no bite. Does get a little more vegetative and woody as the bowl progresses, the sweetness stays but does diminish.

A wonderful Virginia .

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2021-05-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

After a long search I managed to buy two cans of this tobacco, but finally it was worth the wait because its quality is considerable.

When I opened the tin I found two blocks of flakes a little dark and slightly damp but not so much that they cannot be loaded directly without waiting to dry. Flakes crumble and rub off easily.

The fruity, prune aroma predominates over other Virginian nuances, but I am struck by the pleasant cellar smell that differentiates it from other blends and reminds me of Dunhill's Dark Flake, (later manufactured by Peterson), although this was a mixture of virginia and perique. Considering that Dark Flake is no longer manufactured, I think this one from Wessex could be a good replacement for those looking for that reference, as is my case.

Once the pipe is lit, the aroma in the tin is reproduced during smoking. With a mild flavor, the notes of raisins and something similar to wine are the predominant ones. Some reviewers have found slight coverage here that I don't catch. The flavor seems very natural, tasty and smooth at the same time, which can invite you to repeat it during the same day.

I had been smoking some virginia that seemed to me of great quality, until I got to this one and then they lost with the comparison. I have enjoyed the pleasure of smoking a flake every day until the tin ran out. In my opinion it does not resemble FVF, which is sweeter and more intense in flavor, as well as having different notes. Like I said, I find it to be quite similar to Dunhill's Dark Flake.

Ignoring the wise recommendation of "musicman", I am going to be unconscious and against my interests I am going to recommend it because it seems to me a great tobacco. I do this out of gratitude for the recommendations of many people thanks to whom I have been able to smoke very good tobaccos. But don't get used to it badly ...

Pipe Used: Jan Kloucek Italy Silhoutte

Age When Smoked: Unknown

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (221)	2021-04-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Wessex Campaign Dark Flake - A lot of dark fruity flavor with some citrus and a little grassy . A Molasses like sweetness . More of a tangy red with a little bright leaf . A little spice and some floral notes .Needed a little dry time . Very easy to work with . Fold and stuff works great . Burns nice and slow and even . No bite at all . Gets better as it burns down the bowl . I think it should age nicely . A very light sugary topping is probably in play but it adds to the blend , you can taste the tobaccos . Natural tasting flake . I like it and would buy again . 3 1/2

Pipe Used: Pots dublins

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2021-03-22		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is a good example of a dark Virginia as it checks all the boxes of what you would expect from this type of leaf. It has that dried fruit sweetness, very monotone in taste and light in nicotine. It can use a little dry time as mine was a little moist out of the tin.

It is not the best dark virginia I have ever had, but I wouldn't hesitate recommending it to someone who wanted to try a dark virginia as this one behaves quite well and is easy on the tongue.

Age When Smoked: 4 yrs 1 mth

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cakeanddottle (105)	2020-01-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is K&K trying to make FVF. They don't have the tobacco for it. Honestly, what this tobacco makes me think is Marlin Flake stoved to within an inch of its life. I like Marlin Flake, I like this somewhat less. It fails to come up with any toffee-like sweetness, the Va isn't rich and malty, it's just not very good for what it's trying to be.

The older I get, the less I appreciate the Virginia tobaccos and blends produced by K&K. They're kind of like Europe's Cornell & Diehl. Big catalog, not many standout blends.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BrokenRecord (124)	2019-05-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Wessex, Campaign Dark Flake (CDF): One of the best Dark Virginias out there

Each flake is dark and slightly cased with molasses, which offers a pleasant tin-note. The tobacco seems to be mostly dark Virginia, though some lighter, and maybe red, Virginias are present. There is a nice body to the smoke with a good amount of earthiness without being overly sweet. I do find some harshness in the smoke, but nothing astringent. Overall, I find it to be a good smoke to have with coffee but not perfection.

Similar Blends: Astley's Dark Virginia Flake and Dunhill Dark Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2019-04-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is a very well prepared Virginia flake with a sweet, tobacco flavor. Tin odor is a good Virginia aroma. The flakes were slightly sticky from the molasses or honey topping but rubbed out easily. It is biteless and smokes mild but delivers favorable nicotine content.

A slight harshness initially...characteristic of Virginias. After a relight (employing the DGT method) & a few more puffs, no more bite & this stuff provided pure, sweet Virginia flavor with a mild accent while still providing a pretty good nicotine boost. Packs easily & burns nicely & doesn't bite. An excellent Dark Virginia and much better than most. I thought it was better than Astley's No. 44 which I will avoid unless they change their recipe to reduce bite & find a way to produce a better, sweeter, flavor in their dark VA version.

If you like straight, dark Virginia, give Wessex Campaign Dark Flake, Brigade Series a try. I promise, you won't be disappointed if you like dark VA tobacco. WB Campaign is more pricy than similar blends but worth the extra $$. It provided a nice, sweet flavored smoke. A great blend with extras in my modest cellar.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 9S & 11S

Age When Smoked: Fresh to five years

Purchased From: Pipestud's Consignment Shop, P & C

Similar Blends: Astleys #44 with a tastier delivery...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2018-11-16		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

The tin note smells of stewed fruit. It smelled so good I had to taste it, where I found a molasses casing, which adds a little sweetness and richness to the dark Virginias. The tobacco is quite complex for a Virginia flake and the flavors build the farther down the bowl you smoke. There is little chance of bite, though there are some harsh edges to the smoke. The nicotine is a tab higher than medium. All in all, this is one of the best dark Virginia flakes currently on the market.

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Similar Blends: It is quite similar to Dunhill Dark Flake minus the Perique, [#24] Astley's - No.44 Dark Virginia Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Screaming Jazz (6)	2018-10-27		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I sat down, lit up and got a pleasant fruity taste. I thought for a second in the retrohale I could taste something a little spicy. After the first minute that spice never returned. There's a fruit flavour is much richer than I had experienced in any blend before. Some subtle taste of the earth from which this wonderful leaf sprouted. Together creating a nice balance. My favorite virginia blend by far. 9.5/10

Age When Smoked: Fresh

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-11-02		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is my first tin of Wessex, and I bought it based on the great reviews and recommendations on this site. It seems extremely mild to me, but perhaps I was expecting something more or I'm used to stronger Virginias...but I think it is excellent. I was eager to try it right out of the tin and in my haste I rubbed enough of the flake for a bowl without allowing any time to dry. It lit and stayed lit with no effort, and only a single relight. I definitely notice the taste of dried hay (who knew I liked hay so much?!) and grains, with a little sweetness that stayed on the lips. I haven't noticed the taste of any fruits or molasses like few others have, but this is my first bowl. I'll see after some more bowls...which are a guarantee. Looking forward to see any changes as it ages a bit.

In my opinion this is a great tobacco for someone looking to try what I perceive as a mild Virginia, or anyone who hasn't tried Wessex. I do recommend it to others and I will be looking at reviews of some other Wessex tins that are reviewed as a little more complex, and with more flavor. You can't go wrong with this as an easy, cool, smooth smoke with zero tongue bite.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tom Servo (58)	2011-03-29		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The tin opens to a dense bundle of folded flakes. The aroma of a dusty hay loft and fig cookies wafts out, announcing the presence of good Virginia leaf - well chosen and well aged. Sweet grains, hot cereal, granola with raisins. Spicy notes, dry hay, dried fruit with a hint of unsweetened chocolate.

Folding the flake when packing works very well, burns beautifully.

A really nice medium Virginia flake. Sweet, toasted grains, grassy, malty - gets better and better as the bowl burns down. Sweetness gets more pronounced, develops flavors like baked bread, pancake batter, saddle soap, and even semi-sweet chocolate. This stuff is excellent - subtle, sweet and quite enjoyable.

I usually like a fuller Virginia flake, but this stuff gets no complaints from me. Added this blend to the favorites list, and I just ordered a couple more tins.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-06		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is a very well prepared Virginia flake with a sweet, tobacco flavor. Tin odor is a good tobacco aroma. The flakes were slightly sticky but rubbed out easily. It is biteless and smokes mild but delivers favorable nicotine content.

A slight harshness initially...characteristic of Virginias. After a relight & a few more puffs, this stuff provided pure, mild, sweet Virginia flavor. Packs easily & burns nicely.

An excellent Virginia and much better than most. If you like Virginia, give this one a try. This is more pricy than similar blends but worth the extra $$. This tobacco provided a nice, unadulterated, straight tobacco flavored smoke. Therefore, IMHO, Brigade Campaign Dark Flake merits four stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc'spipe (242)	2010-05-20		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A medium bodied, brown Virginia flake. A long, wide (as flakes go) strip rolled around itself like a rolled and flattened belt with exquisite taste and character. Easy to peel, fold into the pipe and light (no re-lights required). Natural tasting tobacco with a lingering sweet after taste. Burns moderately hot as Virginias go, but without bite, just a pleasant Virginia spiciness and not over the top. In the same ball park as Wessex Brown Virginia Flake, but with more spice over sweet. Campaign is a nice, comfortable smoke, consistent from first puff to last. So far, I seem to be the only reviewer to not rate the flavoring as "None Detected." With careful puffing, I definitely notice the presence of molasses.

A very tasty Virginia flake, good for those venturing into Virginia territory for the first time and well worth the price. A smooth, nice tasting Virginia. One is rewarded with a natural, spicy sweetness that only good quality Virginia can provide. Just exquisite with slow puffing. A solid recommendation. Gets better with some age on it as well. All things considered, I find Wessex Brigade CDF different than their Brown Virginia Flake. Between the two, where BVF is deliciously sweet, CDF takes the lead in that spicy sweetness I previously mentioned. Along with their BVF, a good smoke, but for me, edged out by BVF overall.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Pipestud, NEWMAN, and Tantric have said it all. Brigade Campaign Dark Flake is clearly the best (of all I've sampled thus far) from Wessex.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin: 1 1/2" wide strip of tobacco wrapped around itself, resulting in a rather unkempt block, rather frayed at the edges. Compared to Samuel Gawith's FVF, BCDF has a considerable amount of blonde in the dark brown flake, with a red hue. Nice, light oats, mildly sweet.

In Omnia Paratus, Wessex Brigade, Kolhase & Kopp, Germany

Packing & Lighting: Due to the long strip being wound around itself, it is incredibly difficult to unwind; the strip is stuck to the layer underneath it. The tobacco breaks apart as you try to unwind it.

Taste & Aroma: At the start, vague oats, mildly sweet, the taste strengthing down the bowl into a deep oats; fairly tasty by the end of the bowl. Fresh out of the tin, undried, multiple bowls are a little destructive to the palate, bitey.

Nicotine: mild-medium, closer to medium

Room Note: mild VA hay

Overall: Bland at the start, but developes a nice taste in the lower half of the bowl. Terribly difficult to manage the wadded up strip of tobacco, it is like it is thrown into the tin as an afterthought. Compared to SG's FVF, BCDF is considerably more tasty, in the bottom half of the bowl. 4 stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-07-23		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Wessex is my lattest stop on my trip down the Virginia hiway....and a fine hiway it is. Wessex is the blender of many of my favorite blends...ie. O.G, H.O.T.W. This one holds its own with the best of them.

Upon opening the tin you find, as expected, a dark fragrant flake. By preference I let this flake air for a short time, then rub out fully. This makes packing, light, and burn exceptional. The flavor is "musty", and semi-sweet. To me this is a high quality, pleasureable smoke. I wont say this is THE BEST Va. that I have had the pleasure of trying, but it is amoung them. I give this one

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pounder 5000 (178)	2004-05-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This is a nice enough VA flake. The problem with this is that I can describe a couple of dozen tobaccos the exact same way. That out of the way, this is the best VA I have tried in the Wessex line. I find it to be extremely cool and yet dark and musty at the same time. There is a grassy quality but not in the freshly mowed stage, more like in the piled up, mouldering, fermented sort of way. It took quite a few relights, but seemed to burn relatively dry. It's good, but it still has a ways to go before it is one of the greats.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (558)	2023-02-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin note of mild stewed fruit, toasted dark bread and coffee?. Tobacco is a dark brown flake. Moisture content is great, flakes rub out with a little effort. Burns slow with few relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium to full and very consistent, with notes of bread, wood, spice, fermented, earth, floral, hay, orange peel/zest, tangy citrus, acidic/spicy, mildly bitter, mildly vinegary, lemon grass, savory, a rich tart stewed dark fruit background note, and a peppery retro. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.

Pipe Used: Peterson Bard Rusticated 221 Fishtail

Age When Smoked: 5 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2021-12-10		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Overall, a somewhat generic dark VA flake -- which to me is nothing bad, just nothing outstanding. No dark fired, just the dark tones of VA, with vague hints of dark fruit (which may be just a touch of topping). If that small set of notes appeal to you give it a try; if you're looking for more or more complexity, skip.

Pipe Used: cobs

Age When Smoked: 4 years after purchase

Purchased From: 4 Noggins

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.sadik (120)	2019-09-12		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

Dark virginia with some power to it, dark note to it, think fig/dates. Full in taste medium to full in nic/stength. Not their best offering in my opinion but hyped. Not a complex smoke but fulfilling, burns well with minimum hydration, no bite that i felt and smooth on the tongue and throat. Not for those who seek the bright side of virginia. Reminds me of dunhill dark flake. Price and availability prevents it from hitting 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Tobaccopipes.com

Similar Blends: Dunhill dark flake, peterson university flake without the topping.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Voyaging (80)	2019-03-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Presentation is decent. Standard European flakes, which are even and uniform, mostly.

The smell is little like Wessex Brown Flake, to some degree, but there is something extra in a perceived topping. Maybe cocoa, or something like an overripe grape. There is a maltiness to the smell as well. The smell comes through in the taste.

Parts of the flakes rub out into chunks, which I do not like. The flakes are pretty moist and could use a little drying. The dark streaks fall into chunkier pieces. I think the dark streaks are a flavored black Cavendish which really subtracts from the Virginias. The flakes are very moist much like Wessex Burley Slice. After rubbing the flakes out there is a stickiness on your fingers. Not too much drying time is needed. Leaving the tobacco in the tin for a few weeks helped between the initial smokes and subsequent ones.

There is no bright end to the taste of this blend. No citrus notes, no grass, no bright peaks. They are all lower end notes of bread, oats, some stewed fruit notes, some tanginess.

The strength is maybe medium. Nicotine strength is mild. I don't find too many flavors in this blend that I enjoy. There are straight Virginia flakes out there with more rounded flavor profiles. I would reach for every other straight Virginia I have ever tried before I would reach for this blend. However, there are not many dark straight Virginias on the market, so this offers something different from the norm. I would recommend this to any lover of straight Virginias. I would not buy it again.

Pipe Used: Canadian,bent brandy,

Age When Smoked: One year

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Wessex Brown Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2019-03-07		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a very well prepared Virginia flake with a sweet, tobacco flavor. Tin odor is a good Virginia aroma. The flakes were slightly sticky from the molasses or honey topping but rubbed out easily. It is biteless and smokes mild but delivers favorable nicotine content.

A slight harshness initially...characteristic of Virginias. After a relight (employing the DGT method) & a few more puffs, no more bite & this stuff provided pure, sweet Virginia flavor with a mild accent while still providing a pretty good nicotine boost. Packs easily & burns nicely & doesn't bite. An excellent Dark Virginia and much better than most. I thought it was better than Astley's No. 44 which I will avoid unless they change their recipe to reduce bite & find a way to produce a better, sweeter, flavor in their dark VA version.

If you like straight, dark Virginia, give Wessex Campaign Dark Flake, Brigade Series a try. I promise, you won't be disappointed if you like dark VA tobacco. WB Campaign is more pricy than similar blends but worth the extra $$. It provided a nice, sweet flavored smoke. A great blend with extras in my modest cellar.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 9S & 11S

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Astleys #44 with a tastier delivery...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2019-02-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Rich dark flake, sweet VA tin note. The flakes are pretty wet and need dry time. You can smoke them out of the tin and a loose fold and stuff seemed to work best with no dry time, but will require some relights. Dried for 30 minutes or so seemed to be the sweet spot. The smoke is rich, earthy and sweet. Dark fruits, molasses and brown sugar come to mind. It is not super sweet but I found it to be perfect. This reminds me of Dunhill dark flake, but a bit more consistent and richer in flavor. There are some lemony/citrus notes to go with the sweetness and there is a bready flavor that develops about a quarter of a way through the bowl. Not very complex but there is some complexity to this blend. Top notch VA flake and highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Briar’s and cob’s

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2019-01-07		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable

This is a very well prepared Virginia flake with a sweet, tobacco flavor. Tin odor is a good Virginia aroma. The flakes were slightly sticky from the molasses or honey topping but rubbed out easily. It is biteless and smokes mild but delivers favorable nicotine content.

A slight harshness initially...characteristic of Virginias. After a relight (employing the DGT method) & a few more puffs, no more bite & this stuff provided pure, mild, sweet Virginia flavor while still providing a pretty good nicotine boost. Packs easily & burns nicely & doesn't bite.

An excellent Dark Virginia and much better than most. I thought it was better than Astley's No. 44 which I will avoid unless they change their recipe to reduce bite & find a way to induce more sweetness with a better tobacco. If you like straight, dark Virginia, give Wessex Campaign Dark Flake, Brigade a try. I promise, you won't be disappointed if you like dark VA tobacco. This is more pricy than similar blends but worth the extra $$. This tobacco provided a nice, sweet flavored smoke. A great blend with extras in my modest cellar.

Pipe Used: Peterson Deluxe 11S

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes

Similar Blends: Astley No. 44.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LannarkGent (145)	2016-04-09		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Full	Very Pleasant

This was a marvelous flake with perfect moisture coming out of the tin. The flake rubbed out well and burned cleanly.I found the lingering presence of molasses to be very complimentary to the entire blend The full flavored flake was very satisfying and satisfied me completely. I found the nicotine to be stronger than expected, but not overbearing

Pipe Used: Peteron Kinsale XL20

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: Indian River Tobacco Grand Rapids MI

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	goochmon (2)	2018-07-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I let it dry out to standard level where it felt dry but had a bit of spring. There is cloying sweet moments but I like them. A tiny bit monochromatic and generic, but high quality profile. Germains dark flake is similar and I prefer that blend. This is good but is more hedonistic than dark flake in a good way.

Pipe Used: Morta billard

Age When Smoked: Aged

Similar Blends: Germains dark flake.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2018-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The tin was very moist. It looked like a clump of tobacco in the center. Strong molasses note and not much else. Pulling some of the flake off it looked more like a broken flake until I looked more closely. I carefully pulled the entire lump out and let it dry for the afternoon. then I unfolded what seems to be 1 or possibly 2 (it broke about mid way) very long wide flakes. These I cut to proper size for my pipes and allowed to air a little more. Rubbing out requires a little more dry time still. The VA's are earthy with some dark fruit notes and a little grassy note here and there along with a very subtle spice. There is definitely a a casing or topping that suggests molasses. It comes through with every puff and it is strong enough that if this were a complex flake, which it is not, most of the complexity would be muted. Smoked a little wet, even when dried to the correct levels. Still a good flake worth checking out if you are into VA's. There are just too many better IMHO to give this 4 stars. Recommended for what it is I would certainly not turn down a bowl if offered one but it will not make one of my rotations.

Age When Smoked: 1 yr.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bence (34)	2016-04-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

Recommended for the va lovers. Can be an all day smoke. I tried with filter and without filter as well, and the result is that it is nice both way :) (i should buy it more often if it would be available in local baccy stores)

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-09-14		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Nice VA flake. It's dark, full bodied, easy to pack and burns well. The price is a little high, but for those who really love this stuff, I'm sure it's worth it.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-08-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

An excellent Virginia Flake from Wessex. The flakes themselves are dark, slightly moist, and are compressed together in the tin. Moisture content is perfect, and when the flakes are broken and packed in the bowl, lights easy, and smokes clean. This is a rich, full-flavored smoke, and should not be passed up by anyone who appreciates a good quality Virginia Flake.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-01-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

You've tried the rest now try the best!!. Not much to add, if you like flakes you will love this. Bye Bye Sam Gawith.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-09-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I really enjoy this tobacco. This is similar in style to many Va/ Va flakes I have tried and enjoyed minus different flavorings. This is also exceptionally smooth and without any tongue bite issues for me. I find the presentation in the tin to be unusual but fun. If I could rewrite my pipe smoking history I wish I would have found this particular tobacco as I was starting to try Va Flakes as when I started those I got some that were unpleasant or burned way too hot and I gave up on Va's for some time before coming back to them. 4 stars but maybe a bit underwhelming in strength for some.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2010-07-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I can't get into this one, but once again have trouble giving a quality product two stars, and it is a quality blend, just not to my tastes. I must be affected more by the "molassesey" topping others do not seem to have noticed. To me, it is cloying and detracts from the natural "bite" (but not tongue bite!) that I like to have in a Virginia flake. I am struggling through my tin, and may have to blend it with something neutral to finish it. I get gurgle easily with this one as well. That's all I can say. Lots of folks seem to love this blend. The flakes are certainly attractive! Oh, and at Doc'spipe: I am the second reviewer to detect a flavoring, I guess.

3-21-2012 Been a year and a half or more in a jar. I like it better now, but there is still some gunk at the bottom of the bowl, wet and hard to finish.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bluenoser (34)	2009-09-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I find this mixture to be very similar to Marlin Flake and in recognizing where it originates I know why this is. It, to me, is slightly stronger than Marlin and for that reason I enjoy it much more. This tobacco has that wonderful tin aroma that only comes from a high quality virginia when aged to perfection. I find BC dark to perfectly suit my sweet tooth in every puff from start to finish. The smoke is very creamy white, very smooth, gentle and inviting. I smoked it right out of the tin and dried out a second sample using a small table fan. I usually enjoy dry virginia over fresh out of the tin however in this case as with BC dark I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh smoke by a country mile. A wonderful mixture of the highest quality and most remarkable craftmanship. Buy some, you won't be disappointed. five solid stars to infinity and beyond.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2009-06-19		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Another excellent Virginia from Wessex, although not one of my favorites. This is a bit sweeter than Classic Virginia, but lacks its complexity. As one could expect from top notch tobacco, it burns cool and doesn't bite. Better than most Virginias in the market, but a step below FVF and HOTW.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puro66 (73)	2007-06-16		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is a very pleasant dark virginia from the same people who make Marlin Flake. I smoked my tin fairly quickly, so I must of liked it. Beautiful long dark leaves and a wonderful natural tobacco aroma will invite you to light up. Tasty and available at a reasonable price. Worth picking up a tin.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2007-05-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

One of the best virginia flakes presently on the market. K&K may make dull English mixtures, but they are great on Virginias. The long, dark flakes are a marvel to look at: just a few minutes on the air and you're ready to rub them or to pack them the traditional way. The flavour is exceptional: dark, rich, sweet, while the burning is perfectly even and cool enough.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2006-01-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

January 2006.Wessex-Brigade Campaign Dark Flake. What a gem of tobacco,I have found here in B-C Dark Flake,and I only folded the flakes,filled my pipe,then let it sit for 10 min's before lighting.Once lit,Voila,Delious sweet nirvana slowly gathered around my palate with gentle strength in a most succulant cool and suttle way,without being to weak but most satisfying in everyway. I totally agree with every word written before me by Pipestud, and Tantric. This Aussie girl not only appreciates it,but,truly loves it ;-) More,than just 'Highly Recommended'

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