Tobaccos Robert McConnell - Folded Flake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-01-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Folded Flake is very similar to McConnell's Scottish Flake with the same components but in different proportions. Spicy Flake composed of Virginia, Fired Kentucky and Perique, but in this one, the Virginia is lighter, there is less dark fired Kentucky while the Perique presence (light), remains about the same.

21 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3050)	2013-06-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The mild raisiny, plumy, spicy perique is light, but more would unbalance the blend. There are the hay/apricot/fig notes in play, with a light natural Virginia citrus and some grass. The Kentucky is also light, but noticeable, and adds slight wood, earth, floral, nutty, spice notes. The nic-hit is mild. The strength is a step past the mild mark, and the taste is just past the center of mild to medium. Won't bite. Burns at a moderate pace, cool and clean with a smooth consistent, well balanced flavor. Requires a few relights, and leaves just a little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasant, short lived after taste. An all day smoke.

-JimInks

21 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2009-12-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I found this to be one of those enjoyable while you have it but no real intention to repeat tobaccos. My only real complaint about it is that it performed well at one moisture level only - ONE! If it was too moist, it tasted strange and if too dry, it bit. It had to be the perfect moisture to smoke well, and for me that level was on the very dry but not too dry side. It was not easy to get it right.

At this level, the virginia sweetness was toned down and the spiciness of the dark-fired Kentucky took over with just a whisper of perique showing through. In some blends lightly spotted with perique, this leaf shows through here and there and disappears. With this blend, I tasted a smidge of perique in every puff. Nice! It burned well and needed few if any relights.

Folded Flake is a decent VaBurPer and is recommended but it's also one of those that is so mondimensional (surprising, considering the ingredients) that it doesn't rise up and demand to be in my regular rotation. There just isn't enough happening. Still, it's a good tasting smoke.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Arkie (129)	2016-09-02		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

McConnell's Folded Flake reminds me of Reiner's Long Golden Flake and Stonehaven although it doesn't taste exactly like them. When I first opened the tin the fragrance was slightly sour but the Virginia leaf give the mixture a naturally sweet taste. Actually, I couldn't detect any type of leaf other than Virginia. The flavor is extremely rich but not strong.

Age When Smoked: one year

Similar Blends: Reiner's Long Golden Flake, Stonehaven.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	moniker (220)	2017-01-15		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

McConnell’s Folded Flake has been a very nice surprise for me, ultimately stacking up, IMO, between the likes of Triple Play and Old Gowrie. In the tin, the moist, folded flake is comprised of medium to dark brown strands, along with some lighter bits. The lot smells like cold pressed, lightly fermented, air cured brown with some stoved red VAs over slightly yeasty, brown bread, way over smoky, stewed prunes, brown sugar/molasses, dark cocoa, and coffee, with a faint trace of vanilla. I prefer to tear off some “broken flake”, which I dry in the sun for a few minutes before stuffing it lightly into a pipe. I can tailor FFs character by focusing on the VA with a narrower bowl, or I can ramp up the KY and the Perique for a deeper, bolder smoke with a wider bowl. It lights OK and it burns steadily with a thoughtful cadence and some prodding, and there is lots of smoke. I like to take it easy with this one, though it goes out if I take it too easy. Re-lights and DGT are OK. As I write this, I prefer to make this blend mostly about VA, with condimental KY and Perique always present but well back. In a typical, group 4 bowl FF’s VAs are earthy, sweet, and naturally rich, along the lines of F&Ts Vintage or Germain’s Brown Flake, with added depth from the KY and some “sparkle” over the top from the Perique spices. The KY is rich, buttery, and only slightly smokey, also tannic and astringent, with a bracing bitterness. The Perique lends faint, sour, stewed prunes, and the sparkle mentioned makes the lot semi-effervescent at times; very nice. In a larger, wider bowl, like my JackKnife Plug pipe, FF is deeper, rounder and slightly rougher, with more KY and stewed, dark fruit, along with deeper, more melded spices. Smoked this way there is no effervescence, and it reminds me a little of Triple Play. In a narrower bowl, FF burns slowly, or it will burn slowly, for a long lasting smoke. FF leaves dark, dirty ash that is best gotten rid of as I go. And funny, given the dirty ash, FF leaves my pipes smelling sweet.

Folded Flake is one of those “deceptively simple” blends that I enjoy most as a contemplative smoke, which allows me to tap and savor its closely knit complexities. Its overall strength rises slowly to somewhere between medium and strong, though the nic effect falls back fairly soon. Tastes are toward full from medium. Room note is pleasant to me, but perhaps too “tobacco-y” for bystanders. Aftertaste is lingering, extra-rich VA, sweet and deep, with traces of molasses and anise, along with some fat and astringency from the KY, and it has the very pleasant effect of tasting better and better as it fades, over a long stretch.

I highly recommend McConnell’s Folded Flake to anyone who fancies deep, rich, natural VAs and would like to try a VA/KY/Per. It is less intense than Triple Play and more full than Old Gowrie, and, again, IMO, it holds its own with these stalwarts. I’m betting it will age very well. 4 stars.

Pipe Used: various briars

Age When Smoked: from tin and jars

Purchased From: cup o' joes

Similar Blends: Compare/contrast to GLP Triple Play, Rattray's Old Gowrie, Savinelli's Dublone d'Oro, and other top VA/KY/Pers..

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2015-08-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This is a pretty nice smoke. Flavors of raisins, figs, and earth. Mildly sweet with a spice that gets stronger as the bowl progresses. By the end it's fairly spicy. Doesn't have to be dried first, but seems to have a little more flavor if you give it an hour or so. It's very enjoyable and it satisfies. Doesn't reach four star level, but it's a shade better than three.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in flavor. Burns well.

Pipe Used: MM Mark Twain, Ropp Dublin

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jacinto Cupboard (209)	2016-11-18		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is one of those tobaccos that would appear to have undergone change, given the difficulty I have reconciling earlier reviews with what I have in my pipe.

Not a folded flake now. Just an ordinary 3x6cm or so standard Euro flake. Mid brown with a sprinkle of light leaf. The tin note gives off a quite strong fruit additive, plum or blueberry possibly. My tin label says Virginia, Fired Kentucky and Perique. The latter two must be microscopic inclusions.

I suspect this is basically University Flake rebadged.

Pipe Used: Lepeltier

Similar Blends: University Flake.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Heliumbro (13)	2014-10-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Strong

(I am a newer and irregular pipe smoker. My reviews are subject to my preferences and tastes and pipe smoking habits) Smells wonderful in the tin (rich Virginia and dark fruit, some BBQ/smoke) and looks interesting (one giant flake folded over repeatedly). I fully rubbed the entire tin of flake and stored in a mason jar. Came at a decent moisture content. Lit easily, smoked with minimum relights (even outdoors in the fall weather) and had no... noticeable bite. The flavours were earthy and 'meaty', but not very strong. Some sweetness from the Virginia and kept reminding me of grilled steak, that sweetness from the crispy caramelized bits. No real Perique until the bottom of the bowl, where the flavours dropped to a very mild and the pepper tingle came forward. I kept getting a smooth cigar aroma in the room note (wife does not approve) which was pleasant. Overall a nice experience that one could enjoy everyday and worth a try (Flavors aren't too strong and in your face, but nice and mellowed).

Pipe Used: Est. French Briar; Cesare Imperial B Billiard

Age When Smoked: New/Fresh

Purchased From: Watch City Cigar

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (227)	2020-07-16		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Folded Flake comes at just the right moisture in the tin for me . This is a very balanced blend as I taste the Virginias, Kentucky and Perique in every puff . The taste stays the same from beginning to end of bowl also. It is like a Scottish Flake light IMO ! Good hot weather smoke . Not as tasty as Scottish Flake . It is true tobacco taste though with very little casings I would think . The Virginias are more grassy and citrus and not really fruity per se . It’s a good blend but I like SF , OG , and Brown Clunee better . 3 star blend for me .

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (162)	2018-09-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This blend would be near impossible to identify blindfolded! When i first smelled it in the tin it seemed like a typical va/per with a minor Kentucky element.. maybe a sort of flake version of Scottish cake.. and the first few puffs supported that vision.. it wasn't long before the Kentucky took over very abruptly.. very Nice! Some coffee/cream, nuts, leather.. not much campfire.. but it's like a burley.. at times almost a rich man's Carter hall.. at other times the Virginia wonders back in with an earthy breadyness.. the perique which is very present when you light it up almost completely disappears.. Never had anything quite like it.. and yet it's not all that outlandish.. tastes like good tobacco.. smokes dry.. a very slight soapy sensation on the tongue but no soap taste.. 3 ingredients common to many blends.. but this is an interesting and unique spin.. another homerun for Robert McConnell.. in a headscratching sort of way though.. 3 or 4 stars depending on my mood.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2082)	2016-12-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Robert McConnell - Folded Flake.

The tin contains two rows of wide, fairly thin, perfectly hydrated, flakes. I like to fully rub my flake tobacco and to do so with this blend is as easy as I could possibly want. The aroma from the unlit blend has a slightly fruity note to it.

The Virginia forms a lot of the smokes character, with the others adding seasoning. Of these two others, I get more of the Kentucky than the Perique until about a third of the way in; it's not too fired tasting, just louder than the Perique. The first part of a bowl is probably worth only two stars, but once the spiciness from the Perique kicks in it raises the result. I don't get any fruit from it, like I expected from the tin-note, it just gives me a natural taste. The burn from F.F.'s a winner, and it doesn't bite one bit.

The room-note doesn't offend me, nor does it impress me; pleasant to tolerable, and the nicotine's medium.

Quite a good smoke.

Recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson Christmas 2016 #03

Age When Smoked: Two months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-05-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Folded Flake is an example of one of my favorite genres: Virginia/ dark-fired Kentucky/perique.

As a previous reviewer, DK mentioned, it performed best at a very narrow moisture range, slightly drier than normal. Once I got that right everything fell together and I've really enjoyed it.

After aging for two years in the tin all the components are discernible, but it plays more like a 3 piece rock band when everybody's jamming together rather than featuring one particular flavor. It's spicier and has more body than you would get from a typical flake with only Virginia and perique. I attribute both qualities to the Kentucky. The closest blend I would compare it to in flavor and cut would be Solani 660 Silver Flake sans the perique. The perique (and the far superior tin) gives the edge to Folded Flake for my money.

Update (06/12/2010): Once it's dried properly it performs so well it deserves a 4 star rating. A real sleeper...highly recommended!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RAV (12)	2020-05-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Very citrusy and grassy Virginias, which surprised me because the tin lists only dark Virginia. No bready notes in taste or room note. Light Perique but noticeable in every puff. Even lighter Kentucky offers some burnt sour and pleasant bitterness but anyone looking for a Kentucky-centric experience, this ain’t that. This is more of a Vaper with a bit of Kentucky. Mild mic hit. Needs a bit of dry time but loses taste if smoked too dry. Nice warm weather smoke. Would purchase again.

Pipe Used: Various briars

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: None I can think of.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AC (19)	2019-04-12		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

With the beautiful tin and presentation, I expected greatness here. I opened the gold foil and the first surprise was that there was no real discernible aroma, only "something" very faint. The flakes are very nice, thin and with perfect humidity. Folding easily, I loaded my pipe and I was ready to experience this tobacco. It lighted easily, few relights really. At first, it was too mild for me to taste anything. It picked up with time, showing off the Virginia and additional components, particularly Kentucky. When it hit the half bowl, the flavors became substantially more pronounced. That was a good thing indeed. Yet, I was hoping for more. However, it did not have what to give. It stayed at that mid-level, rather one dimensional.

Am I being too hard? The problem is that this tobacco's profile is much like G.L. Pease's Triple Play, except the latter is the former elevated to a higher potency in terms of experience, strength and good flavor. The taste in the mouth was not too great either, but acceptable. By the way, no bite.

After having been smoking Triple Play, this seems like an inferior contender of this class and profile. It is nice, simple and without much oomph, but smokable on certain moods. I stay with Triple Play, nevertheless.

Pipe Used: Irish Seconds Billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: www.smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Triple Play.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	beaupipe (102)	2008-12-13		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

McConnell's Folded Flake should be a more enjoyable tobacco than it is. It's pretty to look at in the tin--a golden swirl that would make Rapunzel jealous--and it smells great, too--a sort of hay meets fig meets bruised apple melange.

A VaPer-Bu (which sounds kind of endearing) with a pretty negligible Perique content (at least to this puffer), the blend is dominated by the flavors and aromas of the Virginias. And therein lies the issue. The Virginias in my tin have all the characteristics of leaves that simply need more time to mature. There is a green grassiness to this blend that verges on unpleasant and whatever else the tobacco might have to say is silenced by the whining and wailing and biting of this immature leaf.

I had pretty much the same to say about Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake, I seem to remember. Then again, I found that green characteristic more forgivable in a cheap and cheerful bulk offering. But Folded Flake comes in at top shelf prices which create high expectations.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (568)	2022-10-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Tin note ripe plums, ketchup and vinegar. Tobacco flakes are brown and black and semi dense, cubes nicely and/or rubs out easily. Tobacco needs no drying and burns nicely and slow with average amount of relights. The strength is mild-med and nic is mild-med, both getting stronger toward the end. No flavoring detected. Taste is med, beginning with raisin, bread, lemon, mild sweet grass and pepper and later developing some Foral notes. Virginias led, with perique supporting and Kentucky lounging in the back just hanging out. Room note is non offensive, and aftertaste was good.

Pipe Used: 2015 XX Ashton Sovereign Prince

Age When Smoked: 10 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Badmedicine (51)	2019-04-13		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

For those looking for something a little different in a flake, this may scratch that itch. Not to say it's outlandish ( a la C&D's Mad Fiddler Flake, which I love but others aren't so sure of), but it is different enough to provide some variety for lovers of Escudo and OGS. There is a touch of dark-fired, enough to be noticed without overwhelming the blend. The Perique is a bit anemic for my tastes, which means it will be perfect for most smokers who don't smoke Chenet's Cake as their "Daily". There may be a slight fruity topping, reminiscent in some ways of Peterson's University Flake. Given the choice between the two, I would go with Folded Flake for it's greater complexity. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I bought, but likely won't buy another. That said, I much preferres it rolled and stuffed into a tall, narrow bowl.

Pipe Used: Big Ben Pipo, Peterson 999, Savinelli 320KS

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: S.G Roi Tobacconist (B&M)

Similar Blends: Peterson's University Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	H Gillman (39)	2014-05-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love a good flake. This is definilty a good one. Tin note is nice...fruit, berry, spice. Hand rubbed then gravity fed, it lit very well and stays lit after charring. Top bowl was lightly spiced, faintly sweet and cool. Mid bowl the flavour deepened and the spice was a bit muted. The final bit at the bottom was still quite nice, I sipped from start to finish and I was rather disappointed when I drew the last bit. Not a tobacco for someone wanting loads of fruit and sweetness. A wonderful after dinner smoke.

Pipe Used: Brebbia, Peterson

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Online

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2013-07-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

My tin was more of a somewhat broken flake, but I rather like that. The Kentucky added something of a rough note for me, but added a little (just a little) complexity. The Perique was a little on the light side, but more might have thrown off the balance even more. This is not for those who are looking for a 'refined' smoke, but for those who want a bit of 'fight back' without any bite. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is maybe.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2007-08-31		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I will make no secret of the fact that I love a good va. flake. Add the right amount of good perique, just the right amount, and it really does it for me. Often, blenders just overdo it on the perique, at least in my opinion. Yes, the flavor is good, but it is just to overpowering for me.

Along comes Folded Flake; a va/per with a bit of kentucky thrown in. The kentucky seems to really smooth out the perique, allowing it to come through in full flavor without its characteristic whang. And the va. is nice and naturally sweet.

The presentation in the tin looks a bit of a mess, as these are long flakes folded over, then stuffed into the tin. I've yet to figure out how to actually get a flake from the tin, so just prefer to grab a big pinch direct and stuff it in my pipe. And this stuff is not picky about how you load it. Gravity feed it; stuff it; hell, use a ramrod even. It is a very forgiving tobacco. It also exhibits only minor tendency to bite, but the pepperiness of the perique may fool some into thinking it's a bitey blend.

Folded flake behaves every bit as well as Scottish Cake and Flake. It lights fairly easily, stays lit, and burns well all the way to the bottom of the bowl. You will be dumping gray ashes out of your bowl without ever having to relight but maybe once. Okay, twice if you smoke it in a tall stack or chimney.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (306)	2005-08-18		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

These are nicely prepared flakes ~ 2" wide that have been folded over in order to fit in the rectangular tin. Brown and yellow VAs dominate but there are some darker browns included. The moisture content was OK for me and little condensation developed during the smoke. The tin aroma seemed all natural and inviting. Packing without rubout, lighting and smoking were effortless and resulted in an enjoyable, relaxing smoke. There was also consistency from bowl to bowl regardless of pipe maker or size. I felt the Perique was toned way down and I tasted sweet VAs until near the bottom of the bowls. However, I'll smoke this blend often.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-07-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

The first word that comes to my mind while thinking about this flake is "easy": easy to pack, easy to smoke and easy to undestand, a fine starting point for a travel into the world of flakes. The tobaccos are good, in the tradition of the brand, and play their role in a perfect balance: the Virginias give a nice sweetness, kentucky gives body and keeps the heat to a cool level, perique in little quantity spices it up a bit. I've found an excellent burning throughout the bowl, very little relighting needed, not a wet smoke at all. I'm not a perique blends fan in general, but this is one I might want to smoke again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stan (179)	2004-12-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The name describes the packing, a first. Good old tobacco; no frills but a good body.

A nice natural flake. Similar in composition to Paul Olson's 111 flake, but instead of typical bacon strips it is a single long-wide strip folded over several times into a tin compactly (like Marlin Flake in a can or Long Golden Flake, but more compressed). The extra folding and the aging have allowed the above three tobaccos to meld well.

It brakes apart easy into a thick shag which I just fold into a medium pipe. It burns well and on the quick side for a coolish flake.

It is also similar to P. Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake but the burley added to Folded Flake gives it more heft. The perique is light and hardly noticeable. But the combination of the three tobaccos puts it midway between Navy Flake and 111.

The natural sweetness of the virginia base is ever present but toned down a bit due to apparent brown leaf employed and the burley. The burley also leans it to the cool side -- good. It is, nevertheless, on the spicy side as advertised (not bite) with a little more weight than a straight virginia blend.

The room note is light, sort of hit and run I am told. The flavor is past medium in my opinion, but still not as stout as some brown flakes (G&H) or as 111. So if you like 111, here is a slightly milder variation but still flavorful and somewhat spicy.

It is dry (I used one pipe cleaner). Stays lit well. Not hot. Easy to pack. Interesting complex of natural flavors well blended together. I recommend this for the straight virginia smoker wanting more heft and a little spice but nothing real stout. No scenting here that I can sense. I liked my full tin (about 20 medium bowls worth, more in one Connoisseur pipe than in a Bjarne for comparison with several) and have several more tins in storage.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pope (9)	2023-03-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Stout and sweet, gentle and interesting. This tobacco was recommended to me by a gentleman with Dutch roots at Telford's Pipe and Cigar on the borders of San Francisco. Now, half a year later in my own hometown, I'm starting to truly appreciate his recommendation. The Kentucky gives this otherwise VaPer the added dimension I seem to quite enjoy.

Pipe Used: Mostly the claw meerschaum that is falling apart

Purchased From: Telford's Pipe and Cigar

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nick Prof. (28)	2023-03-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Folded Flake: it offers a mild-in-strength and pleasant experience of high quality blend. Here, from start to end you smoke real tobacco. It is Virginia-forward and I perceive the perique and Kentucky to be only on the background offering a supporting role. It is grassy, mildly woody and earthy with hay and sweet notes, lightly-to-mildly spicy. It can be an all-day smoke. I can smoke it directly from the jar or with very minimum drying time. I break the flakes in rough pieces and after the charring light and 2 first real lights, it stays fairly lit with perhaps some minimum number of relights. It burns very cool with no chance of bite. This is a great blend. 4 out of 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Peterson XL02, 408

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hawky454 (107)	2018-03-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

This one lives in the shadows of it sister blend (Scottish Flake) but I actually prefer this one. The Virginia’s are sweet and the sugars caramelize as you smoke down the bowl the Perique and Dark Fired are just slightly present and add interesting nuances that weave in and out of the smoke that make you stop and go “Mmmmmm”. It’s got just the right amout strength (Medium) for all day puffing. It’s more on the malty, bready spectrum than it is grassy and it’s just a delightful sweet and savory smoke. I’m glad this one goes under the radar as it’s pretty easy to obtain but I always like to play it safe and stash a few away in my cellar and I imagine that age will be kind to this one too. This fits up there into the essential category for me. This one and Latakia Flake are staples in the Robert McConnell lineup for me.

Similar Blends: Robert McConnell - Scottish Flake.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2010-01-21		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Not a bad smoke, but I think there are better VA blends out there that cost less. The scent from the tin was pleasant like dried apricots. Flakes folded on top of one another that require rubbing out before smoking.

Not too much moisture content with my fresh 50 gram tin, and it doesn't need much relighting once started. No problems packing, and it smokes well down to the bottom of the pipe.

The taste is pure, mild VA, with a hint of spice. I expected more of a "spicey" taste, but there's nothing too complex here. I don't plan to buy another tin of this, as I prefer Samuel Gawith's Full Virginia Flake for a fuller, sweeter smoke, but this is a decent smoke if FVF is not available.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2008-09-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A Spicy Flake composed of Virginia, Fired Kentucky and Perique

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2005-08-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I picked up a half dozen tins of this at the Chicago Pipe Show; a good decision. For those who may be looking for a friendly perique blend with excellent, natural tobacco flavor, this may be the one. The texture of the tobacco was a bit stiff or brittle and arrived dry enough for immediate smoking. The flavor is mainly Virginia with just the hint of perique. I did not taste the Kentucky; my guess is that it is there to tame or mellow the Virginias. The tobacco has no bite. It is not a complex smoke, but it delivers a constant, slightly sweetened, Va. tang with just a hint of perique zip. This is a good one, and I will be smoking a lot of it in the future. Well recommended. Paddy.

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-12-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Being a lover of burley, I picked up a tin of this about a month ago. The first thing that I noticed upon opening the tin was the high moisture content noted by pipeco, in his review of the blend. The other thing that I noticed was that the aroma seemed to be dominated by VA, leaving the burley and perique hidden somewhere in the mix. I like to smoke this blend in my Dunhill 4103 w/ bamboo shank. It also smokes well in a miniature bent bulldog by Butz Choquin, that I have. I have found that this blend performs best with at least 30 min drying, and a gratuitous "false light", and thorough tamping prior to smoking. Throughout the first 25% of the bowl, the flavor seems to be over powered by the VA. Initial flavors are typical of a stoved, sweet, VA with a mellow character. The mellowness present is almost certainly due to the burley working its way through the mix as the heat begins to pick up. After the first 25% of the bowl I noticed a consistant flavor of candied apples and caramel that did not diminish until the last 25% of the bowl. As I sat back and enjoyed this blend with a cup of Earl Grey tea, one thing struck me as being odd.... There seemed to be no characteristic spiciness from the perique. Even in small quantities, a blend containing perique will be very obvious but my taste buds just never picked it up. After 5 bowls of this blend I decided to add a pinch of blending perique to a bowl and was met with a very satisfying smoke indeed. All in all the blend is solid, just a little less complex than I prefer.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30194)	2004-11-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

McConnell's Folded Flake comes as 2" wide flakes stacked and folded. A tad too moist for me upon opening so I tore off a portion of 2-3 flakes and let it dry a bit. I then rolled it into a Nording Beaver that loves Va's. The smoke starts out like a middle weight brown Va. Shortly thereafter the burley shows up. It both mellows and flattens the flavors. Said flavors are sweet , ripe va's with a bit of earthiness from the burley. It seems to contain more burley than Orlick's Golden Sliced or G/H's Brown Flake u/s. More along the lines of Esoterica's Stonehaven, without the stoved Va's. If it's topped or cased {I'd guess not] it's with a light neutral agent. The perique shows up just after the burley and is reticent until the second half of the bowl. It adds a certain spice that counteracts the flatness of the burley. The smoke builds slightly in strength and flavor in the second half. I find it less sweet than McConnell's Scottish Cake ,less exotic than their Scottish Flake and more balanced than their Red Virginia [which also contains perique]. I found it enough different from it's siblings to make it worth buying and I've added a couple of tins to my larder. Worth a try.

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