Tobaccos Drew Estate - Gatsby Luxury Flake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2015-10-04		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The flake inside the tin is one long, continuous flake that is folded to fit, and very easily breaks apart. A Virginia and cavendish blend that offers lots of citrus and a couple other fruit flavors along with some grassiness, and a hint of earth and spice. I also get a little honey. Sometimes it's like smoking honey fruit graham crackers. Reminds me of Orlik Golden Sliced in some ways, but this is just a little stronger with less citrus and a dark fruit and earth notes that OGS lacks. Not much nicotine here. The moisture level of the tobacco is perfect out of the tin, requiring no dry time. Burns at a moderate rate with a consistent creamy smooth taste with no weak, harsh or dull spots. Leaves no moisture in the bowl, and can be smoked to ashes. Has a very pleasant room note and after taste. A very comfortable all day uncomplicated smoke that wears well during your smoking day.

-JimInks

17 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Coda (33)	2014-06-23		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I sampled a bit of this blend recently. In the tin, it resembles the 100g tins of OGS: long flakes folded up. The similarity to OGS continued with its appearance, its moisture, and how it loads. Its similar. Even the flavor is similar, but it has a bit more going on. OGS has a more mild flavor compared to Gatsby Luxury Flake. It's much more bold in flavor: shades of fruity, and plenty of roundness. Its character almost reminded me of a Sirrah wine: its flavor is symphonic. There is a lot going on, but it all works in concert. It also reminded me a bit of Dunhill Flake, but again, is a bit more bold. Pretty good on its own (though, with a bit of perique, this blend would be amazing). The only thing I dislike is the name. "Old Sport Flake" would be much more fitting...

Similar Blends: Dunhill Flake, Orlik Golden Sliced.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	canvas (337)	2018-01-08		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

When I heard that Drew Estate flipped the store's sign to close, I was a bit crushed since they make Grand Central, one of my absolute favorite blends. It got me wondering what other tasty treats I potentially will be missing out on, so I decided to grab a lone tin of Gatsby Luxury Flake.

I have had several flakes before, but this was the first time I've tackled one uncut mega strip wedged into a tin. It was a maddening pain to manage. You had to simply pick at the edges for little chunks to rub out. A task made more difficult while outside in the winter cold.

The shredded wheat biscuit inside smelled sweet and sort of reminded me of the briny smell of Miso soup seaweed. It was milder than other Virginia's I had smoked, with less of a "barn/hay" taste, nor did I detect any of the advertised fruit flavor.

It's funny to think the minute differences in taste between similar tobacco blends should even register with many pipe smokers, who likely have unsensitive 'smoked-out' taste buds. So, if taste is being assessed equally, the hassle to pack this stuff, made Gatsby one unluxurious flake. For my money I would stick with Escudo Navy De Luxe for that Virginia itch.

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	samcoffeeman (33)	2014-11-28		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I recently did a Virginia/Cavendish exploration including such blends as this, 1931 flake, MB navy flake and a couple others I can't recall ATM. I found most of them I really didn't enjoy too much. They didn't have the punch I was looking for in Nicotine and the sweetness tasted fake, like log cabin syrup vs real maple syrup or artificial sweeteners. This blend is the only one I really enjoyed. This must have Golden Cavendish as the flakes are uniformly light in color. As mentioned it comes in one long roll that I unrolled and cut into manageable flakes to jar.

This blend must be smoked at an appropriate pace as it can get hot/bitey. When smoked correctly, be ready for one of the sweetest smokes you will have. Nice virginia flavor complements the natural tasting sweetness, and the virginia provides a nice nicotine punch I like. A friend of mine who also enjoys this blend says that the cavendish is "like cheating" when comparing the sweetness of this to other straight Virginia blends.

Just purchased 4 tins for cellaring so in my book, this is a great tobacco for those who like a sweet tobacco and can smoke at the right pace.

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: local B&M

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tantric (321)	2016-02-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A nice Virginia/Cavendish flake in the old tradition. It's very similar to Capstain blue and, to a lesser degree, Orlik Golden Sliced (sans the Pèrique). Mild to medium, it is not as falvorsome as Dunhill flake (less sweet, less fruity), and if pressed too hard it may lead to tongue bite. The flake comes in a long, single strand, easy to break and not too moist. A good Virginia smoke for the early evening, perhaps with a sip of Earl Grey.

Pipe Used: BBB straight Rhodesian.

Age When Smoked: N/A

Purchased From: N/A

Similar Blends: Capstain blue, Orlik Golden Sliced..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BigNick (59)	2015-01-20		Mild	Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This was a very unique blend, in my opinion. The long roll was rather easy to break up into manageable slices easy to rub out. The tin note was sweet and semi-candy like mixed with a touch of that natural Virginia leaf smell. What struck me was the instant flavor after the initial tamp and re-light. Every bowl has this same consistent impact of sweet flavor. Unlike the tin note, the sweet flavor seems fruit like, this works in tandem with the Virginias very well. I think the addition of the cavendish simply intensifies the Virginias. I did not necessarily find it to burn altogether harsh or hot, however; it burned for a good long while. I broke in a new pipe with this blend and it was the right tabac for the job. All in all, I recommend this tobacco.

*Edit: I have since set fire to the rest of the tabac and I am longing for more. When that happens, I must note that this is a tobacco worth keeping around. I gave it three starts initially, I am now adding the last star. I think the unique nature, in terms of my palate, is the draw. Amongst my love of VA/Pers and VA/Burs and Straight VA, this stands alone as completely different. Unlike Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Bullseye Flake or Davidoff's Medallions and many other VA/Cavendish blends, the marriage between the cavendish and Virginias in Gatsby is of a completely different nature. Granted, even though the aforementioned blends contain a touch of perique, I think that all of these blends are designed similarly, and should be bracketed accordingly. However, despite similar properties to other tabacs, it stands alone. Four stars!

Pipe Used: Savinelli Natural, MM Legend

Age When Smoked: 1 Day

Purchased From: David's Gifts and Tobaccos

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bonneville (52)	2014-07-30		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant

Of all the Drew Estate blends, this is the only one that caught my interest. I smoke predominantly Virginia or Virginia based blends, so I thought I'd give this one a try. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised. I heard that most of their blends are rather lackluster so I wasn't expecting much. What I got- a GREAT Danish Virginia flake that I will definitely smoke again. It has a very satisfying creamy sweetness that has surprising depth. If you're a fan of Virginia tobaccos, I highly recommend you give this a try.

==EDIT==

Perhaps I was a little too excited upon first trying this to hold off reviewing until after I had smoked it more. I loved my first bowl, but have yet to replicated the "wow" factor I experienced upon first smoking it.

Downgrade to 3 stars. Still worth exploring but not extraordinary.

Pipe Used: Aldo Velani Filtro

Age When Smoked: unknown

Purchased From: Beehive Cigars, Salt Lake CIty, UT

Similar Blends: Orlik Golden Sliced, PS Luxury Navy Flake.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ring88 (10)	2014-06-20		Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was fast on my first 1/3 of the bowl.. I thought it was rough and had a acid scent in the smoke.. after that it came in to its own and i really started to enjoy it, I got a touch of black tea on the taste at the end. I got two tins ill store one for a while and see how some age effects the taste in a year or so.. not a fav yet but it will do

Pipe Used: E.A. Carey billiard

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2016-09-23		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Strong

Drew Estate - Gatsby Luxury Flake.

Just like Orlik Golden Sliced, the presentation is one long flake coiled up. When I take the tobacco out of the tin there's only the tiniest amount of oil/juice on the paper; the moisture's great. So, if you choose to crumble your flake (as I do), a fine consistency can be achieved easily. Getting a bowl of Gatsby ignited is simple, and it burns steadily right from word go.

I like the taste, but I find it relatively simple. I don't get much fruit/citrus; maybe a very slight citrus edge but nothing more than that. The main flavour's a quality Cavendish one: Virginia and honey. For the nicotine I'll go with the majority of reviewers: mild to medium. Although the burn's even, it's too warm, making the pipe uncomfortable to hold, and burning my tongue! The aroma from the room-note's nice, but it makes too much smoke; it's unbearable for other people. I'll finish on a positive: due to the heat, when it comes to emptying the pipe out there's only pure ash in the bowl; everything's been incinerated!

This isn't the worst blend, the taste is O.K, but on the whole it's a bit of a disappointment.

Somewhat recommended.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Pipe Of Year 2016

Age When Smoked: Three months

Purchased From: Smokingpipes'com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TigerSoul (5)	2016-08-03		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I do believe this is my current favorite Virginia. I enjoy everything about this surprisingly flavorful blend... from the flake cut to the moistness level and the subtle creamy (almost vanilla?) taste. It is also easy to smoke, much more so than Orlik Golden, which I found to run rather hot only halfway through the bowl. Lovely accompaniment to my 'regular rotation' of English blends, Gatsby is a keeper. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Butz-Choquin Montmarte (rusticated)

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the tin

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars, Pennsylvania

Similar Blends: MacBaren Virginia No. 1.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Old German puffer (106)	2015-08-26		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Drew estates can always be counted on to give a daily smoke tobacco. This upon opening held a very light smell. Rolling into a pipe was easy. First light came rather slow and sputtered to death. Took three matches to light. Tamp down and smoked. Again it produced a very light smoke with bland taste. Nothing jumps out here at all. Reminded me of eating apple. A lot of work but not much flavor. Became slightly sweeter half way down but quickly died a death of 1000 knives. I will jar the tin but it was a bust for flavor or enjoyment. Just bland tobacco.

Pipe Used: Comoy

Age When Smoked: fresh tin

Purchased From: JR'S Cigar Outlet

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	arpie55 (77)	2014-12-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I would call this "just okay", nothing exceptional by any stretch. It is a very light colored "bright" virginia with just traces of dark ( the cavendish? ). It also starts better than it finishes, my bowls are usually interrupted requiring Relights which brought out an ashieness for a couple of puffs. Will likely finish the tin but not buy again.

Pipe Used: Savinelli, Peterson, Ascorti

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Edwards Lakeland Fl

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	OkieSmokie (20)	2018-02-26		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This was my first foray into a flake tobacco. I was familiar with Drew Estate because they make several of my go to cigars. The flake is long ribbons, folded over that rub out nicely. The tin note has hints of licorice and fruit that play quite nicely off each other. It lights very easily and the smoke is thick and fragrant. The mouth feel is quite nice and you get a wonderful mix of the sweet virginia, cavendish, fruit and licorice in the draw. The room note is pleasant with the tobaccos in the front with subtle hints of fruit. It pairs quite nicely with morning coffee and a cool drink in the evening.

Pipe Used: Bent Apple

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	S8ntsfan (21)	2018-01-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

One of the things I try not to do is compare tobaccos as in most cases tobaccos are not made to be a "copy of" despite the ingredients. With that being said, this is a a nice Virginia based flake. Opening the tin and taking a whiff, it has a really good aroma and the right moisture content for my preference. I tried it both ways (folded and rubbed) and prefer the rubbed version. Easy to ignite, and first taste is smooth, buttery and creamy. Just a little bite, but nothing major. The more I get into it, the flavors really come out. I consider this to be a medium-bodied tobacco, that is really satisfying. The room note is nice and inviting. When I smoked it in my cob, I noticed it added a lot more sweetness than in my Briars. It stands on it's own merits and is a constant in my flake rotation.

Pipe Used: Calabresi, Neerup, MM Cob

Age When Smoked: 3 and half years

Purchased From: pipesandcigars.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Max1a (38)	2017-10-26		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bland. Nice to look at. Needs age. Putting this one away for awhile. I will return to give this a fair and thorough review. Check back, Cheers!

Pipe Used: Cob and a medium briar Billiard

Age When Smoked: New to 6 months

Purchased From: Cigars international

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	John Handlr (2)	2017-07-18		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I didn't like this blend at first. After a long day, I sat down to a pipe of this with a glass of scotch. Big mistake. It was way too mild and smoked very hot. So I put this tin away for almost a year. Today on a whim I decided to give it another try at lunch. I let a couple pinches dry out for several hours, and what I got knocked my socks off. Still a very delicate flavor, though by no means as mild as some I've smoked, but it was absolutely wonderful for a light afternoon smoke. Lots of Virginia sweetness, and the room note alone is addictive. It's very easy on the nicotine. It would be a great all-day smoke. Turns out this is great stuff, I just didn't know how to appreciate it. Lesson learned.

Pipe Used: Spitfire

Purchased From: Pipes and Tobacco dot com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PhantomWolf (41)	2017-04-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was recently gifted a tin by my local tobacconist. After smoking my first pipe-full, I felt compelled to read reviews for this blend, as I picked up a distinct and foul note in the aroma. While burning, the smoke directly from the bowl had a very pronounced ammonia-like smell that burns my nasal passage not unlike a good dose of horseradish. It quickly dissipates when mixed with the air though and the overall room note is enjoyable enough. Somewhere between late autumn and vanilla sugar cookies. I was just so curious about this ammonia smell though. Is this a common occurrence? It is for sure the first time I have experienced this and though I am relatively new to pipe smoking (coming up on a year) I have smoked my way through a considerable variety whilst searching for my favourite blends. This particular Virginia may not make said list for me, but I will certainly smoke this tin and consider getting another to see how it is with age. This tobacco is bright and mildly sweet to me and overall, I'd recommend it to fans of similar blends. It burned slow and even, leaving a nice white ash and only the smallest hint of moisture. I only had to re-light my bowl once. Sweet and light, I believe this certainly qualifies as an 'all-day smoke'

Pipe Used: Bjarne Viking Skagen, Virgin Acorn-Bent

Age When Smoked: Previously opened tin

Purchased From: Allegheny Smokeworks Pittsburgh, PA

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillBrown (137)	2015-07-07		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I always look forward to smoking flakes, I love'em. They are simply my favorite type of pipe baccy. For some reason I was expecting something different with this one, but, lo! what I got instead was a flake that I've already smoked before.

This is not a bad thing. I'll explain. When I opened this baby up, I thought, hey, this is Solani Silver Flake. Looked much the same, smelled much the same, and it smoked much the same. In fact, I felt Gatsby was so close to SSF that I pulled out my tin of Solani and fired up a bowl along with the Gatsby. I was hard pressed to tell the difference. Now, why isn't this a bad thing? SSF cost twice as much (or more) than Gatsby. For someone on a budget, you can pretty much get the same blend for half the cost. That's why this flake is of interest.

I really like SSF, and, honestly, Gatsby's right there with that one, so, I heartily recommend Gatsby Flake, especially for someone who's on a budget. I'll give this one a strong 3 three stars (3.75).

Good Flake!

Keep on Piping!

Pipe Used: Nording freehand

Similar Blends: Solani SIlver Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2014-11-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Long, folded flakes ~ to Reiner's GF in appearance with mostly yellow and some darker brown sections. Even though the tin was vacuum sealed when received, the tobacco was much drier than my preference. Smoked cool and without bite or condensation. I found the taste relatively flat but that may be due to the absence of any Perique. A typical Cavendish taste that I won't try again.

Pipe Used: jobey; comoy

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: pipesand cigars.com

Similar Blends: orlick golden sliced; old Amphora green.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (401)	2021-04-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

I stopped by the Club the other day and a fellow friend/club member, let’s call him “Big L” had this tin that was dated December, 2014. Apparently, Drew Estate is out of the pipe tobacco business as their eight blends are no longer in production. When this happened, I have no idea. I smoked two nice size bowls of this in my claw Meerschaum and found it to be a mild, smooth, low nicotine smoke with a faint topping of berries, at least that is what was described by the other pipe club members who also tried this blend. The description says fruit/citrus, we will let it go at that. Not a bad smoke, is it one that I would search out, no but if you can find a tin of this or two, at a reasonable price you should give it a try. Thanks again, “Big L”.

Pipe Used: Claw Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 7 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rustedrailsmokes (293)	2018-09-07		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I received a jar of GLF along with a bunch of other tobaccos that I hadn't tried in a recent bulk purchase.

No date on the jar but I knew it was out of production.

The appearance is similar to Capstan or Orlik Golden Slice but I found that it doesn't seem to have the same burn characteristics or taste. Maybe it was the fruit topping or the cavendish.

lit easily with no relights required. Had to go slow to keep it from steaming my tongue.

There are enough better similar flakes out there, that I won't be sorry this one is off the market.

Pipe Used: Morgan Blackjack Poker

Age When Smoked: unknown

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KrzysD (24)	2018-02-22		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I enjoyed this blend . It’s got a litter sweetness to it, and a nice mellow flavor . burns ok whith out the need for exesive relights, don’t remember any bite

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (318)	2018-02-03		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The particular tin I was gifted with was on the very dry side of smokable (i.e. it didn't quite need rehydration); perhaps that's why the fruit & sweetness noted by many other reviewers were very muted. The tobacco flakes shredded at the slightest touch, and burned on the fast side, although not to the point of unpleasantness. Despite the above caveats, the resulting smoke, if a bit on the generic side, was a moderate, mellow, and pleasant VA. 2 1/2 stars, bumped to 3 considering the tin condition

Pipe Used: briars, cobs, and meers

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BriarWoody (33)	2017-02-08		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

As reported, this consists of one long, folded flake in the tin. It's easy to break apart and load, and arrives at the perfect moisture level. Just pack and light, and you're on your way.

It is similar to Golden Sliced but is a bit heavier and richer. The Virginias are tart and tangy, delivering all the juicy sweet/sour notes that I love. The topping is very light -- dried fruit and citrus -- and never overpowering, artificial or bitter. It enhances the core tobacco.

It burns cool and sweet and is very easygoing and forgiving in the bowl. I've smoked this in a variety of pipes and it's consistently excellent each time. This is a real treat for the Virginia lover. Not an aromatic. It's the real deal, and Drew really hit it out of the park with this one. I was pleasantly surprised.

Highly underrated.

Pipe Used: Castello KKK, Caminetto, Peterson 69

Age When Smoked: Fresh Tin - Delicious!

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SiChange (45)	2016-11-15		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This is a very tasty, rather sweet flake composed of high quality brightleaf, mostly lemon and orange grades, and some golden Cavendish to which a mild and harmonious berry flavoring has been added. The flavor profile is not exactly duplicated elsewhere, in my experience. Like F&T Cut Virginia Plug with some berry. Very smooth and surprisingly biteless for a sweet smoke. I don’t find I need to rein in my tendency to puff fairly hard. This is now my go to flake when not in the mood for one of the darker McClelland flakes.This blend has been discontinued and is on sale as of 2017 at very low prices at some online merchants. I have stocked up to cellar many years supply. I think the Drew folk gave some pretty demanding manufacturing specs for their line, a pity it is gone. Ed: Feb 2022. My stock is gone, a pity.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: pipesandcigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-09-14		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is another great mild Virginia blend that came in my tin as a long roll of blondish tobacco. The tin description states it has Virginia and Cavendish which i don't doubt due to the inherent sweetness. The tin note is delicious and made me salivate on the drive home, people must have thought i was on drugs since i had my shnoz firmly implanted in the tin! Beautiful to look at, very classy and with a pretty label (OK i'm sold!) I agree GLF is very similar to OGS and is one of the best of this genre, sweet hay notes, a little oatey, not bite if sipped and quite tasty! Drew Estates produces some fine cigars and pipe tobacco and this is at the top. 4 stars for quality, presentation and being very affordable. 3 stars for me bc i prefer other Virginia Flakes over this one but would without a doubt recommend it!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Clinthulhu (8)	2015-10-22		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

I really had no preconceived notions when I purchased this tin. I wasn't expecting anything other than a quality smoke and by itself I think that Gatsby is just that, a quality tobacco blend. It has a sweet fruity flavor that is present but not overpowering or fake tasting. I made the mistake of smoking my first bowl in a pipe I normally reserve for aromatic blends and the subtle flavor of the tobacco was lost by the ghosts of tobaccos past. My second (and subsequent) bowls after that however were in a fresh restored estate pipe and to my surprise and delight the more subtle flavors came out to play almost immediately. I don't know if I would considered GLF an "all day smoke" for myself but I could see how some might enjoy it on a more regular basis. Personally I view it as an excellent dessert smoke. Some tobaccos are more enjoyable when paired with a drink... GLF in my opinion is one that is best enjoyed when paired with a port wine. I found Sandeman Fine Ruby Port to be the most tasty and it complimented the fruit flavor while maintaining the creamy texture of the tobacco itself.

The only reason I gave this 3 stars instead of 4 is because (for me) it is more of a once in awhile smoke as opposed to something I could smoke all day every day and never get tired of it. I reserve Gatsby Luxury Flake as a treat rather than a constant companion.

Pipe Used: Estate Briar

Age When Smoked: 1-6 months

Purchased From: The Havana House West, Bath Ohio

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Coffeewaterbeer (6)	2015-02-04		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

First review here. On cracking couple month old tin (DE should put date stickers on the tins) the aroma was fig and something I couldn't quite put my finger on, something near a fruit juice but not forward and obvious. Aesthetically, the flakes were a gorgeous 8-9 inch long golden hued baccy. Not overly moist but enough to be very pliable without breaking the flake. On lighting, I got the VA grassiness and thick honey like sweetness. This is not an aromatic, but the honey was hard to ignore. Not an entirely bad thing. I sipped it relatively slow but did get more bite than I'm accustomed to. This could be the moisture being more present than most of my jarred stock . I may be returning to add to this as the tin nears it's end. Not at all bad but there are many others I would be eager to cellar.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320ks

Age When Smoked: couple months?

Purchased From: gifted

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	From Etten (22)	2014-10-01		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

10-Pleasure, satisfaction; 10-Top note, slip stream aroma, sipping the embers; 10-Delivery, balance, flavor profile; 10-Blend composition, quality; 9-Pack, relight, room note. A quality blend that delivers a consistent, honest smoke - roasty in nature. Solid 4 star.

Pipe Used: Tsuge, Cob, Hilson

Age When Smoked: pouch fresh

Purchased From: Pipes & Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	King Weed (228)	2021-03-27		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Drew Estate pipe blends rarely showed up in my assimilations of other smokers tobacco collections, so, I bought some of each blend for my stash in the year they went out of business. Whatever year that was, that's their age. I opened this tin of Gatsby Luxury Flake to thin down some stronger blends I was working with and it worked satisfactorily. Now, on to smoking the blend itself. On opening I discovered what other reviewers had said about it's resemblance to Orlik Golden Sliced. The flakes were a golden hue with slight light and dark undulations and dotted with canary yellow spots. To my experience it resembles a whole host of Virginia Flakes rather than just one or two. The sniff test immediately separated it from most of the blends we are all talking about as they contain Perique. Gatsby Luxury Flake is a simpler form of Virginia Flake and smokes in a narrower range than many of the blends we are all smoking. Comparing it to English or aromatic blends just won't work. Here the Virginia is the main player with the cavendish attempting to pull the aroma slightly lower on the scale. In this blend it works, but, only to a point. I found smoking Gatsby to be satisfying at times with a rich Virginia flavor and at other times, somewhat flat and thin. I liked it, but, always wanted more. I am in total agreement with reviewer Bonneville 2014-07-30 in his assessment that Gatsby Luxury Flake is worth experiencing but is not exceptional and I recommend it at three stars.

Pipe Used: Michael Parks Stack Canadian 2007

Age When Smoked: unknown, but at least 1 yr old

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Well, the only Virginia with cavendish formula I can find in my stash is James Fox Provost Mixture. Its been a long time since I've smoked Provost Mixture and I have a couple of tins stashed away and will open one in the near future..

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