Post by atison on Mar 6, 2019 9:43:12 GMT -5
I have been going mad this morning as I came in to append what I thought was my initial review on here about Flake Medallions but can't for the life of me find it. I am thinking maybe I wrote it on one of those other sites before settling on this fine upstanding group of folks to learn and share with. If it turns out this is a duplicate, my apologies.
Davidoff Flake Medallions was in one of my big orders in my quest to branch out more in the world of fine blends (was stuck on 1Q for a long time, not that there is anything wrong with that). I happen to try this blend around the same time I gave SG Full Virginia Flake and we all know how the first go around goes with that stuff. I wound up rubbing out a handful of coins and throwing that into a bag that I dipped into here or there. Needless to say FMs never really rose to the level of "nervous when running low for me" even though it was good. It was a little light on flavor and a tad on the harsh side.
Until today when I balled up 2 coins and stuffed them.
I have been hell bent to revisit this blend. Everything about it speaks to me. The beautiful coins. The promise of figgy goodness with mellowing Cavendish. The foundation of sweet virginia without heavy topping (I don't knock toppings but sometimes I want the tobacco to be providing most of the flavors). The fact that you can buy it much cheaper by just picking up Luxury Bullseye Flake and aging it a bit (from what I have read).
Last night I grabbed a stack of coins and threw them in my leather stanwell pouch and left it sitting open for a few hours. Before bed I rolled it shut to grab for my morning commute. In the morning, I grabbed one coin and folded it then kind of rolled it into a loose ball and lightly stuffed it in the bottom of my MM cob. I then took a second coin and did the same stuffing with a bit more force. Hit it with the lighter for a few charring lights, after which it swelled up nicely, then tamped it down and gave it a good final light.
Right off the bat there were significant differences from my experience before with it fully rubbed out. Contrary to what I expected, relights were extremely minimal. Maybe 2-3 relights in the hour I spent smoking it. Also, the blast of flavor right off the bat was outstanding. When I rubbed it out fully it took a while for the flavors to really develop. Also contrary to what I expected, it was a lot smoother of a smoke. I would think rubbing out to a consistency throughout would provide smoother results especially with even distribution of the cavendish, but I was mistaken.
Flavor wise, I was in heaven. Naturally sweet throughout. Brown sugar type sweet but not like in a cookie. More like the brown sugar crust you pick off of a honey baked ham. The level of sweetness was spot on too. Not a "cure for a sweet tooth" sweetness, but a complimentary sweetness that just worked with all the other flavors.
And the other flavors...oh my. I just had some fantastic Thai food a week ago and the figgy/plum/peppery notes in FM instantly reminded me of the spicy plum sauce you get at a good Thai place. Deep dark fruit with a touch of pepper. Retrohale's were also surprisingly more smooth vs the fully rubbed experience which baffled me. A tiny tingle on the sinuses and the tongue from the perique but nothing harsh or overbearing and it always sits behind the full flavors. After about 20 minutes I started getting a great leather/earthy flavor that came on but not at the detriment of the fig/plum. It complimented all the other flavors so well and kind of deepened everything.
It just so happened that I had only 25 minutes on my audiobook when I arrived at work and I was giddy with delight for an excuse to sit and savor every bit of this bowl (not that I needed one at that time).
Afterwords, the beard note did not linger which was a bit of a disappoint as I already miss the flavors. That was the only thing this stuff is missing.
I will be running, not walking, to go get some Luxury Bulleye Flake and get it jarred ASAP because if it is true that I can get these flavors for the price of LBF and a little aging then my cellar is about to swell considerably. I am also going to have a go at some LBF fresh to see how it compares. I hear it is edgier but that people like that edge to it vs FM.
Until then, I am not sure how long the 2 tins of FM I have will last and I will be picking up every tin of it I can on deal.
This one has shot right up passed the level of "nervous when getting low" right to "This will be measured in pounds".
