July 2019 - BOM - St. Bruno Flake

OK. So I'm sitting in the back garden with a pipe of St Bruno flake. Here are my thoughts.

On opening the packet I notice the flakes are thinner than other flakes. Moisture content is just right and after a quick whizz in the coffee grinder, it packs well. I could swear I smell some lakeland essence in this.

The smoking experience is really good. My first ever pipe was st Bruno ready rubbed and I didn't enjoy it, but then again, I hadn't a clue what I was doing. This is a real treat.

I can taste some grassy notes and also the lakeland, which doesn't dominate but is there in the background. Looking up tobacco reviews, it's classed as an aromatic. This came as a surprise to me. If it is, it's certainly a subtle one.

This is a flake I'd be happy to revisit. It's a nice all-rounder that burns well and smoke great.

Good choice.

Edit: I seem to be getting a bit of tongue bite with this. I remember getting tongue bite with my first few pipes of the ready rubbed, but I put that down to inexperience. Perhaps body chemistry was playing a role too.

You might be right. I haven't had the same reaction to cater Hall though. Maybe it was a day when I wasn't concentrating.

St. Bruno Flake

This is a medium smoke for me. I smoked it on an empty stomach while watching the Yankee game. The tin I opened had two years age on it.

It had a sweet grass smell when I opened the tin with the flakes nicely laid out. I dried it a bit before smoking.

I would describe it as having a sweet flower taste. Not like a Lakeland. In a Lakeland I usually get a strong soapy/perfume taste. I am not a Lakeland fan. But I wouldn’t consider this a Lakeland like so many Gawith Hoggarth & Co. blends.

In my first bowl I got a real strong fruit taste for a while but lost it fairly quick and never found it again. Burley blends tend to rough up my mouth a little and this one did as well. I have to sip this blend slow or it will bite. My normal cadence is fairly fast so that is a change for me. It has a background taste that reminds me of Gallagher’s Condor Plug but not near as strong.

I wouldn’t put it in my top tobacco list but I like this blend and will cellar some tins and let them age.

I had another bowl yesterday. It's really good stuff.

I find this a great blend and stays true right to the end. It has a very light floral note that if one is curious about a lakeland blend, this could be one to try as a micro step in that direction. Its not the same but a hint at what one can expect. I personaly am not sure how much I enjoy any lakelands but St. Bruno is a hit to me. But again, its not really a lakeland, more like a ghost of one.

With that said, what floral notes are there, wont ghost a pipe. Maybe if you smoked only St. Bruno in one pipe for a while might it do so or if one is really sensitive. For me, there is no issue.

Along with the floral notes which again is ever so light, there's also a nice grass, hay, citrus and dark fruit notes as well. All are very natural in their smell and taste and for me, they all play well together.


I have both the flake and ready rub and for my taste they're not that much different from each other. There is a difference but it's ever so slight and the ready rub is $4 to $5 cheaper. Still, I plan to stock up on both with the ready rub a bit more so.

I've enjoyed maybe 3 or 4 bowls of this now. I am really enjoying it. I get a bit of the floral but the Virginias are quite tasty. It was especially delightful sitting outside yesterday on a beautiful Sunday.

I found the “sauce” in the ready rubbed to be overbearing.

Of course, I may be biased — joint pain makes the ready rubbed harder to pack, so perhaps I fouled it up.

I much prefer the flake.