Manufacturer Description:
A Flake of the top class, created exclusively on the basis of various Virginia varieties. This specialty convinces with a delicate spiciness, soft taste and the delicate, typical natural sweetness.
Characterisation:
Wrapped in paper, the Flakes of the Erik's Reserve lie in two accurate stacks in the round tin. The Flakes are just as clean. Predominant is a medium brown color, which is lighter and darker marbled and shows many pale yellow, small inclusions. The scent is sweetish, reminiscent of hay and fresh bread, with a very slight smell of smoke in the background, which is very interesting. Although the Flakes are elastic, they actually do not seem too moist. As pressed tobaccos often have residual moisture, so you should let the Erik's Reserve at least briefly pre-dry before you plug it.
Plugging:
The Erik's Reserve is elastic enough to be taken straight out of the tin without problems. The individual Flakes can then be "processed" at will. Whether you grate them into a Ready Rubbed mixture, tear them to pieces, shape them into loose balls, or bring them into the pipe in a classic, bend and folded way, is up to your own preference and imagination. Only too tight or too full you should not fill the pipe, as Flakes need space to expand. Also, you should give some loose tobacco crumbs on top of the filling, as this will better accept the flame.
Light up:
As usual, with Flakes, after the first flame, you should go smoothly over the surface with the tamper, in order to ignite the prepared ember bed very carefully.
Smoking properties:
If you believe the manufacturer's description, then the Erik's Reserve is surprisingly strong. At first, spicy and smoky notes, which combine with the intense aroma of toasted bread, dominate in the lush smoke. But since it is advisable to smoke the Erik's Reserve as pure virginia, cool so that it does not gargle or tingle on the tongue, one quickly realizes that the Flake, gently "sipped" reveals a fine and extremely pleasant dry fruit sweetness. From time to time it may be necessary to press the embers with the tamper on the tobacco, but otherwise the Erik's Reserve is easy to smoke and burns down slowly thanks to its nature as a Flake. Since only a little light, fine ash, some unburned crumbs and only a little condensate are left behind, the cleaning is also very simple.
Redolency:
The smoke of the Erik's Reserve is for tobacco through the absence of artificial flavors, so it depends on the tolerance of the respective society, whether it accepts the smoker.
Conclusion:
The Erik's Reserve is a meticulously crafted Flake of medium brown color with a beautiful marbling and an unusual smoky bread fragrance. For aficionados of Flakes it is easy to give into the pipe and to smoke, but also for not completely untalented beginners, it is easy to handle. However, it is spicier and more powerful than the manufacturer promises and requires a controlled smoking behavior. Then the Erik's Reserve reveals the fine sweetness of dried fruit in addition to luscious toasted bread and strong tobacco spice. So the Erik's Reserve shows as a Flake for lovers of natural Virginia, who wants to be consciously enjoyed, for example, after a good meal, a long walk in the fresh air or the end of the day.
Copyright © 2019 by TECON GmbH
with friendly support of Dennis Hübel
