FVF bulk or tinned?

[SouthernPiper]

SP has FVF in bulk, which I had never heard of until I googled it (not bulk, I know what that is, I was trying to see if I can find any FVF online).

Is there any difference between the bulk and tinned versions? Also, is there a "second best" to SG's FVF? I was lucky enough to have a good guy send me a sample last year, but I was too inexperienced with flakes to get anything out of it. But I have since discovered one thing..

It makes men smile, women squeal, and babies cry... why is this stuff so magical that as soon as america gets an order of it, everyone fights for it like the last gallon of milk before a snowstorm in the south.

"heads up, sg fvf is in stock at.... oh wait, nevermind, they just sold out"..

it seems like this stuff is on the same level of unicorn tears and chuck norris jokes!!

 

[onabullit]

I think Dunhill Flake is kind of like a more technically manufactured Full Virginia Flake. GLP Union Square makes for one hell of a straight VA flake. And while the virginias used are much brighter and not nearly as good in quality IMO, Orlik Golden Slices makes for a bargain substitute. Of course all of the above, like FVF are much better with a few years of age on em.

 

[old_salt]

I'd give Union Square a second vote, it's really good but give it at least a year in the tin
before smoking. another one to try is Rattray's marlin Flake

 

[shootist51]

Before the frought, SGFVF had become my everyday smoke. Since the drought, I have been saving my FVF, which is great as it serves to add cellar time, and exploring other options. Some of the blends that I have particularly enjoyed, that are readily available are:
GL Pease Montgomery
GL Pease Laurel Hieghts
McClelland #22
McClelland #25
Peter Stokkebye Cube Cut
McClelland 5100
Orlik Golden Slices
Rattrays Old Gowrie

These are just a few that were already in my cellar and many are available in bulk as well as tins. I have noted little or no difference in the flavor of those that are available in tin and bulk.

Frankly the drought has been a good experience for me as it has forced me to explore many of the fine blends that are still available. Of course, I am lucky enough to still have a supply of the blends affected, but can honestly say that, though I look forward to the day that they become common again, I'm getting along just fine with what is out there.

 

[Natch]

I like SouthernPipers quote: "everyone fights for it like the last gallon of milk before a snowstorm in the south. " Having moved from a snow belt in the Great Lakes to Arkansas a couple decades ago, we were amazed at the panic that sets in when three flakes fall from the sky. People who had never eaten an omelet in their lives were buying up 8 dozen eggs; bread and milk went too (and with the ice storms we do get down here, the electricity is probably going to be out for a while, so why fill up the fridge now?).

But we were most amazed at the panic-lines at Wally World; carts filled with 100 roll boxes of toilet paper!?! We surmised that the rapid cooling spell associated with a snow or ice event might cause mass-diarrhea? Or perhaps if stuck in a snow drift, you could carefully roll out the toilet paper under your tires for traction?

Oh, back on topic, I've smoked a fair amount of FVF bulk and a few tins as well, seemed identical to me.

Natch

 

[Anonymous]

Q : FVF bulk or tinned?

A : Yes !!! :cheers:

:face:

 

[Brewdude]

Had both bulk and tinned FVF. Frankly I can't see any difference.

FWIW

 

[SouthernPiper]

Natch, I live in Alabama, so I know what its like. I don't understand WHY we panic for milk and bread.

So, stock up on the bulk FVF while I can?

 

[onabullit]

I like the bulk better because the flakes are longer and uniformly sized. Makes it easier to guesstimate how much I'll need to fold/rub out. Also less shake overall, way better value most of the time

 

[JT]

FVF has been my everyday smoke for about 6 years and my experience has been that the tinned product tends to be much richer than bulk, especially as it ages. A tin of FVF with 5 years under it's belt is a much different smoke than bulk of the same age. But at about half the price of tins, bulk was a much better bargain and close enough in taste to make it worth buying several cases of Mason jars.

Prior to the drought, FVF bulk could be purchased for about 30.00 per lb., and an equivalent amount in tins was about twice as much. When SG came out with the foil 1/2 lb. bags, the cost was about 40.00 per lb. and I considered that such a great bargain that I began to buy it in equal quantities to bulk purchases. As new stock of FVF has begun to trickle in, bulk prices have almost doubled. So unless tin prices also skyrocket, bulk won't be nearly the bargain it was prior to the drought.

My personal search for a rival to FVF has met with varying levels of disappointment, from the tobacco-flavored products masquerading as Virginia flakes to the fish-food-looking concoctions. The only other 4-star Virginia tobaccos that I've found are Escudo, Sam Gawith's St James Flake and Kendall Plug, and I'd give 3 1/2 stars to GawHogg's Louisiana Perique Flake and C&D's Bayou Morning.

Best of luck to you in your search, but I expect a ready supply of FVF will be available before you find a tobacco of equivalent quality and flavor. irat:

 

[Anonymous]

Your Piratical Excellency :

All VaPers (?) (!)

Tried Wessex Brigade Campaign ?

McClelland's Dominican Glory Maduro lives in that dark, deep end too.

:face:

 

[JT]

All VaPers (?) (!)

Yeah, I thought about it as I was typing it and I can't explain it, except perique seems to take the edge off tobaccos that I probably wouldn't care for otherwise. I haven't tried the Wessex Brigade Campaign or McClelland's Dominican Glory Maduro, so I'll defer to your obviously favorable experience with those offerings.

In all honesty, I was surprised to find that I liked the LP from GawHogg as it was the "pepperiest" of any VaPer I've ever tasted. I mean, it could have simply been the batch that I happened to acquire, but I've never really had the peppery bite on my tongue like LP did, and I just couldn't stop smoking the stuff. Kind of a weird experience, really, but I'm going to buy another lb. of it just to see if it's consistently that good, or if perhaps it was simply a matter of the stars being aligned perfectly.

 

[Anonymous]

Both were good enough to make do with whenever I came back and found BSVa10 extinct (SOB !). The Wessex is nice stuff indeed -- very full and (pardon the expression) bottom-endy but a point came where, after going through five pounds of it (kept putting the empties on a shelf) it started being way too chockolatey- sweet. Which may have been a subsequent recepie tweak, or may have been getting better-aged tins.

I recall :king: di tutti :king: :king: :king: opening his first tin and mailing the whole stash of it he'd gotten to Huggie without even smoking any because of that.

The Dominican Glory Maduro was similarly well-rounded and shapely (once you got past the Eau de Hunt's Catsup) but hit a just-slightly-too-sweet wall around the one-pound mark.

FVF retired them both (of course) but, seeing as your starter's out hurt, those are free-agent calls you could make that might pan out for you.

re. Perique (from the Russ Ouelette interview in another thread)

Perique to me is probably the biggest chameleon. You use it in one blend and it makes the blend sweet. You use it in another blend and it makes it spicy. Combine it with other things and it takes on a completely different flavor profile. It’s really an interesting tobacco to work with because sometimes you think you have an idea of what the end product is going to be like and you put it together and try it and it’s completely different than what you thought.

Some blends we use St. James, some blends we use the Acadian Perique. It’s going to depend on the tobacco. If I’m using a base tobacco that’s got a rather intense flavor to it, then I’m going to have to use the St. James Perique to stand up to it. If I’m using the lighter base tobaccos like a Carolina, white Burley, or a yellow Virginia then I’ll probably use Acadian Perique because I don’t want the Perique to overwhelm the blend.

Sometimes I’ll make a batch with one and then I’ll make another batch with the other and after trying them, determine that what I originally thought didn’t work as well. With Perique, it really is a matter of experimentation because you really can not tell for sure until you’re smoking it what the end result is going to taste like.

Cheers & Regards

:face:

 

[JT]

FVF retired them both (of course) but, seeing as your starter's out hurt, those are free-agent calls you could make that might pan out for you.

With sincerest apologies to SouthernPiper for derailing his thread:

At the risk of admitting a culpable hand in the FVF shortage, I have more stashed away than I have years left to enjoy it. I still have four cases of Mason jars full of it in various stages of maturity, twenty-four 1/2 lb. bags, and about 30 tins from 1 year to 10 years old, and I was fortunate enough to make a 6 lb. purchase a couple of weeks ago.

BTW: if McClelland were the only available source for pipe tobacco, I'd go back to smoking cigarettes.

All the best,
irat:

 

[Anonymous]

[Warning : Stupid Question Alert]

So why smoke the other stuff at all ?

:face:

 

[JT]

As much as I love FVF, I still enjoy the thrill of an occasional tryst, you know. And to tell you the truth, I was beginning to have some concerns about FVF ever being available again, so recently I've been doing some sampling of other Virginia tobaccos just in case FVF (as we previously knew it, anyway) ceased to exist. As an occasional victim of PAD and TAD, and being mildly afflicted with the hoarding instinct, I also suffer an irrational compulsion to ration my stash in case the Commies overwhelm us and we're all forced to smoke government-issued tobaccos, like McClellands.

In other words, I'm not sure I really know why I behave the way I do. irat:

 

[Diesel]

Sammy G's FVF.....Oh yeah!

Sammy G's Best Brown....Ohhh YEAH!!!

Orlick Golden Sliced........ :farao: ....only shrewd Judges!