Newminster No. 400 Superior Navy Flake is a solid, easy-smoking all-Virginia flake with the characteristic citrus and hay flavors that one would expect from a quality pressed Virginia. It's pleasant and enjoyable right now, and should age very well.
Upon opening my 'bag', I was immersed in a sweet, pleasurable scent of fruit and freshly baled hay. The fruit note seems to be pineapple. The flake is large and easily worked, due to its healthy moisture content. The flavor is delightful, sweet, VA tobacco. One of my favorite tin notes, but it does diminish over time.
I've been smoking a pipe for several years, and I've tried a lot ... and I mean 'A LOT' of flake from not only P&C, but other vendors as well. As of yet, I still haven't found that semi-perfect flake, and I'm still looking, but this flake is some of the most economical and tasty I've come across in months. I will keep some of this in my cellar for the time being, and see what it tastes like in a few months.
This is a great tobacco at a GREAT price. It smokes like a dream now and should be remarkable in 5 plus years. At this price you should consider buying several pounds. You will not be disappointed.
This "discount" Virginia flake tastes every bit as good as the premium tinned Virginias available. Very smooth with just the right amount of natural sweetness. I plan on aging some to see if it gets even better. You can smoke this all day everyday without a problem. Just fold stuff and light. What a great tobacco!
Virginia tobaccos give me terrible tongue bite but not this one. This is a nice change of pace from my usual burley blends.
This review will make it sound bad, but I'm going to keep this blend around. My disappointment is from dashed hopes. I really wanted to make this one my everyday smoke, but I had problems. The smell in the bag is like cotton candy, and it smokes of the same with the addition of tootsie rolls. It's kind of a sugar bomb. I usually fold and stuff, but with this blend it kept finding a way to clog the draft hole, and forget trying it in a large bowled pipe. My best luck was with a straight-stem medium bowl after breaking it up more than I usually do a flake. I could use a cleaner to push it away from the draft. This is a perfect smoke for someone who wants a sweet smoke without having to go to an aromatic.
Newminster 400, is a good smoke, not as good as Dunhill flake, or Peter stok's, but a decent smoke. I will jar it and revisit in a month or so and see if there's any change. I like the sweetness of the Va's, newminster is lacking in this department..
I bought a few ounces of this stuff to try out recently. I am a rather new pipe smoker and I am still discovering all the flavors that tobacco has to offer. That being said, I've been persistently trying many Virginias, as they best fit my taste, and I find that every time I come back to this flake I love it more and more. The tobacco has a mild, sweet aroma. The sweetness carries over in the smoke, but takes on more of a hay or grass flavor. It is a mild enough flavor to start your day off with, without overpowering your morning coffee. No bite noticeable. I enjoy this one so much that I plan on making a big order soon for the cellar.
Considering the price, you would expect at least a slightly lower quality product compared to other high end flakes. Not so. This is a darn good flake! If this was entered into a blind taste test, it would easily stack up to the others, and probably even best a few of them. I am so glad I was given a hefty sample from a friend, my next order will include at least a lb. of this stuff. For those who don't know, this tobacco comes in mammoth 5" flakes. Easily 2-3 times what you would expect.
I have quite a few flake tobaccos in my cellar, all of them more expensive than this Newminster, but it holds its own with all of them. I was amazed at how sweet this tobacco smoked. I cut a flake into 3/4 inch strips and rubbed them out. One of these large flakes was sufficient for two rightly-packed medium sized bowls. The tobacco burned well, the flavor was consistent throughout. The lemony sweetness of a fine, straight-Virginia mixture was perfect for my tastes. I was pleasantly surprised since I was expecting to "get what I paid for"... I got something better. Granted, this is not Escudo or Irish Flake (it lacks their complexity) but sometimes I don't want a complex flavor (I don't want to have to mull the flavors around)... I just want a good, sweet smoke and Superior Navy gives me that. I recommend this tobacco and at this price I recommend you purchase lots for your cellar. :)
Very tasty and perfect for cellaring
This is a really nice smoke. I pack my pipe using the fold and stuff method and this No 400 lights easily. It has a really nice flavor all the way down the bowl. The price of this tobacco is too good to be true as it outperforms a lot of much more expensive brands.