Orlik -- Golden Sliced

Brand: Orlik
Blend: Golden Sliced
Style: Virginia/Burley
Pipe Used: Savinelli Rusticated Prince
Price: $5.27/50g

Appearance: 9
Taste: 8
Room Note: 7
Value: 9
Overall: 8

I'm not sure why it's taken me so long to get around to reviewing Orlik Golden Sliced. I think it's one of those tobaccos that I just take for granted yet blissfully smoke bowl after bowl while ruminating about flashier blends.

This is billed as a light Virginia with a touch of Burley and comes in a pressed flake format. Upon opening the tin you're greeted with the aroma of fresh cut hay. For those not raised on a farm that is a very sweet, fresh scent and it makes me almost want to eat the tobacco rather than smoke it. The flakes also look like hay with their light tan color.

You can buy this tobacco in 50g and 100g tins and while some say that the larger tin provides for a tastier tobacco I prefer the pocketability of the smaller one.

I took about two-thirds of a flake, folded it up, and stuck it in the Savinelli Rusticated Prince (#313 Oscar) that's my dedicated Virginia pipe. One quick charring light later and the smoke was under way.

Orlik Golden sliced is one of those fire and forget tobaccos that require very little upkeep and are content to just keep burning along in your pipe. Once I got a good smolder going I could even set the pipe down for a bit without the ember going out. A relight was needed toward the halfway point as the folded flake started to unravel and needed some tending.

The taste of this tobacco is nice and bright with just the right hint of sweetness. I love the raw sugar flavor of a good Virginia and this one certainly has it. As the smoke progresses the Burley becomes more evident and provides a nice solid base to keep the sweetness in check.

This is a fairly light smoke and isn't very complex but sometimes that's exactly what you're looking for. I tend to sip this one slowly as a cool smoke really enhances the sugars in the tobacco. I don't typical have any issues with Virginias biting and this one is no exception even if I try to smoke it hot.

The room note is fairly benign but the Burley does make for an aroma that's a bit reminiscent of cigarette smoke which some might find objectionable. But it isn't a particularly smoky blend and it does tend to dissipate quickly.

In general I find Orlik Golden Sliced to be a very solid and trusty standby blend. It's a light, sweet smoke and I tend to enjoy it almost as a palate cleanser after smoking more complex blends. I always have a few tins on hand and that smirking judge is never too far from my pipe or pocket.

UPDATE
Recent sleuthing by the folks at Pipesmagzine.com has revealed that OGS contains a touch of Perique and not, as stated on the label, a touch of Burley.  Since Perique is in fact a heavily modified Burley tobacco I'll just leave my original review as is and slink away shame-faced that I didn't notice the presence of the devil weed in the first place.

International Pipe Smoking Day

Today is International Pipe Smoking Day so light up a bowl already will ya?