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Flake tobacco's popularity began at sea, serving as a means of preserving the tobacco's moisture content. Pressed tobacco dried less quickly because less surface area is exposed to air, ensuring sailors could enjoy luxurious smokes during their voyages. The added benefit of a flake-cut blend is that it requires less space than ribbon-cut tobaccos, making pressed tobaccos more efficient for storage. Chuck Stanion explores the deeper history of flake tobacco in a previous article: "Tobacco companies began pressing blocks of tobacco.... Men at sea now had tobacco that maintained smokability over time. It wasn't pre-sliced at first, though. Sailors would carefully slice flakes from the tobacco block for smoking."
While many of us don't have to worry about a life at sea, flake tobaccos remain a popular cut because their pressing helps deepen and marry flavors, evolving mixtures in new and exciting ways. Some simply prefer the process of flake preparation, or flake's exceptional aging potential. From English to Virginia to Burley, we've compiled a list of our best-selling flake tobacco blends for your consideration.
Updated for 2025, this list incorporates current data and is edited to reflect product availability.
- 10. Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake
- 9. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Bright CR Flake
- 8. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Louisiana Flake Pipe Tobacco
- 7. Peter Stokkebye PS402 Luxury Twist Flake
- 6. Samuel Gawith St. James Flake
- 5. G. L. Pease Quiet Nights
- 4. Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake
- 3. Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation Evening Flake
- 2. Peter Stokkebye PS400 Luxury Navy Flake
- 1. Orlik Golden Sliced
10. Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake
Best Brown Flake features hand-stripped, flue-cured Virginia tobaccos, free of topping to showcase the leaf's natural flavor profile: a smooth, delicious smoke with a subtle hint of natural sweetness.
Available in: 50g | 8oz | Bulk
- Components: Virginia, Burley
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
9. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Bright CR Flake
A no-nonsense 100% pure Virginia leaf with no additional flavors made from a blend of Brazil, Zimbabwe, and Malawi Bright Virginia leaf that's pressed together to mature the flakes. A great smoke to start the day.
Available in: Bulk
- Components: Virginia
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
8. Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Louisiana Flake Pipe Tobacco
Gawith Hoggarth's only Va/Per flake delights with a slight chocolaty topping to highlight its notes of fig, nutty sweetness, and sourdough. Simple and satisfying.
Available in: Bulk
- Components Virginia, Perique
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
7. Peter Stokkebye PS402 Luxury Twist Flake
PS402 Luxury Twist is a simple, pure Virginia blend from the best fields of Zimbabwe and the eastern United States. These leaves are hand-rolled into a spun cake and then pressed and sliced for a tart and tangy flake with elements of hay, mild wood, bread, and earth.
Available in: Bulk
- Components: Virginia
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
6. Samuel Gawith St. James Flake
St. James Flake honors Samuel Gawith as the former mayor of Kendal, and St. James Flake is a quintessential Virginia/Perique mixture. Combining Bright Virginias with Perique from St. James Parish in Louisiana, St. James Flake is the premium choice for Va/Per lovers with rich notes of earth, sweet dark fruit, hints of grass, and tangy citrus.
- Components: Virginia, Perique
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
5. G. L. Pease Quiet Nights
Quiet Nights offers a dreamy nightcap for quiet reflection. This rich, deep, contemplative flake is comprised of ripe Red Virginias, fine Orientals, smoky Cyprian Latakia, and a pinch of Acadian Perique, pressed and matured in cakes before being sliced into flakes for a savory, smooth, dense, and gently sweet smoke.
- Components: Virginia, Latakia, Perique, Orientals
- Family: English
- Cut: Flake
4. Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake
Full Virginia Flake from Samuel Gawith is among their most iconic blends. This dark-brown, sumptuous flake is entirely composed of Virginia tobacco that's hot-pressed and bold in flavor.
- Components: Virginia
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
3. Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation Evening Flake
Evening Flake is a captivating nightcap to smoke leisurely under the stars. Comprising Golden Virginias with a touch of Perique, this flake is hot-pressed for a week before being sliced into flakes. It's ripe with tart citrus and notes of hay with some subtle elements of sourdough from the Virginias. The Perique offers deep earth and woody notes with a little bit of jammy plums mixed in.
Available in: Bulk
- Components: Virginia, Perique
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
2. Peter Stokkebye PS400 Luxury Navy Flake
A reliable Va/Per, PS400 Luxury Navy Flake from Peter Stokkebye offers a profile of hay and tangy citrus with elements of toasted oak from the flue-cured Virginias and Louisiana Perique. Enjoy jammy pit-fruit notes, all rounded out with just the slightest rum topping.
Available in: Bulk
- Components: Virginia, Perique
- Family: Virginia, Perique
- Cut: Virginia, Perique
1. Orlik Golden Sliced
One of the most iconic Va/Pers in the world, Orlik Golden Sliced is held in high regard in our community, and for good reason. This flake-cut blend consists of Virginias with a touch of Perique, offering a charming natural flavor profile marked by a touch of sweet citrus. Orlik serves as a great entry to the world of Va/Pers if it's your first time and stands tall as a reliable classic for experienced smokers.
- Components: Virginia, Perique
- Family: Virginia
- Cut: Flake
Those are the top 10 best-selling flake tobaccos here at Smokingpipes. If you don't see your favorite on the list, leave us a comment and share your thoughts — perhaps it will make it into a future list. Happy smokes!
A note on the tobacco information.
Strength: a measure of the tobacco's body and nicotine. One is the lowest. Five s is the highest.
Room Note: a measure of the pleasantness or intensity of the smoke's odor to everyone else in the room. One is the least intense room note, while five s would be the most noticeable to others.
Taste: A measure of the the power and fullness of the smoke's flavor, with one being the most mellow and five s being the fullest.
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Comments
Light bulb moment as I read this blog today. Please consider a monthly update on the likely availability of out of stock tobaccos--estimates not exact dates. I have missed Lancer's Slices and Old Ironsides for some time and am sure others would like to know when their favorites may be available. A simple list would be helpful.
Why einmore flakenot included in the above list
erinmore flake.?ü
@Gary Yovan, we do offer something similar to that! For out-of-stock blends, you can sign up for email alerts (button is located on the product page where "add to cart" would normally be), and we'll send you an email as soon as we get more of that specific blend in stock. Hope that helps!
@Orhan Bukey, I wondered the same thing. Sales for Erinmore just weren't quite enough to get it in the top 13. Maybe next time!
Y'all know I've avoided buying much Virginia flake tobacco blends since THAT company shut down. OK, an old fav - Capstan for social settings, a trial new blend or two of others. So, now, thank you, I have a list to try! Great idea! I AM familiar with the Sutliff 507C and must tell all that it smokes and ages wonderfully! PS Luxury - an occasional since meeting Peter in the late '70's! Right after that, I discovered the OTHER COMPANY's 2010, 2015, etc. so it somewhat took me out of the market for much else.
I'm very surprised not to see Escudo on this list, and perhaps Astley's 109!
@Glen H, Astley's 109 is fantastic, definitely underrated. As for Escudo, even though it is a pressed tobacco like the others on the list, it's cut into coins instead of flakes, so we *technically* couldn't include it on this list haha. It definitely would be, though, were it to meet the criteria!
Nice list. This got me thinking...I'd love to see a "special edition" of Quiet Nights in full (unbroken) flake form. You guys know Mr. Pease, put in a good word!
I find it hard to understand why there aren't any Samuel Gawith or Gawith Hoggarth flakes on the list. For example SG Full Virginia Flake, or GW Ennerdale Flake.
2022 list.. so which ones dropped off?
Good list and appreciated. I note that you clearly state this is a bakers' dozen list of TOP SELLING FLAKE tobaccos. Gives me some ideas for tobacco choices next time I need to purchase.And I do need to note this point--these are NOT THE best in someone's perception, not best because a cracker-barrel committee so ordained Jon's Rocky Bottom Burboun-barrel aged Burley grown under old bedsheets in Brown County, Ohio to be the best. BEST SELLING AT your great shop.Or so it says in the article lead--rather plainly...Bill in District X enjoying a bowl of FOLKLORE!
Looking for suggestions. I have been smoking MacBaren's Virginia Flake No.1 for over 20 years. Looking for something similar with more flavor. The Virginia Flake No.1 has lost its appeal. I will be trying the flakes mentioned in the "Top 13 Best-Selling Flake Pipe Tobaccos".
The HH Pure Virgina and Orlick age nicely, and the jar empties quickly around my ranch. The other picks are good ones too. Enjoy yourselves.
Please to join your conversation group.
I find it extremely hard to believe that A. C &D Bayou Morning Flake and B. Escudo were not named. I see a bunch of tobaccos that can’t keep up with the demand apparently because they are always out of stock. Signed, Befuddled.
Can’t speak to why people have’t bought enough Bayou Morning Flake for it to make the list, but Escudo is not featured because Escudo is a coin, not a flake :)
Bayou Morning is my all time favorite tobacco, flake or not. It shouldn't just be on the list, it should be number 1. Might ruffle some feathers but I said what I said lol