REVISITED | Orlik "Golden Sliced" 

Thanks for all the feedback, gang!

When this is aged for 6+months it changes substantially. Fresh it was just sweet grass in the tin note, but after 8 months mine became yeasty/bready and plummy in tin and taste. 3rd blend I’m cellaring big on!

I've found that blends are never absolutely consistant over time. They usually are pretty close, but never the same. Pipe tobaccos should be graded like wine, some years are stellar and other years are simply okay. Add to that the effects of aging and you get a confusing mess when trying to judge a blend. Typically aging improves pipe tobaccos, but not always. I have some bargain bag pipe tobacco that is nearing 10+ years of age. It has not improved at all. Conversely, I have some OGS that is over 8 years old. That OGS is amazing. Not at all the tobacco it was when it was young. And I know, I tried the young stuff. Young, it was grassy and tongue bitey. Aged, it is mellow and barely grassy, no tongue bite at all. Night and day difference. As a rule, I try to not smoke anything until it is at least 3 years old. Usually 5 years old. As a result, I'm sitting on a lot of pipe tobacco.

Great revisit. I’ve been smoking OGS since early 2010 and maybe it’s that I smoked it consistently throughout the years that I haven’t picked up on any changes but it has always tasted pretty consistent to me. I think this one gets tossed aside because of the low price and availability but damn, I love the stuff. This stuff definitely has a citrus/bergamot topping though and I’m always surprised that not many people pick up on it. It’s the first thing I noticed about it. Anyway, the rest of you all can keep chasing hard to get flakes, I’m happy with this classic, and this one just improves with age!

Correct observations, I have the same opinion on OGS of today, also aging in tins makes a quite significant difference to the blend Best Greets, Paul

I'd be willing to bet the tin you had for the first go around was more fresh at the time than the tin you have now. That round tin doesn't have the warning label on it, so it's probably from 2017 or 16. I'm not sure when they transitioned to round from square tins. The longer number to the right of the barcode on the back will tell you. First two digits are the year. Some people who swear by OGS stockpile tons of it, but won't even smoke it until it's at least 5 years or older. Apparently the changes are lovely and sound similar to what you've got there.

I remember the original video review. Crazy it's been that long!

I had a very similar experience with OGS. After discovering it years ago, it was my overall favorite for a while. I eventually moved on to different blends over time, but decided to revisit it last winter, because I missed that dried apricot juiciness that I used to love. Well, just as you encountered, it was... different. It didn't have that light, creamy, balanced citrus flavor, but rather more of a generic Virginia mixed with an almost artificial peach candy aroma. I was so disappointed and put off by it, but decided to jar up the rest and see if leaving the flavors to age and marry a bit longer, as well as maybe trying it in the summer, would change my opinion at all. Thanks for reminding me I need to light up a bowl before the weather gets too cool, again! Hoping this lovely blend hasn't suffered the same fate that many other ones have over the years and lost the "it" factor that made it great once...

Great review, very interesting to have a previous one to compare to and to expand on your thoughts. I am new to the pleasures of smoking a pipe and have just tried the Orlik which I’m very pleased with.

I think it's like you said in the Dunhill Flake review, some blends taste better with experience, so you can pick up the nuances. In regards to how more flavorful you perceive this blend now.

My first time, I felt like little lemon pops that turned a little peppery at the end with an underlying, consistent grassy and sweet hay. Second time was almost entirely raisins in bread. This inconsistency and perplexing surprise factor is what made me come back every so often to Orlik Golden Sliced. I used to attribute it to my own palette, but I'm pretty sure now that it's just the cut and mixture. Makes things fun.

I only ever had one tin of Golden Sliced, but for me personally, it had a dark sweetness to it akin to Gawith Full Virginia. I liked it quite a bit because of that, but I remember finding it odd that it didn’t seem quite as bright as your first review indicated. Very interesting indeed. May have to grab another tin. Great video, Bradley!

Amazing how 2014 Bradley has a very close resemblance to Christian Bale American Psycho 😂

I've been a subscriber for several years. Of course when I incorporated pipe smoking into my daily I would watch your reviews more frequently. It has been a minute since I have enjoyed a pipe but when I saw this video I decided to click on it just to see what you've been up to and I am very glad that I did because it immediately and effectively showed me the reason for my anxieties and stress as of late; I haven't been allowing myself time to enjoy the simple yet fine things like a pipe of quality tobacco and the time enjoying it and allowing the mind out for a stroll through nostalgia and pondering which is such a neccesary thing to make time for so as to keep focus and to reinforce your character. You have a certain quality about you that I and anyone that appreciates things made with pride and quality can relate to. I realized that I haven't been mindful of those things and kept the 'ritual' I guess you can call it because when I set aside time or make it a daily thing at a certain time like after supper, early morn, late evening etc. it can be effective in allowing your mind to unpack from any load it has been carrying and you can meditate on just the quality and nuances of the tobacco and allow it to relate your senses and nostalgia to those nuances....I respect you because I can tell that you understand and 'get it'. I dont think there are words to describe 'it' but those that know 'it' understand. At the very least you have good taste and I admire how you have, it seems, have great confidence in who your are and stay true and open along the way and you cultivate a rich refinement without any pretension or vanity and then present yourself and offer your opinions with sophistication while not being stuffy.

Years of manufacture and aging are the biggest factors. Like wine. OGS was also one of my 1st premium blends getting into this hobby almost 10 yrs ago. Glad this blend seems to only get better with time. ENJOY!

One of my go-to favourites over the years. I agree on the figgy/raisony + citrus, and I can confirm that it was more citrus-forward in the past. I love it in the summer with a Grolsch or Heineken.

I have to wonder - - I'd guess that when a tobacco company manufactures pipe tobacco, the component tobaccos (in this case Virginia and Perique) come from a particular bunch of barrels/bales, and production proceeds until those are exhausted, at which point more are acquired - - from different farms/countries, or from a different year. All of these will cause slight (or sometimes more than slight) variations in the component tobacco's flavors, that the company blender must take into account and compensate for so as to keep the product consistent. It might be a wise policy, then, to label each tin or pouch with the year of production, just as wine bottles are. What say you?

I've bought dozens of tins and when I got this, I agreed with what they advertised. If you are a shrewd judge of pipe tobacco, give this a try. I will but it again, and likely again. Mine came in long shreds that circled the can. (1.75 oz tin)

Since our tongues have been the equivalent of hanging in a smokehouse for 6 years being smoked, I dont think it's surprising that tastes change. LOL. I am intrigued, I've never had this and will order! Thanks, Bradley! Oh, I was entertained by your aha moment on guitar, having played professionally all my long life. Learn all 5 of the pentatonic positions and go to town up and down the neck. Nothing like the guitar, always something to learn!

Have to say, I bought a tin of this guy first time two years ago and first couple of bowls didn't really blow me away. Stuck it in a jar, put it aside. For some reason decided tonight to give it a go, and with a couple of years of age... It does wonders. Perfect moisture, no relighting at all. No tongue bite, lots of tasty smoke. It's like a light English blend, yet robust. Glad I bought two tins at the time now, cause the other tin already has two years on it now.

I knew you were a Shrewed Judge!

It's been my preferred tobacco for maybe 4 yrs. I buy it when smokingpipes brick and mortar store sells freight dented tins at a discount. Can't say that I've seen a change... good stuff, although the 3.5 oz tins have a "wrapped" long flake.

Maybe your pallet has changed. I believe taste buds do mature over time and of course now that you're actually looking for the flavors in tobaccos and not just smoking you could have missed it. But those are just my thoughts I could be totally wrong.

It's funny that you say there wasn't a lot of perique in this blend. I felt like my first tin of this stuff had so much perique in it that it was almost overpowering. I actually tried Elizabethan and thought it was weaker by comparison. I haven't smoked it for some time, but that definitely has me curious. Edit: This video actually prompted me to do a revisit of my own. I just cracked open a tin I was storing. I can definitely detect the perique, but it is not nearly as forward as the first batch I received. Weird.

I've noticed a difference too since I smoked it ten years ago, the hay/oaty/tea taste isn't like it was

I have to say every time I go back to Orlik Golden slices, I like them more and more…great review!

OGS is a staple in my cellar. The licorice is interesting, sometimes I taste it and sometimes I don't get it at all in this tobacco. Happy smokes Bradley

I’ve seen this one come up in sales and specials. Thanks for the review. I’d love to see some of these reviews using corn cob pipes. This is my official request: please review some blends comparing their profile in briars versus corn cob pipes. That is all.

Golden sliced was also my first true tobacco about 25 years ago , it was good but I became bored with it , I don't think there was any perique in it , in fact I actually added some myself and it transformed it , perhaps orlic copied me . Aging in an unopened tin even if only for a few months much improves it , haven't tried it recently to many other baccys to try.

OGS has also been my gateway. Into virginias, anyway. Have had English type tobaccos before that - but damn, my first bowl sold me on Vas. Got solanis' VA on your recommendation the other day! I also detect a slight liquorish note along with hay and subdued dark fruit. I would never claim to taste perique since I'm not completely sure on that flavor yet. You can get a 50g pouch and it's still my favorite tobacco presentation, because the flakes are the full length of the pouch. I was even debating on putting the pouch into a zipbag because I loved the long flakes so much. Other than that, the small capstan-like tins with the orderly flakes are the best (unless you have to store in them)! Fold and stuff is where it's at for me.

The secret recipe of Orlik golden sliced is the casing of the blood of men named orlik, stg has been kidnapping these men for years now, I'm next please help

Bradley, reading the comments below, I must not be the only one never to have smoked OGS before now. But I may well be the only one who's been smoking for more than half a century to have missed out! So, my opinion? At the top of bowl it brought back memories of Dunhill Light Flake from 25-30 years ago, which I enjoyed more than any other Virginia I've smoked. (I'm a Burley or Latakia blend kind of guy.) "Summery, grassy, citrusy" works for me, I suppose. But it definitely seems to have a bit of licorice topping, as Dunhill Light Flake did, back in the day. About halfway through the bowl, the Perique makes a subtle appearance, then bows out as you smoke to the bottom. Very pleasant. Excellent mechanics for a flake, perfect moisture out of the tin, light mouth feel, very mild nicotine. Will I buy it again? Virginias are like Chinese food with me. Once a year I might get a taste for them. Great review!

The tin probably has a bit of age on it; this may account for the richer, darker taste.

I picked up a tin today. It is absolutely excellent to my pallet. Thank you for all the videos and the inspiration!

But the Rickenbacker! For real though, great review as always.

I just finished off a tin I found from 2016 and I'm getting some fresh bread and hay. Way different than when I first had it.

It’s crazy how similar my story is. As a college student, I always go back and forward with cigarettes, been on the vapes for some while. But I always liked pipes, I’ve had a pipe for a while. The store that I go to had always sold me aromatics, because that’s all they have. Today however, I went to to an actual pipe tobacco store, and I always wanted to try some english and virginia blends, and OGS is my first “actual,” pipe tobacco. I really like the smell, about to try it on my alone time, before work. Because it’s my birthday. 🥳

Thank you Bradley, from the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Golden sliced is very good. I smoke cigars more than pipe tobacco but there is just a subtle delicious flavor to golden sliced thats so nice. Ive tried Elizabethan in the past amd absolutely loved it. I want to get some more of that and Semois as well. Smoking gl pease westminster and samuel gawiths st james flake at the moment when me humidor is empty.

Just the review I was looking for. Thanks 👍

I fully agree that our tastes and pallette do change and mature over time. Like most people I started with aromatics and immediately developed a taste for Vanilla Custard. I recently bought some "For old time's sake" and absolutely hated it. We get older and our tastes mature and develop. Happy smokes my friend.

Thank you Bradley, from the Lowcountry of South Carolina

I think your closing comment is spot on. OGS is much spicier-the perique?--than Elizabethan, a current go-to. A great summer 'baccy. Have you, or will you do a review of Wilke High Hat? My current fave, and the best American take on the quintessential English blend, imho. If you need a sample, ive just taken an 8 oz. shipment and would be happy to send some your way. Cheers!

For what it is worth, I have noticed significant changes in OGS with both age and exposure to heat. I bought 5 tins from the same lot. One I left on the dash of my car in the summer for a day and a half and noticed that it had become deeper and more mature tasting. I also picked up some tins with 3-4 years of age on them and noticed the same thing. I went one step further and stole a trick from Fred Hannah and tin baked a tin (put it in the oven at low heat for several hours) and voila, same thing. I now keep one tin baked and one not baked at all times.

Hi Bradley, I had a similar experience 2 years ago or so. OGS was one of my very first, if not THE first non-aromatic I ever tried and I have the same memories as you: very grassy and citrusy which I loved. I also remember a breadyness or yeastyness. All in all very light and bright and, as you said, perfect for the warmer days. Anyway, I was, after not having smoked it for a longer while, very much looking forward to smoking it again and couldn't find the taste I wanted and remembered so dearly. It wasn't bad but I haven't bought it since. Right now, watching your video, I'm trying for the first time in my life Dunhill's Flake (well, the Peterson version) and, although it tastes different, it comes quite close to what I recall of the old OGS. It's by far not the only tobacco where I noticed a significant change in the taste profile and therefore I made it a habit to buy a tin or two more than I would have in the olden days when I come across a tobacco I like. Best Michael

Hello Bradley. Question for you. If I may ask you what is going on with the anatomical chart on the wall behind you.

As with others. This was my gateway VaPer. Thank you for the revisit!

I don't think it's your imagination, Bradley. I've smoked OGS for about five years -- maybe one tin a year. To me, it's definitely not as sweet and grassy as it once was. The sweet-grass quality used to be rather striking. As I write, I'm smoking a bowl of Escudo, and these days, OGS reminds me of Escudo. Cheers from Nebraska.

I have tried this just now for the first time, a 4 month old tin. Starts with citrus/grass and then the perique takes over giving a spicy plummy smoke with some bready character. Not at all grass/hay like so I’m guessing they changed the blend from the first time you had it.

Great revisit! Funny how over time our taste changes or matures. 😊👍

Ordered a 50 and 100gr tin of this. Cant wait!

Thank you i just picked this up...I can't wait to try

This was my first premium pipe tobacco

Just yesterday I revisited my favorite aromatic from way back. at Tinder Box it was called North Sea, North shore, something, and after checking with internet officials, it appears to be Peter Stokkebye Nougat. so I ordered an ounce. the 'tin note' took me back, but the taste was pretty bad, flat, charred, with ashtray notes, no tobacco flavor. it was all about the aroma, the room note. dont know what I was thinking back then, getting married, all that

Do you sense any topping on orlik? I just tried it for the first time and it seems obviously topped to me. Not in a gloopy sweet way, but in a lightly perfumed way. Oranges plus something floral. If it's just natural tobacco, it's amazingly fragrant leaf.

Nice rickenbacker

It could be time to visit Orlik's full line of tobacco products it seems they have been busy these past five years or so.

Thank you very much for the French subtitling ! Merci beaucoup pour les sous tires Français

Hey Bradley Thank you from the other side of the Atlantic for all your passionate reviews. Would you mind reviewing Sir John’s Flake Virginia for us ? I myself am a great Va and VaPer lover, and I bet you shall love this one. Best M

I really liked the cedar flavour at the end of a bowl. It was my first tin ever. I smoked it last month. Did you get that taste at the end? I liked the blend but not enough for the price.

OGS is one of the best tobaccos you can celler.

Not the best tobacco I have ever had, though it is a nice basic Virginia Flake, but sure wish I had stocked up on it ten years ago, when it was $5 a tin, and aged it...

I've been smoking OGS for 6 years, and haven't noticed any difference. The flavors I get are closer to what you got in this video, I never got the super mild grassy you got in your old video. OGS always reminded me of lemonade or something.

Like the new (to me) background.

I have always noticed that the 50g flake tin tastes differently than the 100g tin (the curled tobacco)....

How old is that tin? Your flakes look MUCH darker than my fresh (last month) ones do. Maybe that’s contributing to the darker flavors?

Can you make a review for Erinmore flake? Its the first non aromatic Pipe Tobacco I bought and I can find here where I live, before that I bought Captain Black Regular but it was a waste of money I should buy Erinmore flake from the first time...

I think it’s delicious personally. Cheers 💨

20 dollars. I just bought a tin of Cornell & Diehl Briar Fox for $55 CAD. A little painful.

My favorite va/per. Delicious.

Just had my first bowl of OGS while watching both your reviews. I definitely prefer EM. I like this but my bowl is on fire. I had to slow my cadence down to a crawl to keep me from freaking out about burning out my chamber. Maybe it's the cut & pack? I rubbed it out, drizzled, then did a Frank-type top off. Way too hot. Really kind of muted the experience of the blend.

Perhaps the Castello adds the darker and richer taste. I know my Castello does that.

Was that a Vox AC30 in the background, in your flashback video?

Seattle pipe club potlatch please🙏🙏🙏

So weird, was just thinking about trying this blend

There is something in this tobacco I just don’t like. To me it almost has a dried apricot flavor to it. Too citrusy and grassy for me.

So. This term “vapor” in honestly lost as to what that’s supposed to mean

stuffs..... please.... for the love of god....

I would say you're just more practiced at tasting after years of doing reviews. This has been one of my warm weather staples and I haven't noticed any real difference. Though I can say age and moisture content will cause some variance.