Redbreast Flake

Redbreast Flake was a long-cut pressed Virginia-Burley flake once carried in the portfolio of the Liverpool house Ogden's. It belongs to the family of lightly scented pressed tobaccos within the English tradition; compared to the more familiar example of that school, St. Bruno, the casing stays further in the background and the leaf taste comes forward. The Virginia component supplies sweetness and sharpness, while Burley provides body and a cool burn; Burley also serves as the base to which the flavoring adheres.

Listed in Ogden's early-twentieth-century catalogue alongside names like St. Bruno, Walnut Flake, and St. Julian, the blend reportedly went out of production long ago, with the recipe passing to Imperial Tobacco. Today it can only be found through old tins or English tobacconists selling it in bulk. It appeals to smokers looking for a classic English pressed-tobacco tradition, a middle ground sweeter than a straight Virginia but not fully aromatic.