Samuel Gawith Golden Glow

A mild to medium tasting Virginia with a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, hay/straw and grass, a little tangy dark fruit, some earth, bread, and wood along with mild floralness, vegetation, sugar, and a pinch of spice. Won't bite or get harsh even if pushed. Has a few small rough edges. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a step past that threshold. The nic-hit is a rung below the strength level. It's easy to break up the flakes or fold and stuff as your preference allows. It burns slow and easy with a cool, clean, relatively smooth, very consistent flavor. Requires a few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. An all day naturally sweet straight, uncomplicated Virginia smoke.

-JimInks

Good name for this one! When I opened the tin, the tobacco color was indeed golden and it did seem to glow. Really bright colored blend of broken flakes. Easily rubbed out, which is how I smoked it most of the time and how it seemed to work its best magic.

Tin aroma was really nasty for a virginia, which took me by surprise. It did not make that first load very appealing, but the taste made up for it. A highly and naturally sweet blend, this one showed its Citrus Spunk with the lemon virginia but the citrus didn't overpower me as it does with some VA's. Mostly high note oriented, this one still satisfied with some midrange depth. A reasonably complex blend, the flavor ran the gamut of citrus, hay and tang. This would be a good all-day blend for smokers who run that way but I found it kind of lacking in the evenings. A little brother to FVF? Perhaps. Not nearly as seasoned as FVF and a lot more playful. I prefer the zest of FVF over this but this was a very worthwhile journey. Try this one if the various brown flakes are too much for you and blends like OGS and Dunhill Flake are a little too "fruity".

Sam Gawith - Golden Glow.

This one seems to get a mixed reaction, but at the end of the day our tastes are subjective! I personally find this enchanting.

The blend can be identified as an ex-flake but isn't smashed to smithereens. Unlit it gives a very orthodox Virginia aroma. It's unproblematic to light and burns very evenly. The smoke is of a flawless formation. Also I get no bite from it. The smoke isn't too hot and it has a pleasing nicotine content. Would make a great summertime smoke, I really enjoy this one!

The only negative point is sometimes a tin requires a little extra airing time.

Highly recommended.

After having smoked this for over two years on a daily basis, I wanted to completely rewrite this review. I will keep it short and simple, it comes as a broken flake, dried for a little, I am guaranteed a bite free, smooth, sweet, creamy, rich almost salty at times smoke.

Not exactly compex, but by no means monochromatic, IMHO, far superior to FVF (FVF is for Gentlemen, something even my friends could never accuse me of), this simply put, is just far more tasty and a bench mark for virginia's of quality.

An excellent introduction to Virginia for the novice and a very pleasant companion for the more experienced Virginia lover.

This has been my "Mainstay" tobacco throughout the day for quite sometime now, only changing tobacco's in the evening, sometimes with great reluctance.

For viginia lovers and even new pipe smokers, this is one to try.

.It has been said that this smokes best in a tall thin pipe, IMHO, a medium sized billiard works just fine.

Addendum :- I've now been smoking this on a daily basis for over 12 years and it's still the first tobacco I reach for. This must be one of the most underrated Virginias out there.

I like this tobacco...In fact, I think it's underrated. I enjoy a top notch plain Virginia tobacco and this one "fits the bill".

The tins I have smoked have not been what I consider "broken flake" type tobacco, and as a Virginia Plug smoker for 45 years, its no where close to that...but, it is a tobacco that I can enjoy anywhere and anytime. This is an exceptional morning smoke as well.

It is not a "rich" Virginia tobacco yet it has an enduring quality that I have come to appreciate. It does remind me of some of the Virginia types that were available back in the late 50's and early 60's and perhaps that's why I am drawn to this. I like the fact that the tobacco is straight forward, easy to light and pack, and leaves a pleasant enough room note.

Sometimes its nice to enjoy a simple approach to pleasure. The quality is certainly there and consistency from tin-to-tin is well above average. I highly recommend Golden Glow to anyone.

Smoked in mostly group 5 straight billiards.

...a pipe is to be savored.

Golden Glow is one of those Virginia's that offers plenty of flavor, yet, is mild. Not even close to FVF in the strength department, but every bit as flavorful in a lighter sort of way. Gawith, I think, took the pedal off the metal and made a lighter version of an old classic.

A fresh, bright, friendly VA broken flake with a very light citrus zest unlike OGS or Dunhill Flake. It indeed needs drying. I use it as VA base (also to help slow down the burning process) when I blend my 'house mixture' because it doesn't affect the overall taste. On its own it might be too bland or boring for some smokers (especially those who like English mixtures or heavily cased ones), but let's not forget that this is a pure VA, so WYSIWYG. Still, a Top 30 tobacco which I will be happy to revisit. 4 of 5 stars.

Update February 2013: Finished several tins of this and found that it ages perfectly if you're lucky (depends on humidity and temperature). IMO the best pure VA I have ever smoked, even better (brighter) than FVF and completely pure. Will definitely stay in rotation. Golden Glow is the tinned version of MVF, though the curing method is different (at least the description here on TRs.com says so). So, congratulations Sam: 5 of 5!

This has now became my favorite bright Virginia.

Very suitable for an all day smoke for the VA lovers. A summer all day smoke.

Tin note: Fresh, and something between hey and honey. Very appealing.

The smoke: It's best if you smoke it a little bit on the wet side if you want fresh citrus-hey aroma, and dried if you want cool and sweet smoke. And it's good anywhere in the middle. Doesn't bite, which is a great plus for VA, has that familiar Lakeland taste we find in the FVF but no Lakeland floral nonsense. I think that is what makes it so appealing. It resembles a bit to the Dunhill Flake, but more "heyish" and without that Danish casing note that ruins the party.

Some people say that all SG tobaccos are alike, they all have some specific distinctive note that is present in every blend. That may be true, and the distinctive note of the SG Virginias, happen to be awesome. There aren't many bright VAs out there that are sweet and mellow enough without being ridiculously cased with some sort of "flavor enhancer". (here you get that too, but in the good "SG" way) I'm glad I discovered this one, it will be in my rotation a lot during the warmer part of the year.

As with other SG VAs, this too tastes different in different pipes and in different level of moisture. I found that for me it works best in pipes dedicated to VAs and in cobs.

A little citrus, a touch of honey-like sweetness, and a bit of hay. Not very complex, but a very pleasant smoke. I like this both alone and as a blender. A pinch of Latakia or Burley added and you get a really great smoke. Goes especially well with Syrian Latakia. 3 stars by itself. 4 as a blender.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Burns very well.

Samuel Gawith knows how to do Virginia tobacco right. And this one is no exception. The tobacco is a medium golden brown color and the tin note has a nice hay-like sweetness and a completely natural bouquet of rich tobacco.

Age it at least 6 months. Then pull enough out for a bowl and let it sit for about a half hour. Rub it out and pack it in your pipe. You'll be in Virginia heaven for the next hour. Don't puff too fast, however, as this one is more prone to biting if you aren't careful.

Take your time with this and enjoy the rich and bright sweetness with a nice creamy texture and superb aroma. And for those who are put off by the typical Lakeland soapiness, never fear. None of that here. Very delicious. And for a special treat, blend this 50/50 with Full Virginia Flake. It's like they were meant to be together.