The flakes in this tin are somewhat moist, and I find them to smoke best if rubbed and let to dry for about 30minutes before actually packing and smoking.

Upon opening the tin, a very fruity scent immediately fills the room. The blackberry is very dominant in smell, with the brandy and vanilla as a noticeable undertone.

After drying for about 30 minutes, this tobacco is easy to pack and light. Being somewhat thicker (because it's a flake tobacco) it burns very slowly and evenly and smokes very cool. It requires little or no relighting in my Big Ben Bruyere De luxe, in which I smoke it the most.

I got no tonguebite at all from this, but it does tend to get a little too wet every now and then, causing the pipe to gurgle. The taste is what you'd expect upon smelling the unlit tobacco: fruity, quite mild yet complex, with a vanilla undertone. The brandy is a bit absent in my opinion.

Perhaps not really recommended for new smokers, this tobacco has become my absolute favorite blend so far!

The tin description says it's "subtly flavored." Subtle like a train wreck, maybe. I kid you not, after storing this in a ceramic canister for a year, hoping it would mellow, the ceramic canister is permanently flavored with blackberry. When I still couldn't smoke it, my wife used it as potpourri for a couple of months. The flakes were still wet and sticky when I threw them away.

The best thing I can say about this blend is that if you like blackberry cobbler (and I do), you'll start salivating the instant you open it up.

By the way, lest I be typecast, I freely admit I enjoy a good aromatic. I'm puffing on Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream Flake right now, and I'll probably enjoy some Erinmore Flake before bed. But this "Fire" Flake gives aromatics a bad name! Not Recommended for anyone without an asbestos tongue.

The flakes in my bulk sample look like the contents of the bags the dog owners in our gated community carry. Wet, sticky and not visually appealing. If you are used to the perfect flakes in a tin of Orlik Golden Slices, these are going to be a real let down.

Perhaps if I were "Two Years Before the Mast" (by RH Dana), and had the smoking lamp lit once each month, this blend might be enjoyable. To those of us with the finest tobacco in the world available, this is a curiosity only.

I might enjoy the underlying best brown flake, but this topping is terrible. It starts out very sweet and becomes cloying quickly. The blackberry smell is like a cooked Pop Tart. Try it outdoors first, in a cob, then if you don't like it you can trash the pipe and the memories. If you exhale through your nose it will stay with you for at least a day. It does not leave the pipe.

Worst of all, the flakes need drying out. However the smell is so strong it stinks up the whole area. I tried putting some flakes out in the garage but they attracted cock roaches. I am going to send my 4 ounces to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for Christmas, that place is full of cock roaches and thieves, so they should enjoy it.

Smoking Firedance is at times, reminiscent of catching the 'occasional' whiff of someone baking a blackcurrant crumble (cobbler to the yanks) as one stroll's along a country lane in England during the height of summers eve.

Still not as nice as the real thing though, and this could have been better..

The tobacco is first rate. The VA flavor is mellow and medium-bodied, and it is complemented by vanilla throughout, though mildly. I find a bit of a tart aftertaste from the blackberry on relighting, though this seems to fade quickly,

Firedance is unusual and enjoyable, It might not be the ideal smoke for the natural tobacco aficionado, or for the aromatic lover, but it is solid and pleasurable.

Cool, dry, flavorsome and satisfying smoke. There is absolutely no flaws in this which I can see.

I need to find more of this stuff!!

The tin note is strong, with a very intense and pleasant scent of berries. As has been noted before, the flakes are unevenly cut, but I find a certain "rustic" charm to that. They are quite moist, so I elected to rub them out, fill my pipe, and let it sit for several hours.

The berry flavor definitely takes the lead for the first two-thirds of the bowl, with the brandy providing a smooth back note. The tobacco burned very well and required no re-lights (and this was in a cheap, unsmoked Czech-made "basket pipe" I had lying around). I puffed deliberately, and found it to very cool smoking with absolutely no tongue bite. Towards the end of the bowl the vanilla finally made its presence known, and ultimately overtook the berry flavor. The Virginia leaf was also evident through the entire smoke. The tobacco left a very clean and mellow aftertaste.

Although this isn't something I could smoke every day, I will keep a few tins around for an occasional change of pace. All in all, another high quality product from Samuel Gawith.

These types of blends are a conundrum to me: they're not sweet enough to satisy an aromatic smoker and not focused or complex enough to please a pure tobacco lover. I much prefer Orlik's Golden Sliced, with its core Virginia tobacco aroma, naturally- sweet flavor and pleasing (if not aromatic) room note.

A simply delightful scent assails you out of the tin. Smells like one of my late mother's fruit pies. The tobacco is soft and pliable and packing the old pipe couldn't be easier, even for a rook like me, with whatever method suits you. I used the sort-of-stuff-and-ram method !

The smoke is flavoursome as has been reported by other posters. Blackberry-ish. Could even pass as Blackcurrant or perhaps Blueberry. Couldn't detect anything else. Vanilla ? Nope. Brandy ? Nope !

That's ok with me, I'm an aromatics fan and to this rather dulled palate it's a far cry from the neutrality of Peterson's mixtures.

Needs quite a bit of relighting, but of course bear in mind that this is my first experience with a flake. I'm hopeless at assessing room note, but I've had no comments either way so far.

This blend is certainly going to feature prominently in my rotation along with the excellent Celtic Talisman and ideal for your first aromatic flake. I'm really enjoying SG's blends and look forward to opening a tin of their Grousemoor !

The blackberries are at the forefront, the brandy in the background, and the vanilla almost undetectable, though quite noticeable in the room note.

This could be the holy grail of aromatics.

Upon opening the tin, I find a haphazard row of varying thickness flakes, probably due to being hand cut with a block feeder using the pull-down blade, which is hand fed, which accounts for the different thickness in each flake. But if not, it is a most serious breakdown in quality control.

The moisture was not that bad, the flakes were "gummy" as others had mentioned, but dry out rapidly.

Upon lighting you get blasted with blackberries, but as the bowl burns down, it melts this with the brandy and tobacco flavor quite well. This one actually tastes as it smells, though halfway down the bowl it does develop a character one could call "soapy," albeit it is nothing like a soap, more a creamy character.

This did not bite for me smoked straight out of the tin, and I plan to buy a few pounds for my cabinet. A real winner from Samuel Gawith!

"What shall I do," he cried to his trusted confidant, the tobacconist. "She Who Must Be Obeyed has decreed - no Latakia in her presence." The crafty old Sage winked his eye, and wisely produced a tin of legendary renown: "Firedance Flake!"

And so the man carefully pried open the lid. A strong scent of berries (blackberries - oh sweet memories of youth) and brandy greeted his senses. "But I've tried other aromatics, only to be crushed by the fickle flavor that is not true to scent." "Do not fear," said the Wise One. "This one is far truer..."

So the Man returned to his domicile. With fear in his heart and trembling in his fingers he loaded his trusted bent billiard with the flake called "firedance". A light - a puff -- and a smile!

Even She Who Must Be Obeyed was convinced. This is one aromatic that is true to its form. A fine Virginia with a sweet, lingering scent that will enhance any room. And peace and contentment returned.

However, in regards to this blend, I had to throw my preconceived notions out the window.

This is good stuff! Not for an everyday smoke, but once in a while when the mood hits.

It's supposed to be cased with brand, blackberry's, and vanila.

My perceptions picked up the brandy slightly and the blackberries are in the forefront. The blend never got gooey, or sour as I hear some English Aromatics tend to do. The vanilla was nowhere to be seen such that my tastebuds could detect it.

If you tend to avoid aromatics like the plague, I would walk on the wild side for a bit and try this blend. You might be surprised.

The flakes in my tin have a pleasant aroma and are thick and hefty with moisture. I rub out the flakes or fold them, but I never dry them, and I have no problems. The berry/brandy/vanilla flavor is not syrupy, but delicate to elusive. The tobacco is sweet and combines with the flavoring to produce a cool burning, expansive and rich smoke. I frequent many Lakeland tobaccos, and I do not detect any "soap" in Firedance.

I have experimented by tossing in a wee bit of Brown Bogie or #4 Twist, and while the addition ratchets up the strength I think it also disturbs the balance. Firedance is a mild to medium Virginia with a subtle aromatic counterpart. I think it works when you go slow. If you like a mild to medium tobacco and are not put off by a dash of flavoring, then I recommend you try this.