Samuel Gawith - Navy Flake pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 87 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
DrT999	04/10/2013	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Lovely Latakia and rum combo. With the exception of one flake, this tin had the thinnist flakes I've yet to come across, which made for pretty easy lighting despite my using the fold and stuff method. A medium-medium light Latakia blend, balanced nicely with the light rum flavoring. I really enjoyed this.
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pauliepipes	02/02/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable
I am a SG flake lover. I also love rum, so I had high expectations for this tobacco. The tin aroma was strong Latakia. I did not detect much rum. As far as flakes go, this was not as difficult to stay lit as some others. Yea it goes out some but the pipe you smoke flakes in makes a big difference. If you are having problems with this, I suggest you get a pipe with a wider inner bowl dimension and one that is not too deep. Check out a Baronet Bruyere 320 EX, a fantastic inexpensive pipe. It sports a 1” inner diameter bowl which is great for flakes. Back to the Navy Flake review. The smoke has a very pleasant sweetness on the tip of the tong from the rum. It is mild-medium with absolutely no bite and medium nicotine. Not sure of the room note. I definitely don’t mind it in my car! My next step is to compare this tobacco to G.L. Peases’ Sextant. I’ll give this one three and a half stars. I highly recommend it and I enjoy smoking it.
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taha	01/29/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
Very nice Flake I love Samuel Gawith
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puffcloud	01/18/2013	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong
wife doesn't fancy ('stinky-smoky but not as bad as cigars'). being an aromatics fan, I was expecting this to be a big no-no, but actually it is not bad. wet wood, gym socks, hints of peat,wet walls of an old building, burning moss. flavour..... smoky i guess? overall not an everyday smoke for me, but wouldn't mind revisiting occasionally.
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CoolPilot	01/17/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I rate this flake 4 stars, initially after a few bowls. Latakia is weak, I would say 15%, dark virginia like in brown flake, some rum made in the islands, for what is worth, but not disappointing. Tastes full, not so strong, and I can describe it as a delicious smoke. It is not even a mid-english blend, for me it is just a standalone blend. The Balkan flake is another matter. This is a brown flake with some latakia and rum flavour, maybe. Good, very good. Same problems of lightning and the tobacco need some drying, as in all SG tins, but that's part of the deal with SG. Update after the first tin: the problem with this good flake is that it does not burn. We all know too well the SG attitude to deliver hard to smoke flakes, but this one beats all of the others. I mean I cannot bear with lighting 20 times the flake to keep it burning, and nothing changed no matter I tried all tricks. It is too pressed, I believe. So I downgrade it to 3 stars.
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The Persian Slipper	01/10/2013	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
There is an expression in the United States where I live called "hem-haw". It means to be undecided about a subject. I'm hem-hawing about Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake. Not being much experienced in flakes I tried several different ways to smoke the blend. For me, they achieved the same results. For the positives on this blend, Navy Flake does smoke very slowly; much slower than I'm used to a pipe smoking, in fact. The Virginias are forefront in this blend, which is good if you're a Virginia lover. The blend burns even, with a nice white ash. It's pretty difficult to get it to bite. I've puffed it quickly in the past and it stayed pretty tame. The overall flavor is a medium to full taste, not recommended for the casual or new smoker, but for the dedicated smoker it will be a treat. Now we're going to get into the bads. The rum flavor that's touted on the tin is very rarely detected. That was one of my reasons for buying the blend, as I enjoy rum enhanced tobacco blends. The latakia is much muted, acting as a secondary element, not an equal one, to the Virginia. This is a problem to the latakia lover, as it isn't enough to satisfy. I'll give this blend a recommendation, as the elements of it come together quite well. Going into it for the right expectations, someone can get a nice smoke out of it.
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KahveDelisi	01/05/2013	Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Amazing tin aroma (well I LOVE rum) smoked "out of tin" wet -- it is the bite machine completely dried out -- starts kind of dull but through half of the bowl it gets sweetened and finish is extremely sweet. I'd suggest occupying yourself with something else till you reach first half of the bowl.. then take a seat, enjoy the rest.
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Clive Moses Apikouris	12/26/2012	Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant
This is an unbelievably satisfying and scrumptious tobacco. I was immersed in enjoyment from the moment I opened the tin. My nostrils filled with a literally mouthwatering sweet, smokey, savory aroma. Visually the strips of tobacco look to be chewy and tasty and match the olfactory experience. As others have mentioned previously, I felt the urge to tear off a bit and begin noshing on the stuff. Instead I rubbed it out and for a first run packed it into a favorite Peterson system pipe. It rubbed out moist but I never dry out tobacco. I like moist tobacco. Dry tobacco usually becomes bitter in my opinion. Lighting up my mouth was filled with smoke that was consistent with both the previous visual and olfactory information I had acquired. DEEELICIOUS! Lots of sweet n'smokey in a smooth viscus and non-monotonous manner. The flavor always stayed in the sweet n' smokey category but varied in degrees of bright and dark flavors. The latakia is only a seasoning here, this is nothing like a Balkan or English Oriental blend. It'a really on the other side of the "English" varieties. Just ripe sweet Virginias with a pinch of Latakia and a splash of Rum. Oh I suppose there is some of the famous (or infamous) Lakeland essence here also. The result is outstanding and a pure pleasure to smoke without a hint of harshness or tongue bite. I've since smoked it in a variety of pipes. It's best enjoyed in a medium size bowl with a bit of depth like my Blakemar Briars Straight Grain,bent billiard. I've smoked it in a nice Shalom Author and the lack of depth led to too much re-lighting. Most very highly recommended!
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TomekKGG	11/05/2012	Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

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DaddyWarbucks	09/26/2012	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Strong
Good lord, this is a delicious tobacco. I think the good points have been stated well enough by others. It's meaty. I mean, it really has a meaty, sweet beef jerky kind of smell in the tin. The first time I tried this flake, I expected it to be a lot heavier blend; in fact, it's pretty moderate. The flavor is rich and smooth, it burns beautifully if rubbed out and dried a little (it's downright moist on arrival), and it's got enough nic-kick to keep one going on a late night writing session. Delicious. One of my favorites.
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Philosopher	08/16/2012	Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
This one promised a lot - on opening the tin there was a blast of spice and rum. But on lighting it just didn't follow through. I'm not sure whether to say "bland" or "refined" - possibly the latter and my taste is too coarse. Doubt about that gives it a 3 rather than a 2 star rating.
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halpuff	07/17/2012	Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
If six stars were possible SG Navy Flake would receive six stars from me. This is the first Virginia/Latakia flake I have experienced. I received a tin of this yesterday and tried my first bowl this morning and all I can say is WOW! FANTASTIC!! I opened the tin last night and was greeted with that wonderful (my wife calls it rotten gym sock)aroma of toasty Latakia. The beautiful bacon strip like slices were neatly stacked and the tin aroma was fantastic. I think I had my nose in the tin for thirty minutes just taking in the musty nuances of this great blend. Knowing I was going to try my first bowl the next morning I pulled a couple of slices from the stack and gently broke them up into rough and still fairly large chunks and laid them out on a piece of copy paper to dry overnight. Next morning I drove to a nearby state park and found my favorite bench and sat down with anticipation of my first bowl of flake tobacco. I took with me my medium size GBD sandblast billiard which I reserve only for English blends and proceeded to carefully load the broken chunks of slice into the bowl. With a gentle tamp to seat the load into place and a check for draft I proceeded to the charring light. I found it took two wooden kitchen matches to create a good char and then after allowing the burn to go out I followed up with a light tamp and a final third match that burned to the bottom. I found the tobacco to burn slow and cool and for nearly a full hour. I experienced no bite at all found the aroma and taste to be heavenly all the way to the bottom of the bowl. I could sense no topping of rum at all, but then again I am not a drinker so I really would not know what to look for. I found this to be a complex and interesting smoke with many subtle and creamy flavors. The flavor and aroma I experienced the most I would compare to the aroma and taste of warm chocolate milk on a winter morning. The aftertaste was nearly non-existent and smooth leaving my mouth feeling clean and light. Great tobacco!! Harkpuff
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SmokingMySav	06/03/2012	Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong
Never got any rum flavor out of this one. I tried 2 different tins and a bulk 250g box and still no rum whatsoever. The taste is of very mild Balkan Flake, which I hate with passion, but somehow Navy Flake is quite tolerable and I see no reason not to finish what I have left. Definitely not one of the SG products I plan on buying in the future.
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Blue Bayou	04/13/2012	Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable
Too heavy on the Latakia for my taste. I prefer MacBaren Plumcake.
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pipelovingcalvinist	04/03/2012	Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong
I was quite disappointed in this blend. I read that this was Balkan Flake with rum, so I thought it would add a new dimension to the tobacco.I was wrong. This was one of the most boring tobacco's I have smoked. I don't know if I got a bum tin or what, but I found this to have less flavor than Balkan Flake. I could tell that this was quality tobacco and it burned nicely, (after drying out), but was wholly lacking in taste. Commonwealth Mixture is the exact opposite of this blend and I enjoy other SG offerings, but this one fell flat for me. Soli Deo gloria!
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machinebacon	03/30/2012	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
An interesting mix of VA, Lat and Rum flavour. I got my last order in a rusty (!) tin, which had negative effect on the tin aroma. Big chunks of dark tobaccos, bit on the moist side. Smells like a mix of smoked bacon, liquorice and a hint of Ouzo. Tastes well-balanced, slightly sweet and not typical for a tobacco containing Latakia, which only plays a supporting role adding the leather base. Top quality tobacco, light to medium in Vitamin N. Tastes fantastic in cold, windy or rainy weather. Not a summertime tobacco in my opinion, but definitely recommended for autumn afternoons. Gets four stars if SG manages to introduce a better quality control for their tin material.
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Aussie-man-die-as	03/11/2012	Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Full	Strong
I reach for Navy Flake when I want a strong, rummy flavor hit with Latakia. No-brainer really. Not too much nicotine, but strong enough. Really good Virginias, a splash of Latakia and a dash of rum. Rich and full flavored; I can't smoke it all the time, but when I do I am always satisfied. Keep room note away from loved ones if you want to be loved. This is tarry and difficult to rub out fully, and it leaves the fingers coated with Latakia/rum residue. But once lit (a few charring lights required) it smokes well with some attention. For me, it is worth the trouble, and is a unique combination in my experience. The consistency is similar to Sam Gawith's Balkan Flake, although a touch gummier. Less Latakia though, but more depth of flavor. I "highly recommend" this to lovers of rich flavors, who are not afraid of a little extra preparation time. Others need not apply. This too shall pass.
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DrCHicks	03/05/2012	Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable to Strong
This is one of my top 5 smokes. It is full of flavor and is just a great smoke to enjoy with a guinness. Truthfully the reason I enjoy this smoke so much is it returns me to Ireland. I can almost fil the mist and hear the sheep of that lovely green land when I light this tabocco. The smoke itself has a extremely warm and smooth body. I always return to this smoke when I just want to totally relax and leave my toughts of worries and cares behind.
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cactusboy33	02/26/2012	Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This tobacco is one of my preferred flakes. It's smoky, full of the typical Balkan flavours and the hints of rum really bring it all together. A stand up tobacco that lights, smokes and tastes great as well as being flavoured with my all time favourite spirit. My perfect partner to a good rum on the rocks
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Michael	02/23/2012	Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Marosi's review echoes my sentiments: This flake explodes with flavor, and is smooth from first light to last puff. Despite how moist it is (I rub it out and only let it sit for 15 minutes to keep the rum flavor intact), it burns completely dry to a fine, light ash. Unlike other Navy Flakes, this contains Latakia, but it is tamed in typical Lakeland fashion, and the rum flavoring adds a pleasing and complementary taste, atypical of other flavored English blends I've tried, where everything competes for attention and the result is a mishmash. Some have said that this is boring, but I disagree. It may not be contemplative, but it is never dull -- medium to full, I say, with enough nicotine to satisfy. It does smoke slow when not over-dry, so one flake will do ya. Worth a try!
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 87 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >