Typical SG flake of various widths that comes overmoist in the tin. A good half hour of drying time made it smokable but it preferred about 2 hours. Easily loaded via fold-and-stuff, which is how I most enjoyed it. The tin nose was heavily of tonquin with a backdrop of fine orientals (and for my good friend Capt, blenders essentially mean the same thing when they say oriental vs turkish... emphasis on "essentially") and virginia well to the rear. The tonquin flavor was always there but switched places with its aroma, and moved to the back of the bus. This is an amazing virginia/turkish blend with a high concentration of middle-eastern leaf. There is an even mix of sweetness and earthiness which is hugely intoxicating. It reminded me of another blend, possibly something from C&D or GLP, but I never could put my finger on it (perhaps sort of a GLP Cairo with the perique substituted for tonquin). Here, the Turkish was much less a condiment and more a near-equal partner with the virginia. The taste was not of the incense of Drama or Smyrna but of the darker, toastier Samsun varietals. Excellent baked bread aroma but more of a wheat bread.

If you're looking for an excellent virginia with a good dose of orientals (and no latakia), here's a good stop for you. This one has made my rotation. Home Run for Sam Gawith!

The varying thickness of the flakes do not bother me, as I rub them completely out. But, even if folded and stuffed, why would it matter?

This tin note is a mix between Kendall Cream and 1792, I think anyway. It almost has that tonquin flavor of 1792, but the creaminess of Kendall Flake. The description above states it has Orientals in it. It does not. It is Va and Turkish. The turkish really stands out in this flake, bringing an slight acidic ashiness to the exhale. I love almost all Gawith blends, but this one really hasn't caught my attention yet. I will smoke the other few tins I have, and hopefully I can add at least one other star to my review. Pairing well right now with a Remy Martin VSOP.

Soli Deo gloria!

I've had the pleasure of being in the same room while other pipe friends smoked sam's flake (actually I'd preffer calling this Cem's Flake but none would understand :P) The room note reminds me of the scent coming off when roasting coffee (not roasted coffee, it's not same) which is very similar to scent of baking bread. Through the half of the bowl I get slightly salty taste but other than that, it's like I'm smoking coffee from start to end. Obviously there's no coffee flavoring in this flake but either the addition of Turkish leaf or the Virginia itself or both of them combined, comes out as mild, semi-sweet, not so complex, clean coffee notes. Actually, Brazil yellow bourbon comes to my mind.

I got best results when fully rubbed and packed loose & wet (and when I say wet, I mean "just out of tin" wet) surprisingly it takes flame easier compared to other SG tobaccos I've tried.

The smoke is pretty decent as a bland straight Va., but if you expect an oriental blend you'll be highly disappointed.

Two stars, as this baccy is sold as a oriental blend, which clearly it is not.

Very dark flakes with fruity notes (it reminds me of apple and pears), quite moist like all SG. I rub the flakes and let them dry for a couple of hours and then load in the bowl and light.

Lighting the mixture you can taste and smell a mild flavouring (not fruity when lit), always very pleasant and never overpowering, very well balanced and never tiring. Dry and sweet smoke, with spicy notes due to orientals.

Something different from usual VA mixtures, top quality flakes. Great smoke for morning and afternoon!

I’ll buy more and keep in my rotation.

Highly recommended!

The usual optics for a SG flake: dark leaf, and hit-and-miss thickness of the slices. Some people are actually complaining about that, it seems. I don't really see the problem; I rub 'em out anyway because with SG flakes, folding and sinking does not seem to work for me at all.

The tin note instantly calls my attention: there's good oriental in there, with its (sorry, folks) typical soap-ish notes that translate into sweetness and spice once lit up. I'd say Izmir. Comparing this blend with FVF as has been done before, in my opinion, would be like comparing a Bentley to a Lotus. Both quite good, but totally different beasts.

Anyway, some drying-out is necessary; just don't let it get too dry. I rubbed out my first few pipefuls and thoroughly enjoyed the highly civilised behaviour of this offering. Sweet/spicy taste, more sweetness from the VA, very calm burning properties, and at the end there is just about nothing left in the pipe except a very fine ash. A beautiful smoke, with a wonderful aftertaste of Turkish Delight lingering on for quite a while.

I could use a little more oomph, and the flavouring I believe to be superfluous (it tastes and smells somewhat vanilla-ish with perfume side-notes). Still a great smoke. It does not have that extra "BING!" effect for me that would make me give a full rating, but it's quite close to that, really; I'd say 3.75 stars.

At first I decided to rub this flake out and later to cut the flakes up into small piece and smoke. Both methods produced the same results for me. After firing this blend up, I find that it lights extremely easy and needs no relighting. Flavors of dark Virginia greet me with that casing lingering in the background. As for the orientals, there are none that I can detect. They may be in the flake, although during the visual inspection I could not see any pressed in with the Virginia Leaf. I suspect they are in the mixture but in extremely low amounts and the casing overpowers what the orientals would have to offer to this smoke. As the bowl progresses the Virginia just picks up steam and becomes a little stronger then in the beginning. The casing sticks in the background only to jump in and out every so often to let you know it's there. Towards the end of the bowl, it's mainly Virginia that you get. The casing is barely there at all. The blend burned very well, and did not bite at all.

I find that a smoker would be better served sticking with the other S&G offerings, FVF comes to mind here. I was disappointed in the lack of orientals in this flake. I opened the tin with hopes of finding a flake with enough orientals to give me a change of pace. In the end, one would be better to just stick with a straight forward Virginia and save themselves the hours trying to figure out the casing / topping used on this flake.

Neat soldiers of flakes await. I choose to rub out. Smooth tasty smoke, well worth picking out every other day, when the mood arrives.

I've almost finished the tin and still can't really get a handle on this taste.

Certainly not a tobacco to smoke all day every day. Don't know if I'd buy another tin, but certainly buy 25g quantities if on offer.

Well worth exploring. Boring it isn't.

I preferred to dry the flakes. The flavors are tastier in this way. I usually don't rub the flakes but this is a bit hard to light so I rubbed a little. Smokes well and cool. It is so cool that I can say I've tasted a bit menta like freshness. At the end of the bowl you can say that "aa that's the Turkish!" A delightful, elegant, true tobacco smoke indeed.

One of the most satisfying tobaccos I have ever smoked. Will be added in my stock regularly.

Upon opening the tin and peeling back the gold foil paper holding the dark slices of Virginia flake and Turkish tobaccos, I gave this blend my nose test, after all if you can't stand the smell why bother to continue. I was greeted with the aroma of ripened raisens with their tangy sweetness and honey mixed with a soft earthiness. Unlike the McClelland Virginia blends no ketchup here!

For my first pipeful I simply folded the slices in half and slid them into the bowl. Not allowing these slices to dry slightly made them rather difficult to light. After finally getting the fire stoked up I sat back and enjoyed a mild and sweet blend that I found most enjoyable with flavors of raisen, honey and a slight caramel undertone.

The next day I tried my second bowl only I prepared the leaf by rubbing it out but not fully. I don't know why but I decided to hold a slice in the sunlight coming into my kitchen to see the real colors of the tobacco and was surprised by what was revealed to me. Covering the slice were tiny granuales of sugar, leading me to believe I had recieved a tin that had a bit of age on it. They glistened in the sunlight like a fresh fallen snow in the moonlight. I prayed that these tiny specks weren't beetle eggs but what the hell any bug that can stand the heat of a pipe deserves to be taste tested! I found that rubbing out the flake made for an easier light and a more tastey bowl from start to finish.

Bottom line - A thouroughly wonderful smoke with great flavors and a gentle sweetness that fills the mouth. Not at all like the sweetness found in aromatics but the natural sweetness of a well prepared Virginia or maybe beetle eggs. Who knows?? I plan to get a few more tins to cellar for a few yars and hope that upon opening them I am not invaded by giant insects!! JOKING OF COURSE

Keep Da Faith