Fire Dance Flake smells delicious in the tin, and the flakes pack beautifully. Upon lighting, there is an initial whiff of light berry flavor, then the brandy and vanilla step to the front. . . and their combined taste in this blend was not at all appealing to me. (Frankly, "sweaty feet" was the mental image created by the aroma.) While I don't doubt that there are fine Virginias here, they never really have the chance to shine on their own. I like everything in this blend; I just found the end result to be much less than the sum of its parts.

I had picked this one up thinking that it might be a good compromise between being a pleasant-smelling tobacco for passersby and an enjoyable pleasure for the actual smoker, much like Bob's Chocolate Flake is for me. After making my way through an entire tin, though, I felt that it missed on both counts. Hopefully, your mileage will vary and you'll find something here to enjoy.

I have always found the Lakeland brown flake to be a bit on the bland and grassy side, but it does very well with the addition of aromatic top dressing, especially such natural and masterfully concocted aromatic agents as are used by Samuel Gawith. The flavors of fruits, especially blackberry, are just like the real thing and pleasant throughout the bowl, never becoming harsh or foul-tasting. There are two more subtle underlying flavors that I find particularly interesting. One is the toastiness from the Burley and Virginia flake; the other is a combination of essences that draw me back into my early childhood, being like unto Play-Doh or Crayola?s.

One can rub this flake out if so desired, but it isn?t necessary. It will burn perfectly with an entire flake packed into the pipe. Never once did this burn my tongue or even come close to doing so. Like so many Gawith aromatics, the flavoring agents are pungent and will remain in the pipe for a while, but I have never minded this and find that they burn off rather quickly. If you are an aromatic smoker, though, I doubt that you will have to worry, given that it may be difficult to smoke anything other that this tobacco.

Once opened, the tin was too moist to smoke. Nonetheless, I tried anyway. Gurgly blackberries requiring a pipecleaner every 10 puffs.

The blackberry flavoring comes across as alcoholic to me for some reason. This is a unique blend that "aromatic experimenters" should try. Following this tin I'll jump back to the Bogey ropes!

Images evoked include a monsterous red-black demon stabbing a pitchfork into the backside of a sinful, deceased orchard maid.

CAUTION: This -will- infect the briar. You will be tasting blackberries forever, so load this in your aromatic pipes/cobs, NOT your precious VA/flake pipes.

From the moment you unleash the raw, gummy strands of flake packed with their jammy blackberry aroma to the first mild sizzling at the top of the pipe this is a satisfying treat for nose and palate alike.

I generally smoke latakia blends and am not a huge fan of aromatics (particularly disliking overly cased "candy shop" blends) but this is something altogether different. For a start, the blackberry taste is not particularly sweet, but subtle and warming, the closest equivalent to smoking a well mulled wine.

No offensive floral overtines for me here either (if they are here you must forgive my jaded palate!). To sum up this is a fruity aromatic for those who don't like fruity aromatics - and that sublime paradox is at least enough to drive me back, again and again for just "one more bowl".

"Best Brown Flake" is one of my favourites, so it wasn't with much surprise that I found myself liking this. There was a noticeable "soapy" note on the tongue and palate, but nothing overwhelming. In fact, I found it to be pleasantly astringent. And the aroma, even though I can't find the words to adequately describe it, is heavenly.

If you like Virginias and you can at least tolerate the soapy flavour that many English flakes seem to have, you owe it to yourself to at least try it. It burned clean to a fine ash with no dottle or goop in the bowl. I doubt I would want something like this often, but it does make for a nice change of pace.

My first bowl of FF was hard to finish. I found the fruitiness almost chemical in taste (OK, everything is "chemical tasting" in the literal sense), kind of like sprinkling rasberry Koolaid on top of the tobacco. With subsequent bowls, however, I found that this flavor quickly receded into the background, with the other scents dominating as the bowl progressed. There seems to be that floral "lakeland scent" hovering in the background, but this may be the consequence of smoking in a pipe dedicated to scented flakes.

The jury is still out in my mind as to whether this is an improvement on Best Brown or a slight degradation. Still, I found it worth trying, though my 2 oz sample will probably last a long time. It will be interesting to see how this blend ages...

My 2 oz. sample, after opening the air tight wrapper looked, smelled, and even felt almost like candy. Fortunately it did not smoke that sweet. It did smoke a little wet, so a pipe cleaner is useful, as well as a system pipe or one that passes the pipe cleaner test. Now it's not that wet mind you.

After several days it became more managable. I found that folded strips of flake did not burn well; I had to fully rub out this blend for it to burn evenly in the pipe.

It is definitely an aromatic, but it is not that sweet. At times it tastes as much like sipping blackberry brandy as smoking pressed virginia. I didn't taste the vanilla or blackberry much, but there is some spirit essence blended in. Some natural virginia also breaks through to the taste buds.

This blend is based on SG's Best Brown (medium cooked virginia with some sweetener). However, the brandy essence distinguishes it from Best Brown -- FDF has more of a liquor smoothness to it, when smoked slowly. Best Brown is simplier than this one, but BB did start out a bit hot for me. This one is cooler. McClelland's Navy Flake, in comparison, has less liquor appeal to it.

It is more subdued in the latter part of the smoke. It is not a blend to rush (less it could bite), so you best smoke it slowly. It found it smoked smoother in a medium pipe than a small one.

Maybe too light for an aromatic die hard. (I found SG's Kendal Cream Flake sweeter and rounder.) A crossover blend of sorts (virginian flake to aromatic). I found blends like Peterson's Irish Whiskey easier to cope with. Still some like this new blend, and I applaud the effort to introduce a true navy flake to an American audience. If you crave a bit of liquor in your tabak, and have the patience to deal with the flakes, this may be it for you. Not bad; not bad at all.

The room aroma is wonderful!