Opening the tin, my first impression was SG Navy Flake minus the rum. Verrrrrry tasty-smelling (if that makes any sense). The tin aroma is full of Latakia, with a good amount of VA in there. The slices are relatively thick, very dark (almost black) and crumble almost before I touch them. With some care, I can fold-twist- sink them; that makes for an extremely slow burn.

Lighting up is the usual SG Flake affair; it does take some patience even when the 'baccy has been dried for a bit. The taste, once this stuff burns, is toast and sweetness; VA and Latakia. Beautiful for me (though I could use some Orientals in there). Not the most interesting smoke, but lots of sweet VA power to go with the Latakia smokiness and toast -- I love it.

Apart from SG Navy Flake, I am also reminded (by the taste, not the tin note) of Dan Tobacco's Holly's Discovery. The room note of both is similar; the Balkan Flake might be ahead on points--just barely.

Beautiful full Latakia flake; not a Balkan or true English, but not bad at all. Not recommended as an introduction to Latakia blends, but for those who love the sweeter ones, this thing delivers.

The blend comprises both Latakia and Virginias, and coming from Samuel Gawith, that's quite similar to their 50/50 Virginia, Latakia Commonwealth Mixture, with likely different proportions. I've always admired Latakia mixes that come in flake form, they are rare and quite elegant. Old Ironsides is a favorite, and having sampled Quiet Nights, I enjoy the uncharacteristic cut which all possess, if a bit light in the press. And looking at my sample, I would say that seems to be true.

Balkan Flake doesn't approach the rigid form of other Lakeland Flakes, it is soft and unwinding. The flakes themselves are almost entirely black, very pliable and smell heavenly. This is a Latakia forward smoke, light in strength and almost salty, rather than sweet. There is a minimal spiciness present and the blend smokes somewhat flat without much variety in flavor. The absence of Oriental leaf makes this smoke rather bland, which I admit may be an unfair assessment, as I see nothing wrong with a strictly Virginia/Latakia combination, my palate likely conditioned to demand some Orientals in a blend.

It took an entire tin to appreciate Commonwealth Mixture, and I seem to be on track here for a repeat. I doubt I'll have a problem finishing my two ounce sample, though I can't say I'll be reordering a further helping. There are far more complex smokes out there.

It's a crime to hide that lovely latakia hidden behind their "deliciously cool" voodoo.

If left to dry out then it becomes an acceptable (if dull) early morning smoke.

This came to me very dry which was good and bad. Good because I tend to smoke latakia flakes bone dry anyway and bad because I didn't get the opportunity to try it in various stages of moisture level. But the sample was a freebie - so it's good overall! Many thanks to the pipe buddy that provided it!

I agree with Johnny below in that this was a decent blend but that the latakia overpowered any real personality traits the VA could have brought to the party. The taste was good, with heavy campfire notes, but I would have preferred it just a tad sweeter and perhaps more woodsy-tasting. It behaved very well in the bowl, and I rubbed it out fully. Could not fold, as it was too dry to make the attempt but, again, latakia flakes I smoke dry and rubbed out anyway. For what this is, it's a fine smoke and is worth a try for any latakia fan. 2.5 stars for my taste rounded up to 3 because it's a high quality Sam Gawith product.

Update, i now adore the roomnote :)

Tinnote delicious

Roomnote burning socks

After having smoked a pouch of Best Brown I seemed to have gone of Latakia blends, but S.G's Navy and Balkan Flakes have put me right back on track. So maybe I'm just a flake smoker.

When you open the tin you realize that this tobacco needs some drying out. I aired out the flakes with the lid off for 3 hours, but that didn't take care of it altogether so I have at a later time separated the flakes and left them to dry on a piece of paper for one additional hour and that makes a good moisture level for my tin in particular.

Smoking the flakes is a breeze. Any way you decide to prepare the flakes works. I prefer to rub them out and leave to dry just a couple minutes more before smoking. Taste (as always subjective) is first a sweet, very fulfilling, taste of old fabric saturated with incense carrying with it the whiff of old wood and maybe a little bit of "dusty attic". As the bowl progresses the sweetness subdues and gives room for a more serious note where the smell of hardwood and campfire reigns supreme. The Virginias in this are not intrusive or "green", they just add a generous helping of tobacco sprites to tingle your tastebuds!

It burns down to an absolute small particled white dust with almost no dottle at all. No tongue bite (but I've never experienced excessive tonguebite from any quality tobacco anyway), no moisture, just tobacco heaven.

I rate this as possibly THE best tobacco I've tried so far. It's full bodied and meaty where other baccies are thin. It's deeply enjoyable even when smoked outside in bitingly cold weather and it just epitomises all the best qualities of a world class tobacco.

As I said; My ABSOLUTE favorite so far! -Recommended as heck!

Rich, creamy and full flavoured. With a nice nicotine level, I was purely amazed.

I wonder if K&Kopp will respect the original recipe, or mess it up.

I will hang on the original tins from Samual Gawith as long as possible and monitor the new manufacture's reactions from my fellow reviewers...

Packing: Once broken up into a chunky rubbed-out state, it packed easily enough. I didn't want to overpack it either, and I feel that it tasted best when packed on the light side.

First Impression: The latakia hits you up front, but there is a sweet/tangy oriental flavor present from the initial light. The smoke has a rich, creamy texture.

Halfway Through Bowl: Oh man, this is good stuff. Big, strong, complex flavors are present - sweet, tangy, woody, and especially leathery. Flavor builds well.

End of Bowl: Wood and leather start to dominate. No big nic hit, despite the strength of flavor. Tangy starts to turn sour (in a good way). Teeters on too much tang/sour if you work it too hard at this point. Leaves more dottle than most.

Room Note: I would guess pretty awful, but smoked outdoors I didn't have anyone to notice.

Likes: Great, complex, big flavors. Really fantastic. Even though it was super hot out during most of my smokes, I was still excited to smoke this heavy English / Balkan style blend. A real winner.

Dislikes: Too moist out of the tin - but that's easily fixed with a little patience and planning. Sour if you work it too hard. Smokes a little hot. None of these will keep me from buying more of this.

Balkan Flake is not one that I crave often, but when I feel the need for a proper Latakia fix it really hits the spot.

I have tried smoking this flake pretty much every way I can think of and my conclusions are that it performs best when it is cut up into wee cubes and gravity filled, and that unlike a lot of flakes, it likes to be pretty moist - not as wet as when it comes out of the tin, but still sticky enough so that the cubes can be pressed together and won't immediately separate.

Inital light up yields a strong waft of Latakia but this is quickly joined by the Va content which, as is customary with SG is top notch. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the quality of the Virginia component is what makes the blend. When the pipe is loaded using the technique described above they really reveal their sweetness and as the bowl progresses they impart a nice toastiness to complement the smokey Latakia.

3 stars as it is a little monochromatic, but nevertheless a very solid smoke if you enjoy your Latakia.

Opening the tin, I was hit with a smell which I was not expecting at all. In fact, I didn't know what to expect, really. It smells extremely earthy, pungent, strong. At first I thought "no way", but I loaded up a bowl of the broken, dark flakes, and off we went.

The first bowl made my stomach turn. The second was better, the third was good, the fourth was awesome. And it just keeps getting better and better. Having spent some more time with this blend (a lot of time, actually) I can now safely say that this tobacco is nothing short of amazing.

The Virginia's are very high quality and sweet, and the dense smell of the Latakia has sweetened as well. What you're left with is a creamy, gorgeous smoke which does not bite in any way, shape or form. It's also possibly the most even burning tobacco I've ever smoked. The taste upon the first match is heavenly, and as the bowl progresses, it gets deeper, sweeter, and even more delicious.

I need to stock up on this. Extremely addicting, and quite simply, flawless.

Obviously top notch tobacco, carefully processed, but I didn't get a lot of nuances from it, just pure smoking latakia with enough other stuff in there that it burns well.

Highly recommended for those who are looking for a latakia bomb in flake form. Otherwise, probably not. I will smoke this occasionally as the mood dictates, but suspect that other blends with more complex notes will get more puffing in my pipes...

UPDATE July 2011 I smoked a bowl of this recently and was very impressed, I was able to detect all sorts of Virginia flavors with the latakia, and felt that the bowl developed nicely throughout. My earlier review was obviously based on either a young tin, or poor smoking technique, or both.

Update 27-07-10: Raised two whole stars. I've had a batch aging in a glass jar for well over a year and decided the other day to try some. Sugar crystals abound. Even though this isn't a traditional Balkan, the Va's are so good that anything under 4 stars wouldn't adequately describe the quality. And yes, I could still taste the fruitiness of the Va's even with the large portion of latakia. Some age and a proper rubbing out did wonders. I find this an interesting blend for those few times a year I stray from my daily diet of straight Virginias.

And now a word about a rumor somebody is spreading on this site about Kohlhase & Kopp taking over the manufacturing for Samuel Gawith. Although I had my doubts that the legendary two hundred plus year old company would relinquish the rights to manufacture its own tobacco, I contacted Samuel Gawith and was assured that this rumor is "ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE." Thank heavens. In this unsure world where once great pipe tobaccos are being discontinued and pipe smokers as well as snuff users are being alienated and squeezed for every last tax nickel, it's good to know that staple companies such as Samuel Gawith are still around producing high quality tobaccos.