update 27/04/12 I stored it for a while to see how it progress. I am sorry to confirm most of my review. 1 MUCH to thick slices 2 Very WET But 3 MUCH MUCH to light in NIC!!!!! I smoked so much blends and get from almost every blend a decent voooom but not from this. Taste is good. strengh for aromatics

The pouch (Synjeco supplied my order in rather well designed pouches) aroma is clearly virginia and latakia, with the hint of rum. If you rub out the flakes between your palms and then put your nose to your palms, the rum aroma comes through very clearly. All three components merge together nicely into an inviting redolence. The taste is what the pouch aroma would lead you to expect. I did not find the blend to be particularly sweet; perhaps the proportion of latakia has been adjusted to prevent any cloying sweetness. Certainly, the proportion of latakia is far higher in this blend than in Chocolate Flake. The tobacco burns well once it has taken light, but stays cool. The `heaviness' of Samuel Gawith flakes generally results in slow and cool smokes - it is practically impossible to get them to burn hot unless they are severely maltreated.

I think an apt comparison would be with Esoterica's Pembroke. Pembroke, with no virginias and a sophisticated application of cognac, is like a wildly exciting can-can: alright for an occasional treat, but you can not make it your staple entertainment. Navy Flake is more like a homely amusement that you can live with every day without getting exhausted.

I only wish I could discover the marine commonalty between the various Navy blends.

Nice looking flake... thick flakes that took well to fold-n-stuff. It performed best in that state and with minimal drying out. Too dry and it lost its sparkle, but somewhere halfway between tin moisture and tinder was best. No nicotine overload with this one.

This tobacco has one of the best finishes of any blend containing latakia that I've ever smoked. Even during the first half-tin when I was bored out of my skull, the finish on this was gorgeous. I think this is why I gave it so much attention - in order to get to the end! Eventually the high quality virginia tang won me over, with the wisp of latakia to make things interesting and complex. Never did taste any rum but I could smell it in the tin. A light smolder on this one rather than heavy clouds is the way to go. The flavor seems to open up better with the least amount of heat. This then becomes an almost chewy smoke with incredible depth. I can't quite rank it as a "top dog" but this is one that any VA lover that isn't afraid of a little latakia should try. I will probably pick up a couple more tins (if I can find them) and smoke on rare occasions. Man, that finish is to die for! If the entire smoke tasted like the last few puffs, this would be in the top 5 of my rotation.

I've never had a navy flake with latakia before and I can't think why no other manufacturer has thought of it. It just seems right to me. It fits.

The usual SG flake attributes of overmoistness and inconsistency of cut apply as does a slight reluctance to take light and a mild desire to bite (easily avoided with a little attention). It reminds me alot of SG's Kendal Mayors Collection Chocolate Flake but with a rum topping insead of a cocoa one, which I think works slightly better with the base tobaccos. Although, like Chocolate Flake, the taste doesn't vary much throughout the smoke and is ever-so-slightly dull.

Overall a good, interestingly differnt tasting, tobacco which is slightly 2 dimensional but worth a try.

Some reviewers appear to be hung up on the latakia issue. I read at least one review that griped that this did not have enough latakia for his taste. In response I would point to paragraph one, and reiterate that the presence of latakia here is a pleasant surprise. This is not a "latakia" blend, and should not be reviewed as one. The latakia is here to add flavor and dimension to the mixture, but it is not the main attraction. Gawith does this masterfully (see chocolate flake) and the results are some of the most unique and tasty pipe tobaccos around. The latakia in this blend cools the smoke, and adds depth and richness which is simply lacking in similar blends (and I use the term "similar" loosely, because there is really nothing else like this out there that I am aware of).

Similarly, I find the rum application to be both one of the strongest, and tastiest, that I have ever tried. The tin aroma is delicious, and that odor is realized while smoking. In addition, while my general experience has been that alcohol cased tobaccos burn hot, this is an exceedingly cool smoke, like most Gawith flakes.

Some have noted, with varying degrees of consternation, that this is moist out of the tin. To this I say "duh!" Flakes are moist. I have a tin of Christmas Cheer from 98 or 99 that went about six years after opening before I needed to add a humidifier (I keep it for a special occasion smoke, so that it will last forever!). Further, tin moisture is not a relevant criteria for review, unless the tobacco is so dry as to be damaged. Most flakes are going to need to be dried out before smoking, unless you like your smoke exceedingly wet and hot. Have a little patience, dry that flake out for a couple of hours before smoking, and see what a difference that makes.

This flake explodes with flavor. The rum is present, the sweetness of the VA's is there, and the latakia rounds things out in a singular way. It is a cool smoke unless abused. The nicotine strength is medium to my tastes. It does not make me woozy like 1292 or Bracken flake do, and that is a good thing in my book, as it allows me to smoke more if this in a bigger bowled pipe.

Gawith has been making their singular products for literally centuries. No other company comes close in my book in terms of consistency and quality. People gripe about the Rattray's that used to be, or the blender who made Dunhill twenty years ago. Gawith has been cranking it out on the same machinery for a very long time, and believe me, they have the process down. I know I sound like a Gawith commercial, but after trying literally dozens upon dozens of blends from around the world, my experience is that Gawith products are usually a breed apart, and this Navy Flake is no exception. A super tasty, good smoking flake. Buy some and see for yourself! (FYI, there are still a few sources for Gawith blends in the USA right now if you look hard enough, and I personally have purchased six or eight tins in the last month. I am not telling where, though, because I am a selfish only child, and do not want to share, so there.)

I'd say this is on the milder side of medium, sweetened only slightly by the almost unnoticeable addition of rum. The rum is unobtrusive and somehow melds nicely with the Latakia, added with a gentle touch.

Too mild for an evening smoke, it is nevertheless an agreeable companion during the day. Three and a half stars. A little more heft and body and I'd rate it four stars.

It ofcourse came very wet out of the tin, so I put one and a half flake out to dry, forgot about it and came home 6 hours later when it was very dry.

Fold and stuff, lighting was easy, taste bitter, sour in a nice way, but a bit harsh. The rum I noticed more in the nose than on the palate, overall a sweet nice smoke.

Subsequent smokes when dried only 15 to 30 minutes were smooth in taste but harder to keep lit.

All in all a pleasant experience best dried about halfway.

Update: When I only have time for one pipe on a day, I find myself grabbing Navy Flake as a treat, upped to 4 stars.