Smells very strongly of rotten mangoes in the tin, which told me it is loaded with perique. Was very wet as a Vaper ought to be to age properly, but a couple hours of drying a large bowl on the lid of a mason jar, and it was perfect.

Took 4 lighting attempts to get going, then burned like a dream to a very light powder. On the first puffs the large amount of perique was evident: not the burley imitation but the real thing, which a few sneezes made apparent, which I get from stronger perique mixtures if I have not had any for a while.

The room note was simply amazing. More flavour than most aromatics! Sour and sweet fruitiness, pepper, tobacco, and not even a hint of bitterness, with an amazing aftertaste. In fact, this has to be one of the best tasting, richest tobaccos I have ever tried. I don't think this is based on best brown or FVF, the virginias are darker and not as grassy.

This is so good I am going to cellar as much of this as I can get my hands on. St. James flake is hands down the best vaper I have ever smoked, and I have smoked most of them. Why I didn't try this one ages ago is a mystery.

Nicotine is medium, which is a surprise since it contains no dark fired (I smoke a lot of Gawith and Hoggarth dark flake/plug in both the scented and unscented versions in the evening) which left me feeling relaxed.

This might be your holy grail, if it isn't, it will be pretty close. Definitely going in the daily rotation.

Samuel Gawith either gets it perfect or rank (like 1792, which can be compared to fermented cow dung with some light vanilla-esque topping) and this is the best one of their line up I have tried to date.

This is a medium-strength tobacco, maybe even lighter than medium, and Perique is very sparingly applied. So sparingly that even I can say that a little more would have been much appreciated!

The result is a bit underwhelming: it's similar to Best Brown Flake... but not as interesting, juicy and rich. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it: even if the flakes come a bit moist and gummy out of the tin, they rub out splendidly and burn regularly. No tonguebite, a very even and relaxing experience. On quality of the product I would be tempted to give a "Recommended" rating... The problem is that I have several much more interesting flakes at hand (Rattray's Marlin Flake, Ashton's Old London, SG's own Brown Flake), and this one doesn't offer anything more... and actually something less in terms of complexity, richness, interesting development. And hey, if you call it St James Flake, I expect to taste Perique a bit more: in this department, the McClelland similarly named flake is a much more interesting example.

So... a good but not great tobacco, with absolutely no faults at all except that there are so many better choices around. But this tin was a pleasant experience that I certainly won't complain about.

I don't know why it's so variable: Perhaps it's the complexity and unpredictability of the perique, perhaps it's that the flakes vary from graphene-like monolayers to chunky slabs, perhaps SamuelG's QA department like a few too many lunchtime pints, perhaps it's how much drying time you've given these moist flakes or perhaps it's down to the alignment of planets when you light up.

I don't mean to imply that it's variable from good to bad - just that the way in which it's good is unpredictable.

As with all SamG flakes, a little drying time helps bring out the best (and stops it being flame retardant).

I suppose some adjectives would be helpful here. Sour, yeasty, salty, bready, malty, floral, sweet and (nearly) always brilliant.

Being a huge fan of FullVirginiaFlake, I expected a bit more of that deep buttery sweetness in SJF. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. The Perique is amazing at times, providing a distinct pepper note, and a ghostly jam flavor. The signature Lakeland flavor seems more subdued or perhaps hidden in this blend. It all adds up to a delicious creamy smoke that is simple and wonderful, like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!

I found a good range in flavor in SJF depending on moisture level. My girl at first hated the smell (smoke moist), but as I smoke it dryer, and very slowly, she actually loves the smell!

I will be purchasing more for the cellar.

St. James Flake in bulk is dryer than tinned so you get more tobacco by weight for the money.

The reviewer SomkeQuest had latakia in his tobacco, but that was a mix up or contamination, and only one batch was affected.

The only reasons I can't give this four stars are these: It packs more of a nicotine punch than I like which restrics me to smoking it in small bowled pipes, but if you're more inclined to vitamin N than I am, this can well be an asset to SJF. My main qualm with it lies with its lack of ease of packing, the flakes are uneven and tight, rendering fold and stuff impractical, and though it doesn't let itself get rubbed out as readily as other falke I've had, I find that rubbing it out to a ribbon like form works best.

Excellet leaf, and a must try.

A highlight of Kendal for Virginia lovers. Those who find pleasure in natural, dark-pressed flakes should try this tobacco in any case. For me, a great addition to FV-Flake and Sam's Flake from the same manufacturer.

In short, for me both thumbs up

Love St. James Flake.

As always with SG this is very wet in the tin and the flakes are all of varying thickness. I find both of these things mildly irritating but the sheer quality of the smoke more than makes up for it.

To my taste buds, this seems like FVF with perique, which (to my taste buds) makes it an improvement on FVF. I don't detect any of the Lakeland florals here (but I'm not perticularly put off by them anyway) just a full, naturally sweet, rich tobacco flavour.

P.S. I think the reviewer below me must have got the wrong tobacco sent in his latest package. There is certainly no Latakia in this.

As with all Samual Gawith flakes, this one comes in slices of varied thickness and is rather wet at first. The tin aroma is nice, pretty typical of a VA/Per, but nothing exceptional, really. Sweet and bready.

Fold-twist-sink does not work for me with this blend; I need to rub it out pretty thoroughly. Smoked that way, it's a good, solid VA/Per flake that has enough vitamin N to satisfy me. Not one for the beginner, though.

St. James Flake needs to be smoked slowly and needs good maintenance; that way it will burn down to a mottled ash and give good flavour, room note and enough of a Nic kick towards the end to make it interesting. I have had better and far more affordable VA/Per flakes though, so I cannot give a full rating here.

The nic quotient is medium strong to me; it doesn't wake you up right away but it does hit you later down the end of the bowl. The flavor, however, is not overwhelming. In its rubbed consistency I found it subtle and with no discernible roughness. It's not a Shouter, more of a Pipe Whisperer. I had few relights, even without too much airing out, and it burned down to the heel with no wetness or bitterness.

I got the impression that it will take me some time to fully appreciate the nuances of this deceptively unobtrusive blend. The perique is predominant but not tyrannical, as it is expertly blended with the virginias. Yet the nic, a component to which I've grown sensitive, did catch up with me a bit towards the end. It will never be an all day smoke, but that's just me. I liked it fine and I plan to continue to explore it out in the future. Three and a half out of four *.

Typical VA rules apply when smoking, but sip it along and the flavors are fantastic. Interestingly, I do pick up the faintest trace of soap in these last few dried pieces. Sounds weird, but it fits just fine.

I highly recommend this.