Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake

You spin me right round baby right round like a record baby right round round round?..

I ordered a tin of 1792 simply to top off a SP.com* order to hit the free shipping minimum. I like to order my bulks and then at least one new thing to try each time. Selected simply by the ingredient listing on this site and the overall rating, without reading the reviews. It sat around for a couple of months waiting for me to crave something new and the craving hit me this morning? 11am, empty stomach? on a break from a task requiring multiple trips up and down a ladder?. Oh my !! Shoulda read the reviews first, Ed!

But I love this strange taste? this is my first non-latakia English-Oriental blend, and I?m slowly moving away from latakias. Initial tin scent hit me as licorice-like (I was hungry remember) and though it took many lights to get things rolling, roll they did.

Guess the rest of that job can wait until this afternoon? whooopeeee! I love this stuff!

Good pleasure/price ratio, smooth gentle draw, no bite whatsoever and it defers quite well if allowed to sit and go out for a few minutes. But do eat first!

From Utopia, TX? hava goodun!

*top kudos for smokingpipes.com for consistent quick shipping and precise orders, never once delayed or shipped short because of inventory problems.

Mmm bliss! This is one tobacco that you can easily get yourself lost in.

Sadly it does take some effort to get it into a fit state to smoke.

I've found that when it's fresh from the tin, 1792 requires a whole box of matches and a selection of pipe cleaners tackle its moistness. Being very moist and the thickest cut I've come across in a long time isn't the best combination for the impatient smoker. Although, once it's been left open overnight it becomes much easier to handle. Though it does loose a lot of the tonquin casing.

When first opened, it smells and tastes like a chocolate flavoured cereal. Luckily, when it has been thoroughly aired, this characteristic fades and its medicinal nature begins to shine.

If you enjoy strong flakes -like Peterson's Irish- and want a lighter break from the fruity and floral, then this is a tobacco for you.

Just a brief addition to the many interesting comments.....

Smells and tastes are notoriously difficult to classify, so I won't try too hard. Tonquin, doubtless like many other aromatics, strikes a positive note with some and not with other tasters; I'm one of those people who like the aroma. Likening it to the smell of rotting garbage may have been fun to write, but it really didn't help me (but I must say I did enjoy the anticipation of getting my hands on such a notorious tobak...)

I took the plunge and bought half a pound - anything that arouses such passions has to have something to commend it! My package arrived, but the flakes were surely too dry - almost crumbly. Certainly not the wet slices I'd read about. Nonetheless, I lost no time in rubbing out a hapless flake, filled pipe, applied light, and....was surprised to be somewhat underwhelmed. Strong enough to keep me interested, sure, but a little one-dimensional, and a wee bit hard to keep evenly burning (never a problem with Irish Flake, or SG's Brown or Black plugs). A few pipes later, I still was less than ecstatic.

I believe that I came up with a rather effective solution, although it might be specifically effective for me given that I tend to smoke slightly smaller pipes (Group 4's and 3's). I re-hydrated the tobacco the old fashioned way: with pieces of cut-up apple, and left the 1492 for about 3 days to see what happened. Well, as you might expect, the tobak took on a very faint apple hint, but now it felt right; pliable, and somehow more organic. This made the rubbing out much easier - I now believe this flake behaves best when very fully rubbed out. Result - Heaven! Delicious, slow burning, cool, satisfying, one pipeful leaving me wanting another.

A marvelous tobacco, not for the inexperienced no doubt, but full of rewards if treated properly. Highly recommended!

Although I considered myself an exprienced smoker of flake tobaccos, I had put my pipes away for many years smoking only cigars. However I missed the range of flavors available via the pipe, as well as handling the many briars and meerschaums I accumulated in the 70's and 80's. This was one of the first tobaccos I tried when I picked up my pipes again and I was at overwhelmed by it's strength. I smoked in a large billard meerschaum (a Paul Fisher) and several smaller briar pipes.

I love the look and feel of this flake and it's aroma in the tin. After my first smoke, I let it dry out for a day and tried it again. It begins very peppery, but settles into a range of nutty flavors. It burns cool and to a white/grey ash. But it is a powerhouse, and gave me thoughts of dropping it from any rotation of blends.

Then it dawned on me to do a little "aftermarket blending." McClelland's Dominican Glory is a rather bland blend in a ribbon cut I thought would mix well with this flake. Rubbing out 1792 and mixing it 50/50 with Dominican Glory produced what I was looking for -- a mild to medium smoke that knocked the power of 1792 down, but imporved the taste of Dominican Glory. This was also a great solution for the several tins of McClellands I had sitting around.

I'm a relatively new pipe smoker. 2 months now. I've read a lot about SG's 1792 Flake, so I decided to take the plunge. I love this tobacco! A very cool smoke. The taste is quite peppery in the first half of the bowl and then it settles down to a wonderful full smoke. I've heard comments about nicotine content. I find this quite light, nicotine wise. Peterson Irish Flake is a lot stronger in my opinion. Nevertheless, if any pipe smokers out there haven't tried this blend, I would recommend that you do. The tonquin flavour in my tin was perfect, not overpowering at all. And the moisture level was perfect too. I still dried a bit out for about 15 mins, just to make sure. All in all highly recommended. This and Petersons Irish Flake are my fav smokes to date. Strong and fulfilling. I will definitely be purchasing this flake again. A big 5 stars!!!!!

On my second tin of 1792 I decided to mix it with SG Medium virginia flake due to the strength of 1792. The result is that 1792 now tastes better and smells better! As has been noted many times this is a strong smoke. For me at least, mixing it down with a milder virginia has led to a most excellent smoking experience. This is one flake that everyone must try, straight or not.

Update: My first review ~2002. I have since bought several newer tins and I believe the quality has increased dramatically. I recall several bad batches during that 2000-2002 timframe. This stuff is really good today. Yes, the emperor is naked, smelly, and wonderful!

2002: My "desert island" smoke, my holy grail of tobaccos. This is the only tobacco I purchase by the pound. 1792 is simply amazing; very mild with a strong earthy flavor. You see, I'm not a lover of latakia or aromatics; just honest to goodness real tobacco flavor...and this is what 1792 delivers. The base taste is very similar to Brown Rope #4 but the tonquin bean additive mellows the earthen flavors, yet adds a unique aroma to the experience. When I smoke 1792 in large Oom Pauls, the overall smoke is very mild, however, small well-caked bowls seem to awake it into a sharper more pleasant smoke. You may keep your raspberry-vanilla-mocha-chocolate-cherry-flavored tobacs, 1792 is real and a classic. Thank you SG.

When I smoke this heanenly tobacco I recall how it was the saviour of my pipe smoking career. Having spent a long time smoking Camels before taking up the pipe, I spent years looking for a tobacco which I could smoke all day, with no tongue bite and which satisfied my craving for a top quality virginia tobacco.

Here is my saviour, just as delightfula tobacco as can be had anywhere.

This is my Desert Island tobacco. I would not care if every other pipe tobacco were to be discontinued as long as this 'Nectar of the Gods' is around.

One of the only tobaccos I buy in bulk for cellaring like the finest of wines.

Not for everyones taste especially for the candy store tobacco wimps.

God bless 1792 True Manna from Heaven. 5 Stars out of four!

My favorite tobacco for the past six years. However, like fine wines, it has its seasons and shifts in quality. A few years ago, a very large bad batch of it hit the US, and I had several tins that were markedly off in flavor from the older, sweeter tobacco. Fortunately, this appears to have been a temporary glitch and today it is as excellent as ever. It has a curious mating with my body chemistry in that this is one of the very, very few tobaccos that I can smoke for bowl after bowl with no bite. It is strong stuff, and can easily knock the uninitiated for a loop, especially if smoked on an empty stomach. The rich tonquin flavoring makes it one of a kind. Anyone who enjoys this blend is also encouraged to try Bracken Flake, a sweeter, more aromatic blend that shares some familial qualities with 1792.