Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake

Tin note is very interesting, of dark chocolate and cocoa/cacao. I really like it. There are some other notes that I can’t name, I don’t know what to compare them with, but it’s good.

The flakes are uneven, quite slim. Mostly black with just some brown and dark gold parts. Very moist!

The flavor and taste are complex. Burley with cacao, nuts and hazelnuts, cedarwood, cloves, and lots of spicy character. There might also be a slight liqueur taste. At first, the kentucky spiciness wasn’t so prominent, it was more burley flavor with just bits of spice. But after I’ve let it sit in the jar, the spiciness went to great heights. I love kentucky, but this is way too much, way too spicy. This spiciness, along with the strength and the topping are giving me hiccups and a sore throat. If dry, it will be spicy first of all. Very spicy! But the notes of the tonka bean are still detectable, in a mild to medium level. Again, cocoa, liquorice, cloves, hazelnuts and maybe a bit of vanilla, struggling to fight the spicy character of the kentucky. When you’ve reached the half of the bowl, the tonka flavor will fade and it will leave you with a kentucky spiciness and a woody character. And it gets rough. Boy, it gets rough! Your neck will feel as if spikes were implanted, and water will only help a bit. Strong? yes. Not sure if strong in nicotine, but surely strong in taste. You will need some water around, as this will make you mouth go dry.

Hard to rub the flakes if they are not dry enough, as they are very sticky. You can feel them being sticky at touch, and when you try to rub them in your hands it’s very sticky. Hard to rub well in smaller bits. But maybe that’s a good thing, because having bigger chunks delivers more aroma, even if it burns bad.

A bit hard to light up, and needs relights.

Doesn’t bite or get hot.

I like the flavor, but due to the intensity of the kentucky, the strength, the difficulty of kipping it lit, will make it a 3 star rating from me.

strength: strong flavoring: medium taste: full room note: tolerable

3rdguy

I just finally finished a tin of this. I really didnt find this to be that strong nic wise but the Lakeland effect was much there. Nothing wrong with that of course, I knew what I was getting into! I had left this in the tin after a few bowls (not to my liking) and I ended up enjoying it for the most part. Once it dried out, I mean really dry. Crunchy.

I can see how it is a popular blend just not something I would cellar up on.

This was a very interesting blend. At first, you see a brown looking flake that looks nothing like any other Virginia Flake. However, it is very nice and burns well. I got some nice floral and hay flavor, along with the steamed natural Sam Gawith flavor from their ancient machinery. Overall, though it looks repulsive, it is certainly a great smoke and worth the money.

A very dark flake, fairly fine cut, and a bit moist. The aroma is almost nasty, possibly owing to the fermentation. It rubs out easily to whatever degree you prefer, and is easy to pack. When first lit, there is a blast of spiciness that's hard to describe, (almost like the sweet components of a curry mixture), not unpleasant and soon subsiding to a manageable level. The fullness of the virginia soon becomes apparent, possibly the fullest I have ever tasted. It is also the smoothest and coolest I can recall, just the "low" note of the tobacco, and a small amount of the tonka flavor. It burns best when puffed very slowly, but never got hot, and leaves a clean white ash. The room aroma got positive comments from my wife. In summary, it is probably not going to be a regular smoke for me, but will probably be an occasional treat to come back to periodically.

This tobacco is one of a kind, very particular, a special one. Everyone should try it. If you like English mixtures, perique, straight Virginia, cavendish or flavored blend, well, this is completly another thing but you have to try it. For me this is not my favourite blend, but – anyway - this is a great tobacco. Simply unique! The declared content is dark – fired leaf with Tonquin flavor. Probably there is dark Virginia fire cured and Kentucky. The mixture is enhanced with Tonquin Bean flavor and perhaps some alcohol. A natural flavored mixture. This blend likes or doesn’t like but if you are a pipe smoker taste it. You’ll test something new. In my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three stars.

If you are searching for a nicotine buzz, look no further.

I think the perfect phrase to sum up Samuel Gawith's 1792 Flake is :

"The Force is strong in this one"

I tried this yesterday and it was like a donkey kick to the gut. I still haven't felt the same since yesterday. I quite drinking 4 years ago but after smoking this stuff I feel hungover lol.

I can handle Dunhill Nightcap and it's almost my ideal strength nicotine level. 1792 is about 3 times stronger in my opinion. I'm likely going to cut it with something else and move onto to greener pastures.

I tried this once and whilst it's not entirely my kind of tobacco, it's not bad and I bet some love it. Complex to me, but pleasant and hits the spot well enough. I quite liked it. Is there wood in it? I mean that in a good way. Different from the rest, but by which I think I mean unique. I won't be switching from FVF, but even so. Good.

This one has been reviewed many times before, so I shall be brief. This flake is legendary, and when a friend began downsizing his tobacco collection, I gladly took 5 tins, I just had an inkling that I would like this. I would say that following my gut resulted in a moderately good decision.

Opening the tin, the flakes are - like all SG Flakes I've encountered - irregular in thickness. They are mostly black with mottled brown flecks throughout.

The tin note is very strong, which I assume is the tonquin bean scent. It is a farmyard scent, freshly mown hay but with a herby quality, barns shaded from the sun dance spring to mind, bringing respite from the heat on a blisteringly hot day. Very pleasant, but you now this will not be a muted smoke by the scent.

The flakes rubbed out easily (I kept some of the thinner ones aside & smoked them folded). I allowed the tobacco time to breathe, but didn't overdo the drying as this seems to be detrimental. Unlike many others, I find SG flakes are variable in the moisture they contain, so maybe I was just lucky with this tin.

The folded thin flakes & the rubbed out flakes took not too much effort to light, and burned fairly consistently down to the bottom. I will state a disclaimer here, though - I am using a new 'chimney stack' pipe that I purchased for flakes & for the first time I am using a gauze, which I believe may have improved the burn of this tobacco by maintaining a consistent air pocket at the bottom of the chamber.

The taste is ... odd. Not unpleasant, but not the same as any other tobacco I have smoked. The tonquin bean is dominant, but synergizes well with the Virginia & Burley. As others have mentioned, the tonquin gives a hint of Oriental tobaccos in the mix, although it contains none. The flavour is consistent & doesn't burn off towards the end of the bowl, the herb/spice/sweet notes make them selves present throughout with bursts of fine tobacco flavour all the way down. The retrohale especially is pleasing. If I got any hint of whisky at all, it was very mutes & contained only in the aftertaste. It was so muted that I'm not sure I got it at all.

The room note is okay, as always probably too strong for non-smokers to enjoy, but the windows are all open as it's summer, so it doesn't hang around for too long.

The nicotine content is strong. It is, for me, an evening smoke after dinner. pairs well with dark teas/dark ales or stouts.

In the end, I'm glad I bought it. I've finished the tin and enjoyed it, but will stow the others away for ageing as I'm not in a massive hurry to smoke the rest. I considered downgrading this to 2 stars for my personal gripe with SG about the variation in their flake sizes, but I've come to realise that this is just par for the course with them, so I will give this 3 stars, but I am being quite generous, on another day it could well have been 2. Overall, all flake lovers should try this at least once. The chimney stack pipe was a worthwhile investment, it smokes flakes well, but will need a thorough clean since I've smoked this tin in this one pipe, and I feel it could ghost the pipe quite stubbornly.

This review went on a bit longer than I expected it to, really.