Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake

A rich brown-coloured flake with flecks of lighter and darker colours throughout. The bulk version is cut as flakes of about 4 to 5" length and width of 3/4" while the tinned is of more 'traditional' dimensions. Being pure Virginia leaf, some may prefer to dry it a little and of course take it slow. What is revealed is a natural, leafy, sweet aroma and hints of burning hay, some tanginess from the burned sugars and an overall 'natural' character reminiscent of Autumn leaf-fires. It burns slowly, but can require a lot of effort to light initially and some re-lights. Can leave moisture in the bowl, especially if smoked too quickly.

Preparation & Burn: 4/10 Too moist, but drying too much makes it crunchy and hard, harsh and flavorless. Burns fairly cool, not much bite. A few too many relights.

Taste: 16/20 It's a great, pure flavor. I prefer it to FVF. Can be a bit monotone but if you like that tone, great.

Mildness: 7/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. Not much nicotine.

Total: 28/40

Best Brown Flake is most often compared here on TobaccoReviews with Full Virginia Flake, and rightly so, because both blends are quite similar in many regards. However, there is a clear difference between them, which I believe is easily explained by the origin of the source tobaccos.

There are plenty of Virginia varieties grown in each country, but Brazilian and American Virginias generally tend to be stronger, darker, grassier and drier (like in dry wine) than African Virginias, which in their turn are often lighter in Nicotine, brighter, sweeter and much more citrusy and fragrant (and also more prone to bite) than most varieties from the Americas. One may see how perfectly this describes the main difference between the stronger and darker FVF and this light and fruity Best Brown Flake.

It's well known that Best Brown Flake is made of Rhodesian leaves. And it's exactly Virginias from Rhodesia that have long been prized for their distinctive flowery fragrance. In contrast, I've never met any authoritative data regarding the origin of tobaccos sourced for FVF, so I may just speculate that FVF should be probably made primarily of tobaccos from the Americas rather than from Africa, or have at least a significant portion of them blended in.

Best Brown Flake is really fine and fragrant. But I find it also extremely weak (African bright Virginias are just meant to be like that, they're designed to be mild) and quite bity (which is a known feature of all flue-cured bright Virginias). That's why I definitely prefer Full Virginia Flake.

It's the lightest pure Virginia blend I've ever tried. I may honestly recommend this flake to those who have hypersensitivity to Nicotine and still want to smoke a quality tobacco. Other than that, Full Virginia Flake seems to me a better choice.

This batch came in a 250 gram box but the ziplock bag was not sealed all the way, and the outer box was mostly sealed, so it was a little bit dried out but actually had a perfect level for smoking. still pliable and a hint moist. It probably could have dried it a hair more before smoking, but I balled up a bit and stuffed it in a cob, musketball-style.

This sometimes starts off pretty bland and unimpressive. After about half of a bowl, the flavor notes picked up and there were some nice flavors of hay and cereal. More of the grain part of the hay than the fresh cut smell of hay or the barn smell of hay. Kind of like sweet Special K. I also get hints that reminds me of that sharp, coarse grass that grew around my grandfather's pond. Very mild creamy citrus notes on the tongue. I grew up next to a hay field. This brings up memories of walking across the field kicking the piles of drying, but still damp on the bottom, grassy hay. It also had moments that make me think of the buttered rolls we would eat at dinner.

I'm not a big fan of straight Virginia tobaccos, 'cause I don't like too much the sweetness, although natural. I must say that BBF is really good. The quality of tobacco is very high, its strength is moderate - perfect for an all day smoke - and it produces a pleasant feeling. I found it also excellent using it as the base Virginia for some self made mixtures. Highly recommended for straight Virginia lovers, recommended to the others for a must try. 3,5/5 in my personal rating system.

Natural straight Virginia. A little too wet (I usually let a stripe one hour out of his tin, before smoking). Sweet, nutty, with a delicious juniper note (and something like acid tomatos, very intriguing). In a medium bowl, you can find a discrete amount of nicotine (this reason and the fact that this isn't a well-burning tobacco, suggest that it isn't for novices). It gives its best also in briar wood and in cherry wood.

This was my first experience with Virginia flake,so I think I dumped as many bowls as I smoked trying to figure out how to pack it . For what I did manage to smoke I enjoyed it. The tobacco was smooth with no bite ,a subtle natural sweetness that's part of the tobacco flavor,no lingering after taste. I will definitely get it again one day but for now there's a lot more to explore.

A friend of mine gifted me with a tin of these wonderful tobacco, I was very pleased or it round and rich taste. I think is a all day long tobacco and it matain its tastefulness for a long time.

This is another Samuel & Gawith's all time favourite. The tin note is not quite noticeable, but I was pleased by the unevenness and appearance of the flakes as I opened it. They look like ragged leather or rotten wood strips, but not in a bad way. I've had no problems in rubbing and packing this tobacco into my pipe. The moist content is quite high, so these flakes will benefit from some drying time. The topping or casing is somewhat noticeable, but not soapy. There is something to this tobacco, as in every other S&G blend, that is unique to it. If I were to have a blind date with this tobacco, I am pretty sure I would be able to tell it was one of S&G's blends: they all share this undertone and characteristic. If properly dried, it does not seem to smoke hot in your bowl and it burns quite evenly leaving a fine white ash behind. It has a somewhat plummy or orangy taste to it, but my guess is this is due to the casing or topping and not because of the Virginia tobacco itself. I cannot detect any tongue bite at all, but if you smoke this tobacco straight out of the tin, you might do. As I progressed with my smoke, the taste went from medium to medium/full. It has some nice undertones and nuances, but this tobacco does not quite feel like a straight Virginia. I have thoroughly enjoyed my bowl, but if I don't give it four stars is due to the topping and because of the lack of noticeable Virginia properties. It is only in the last quarter of your bowl that these properties will start to show up, but the nuttiness dimension is still missing.