Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake

I love the Gawiths, but this blend just isn't good.

My tin arrived as a thinly sliced broken flake and had a very light, grassy, almost herbal smell. I found the flavours very subtle; it seemed fairly bland. On top of this, it burned hot and had a tendency to bite. In the right pipes, some deeper, leathery flavours came through, but only for a short time. I didn't note the age of the tin when I opened it, but I must have had it close to a year before finishing it.

It's not a revolting tobacco, but there's not much to it. I would recommend it if you're a fan of very light straight virginias which are more grassy than sweet.

Elegant. Medium bodied. Spicy. Slightly sweet. Creamy and slightly musky. Hint of raisins.

Nice clean smoke, mild to medium flavor and medium strength. Reminiscing to smoking a cigar. I'm not an experienced smoker and have only tried a few unflavored tobaccos before. This is the first one I really enjoyed. I will certainly buy this again.

Sweet, bright flavor with grass and a nice fruity tang. Needs a bit of drying but then it burns wonderfully with no bite and few relights. I bought the 250g pack and cut the long flakes with a scissors before folding and stuffing.

Novelty to try your first flake experience learn to smoke was very motivated, in regards the smoke flavor and medium strength give you stimulating smoke Burns evenly which prevents the rekindled many pipe and it does not burn the tongue, so is a good tobacco but there is nothing that stands out and at this stage of the search for the ideal tobacco would consider that it recompraría not very soon.

Given that there is full Virginia flake in Samuel Gawith's Va lines, I didn't hold much expectation of this one, and I was surprised. Best Brown flake isn't a light version of fvf, rather it's a brother who shares the dignified pedigree with a different character. Not like fvf, bbf is much thinner flake and fold and stuff method should be applied easier. One of the best Va on the market.

EDITED 10/30/2016

I ordered a box of this based on my earlier experience with the sample sent to me. I must say I was less smitten with the blend than I was at first tasting. I can say that I had a lot of time to taste this back to back with FVF and my conclusion is that FVF is a superior Virginia to my tastes. This is a bit of splitting hairs, but I find that I like a few other SG vas better than BBF as well, including their Summer Flake. BBF is all sweetness to my tastes and it lacks in body what FVF seems to deliver with its sweetness.

I have decided to drop a star off this one more to differentiate it from FVF and some other SG blends that I feel to be superior. Don't get me wrong, this is still a great blend, but I find that I get a little bored of this one as I get near the end of a pipe. This is something that never happens with FVF.

I became so bored with it, in fact, that I added a heavy bit of Perique to the last 5 or so bowls I had left. These last bowls were my favorite of the box.

ORIGINAL REVIEW 1/7/2014

I was gifted some of this from a forum buddy. I found it to be a great rich tasting Virginia. I actually preferred it to FVF and found it to be fuller than that one. I think this is my favorite offering from Samuel Gawith to date. It should be noted that I am a big time Virginia smoker and I believe that this blend does favor the seasoned Virginia pallet.

The sample I received was at the perfect moisture content. I plan on ordering more and will see if it has the normal moisture issues common to the SG brand.

I had found that the SG line of flakes were very inconsistently sized. The cut would be thin for one flake and then thick for the next flake. Also the flakes were a little difficult to rub out. Lastly, I had trouble keeping this stuff lit and producing an acceptable amount of smoke. These flakes had really nice flavor though. Eventually dropped the whole line of flakes due to these drawbacks.

I expected this one to be a lighter version of Full Virginia Flake, but it seems that it is so only in color: the taste is possibly even richer to my tastebuds!

The long flakes are soft and moist, but require very little drying out. They pack fine, and when lit burn quite regularly.

What to say about this tobacco? Only that it's a very consistent, benchmark matured Virginia. Completely natural flavour, good balance of sweetness, spice, smokiness and a touch of sourness. Boring? Not very original or distinctive? Maybe. But GOOD.

A reliable smoking companion!

delicious flake. tobacco smells like citrus, orange, sweet. Very intense smell. Once lit, the tobacco reveals nutty aromas. Sidestream is just wonderful...roasted almonds and caramel come into my mind. Similarities to FVF are there.

The best way to describe this baccy is..."the simple things/tobaccos in life are the most enjoyable."

BestBrownFlake is a down-to-earth-tobacco. Very honest, very pure in taste. Smoke is gentle and smooth as silk.

Mr. Gawith did it again! 🙂