Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

Rich, creamy and oatey is how I would describe the taste of this Lakeland style blend. I don't often smoke pure Virginnia's since most of my regular blends are heavily blended with latakia, and this makes a nice change and gives a pure tobacco taste. Earthy, yes, full flavoured yes but never overpowering.

I purhased a tin of this virginia from John and his cronies @ Smokingpipes.com for a friend of mine. I have a poor relation with virgina's, especially flakes(St Bruno is the exception), but rather enjoyed trying this. Said friend was good enough to give me a few flakes which I promptly stored with little intention of smoking. Some months later, being in the mood for change, I pulled the forgotten flake out. It certainly is attractive, rich and slightly oily to the touch. I gave 2 flakes a good rubbing out and funnel-filled an old rusticated pot, which is my St Bruno pipe. Out to the back porch and up we lit. Initial flavor is soft, straight forward tobacco taste, very smooth. Continuing through the bowl, taste becomes increasingly rich but remains gentle. Nicotine content does sneak up, but i do enjoy a good toe-tingle. Near the bottom of the bowl a slight murkiness creeps in, nothing too off-putting. Ash is fine white powder. I puffed steadily but was not bitten, much to my surprise. All in all, this is good tobac, a pleasant switch from my usual Englishes. I think some time is needed to really let this blend expand, so I'll order up a tin or 3. NB-I found the room aroma to be very subtle, when I moved to the kitchen, almost neutral. 09/04-Like Paddy I jar this tobacco. Smoked slowly it is tantalizing. Puff hard and, well, EEK.

I don't get it, I just don't get it!!! I've read hundreds of notes singing the praises of this flake..."Oh, it smokes so cool", "Yum, it tastes sooooooo good", " I am smoking it right now in my Abbott & Costello, who's on first pillow shaped cardboard freehand and I'm having an epiphany and my life is now complete and I will go to join my maker right after I tamp this down"! Well, here's my thing. I Don't Like This Flake!!! I like other Va/flakes. I like other Va/flakes from S.G.. I've tried it in many differt pipes...don't like it! I've been ageing my stash for over 4 years under a good vacuum and have sampled it every one of those years to monitor its progress...don't like it! I have folded whole flakes, rubbed it out corsely and fine, broken it into manageable pieces, cut it into cubes...don't like it! Smoked it wet, smoked it dry, smoked it in-between...Don't like it! Don't think it has much aroma. I find that it doesn't burn very well for me. I can't taste it very much 'cause the Tongue-Bite demon tends to rip my mouth to shreds no matter how slowly I sip. Don't like it! If anyone feels that I'm hiding my true feelings about this Flake, feel free to e-mail me and I will endevor to be more clear. In conclusion, for a long time I had massive feelings of inadequacy over this (Everyone likes it...what's wrong with me?!?). However, after a year of intensive therapy I now believe that I'm OK and you are all Pod-People!!!

I got about 5 oz of this that had been jarred since 2016. The flakes are a little thick and a mottled brown. The pouch note is a slightly heavy sweet and some earth. It may have been a little on the moist side of ideal. I rubbed it out and smoked it as it came.

This is very good! The flavor is a mildly sweet overripe citrus. There is a little hay in there. I claim there is no topping. It was easy to keep lit, and was a slow smoke. The flavors became slightly more intense as the bowl progressed but they were otherwise pretty consistent.

This is an easy 4 on the scale. I think everyone should try it. It may not be your favorite, but it really is one of those things that so many people have smoked, it is a reference point. It is also a great smoke.

As much as I try, I cannot bring myself to like this tobacco. The flakes are thick and break into chunks. It is hard to light. Hard to keep lit. For the 1st 10 minutes, there is no taste at all, like smoking hot air. Then a faint sweetness and, if pushed a little, some spiciness do show up. There is an inherent paradox with FVF: it has to be sipped to be appreciated, but puffed quite vigorously to keep lit... It may be due to my inept handling of the flake, or my deficient technique, I do not care. My smoking moments should be moments of peace, quiet and enjoyment, not a constant struggle to keep baccy burning, nor a struggle to find any trace of taste whatsoever. On a side note: i only ever bought 1 tin of FVF, and when it arrived it was not properly sealed, so the tobacco was already a tad too dry for my taste, and maybe this has affected the taste. But even once re-hydrated, I have not yet found any redeeming quality for this blend. Meh. But, i must be wrong with all those 4 star reviews.

2020-05-20 update: well, I've had some wonderful smokes with FVF lately. Time spent in the jar ? I don't know... i tried cube cutting it since the flakes are so goddamn thick, and it worked wonders. On some cool spring evenings with a light breeze, the pipe keeps lit, it burns just right and now i can really appreciate this blend.

The gold standard for Virginia flakes. Yes it is heavy and pungent. Its not a mild virginia. But it has layers of flavor and smokes at an insanely slow rate for a straight virginia. This is just gold. Its just the best of its type you can get. McClelland's Blackwoods flake is great, and so is their 1776 -- and Butera has two blends worth checking out too. Even macbaren's HH Viriginia Flake is worth getting as well. But none are quite as good as this. It is also a bit of history, actually. You are smoking what was smoked a hundred years ago and probably much longer. Anyone not giving this four stars would have to explain that one to me.

Michael Kindt's review mentions, for new pipe smokers, the advice to stick with it if you havent had straight old school virginia flakes before. And he is right. Pipe smoking is an art. It takes time to learn, especially with this kind of tobacco. But once you get the hang of it, there is no turning back.

oh, and to complain that the product is too wet or the flakes not perfectly uniform to expose yourself as a pipe philistine. This is as good as it gets guys. Learn and enjoy.

FVF has long been a staple in my cellar. I stumbled across this blend late in 2010 as a fairly new smoker. At the time all I could say is that I really liked it but the flavors were somehow muted and it was largely indescribable. I had picked up 2 tins the second I opened in 2012 and immediately began buying the 250 gram boxes. The VA's had grown sweeter and it was a WOW smoke for me but still aspects remained hard to quantify. Now, with jars in my cellar I have cracked a 5 year old jar and I have to say it was so worth the wait! The VA's are so sweet! There is a marvelous dark fruit sweetness and a slightly earthy taste with just a hint of sweet spice. This is trailed with citrus and grassy notes. About mid-bowl I start to pick up on various toasted grain notes (think wheat and perhaps a darker rye) that comes through. Smokes slow and dry. I would recommend a little drying time after rubbing it out for me about 12-15 min. is all it needs to find that perfect moister level. I am glad I have several jars in the cellar and I am purchasing more this year when it is available I cannot wait to see what this will be like at the 10 year mark, which may be the sweet spot for this blend but we will see. I will update accordingly.

***Update*** 4/15/23 This is a jar that has a date on it from 10/03/12 so a little more than 10 years on it. It now looks nothing like the flake pictured above, it is a solid deep mahogany looking more like a stoved VA that McClelland used to make. It smells deeply of dark fruits with just a note of citrus. The taste has not changed all that much over the 5-year-old version of this, but the dark fruit notes have gotten deeper everything else is about the same. Still, no crystals forming at this point. The flakes feel leathery, but still, break apart as they had, and the moisture level still requires several minutes of drying time. Very smokable at both the 5 and 10 yr mark. I have 2 other jars left from 2012 and will wait to open those while smoking what I have that is 5+ years old. This is an outstanding blend to age.

A fantastic Virginia flake. Dark flakes, with enough age that you'll often see plume in a new tin. Needs drying. Folded and stuffed, it burns well with a few relights.

The flavor is dark but naturally sweet. There's a Virginia hay and fruit. Prunes maybe. I love this as a night time smoke on the porch, with a scotch neat.

I could have saved some money & just purchased a couple of cheap cigars. I really didn't like this stuff, I tried every way in the world to enjoy it thinking maybe it was my packing/smoking method or my pipe. Smoked it slow, smoked it fast, did the 50% method, did the folding method, tried it in a car, tried it at a bar...I realize a lot of people like this tobacco, and I will say, without apology, that I am not a fan.