Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

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 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.

I can't get this stuff to smoke well for me. I've been trying for ten years now. I'm a Virginia veteran, but there's something about Sammy G's flakes that make them almost fire-proof. It's a damn shame, because it's a really fine tobacco. Really fine. But it's not worth the 6 months of dry time needed to get it flammable. Granted, people smoke it moist, as I have, but it really only opens up when it's dry and stays lit on its own, which is as often as the ocean catches fire (maybe that's a bad analogy...). Nevertheless, you get really wonderful floral tea notes and matured grass/hay/leaves when the planets are aligned on the fifth Sunday of the harvest moon at 291 feet above sea level standing on one foot twenty-nine minutes before the cock crows and it's finally smoking well for about fifteen seconds.

This tobacco used to be one of my favorites, though I'd never gotten around to reviewing it. Perhaps three years ago several of the 250 gr boxes became available and I purchased approximately 40 of them as I'd been meaning to put away a good amount.

When I opened the first box I was met with something unfamiliar and altogether different from what I was expecting. Everything was different---not a single dimension left unchanged. The cut of the flake, the quality of the leaf, the depth of flavor.

I thought I'd got a bad box and opened another. Same thing. The earlier FVF was thinly sliced, moist and almost completely dark-brown to black and had a wonderful depth of flavor fresh out of the box. The current production were thicker cut, dry and flat, straw and hay--looked like something a German company would make.

Many of the other flakes and plugs have suffered the same fate. I've just rub out a portion of the new RB Plug and it's a ghost of its former self. It's all straw and hay, airy and thin, not like the rich punchy Virginia of old. A real shame, frankly.

I've lost the desire to purchase any more Samuel Gawith tobacco, though I understand that many younger smokers, not having sampled the earlier confection, don't much mind, and even some seasoned smokers don't seem to detect much difference.

Overrated Hype Blend! Wet (albeit beautiful flakes) that needs a whole days worth of drying minimum to smoke, that’s only a decent Virginia blend at best. In an oversized tin with a skimpy ration of overpriced Virginia flakes that’s half water weight. No Thanks!

Maybe it's just me ? Does anyone else feel ripped off?

I bought two tins after reading the reviews on this page, a waste of money. The flakes are beautiful dark brown nice and thick heavy even. Don't you know I was ready for a good smoke. Tin note only added to my anticipation, sweet fruity aromas I have never seen a more mouth watering presentation . After drying (which you have to do) appox. an hour or so it was time to light up. I rubbed out for easy lighting and packing and stroke the match. Absolutely no taste. Where is the citrus, grassy hay, even the " essence of Lakeland " was not noticeable. If you ever smoked cigarettes , you just paid almost ten dollars for some. Will not buy again. Will stick to Pete Stokkeby Luxury Navy Flake more flavor and cost less

I realy wanted to like this tobacco but to me its just flavourless. I have smoked other virginias that were said to be mild but none have been as bland as FVF. I have tried it at various moisture levels and in different pipes but all my efforts were futile. Maybe there is something wrong with me as so many seem to love it. The nicotine content is quite potent tho wich surprised me considering how mild the taste is (to me)

I don't get it. This is a monochromatic, boring Va flake. The moisture level is not bothersome to me, and it works fine either fully rubbed or fold and stuff, though smoking it in flake form requires more relights. I am convinced that pipe smokers are indeed human beings, subject to the same Laws non-pipe smoking humans are; namely Human Nature. Not every new version of tobacco is worse than the original (though distan ... err, discontinued blends makes the palate grow fonder), and plenty of tobaccos' fan fair exceed the actual product and people jump on the band wagon. Like this one. A bunch of hoopla over a rather boring Va is what FVF is.

Yea, it is a good, quality tobacco (in a world of many good tobaccos), but it is an incredibly boring smoke. I'll finish the tin, grudgingly and in bored fashion, but I'll not be replacing it with another. There are only so many bowls of tobacco you can smoke a day, and there are far, far too many other Va tobaccos with more complexity and personality, capable of delivering everything FVF has, and then some, to bother with this one taking up any of that precious and limited time ...

The Gawaith Lakeland Essence/Soapy Flowers is MOST DEFINITELY present in this flake. It is quite light, more noticeable early in the bowl while going slow, but is ever present throughout the smoke. I point that out not to be contentious with the reviewers that say otherwise and none is present, but because people can tend to be more sensitive to things they have an aversion to. So, if one does have an aversion to the Lakeland Flowery Soap, it is most definitely there in this flake. I don't have an aversion to it, and its presence is actually a redeeming quality trying to provide at least some dimension, and melds quite well with the Va in its lightness. But, redemption aside, this is a 2-2.5 star tobacco for me that gets a 1 star rating for being way overhyped ...

Summary: a solid hay-flavored Virginia mellowed by stoving, but still sweet and with bite if puffed rapidly.

Stoved Virginia is both an ingredient in classic English mixes and a blend type on its own, favored for its sweet gentle flavor. Unlike the darker stoved/pressed varieties, "Full Virginia Flake" retains its bright sweetness, hay-like flavor and hints of citrus. It smokes cool and mellow, with medium Nicotine dosage, and will only bite if puffed rapidly. It is also one-dimensional without much internal variation, like a cigarette. "Full Virginia Flake" serves its genre well and will delight smokers who want something slow and sweet to puff on.

Thanks to Pipes Magazine forum member "aggravatedfarmer" for this sample.