Samuel Gawith Lakeland Dark

Samuel Gawith- Lakeland Dark is an extremely flavorful, creamy, full-strength, broken-flake tobacco. Within ten-minutes of air drying out of the tin, it packed easily. About three lightings and it was smoking smoothly with no bite, whatsoever. Unless you are used to smoking Black XX or Rope #4 on a daily basis, I would caution you to sip this mixture, as it can sneak up on your bloodstream in quick fashion. In my opinion, this full-strength tobacco is creamier and "slightly" less full than the aforementioned Black XX/Rope #4, with absolutely no harshness. I would highly recommend this tobacco to anyone wanting to experience a deliciously strong, well-balanced tobacco.

Need a bit of a pick me up? Need to feel like a man for an hour? Has the flavor of Pirate Kake become just too bland for you? Is your tongue really made out of leather? These are just a few questions you can answer after having a bowl of this wonderfully flavorful but dangerously strong tobacco. If you are a fan of intensely strong and extremely flavorful VA tobaccos this blend is for you. Just be careful to smoke it slowly and be sure to sit down. The earthy and sweet flavors will be your reward. put it in a group three or smaller pipe, and enjoy!

I've been smoking my way through several of the S. Gawith and G&H bulk tobaccos and was looking for a rope, which I haven't smoked in some time, but my local shop was out of it, so I landed on this blend, which has a similar fragrance to the ropes, actually its smell is somewhere between the unscented ropes and the full flakes. The cut was fairly narrow and comes in clumps that were pretty moist in mine, and could have benefitted from a little airing out, but I'm an impatient sort and I crammed it in my locally made Andre pipe and lit up. On lighting the flavor and aroma seems akin to G&H Dark Flake: a full and thick herby flavor totally unlike other dryer virginia flakes. I didn't experience any "harshness" as others have remarked upon, but I suppose it may be a matter of taste. As this is a high nicotine tobacco I saved it for my late night smoke out on the porch. I sat reading my book puffing away when it hit me. Phew! 'Scuse me while I kiss the sky! Still, it isn't at the psychedelic/bummer tent level of the ropes. About half way down my pipe was gurgling and I had to run a pipecleaner through to clear the stem. Next time I'll dry it out a bit I think after rubbing it out. This is really just an occasional blend for me, but I like it and I'll smoke it again, it might even be nice to blend in and ratchet up a lighter blander tobacco I might not smoke otherwise. This blend is not going to be for everyone, but its nice if you want something unusual and have a chair to sit in. Um, don't smoke this while operating heavy machinery.

I tried this because I had good experience with other blends with "dark" and "Kentucky" in the name. This blend does not measure up to the others. The flavor is very light and the taste is very harsh. It's not that it tastes strong, it just tastes bad. The smoking characteristics are okay once it's dried out a bit, but it's almost not worth it. I couldn't detect much nicotine, so if that's your thing, I think you'll be disappointed. Since I've had worse I'll give this 2 stars, but I do so reluctantly.

Love or hate thing ? No, it’s just to find a personal approach with this beast of a tobacco…

Every time I approach Lakeland Dark in pure form, I try to do respectfully. It’s strong and needs committed piping. I damn myself every time I realize that I was not prepared to that pipeful, because this smoke You must not rush, it will brutally slap Your face… no count of hiccups…

I’ve smoke a number of 250grm bulks. It comes with a correct wetness, uncommon for the SG’s. That is far from meaning that LD smokes steady. No, not indeed. It always needs relight, fortunately that is not influencing the smoke so badly. The pouch aroma is heavenly of burnt aromatic wood, leather and earth, just a wee bit fruity. No Lakeland essences here, just tobacco. This is the pipe tobacco for the Toscano cigar lovers. Strong in body and nicotine. Releases a smoky/sweetish flavour. Room note (I don’t smoke indoor) is nearly tolerable.

Anyway, LD is a bit too much for this smoker. And I found my way to keep with it, by adding it to a lighter Virginia (mainly Golden Glow), as a condiment. A somewhat recommended tobacco, not for it faults (the only one, in case, is a poor cumbustibility) but for the potential limited pleatea of smokers able to appreciate this no-frills thing.

Regarding me, and the way I use it, I will keep buying LD.

Full bodied, but modest flavor. Great for mixing, such as with Golden Glow or Kendall Flake. Free of Lakeland essence or tonquin. Smokes cool without bite. Typical SG rough broken flake, easy to rub out and fill.

A tobacco about which I had little heard. Thus I had to get and, it myself, especially as to like the 1792. The presentation in box is traditional, nothing particular. The photo is attractive and reminded the Lake of Conemara, lake which makes mirror for burned lands. It is very beautiful and, tempts to go there, Ireland attracts us for its landscapes, its pipes (Peterson) and its tobacco. Let's go, let us go on a journey. At first the formalities, not always pleasant, even if in the end it is a pleasure, because at the end of the way, there is always something to return in the luggage. Let us open the box! Always difficult at Samuel Gawith to describe, according to me, what we feel by smelling their tobaccos. Here a little simpler for once, there has of the 1792 inside it is an obvious fact. Other element, it is known, there are no tonka beans or what is of use to him as substitute. What we feel is rather powerful, intrusive. I know what I am dealing with and I like that, it is bitter, but not tart, it tickles, but that does not fall! I want to say: "smoke, it is of the Belgian!" Do not be mistaken, it has no report with Semois. No, it is not there, that the Belgian side lives which I give to him. Belgium is not known in the world of the tobacco that by Semois, nor in the brewing world that by her beer, it is also known for its chocolate. It is the smell of chocolate that titillates my nostrils. Attention nothing sweet! But the dark chocolate, the bitter the minimum 86 %, as the one who recovers truffles. The tobacco is darkened, of the deep brown to the intense black, its cup is an already undone flake. He is still very wet, I refrain from smoking him before one hour. It is long, one hour when we want to enjoy anything, but, I am a pipe smoker, no? Thus I am patient and I leave the open box. The cup is "unrefined" and it is nevertheless necessary to play fingers to fill better the pipe. In the affected, I have the impression to have barks of still wet wood and some dry mushrooms between fingers, it is pleasant, the earth is wet in Ireland! Ignition in the match, that is the way it is, at my home, with a new tobacco! Easy, the time made its work, I did well to wait to taste. The first draft, I never worry about it, I light, I do not pay attention to my sensations, nevertheless ... Indeed, it is good a tobacco loaded in nicotine! Yes, the first draft is smelt. The tobacco is alive, he tells me clearly that you should not smoke him without giving him all the merit to which he is entitled. There is a rustic side in this tobacco, he has no caustic side, he does not assault the palace, nor the tongue. He is heady, certainly. He is everything in curvature in the mouth, he invades the oral cavity in general, it is the privilege of powerful tobaccos. However that his power dominates the palace, he is soft and develops aromas of peats, still Ireland

I was rather intrigued about this particular blend after reading many reviews. My tastes tend to lean towards stronger blends and after a not particularly interesting experience with 1792 flake gave this one a try, it is after all supposed to be 1792 minus the tonquin flavourings.

Opening the tin I was presented with a mish mash of coarse shreds, predominantly dark brown in colour with some jet black in there too. Tin note was of nice new leather shoes. Not your namby pamby slip-ons but a nice pair of Northampton made stout brogues. Moisturewise it was typically wet as all SG and G&H blends tend to be so the contents of the tin were tipped out onto a tray to get some air around those shreds.

I loaded up my McQuade bulldog and fired up. Despite two hours of airing it still took a while to get a decent burn but I got there. The first thing that struck me was the taste of burning tar or rubber and I recalled reading in at least one review that someone had made the same observation, not a good start!

Once settled flavours more associated with tobacco came to the fore. Smoky wood and bitter chocolate with a little burnt coffee is what I got from this blend. Nicotine became very apparent come mid bowl but not eye crossingly so. Some folks are put off this blend purely because of the nicotine content! One thing I would like to add is that at no time did I taste any of the famous/infamous 'Lakeland Sauce' which was a welcome surprise.

This is most certainly a very strong blend and not one for beginners. The flavours are pretty consistent throughout the bowl leaving a damp squidgy dottle at the bowl's finish.

Interestingly the listed components of the broken flake variety (which is what is reviewed here) simply states Virginia tobacco whereas for the flake version they mention Kentucky & Virginia. As to whether mine has Kentucky or not I am not sufficiently experienced in the minutiae of tobacco blends to comment.

Would I buy this again? I'm not too sure I would. It wasn't an unpleasant blend but it was a tad overpowering for me. Perhaps if mixed 50/50 with a sweet straight Virginia (Golden Glow?) it might make for a more mellow smoke. I would give this 5/10.

Samuel Gawith makes some of the best pipe tobacco available . I have been enjoying it for many years . I have avoided their tobaccos heavy with Lakeland flavoring because I simply do not enjoy it . I was a little excited when I discovered this tobacco which was billed as 1792 flake without the tonquin . I opened my can with anticipation and found a darkish broken flake that looked inviting . The tin note gave out a strong aroma of Lakeland flavoring and I began to doubt my good luck . When I lit it up I was overcome with one of the foulest tasting blends that I have ever tried . It actually got me sick , I was unable to finish the bowl . Now , for people who like Lakeland flavoring this might be a fine tobacco . This , however was way over the hill with the Lakeland . I can tolerate Lakeland in some of the G & H mixtures because it is not flavored as strongly but this blend was simply unsmokable . I am not putting down Samuel Gawith for marketing this blend because I'm sure there are many folks out there who enjoy that type of flavoring . I will look for one of those guys to give the rest of this tin to . I will continue to smoke the many great blends made by Samuel Gawith but not this one .

Two weeks later....... My friend Tad Gage told me this wasn't as bad as I had thought so I opened the can and tried another smoke . The Lakeland smell was pretty much gone and the tobacco still looked inviting so I tried a bowl in a nice Parker pat# . I was shocked to find it wasn't that bad , actually some high notes of flavor at one point . Although this is not one of SG's finest hours I will now rate it as a smoke, mind you , just . Maybe the key to Lakeland is to let it sit in the can a while , a long while.