Samuel Gawith Lakeland Dark

This is a nice looking broken flake. It is very moist from the tin, definitely needs some dry time before smoking.

This blend is very sweet almost sugary sweet. A little too sweet for me. But there are some deep darks flavors present in this blend. Plum, maple, sugar, nuts, wood, earth, grass and with some pepper spice. But this is a very sweet blend.

As for performance if you give this enough dry time it breaks apart and loads easy. It needs a few relights. It deliver good smoke output. Overall a good blend.

I've been a fan of Sam Gawith tobaccos for many years and this is up there with their best. The Kentuckies are the star of the show with the Virginias providing some nice sweetness in the background. The flavor is complex and robust. If you're new to pipe smoking, you may want to tread carefully as the nicotine hit is quite powerful. The tobacco comes ready rubbed, and is easy to pack and light. I wouldn't call this an all day smoke. I enjoy smoking this late at night before going to bed.

After purchasing 1 1/2 years ago, I finally popped open a tin of Lakeland Dark. The only thing I have to add to the previous reviews is that the tin aroma is more "fire cured", but the smoke itself is VERY reminiscent of G&H Dark Bird's Eye.... The finer cut of the Bird's Eye, along with it's availability in bulk, might make it a preferable option for most.

I like this a lot--not as much as 1792, but it's very good in its own right. Reminds of Dark Flake Unscented, but I can smoke a larger bowl of this by a wide margin. DF seems to become tiresome after a while in more than a small amount. Not nicotine OD but just beyond satisfaction. Lakeland Dark, on the other hand I load up in a good-sized pipe and go off to Nirvana, just like 1792. I still miss Bracken . . . But hopefully this will not suffer a similar fate. It's deep, dark, meaty?, not terribly complex to my jaded palate but definitely a keeper. As far as the aroma it smells okay to me and the neighbor's labrador puppy loved it!

Conclusion: This is a potent and forceful tobacco. It does not apologize, nor should it - it is quite good. For those times when one wants to unwind, let go of the days troubles, this is perfect.

Taste: A deep, dark taste of earth, salt, leather, coffee and spice with hints of floral notes comes through at first light. This keeps building in intensity through the bowl and the spice grows stronger as the earthy leather grows bolder. There is sweetness in this, but not as in honey or caramel but rather it is like that piece of dark chocolate that goes with a nice espresso. This is full flavour at every draw, and it lingers on the tongue long after the conclusion of the smoke, notes of sweet leather, spice and coffee. Some have complained that this is a harsh smoke, I do not agree but rather I would say it is a strong, bold smoke. If one is not a seasoned smoker, this might be too strong and therefore be perceived as harsh or coarse, thus I would recommend that new smokers think twice about trying this. At least I would recommend them to have but a small bowl at first.

Mechanics: A ready rubbed, comes less wet than the typical Gawith but is still a bit hard to keep lit and will require some relights. As for the nicotine, this is one of the strongest blends that I have tried - I am used to strong tobacco but this really warms my chest (and I do not inhale). No bite at all, really kind for a virginia.

I quite liked this, no bite and it's quite creamy even if you puff like a locomotive. I got tastes of light oaked rum and bananas.

There is however a load of nicotine (a good thing!), this will hit the back of your throat and give you a nice lift. Perfect after a big lunch before an afternoon snooze. So for me not an every day smoke (and I wouldn't want be become acclimatised to that much nicotine).

Leave it for 10 minutes to dry a little beforehand though.

10 reviews so far, and it seems as if there are 3 or more very different tobaccos being discussed. The tin I've been working through is a broken flake, and what I get is unrelieved Dark Stoved VA and Kentucky flavors -- certainly much more so than I would have expected from unflavored 1792 (if that's what this actually is, then that Tonquin in 1792 is applied with an even heavier hand than I would have believed). Very moist in the tin, although it dries fairly quickly; certainly easier to light and kept lit than 1792. If you get a tin like mine and enjoy Dark Stoved and Kentucky, you'll likely enjoy it to some greater or lesser degree. To me, it's good, but I wouldn't want it to be in a regular rotation.

I had the good fortune to buy two tins of this blend from one of my favourite suppliers. However, I would not say that it is similar to 1792 Flake without the tonkin flavouring; more like Bracken without the coumarin, IMHO.

Out of the tin, it smells like Black XX or possibly Brown No. 4, due to the curing process it has gone through.

The cut is more like a ribbon cut than a shag, being broader cut than fine cut. The tobacco is a beautiful dark brown to black, moderately moist and fragrant. It is relatively easy to pack, and light, and stays lit for a long while after it takes to the flame, needing an occasional tamping to keep it going. The ash is a dark grey.

I did not notice too much change in flavour from the beginning to the end of the bowl. However, it is a strong tobacco and becomes somewhat stronger near the end of the bowl. Vitamin N is there in large doses. This would be a good smoke after a heavy meal, or before bedtime. There was quite a bit of moisture in the dottle, possibly due to its relatively young age, or the fact that I was smoking it outdoors on a cool, damp day. Nonetheless, it did keep burning with a coaxing of a pipe tamper.

I should want to give the contents of the tin a bit of time to breathe, to see if it helps a bit with the moisture accumulation, and to see if the tobacco mellows out and/or develops some complexity. All-in-all, for a first go, I would recommend it, to the more experienced pipe smoker.

For those who love Gawith tobaccos, the Lakeland series (Light and Dark) is not one to be missed. It contains most of what people seem to like (and dislike) about S.G. in general, doing what the English company has done well for so many years ? make a full-flavored, robust blend for the smoker to enjoy. The aroma in my sample 2oz bag is familiar, that perfumy/soapy scent that hangs in much greater degree about any and all S.G. plug and rope tobaccos. A dark and musty scent competes as well, totally lacking in the usual softening of Virginia sweetness. In appearance the tobacco is very dark, black and brown/black being the only discernable colors. The cut is very marrow, medium to long in length, and came to me in a collection of loosely pressed chunks that fell apart quite easily. The moisture level of my sample was low; indeed, this tobacco was nearly as dry as a C&D blend. Packing was easy, once the chunks were separated, and lighting was very quick. This blend burns very well, needing a lower than average number of relights. The initial flavor in the first third of the bowl is dark and musty, very close to the bag aroma of the tobacco. There are nutty elements, almost as if Burley was present, and there is the normal initial harshness I?ve come to expect from S.G. blends. It ?catches? at the back of my throat, and I would not dream of exhaling this through my nose at this point! Nevertheless, the smoke is very flavorful, dark, and fairly complex. I have also noticed that caution is needed with this ? the high nicotine content is obvious from the first. The second 1/3 is similar in flavor to the first, though the harshness is not as bad. There is increasing smoothness, complimented by slightly more complexity in the smoke. I have noticed no moisture at all to this point. In the final third, the annoying harshness is totally gone, leaving a smother, darker, and still complex flavor. This is by far the best part of the bowl, perhaps better than ?good?. There has been a total lack of bite throughout the smoke. The nicotine is not weak, and I?m really noticing it at this point; don?t use a large pipe for this, unless you are used to it!. Despite the kick, I am able to smoke this to the bottom of the bowl, clean and dry the whole way. Overall, I?d call this a good tobacco, very good or better if not for the harshness at the start. The finish is almost worth it, but can?t quite offset the first two thirds for myself. If you don?t mind (or even like!) this initial flavor, you should truly enjoy this high-quality dark Virginia blend. I, however, prefer Esoterica or McClelland Virginias, and will likely not order more of this when I run out.