Samuel Gawith Golden Glow (bulk)

This is not a lighter version of Full Virginia Flake and this is not the bulk version of Golden Glow. This is another thing, completely and totally another thing. Very briefly: FULL VIRGINIA FLAKE is an almost pure straight Virginia; GOLDEN GLOW is a straight Virginia with a mild fruity flavoring, mild but intense; MEDIUM VIRGINIA FLAKE is a Lakeland straight Virginia. Without any doubt this Virginia is flavoured with the classic Lakeland ingredients and it has a classic Lakeland taste (Full Virginia Flake and Golden Glow don’t have this typical taste). In essence this tobacco is not a pure Virginia but a flavored Virginia (straight but flavored). I prefer a pure straight Virginia, such as Dunhill Flake for example, but for the Virginia’ lovers MEDIUM VIRGINIA FLAKE is ideal for a change of pace. To conclude in my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 7 and two stars.

More sweet flavor than McClelland 5100 Red Cake, but bites a lot more also. Why smoke it?

Updated 12/4/11- After about 9 months of cellaring, a lot of the heat and bite is out of this. I noticed how damp the tobacco still is and I dried this some before loading the pipe. This seems to have helped . The tobacco is more of a Danish style Virginia than an English, it is lighter, sweeter and grassy hay like in flavor.It does remind me more of McB's Virginia #1 than Dunhill flake and it does have a bitter aftertaste that I don't find in other Virginias. After drying it seems to burn very well at a slow sip, although it does have a rather damp dottle. This is a good Virginia but I won't keep it in my rotation.

PS. After reading reviewer, "Tobaccy", above ,and agreeing with his review, I noticed he said that this was a bulk for "Golden Glow" ( although the curing is diffrent,Flue Cured vs. air cured). Reading the Golden glow reviews, I noticed that some are recommending this as a blender. I can see where I might agree with that.

Updated 12/5/11 A great suprise, the wife actually said the aroma was not bad, WOW. I started to pay a lot closer attention to the scent and I detected a very slight "Lakeland Floral" scent and taste. When I say slight I mean a 1 out of 10, but it's there. I really don't normally care for LF but this is very well done, it does not overtake the natural Virginias.

updated 6/2/12- Nope !!! Don't really care for this,now that I can detect the Lakeland Floral. It also burns hot & bity.

Bought a 250g box/package of this MVF from Iwan Ries in Chicago. I've heard that when sold in 50g tins SG calls this tobacco "Golden Glow" or something like that. It certainly does have a golden color to it. Upon opening, this tobacco smelled a lot like tomato sauce - but once it air dries a bit the smell becomes more of a "silage" or "freshly baled hay" smell that I really enjoy (much like the smell of SG's Full Virginia Flake). Actually I first tried FVF and really enjoyed it, but I needed something with less of a nicotine punch, so I decided to try the MVF. MVF broken flake tobacco that is very much a lighter and sweeter version of FVF. I plan to keep some FVF in my arsenal for those times when I want the super-VA, but I think I'll reach for this MVF more often. Some might find this tobacco boring - so if you require lots of bells and whistles in your 'baccy, you best look elsewhere. If you want a smooth earthy golden sweet VA, you've come to the right place.

UPDATE: changed this to 2 stars (from 3) because I've now experienced Orlik Golden Sliced and it is far superior.

HAY!!!!!!

I do remember being a kid. Once I sat and at a friend's behest, smoked a sun-dried yellow breath's worth of stalk. That was it. One breath, one stalk. It was some sort of West Coast 1970's actual, from the earth growing, mowable grass. It wanted to propagate. We wanted to do something fun. So we smoked it and damned if we were not but 6 years old.

Straw-plucking fire sucking fun. Mmmmmmm Medium Flake. A blast from the past.

That's Not my review.

But, now that you've mentioned it, some have these Gawith Virginias have some hay about 'em. This one in particular.

As a long time fan of FVF, I told my importer that he should try the medium variety, as he doth tend toward the lighter fair.

Striketh me down, did say he, I do believe we've found me my smoke. I've smoked quite a bit, a pound or two, since then, and I still stick to the full flake from Gawith. But, Dear old Daddy, he likes this stuff, and not only will I withstand it's cigarette room note and lack of what I would kindly call "flavor", I will on occasion, (that being when I must) smoke it and enjoy.

Heck. T'aint so bad, that smokin hay.

Really its sometimes good, even if it's a little ugly on the side.

It's funny this thing we call 'pipe smoking'. How some can wax poetic about a blend and others bemoan it's qualities.

I as of late have gotten away from the heavy latakia blends and have been exploring the world of Virginias and Burleys. This was my first experience with a Gawith product. I was very excited after I found it on sale for a very reasonable $30 for the pound.

The reviews may not have been as glowing as the ones for the Full Virginia Flake but non the less most were still 4****. Well after giving it a try in several different pipes of various sizes, I am thoroughly disappointed. Very bland , weak and boring with none of the Virginia sweetness that I so much love. The only reason that I am giving it 2** is because it doesn't bite and the aroma is okay. I've since used it for blending purposes just to use it up.

I hate having to disagree with so may distinguished members here whose opinions I so greatly respect but it is what it is.

Yep, It's funny this thing we call 'pipe smoking'.

I only based this review on smoking two bowls from a sample. Although the presentation and technical smoking characteristics of this blend were fine, the taste, although sweet, was one-dimensional and weak. At ~ $40/# in bulk, I find much more enjoyment in other VA flakes or VA/Perique flakes that are also cheaper.

The following review was the result of a blind taste test.

I found this to be the blandest of the set of three, and never really was able to get into a grove with it. Initially, there was some crossover flavor from Sample B, and I had to give it a couple of weeks to recover.

Comfort for this blend was reasonable, and I would suspect that it is a VA/Burley blend. Cut was somewhat rough and irregular. Packing was reasonable and lighting qualities were good. The overwhelming characteristic that I experienced from this blend was a lower flavor level than I usually care for. Early metallic flavors reminded me somewhat of older Dobie?s Ready Rubbed, although the cut was not the same. This tobacco shined with sweetness in the late first half of the bowl, for perhaps a sixth of the entire bowl, before settling into a decent but unexceptional finish.

This is not a blend that I would expect to reach for or purchase on my own, due to the paucity of flavor.

Overall, give this an 80/100 for burning character and comfort, a 40/100 for flavor, and a 50/100 overall. This would do in a pinch, but not something I would tend to go back to.

February 2003