Samuel Gawith Special Flake No.2

Very intensely perfumed, one of the most intensely perfumed of the series. Special Flake #2 is indeed an aromatic flake as are Flakes #3 and #5. Special Flakes #1 and #4 are better described as merely scented and on flake #7 scenting is barely noticeable. Lemongrass, camphor, lavender, menthol, verbena, green pine or spruce cone, rosewater, quaint exotic and peppery spices, tonquin are only imaginative guesses, in reality I cannot pin down the aromas of the essential oils and essences used here. But just saying Special Flake #2 is “the popular Best Brown flake with a honeydew topping” fails to describe the magnificent complexity this tobacco.

The flakes are very fresh to the touch, very thin and pliable. Easier to shred than rub, but one can also fold and staff. They are also quite moist – not all Special Flakes are. But they do not need much drying, and indeed can be smoked without any drying at all. (None of the FVF fussiness here.) Once dried a little, they take to light with ease. Without any drying you just need an initial char and then they do not need much care.

The smoke is very smooth . This tobacco smokes cool and has an intense and cool flavor.

Tastes very similar to how it smells. The coniferous aroma is the most prominent, but present are other floral aromas like rose water and there is also something juicy-sweet akin to a light dose of licorice, I guess, and a white peppery spiciness. I can see similarities with Grousemoor, yet here the underlying tobacco is different and there is slightly less of the vanilla creaminess of Grousemoor and more spice here. Special Flake #2 is headily aromatized and still the tobacco underneath is top-class (BBF?). Here Virginias are stronger, yeasty, sweet and earthy. This is an incredibly complex tobacco and yet all the flavors are sublimely integrated and congruent. Special Flake #2 burns slow. Needs seeping to bring out the sweet earthy, oaty, biscuity tobacco taste on the one hand and to protect you from the nicotine hit on the other, as it does pack a lot! Smokes to the last shred without ever becoming harsh. And only at the very end does the casing dissipate a little leaving a pure tobacco taste as if to clean your palate.

Surely this is a love-or-hate tobacco, but if you like this kind of scenting, it’s intoxicating!If a tobacco, let alone an aromatic tobacco, deserves four stars, this is it! This is a monument of tobacco blending and scenting.

Special Flake No. 2 is one of Samuel Gawith’s “numbered flakes,” that are not found here in the US and the only one to date that I have tried. The appearance is of the usual SG high quality. The pouch scent is of the very floral Lakeland variety. But after some dry time, it isn’t “in your face” as floral as GH’s Dark Flake Scented as the other added flavorings play off it well. I would be very hard pressed to guess what the others are, although honeydew wouldn’t be on my guess list. It kind of offers up the mystery flavors in the way Grousemoor does and that blend is the closest point of reference that I can come up with. Sorry. What I can say, as a lover of Lakeland aromatics, this quickly has risen to one of my favorites, but I do think this is one of those love or hate blends. Like many of these blends, there is a decent amount of strength to this blend. The Virginia’s add some additional sweetness, but play a minor role here. There is no bite and it doesn’t burn hot, even when pushed, but it can run the nic meter up to strong when pushed. Overall, while a bit too aromatic for me as an everyday smoke, it is terrific just the same!