Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Brown Flake Liquorice

I have been smoking this flake on and off for several months now. In general, I’m a fan of GH brown flakes but I have to admit that a licorice flavored tobacco wasn’t at the top of my wish list. Like most GH flakes, it arrived a bit moister than I prefer and needed some dry time. The scent offers up a very mild black licorice smell. I have smoked this fully rubbed out, but I prefer the flakes just lightly rubbed out and not packed too tightly. In the pipe, it burns cool, and the flavoring doesn’t taste artificial. The licorice offers a nice undercurrent, but doesn’t dominate the smoke. In a strict sense, due to the added licorice flavoring, I can see why this is referred to as an aromatic, however, I wouldn’t call it anymore of an aromatic than a straight Virginia with a light citrus topping. It definitely isn’t in the same category as GH’s somewhat new Brown Flake Vanilla, or Cherry Cream Flake. Without knowing for sure, my guess is there is a greater proportion of Virginia in this flake than Burley and the Virginia is of the African variety from a flavor standpoint. BFL isn’t an everyday smoke for me, but a solid addition to the extensive GH lineup.

Another one oz sample, so take this review for what it's worth. Beautiful brown flakes (duh!) but with an almost overpowering licorice scent in the bag. That concerned me, as I was afraid this would be overflavored. Mixture 79 is less heavy smelling before lighting!

Not to worry. This is an aromatic, not an oversauced, waxy tasting goopy American-style job. The flavoring was extremely mild and served mostly as a light sweetener, although the taste was clearly licorice. The room note was a bit more potent, but neither taste nor room note were nearly as heavy as the bag aroma. The predominate flavor was of a rich, sweet Virginia with, as in Brown Flake, a little too much heavy boisterousness from the burley. I enjoy the regular Brown Flake from time to time but it suffers from being a bit too coarse in flavor, unlike Best Brown #2. It's best after a meal. Ditto this one. The scenting just makes it a trifle smoother and sweeter without much toning down of Brown Flake's...err... vigor! What I enjoyed most about this was that it's a tobacco blend with a slight enhancer. G&H (and Steve Books) make the finest aromatics in the world IMHO. This one is no exception. The trick is to get just the right amount of flavoring so that it works in simpatico fashion with the tobacco rather than smothering it. This one works admirably. Try it if you found Brown Flake Unscented a little too rough. This smooths it out somewhat.

This is a simple, but very nice smoke. Sweet nuttiness with a touch of wood and a very mild liquorice flavoring. There is a bare hint of chocolate as well. Not terribly strong, but strong enough to satisfy. The overall flavor is pleasant. I can smoke this all day and never tire of it. Good stuff.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burn is decent, requires some relights.

This is a blend I debated on trying for quite some time now, but every time I thought about ordering it, no one had it in stock. Finally, Smokingpipes.com alerted me via email it was back in stock.

I ordered 4 oz, just in case it was an overpowering, overcased aromatic of the American genre. I waited with anticipation for it to arrive with the other various G&H blends they shipped my way.

On arrival, the long wide flakes appeared to be uniform and even, mostly comprised of dark brown Va, with some light colored burley layered in. Just about every G&H flake I order, is a bit too moist to smoke on arrival. I would rub out a pipeful and wait 30 minutes or so to let the future bowl dry out a bit.

Pouch aroma is sweet and hay like. On a strong inhalation, only then is the faint aroma is licorice detectable. This isn't a strong anise aroma, but a diminished scent of licorice candy. Nothing sweet or cloying about this blend.

If this blend isn't dried a bit before packing, it is quite difficult to keep it lit.

To me this blend smokes fairly dry on the palate. I detect little to no licorice, just the basic Brown Flake. Can smoke astringent if puffed hard, so be careful. This blend does nothing for me, but 3 stars for quality tobacco.

At this point I feel I've tried enough GH&C aromatic flakes to conclude their flavor is in the bag/tin and not in the smoke. This concoction's punch was even tamer upon first whiff. Sure, it was definitely liquorice (black), but nowhere near as topped as other similar Aromatics (ie. Mixture 79), which is a bummer for this Aro fan.

Then something magical happened. The flavor actually developed in the smoke! I honestly can't think of an Aromatic that is more flavorful lit, than unlit. Mind you it wasn't a candy rollercoaster, but something really worked here, creating a robust deep profile to elevate these earthy pressed leaves. Perhaps the Lakeland sprinkles (yeah there are some present) help tie it all together.