Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Scotch Flake

This past summer I have been exploring Lakeland tobaccos, so that means a lot of G&H. The flakes are large uniform slices that are a little moist, but not Gawith sopping wet like others from this house. I find an hour or two of drying time is all it takes. I prefer the fold-n-stuff method with flakes, and that technique works well with this one. Lights up fairly easily and stays lit provided you do a decent job filling the pipe. It produces a lot of smoke and burns clean and dry to the bottom. SF has a certain maturity in the taste, even though I smoked this fresh from a recent order. Flavor is consistent for the entire smoke and never gets too hot or harsh. As others have said, this flake is more towards the "bready" side of the spectrum rather than the citrusy or grassy side, There is an ever so slight floral "secret sauce" taste that pops up now and again, but nothing off-putting. (In the interest of full discloser, I happen to like the floral tobaccos). Room note ("porch note" - I only smoke outdoors) is nice and should not offend bystanders other than the most vehement anti. This tastes a lot like Samuel Gawith's Scottish Autumn Flake, which I can only seem to get on trips to Europe these days. The fold-n-stuff method ensures the flake burns slowly and in a Savinelli "KS" sized pipe should last close to an hour if you're not puffing like a train. I think there's a touch more flavor here than in G&H's CR Bright flake. After a 2oz order, I ordered another 8oz, as the availability of G&H flakes is spotty at best. I'm curious to see what a few years of age will do. Nic hit is mild (I'm admittedly a nic wimp). Flavor is satisfying and on the mild side of medium. Recommended.

Similar to other Gawith Virginias (darker taste, a bit earthy), although this blend features a touch of a cocoa taste, somewhat reminiscent of G.L. Pease Stonehenge Flake. There is also a bit of a bran-flakes type of taste. I like it very much.

This isn’t something you’ll seek out when your palate is calling for “Virginia.” It has its own unique taste that will create a side-category of cravings for you, I think.

Beautiful, softly pressed broken flakes of different shades of brown. Perfectly moist and ready to smoke with a nice, mild aroma of bread and chocolate with just a faint grassy note. Once lit it doesn’t has a real bite proneness but is very unforgiving: if pushed (even a little bit) it smokes hot becoming flat in taste and harsh; a very “sensitive” not easy-to-smoke tobacco which requires a lot of attention. Taste is mildly sweet, somewhat malty/nutty with hints of chocolate/cocoa. Lakeland scent? Nope,unluckily! It seems they missed to put in my tin the “Kendal cologne”: I have not detected any floral/soapy smell in the tin aroma, taste or room note; a pity cause I really was curioused by that, reading other reviews. Anyway, it’s a good but not memorable tobacco; probably when sprayed with that mysterious essence it increases a lot, otherwise it’s just an average Virginia with a demanding smoking behavior.

I have just so enjoyed the bulk Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. flake tobaccos I have tried so far (with the exception of Ennerdale). Brown Flake (unscented) and Brown Flake Vanilla are outstanding, as is this one. So rich, smooth, creamy, and very sweet, with an absolutely delicious taste and aroma.

Even though the tobacco description in the heading says there is a floral essence added, I do not detect any floral, herbal, or perfume toppings that some complain about with GH. GH Ennerdale, and Grasmere, yes, but not this one, nor Brown Flake (unscented), or Brown Flake Vanilla.

I often think that if I had discovered these tobaccos when I first began pipe smoking, I'd have never tried anything else, and that may be true. The tobacco is that good. Some have jokingly said that Scotch Flake is an aphrodisiac. Well, I don't know about that. Perhaps I need to get out more often!

Folks, if any of you have not yet tried these Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. offerings, by all means, do. You won't regret it.

I'm not sure why I haven't reviewed this before, as I have had this several times over the past few years. For me, this comes across as a solid VA flake, and a mild cocoa topping with a hint of vanilla, not really sweet. This is a pleasant change of pace smoke. Recommended for those Cavendish-based aro smokers who might want to try a VA flake.

This is a typical bulk flake (I had not ordered a tin, so my results may vary from the tin flake). Very long, thick flakes. The flakes are somewhat delicate despite their thickness. Mine had a delightful light coating of what looked like icing sugar on them, but I think that this was just because they had been aged for some time. The pouch note was the typical Virginia pouch note, with a slight added essence of what may have been scotch, or possibly just floral, either way, the fragrance was negligible compared to the strength of the tobacco scent. I smoked this flake both folded and fully rubbed, and it was delightful either way. What one would expect from a full, dark straight Virginia tobacco, sweetness mixed with slightly acidic undertones, it was a one-way trip to Pleasureville. The strength is somewhat lacking, however, and this was somewhat off-putting as the dankness of the flake made me expectant of something a little more satisfying in terms of Nicotine. The room note is typical Virginia, not offensive, interestingly, the undertone I got from the pouch did not present itself in either the taste or the room note, both were just straight Virginia, I'm sure I don't need to explain what that means. The burning qualities were fine, the fully-rubbed burned easier & slightly hotter, but that is to be expected. High quality tobacco, well presented, no real development from the top of the bowl to the bottom, just good, straight-up Virginia pleasure. Overall, 3 out of 4. Recommended to get & try, but by no means the best Virginia that I've smoked, as it is just a little uninteresting. I would put it on an equal footing with, say, Player's Navy Flake. Both nice, both a little samey, but good for an uncomplicated, easily maintained pipefull at any time of day.

A very nice, simple flake. Smokes well, burns cool, sweetens as you get down the bowl and a good choice for a chilled, mid-afternoon smoke.

I have not managed to detect the floral bouquet that people keep eluding to in their reviews. After reading similar comments for other tobaccos and finding no floral/soapy aromas there either I have a sneaking suspicion that there are some among us who either don't store their tobaccos correctly, or buy from a tobacconist who doesn't store their tobaccos properly.

A very pleasant tobacco I'd recommend to anyone who is looking to start up smoking virginia tobaccos. Personally I enjoy it when I'm after a relaxing smoke without beating my tongue up with heavier flavours.

These 6" flakes are dark brown in color, mottled with a lighter creamy flecks. The tobacco rubs out nicely into long strands that pack well and burn cool and even. The immediate flavor is the oft-mentioned floral/ 'soapy' taste which I find pleasant. This dissipates into a pure sweet taste that deepens the hotter you smoke it. At times it has a somewhat sour note that is nevertheless enjoyable. I find this to be an even, enjoyable smoke from beginning to end.

Package note of chocolate, flowers and mild hay. Tobacco Flakes are a marbled brown, dark brown and black. Moisture content is Good to Go (a bit dry for GH&C), rubs out with a little effort. Burns slow with few relights once lit. The strength is mild to medium and nic is mild. Flavoring is mild, with notes of very mild chocolate and Lakeland. The chocolate comes in and out sporadically. Taste is medium and somewhat consistent, a little strong in the first half, but mellows in the second half. Tasting notes of wood, spice, bread, earth, floral, hay, mildly spicy, mild tangy citrus, lemon zest, ripe fruit, a sweet grassy background note, and a peppery retro. Virginias are leading with 1/2 the flavoring supporting. Room note is pleasant to tolerable, and aftertaste is great.