Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Scotch Flake

Another bulk sample and beautiful presentation of flakes. This one is darker in color than Bright CR Flake and is infinitely more interesting to me.

Very slight bakers chocolate aroma and flavor but it's way in the background. Not noticed with each puff but occasionally rears its head, however slightly. It melds with the virginia and provides a nice, spicy, semi-sweet smoke. While Bright CR was in the grassy realm, this is more of a baked bread flavor. Somewhat more robust in stength and quite a bit more flavorful. Very faint Lakeland aroma but I can't be sure I tasted any. I'd call this an unscented flake. This is more prone to bite if pushed but a normal puffing cadence will show this one to be quite the lamb. Complexity is there but is somewhat subdued.

This is the one I'd most recommend for those who want to try a Lakeland flake but don't want the heavy floral flavors and scents. Strong 3 recommendation - probably closer to 3.5. I doubt I'll buy more, as there are other VA flakes I prefer, but this one is definitely worth sampling.

Scotch Flakes come in long, quite thick pieces of differing hues of brown, from bright to almost black. The ones I received were quite dry, yet moisture can vary depending on how and how long the seller has had them stored. Put in a jar they smell of a combination of dry hay-like Virginias with dark chocolate. Rubbing out was easy at so crisp a condition as I received them. Needs some effort to attain an even light, but then on it gets going fairly easy needing only a few relights.

The main flavours upon lighting are of a mixture of different Virginias: mildly sharp hay-like, citrucy and even some bready Virginias. Besides the Virginia flavours I think I get a whisper of Lakeland florals and even a touch of chocolate. The smoke has medium strength and it is quite flavorful with considerable sweetness but a little rough though I did not experience any tongue bite. There’s nothing here for a Virginia smoker to not like. Burns completely and at a decent pace, to a very fine grey ash. Does not produce much moisture nor does it produce a lot of smoke. Room note is rather discreet as is the flavoring.

With the caveat that the flakes I received might have dried out I have to say that this is a very mildly scented Virginia flake. Can be an all day smoke for those who enjoy good quality Virginias on the hay/citrucy end of the spectrum.

As with any review, this is my opinion and based on my personal tastes and preferences. Your opinion may well be different. There are variations in tobacco, in production runs, and in storage practices (to name a few). The retailer from whom the tobacco is purchased also has varying practices, which may or may not influence the tobacco prior to your smoking of it.

The flakes were immediately transferred to a glass Mason jar upon receipt and left there for two weeks.

Appearance: Very nice, relatively thick cut flakes, most of which are 4-5" (10-12cm) in length and about 2" (5cm) wide. Almost all of the flakes that I received were fully intact. There were very few broken pieces. The flakes are generally a dark fudge-like brown color with smaller milk chocolate like pieces and streaks that resemble tea with a little too much milk added. The batch I received was relatively moist.

Aroma: Upon opening the jar I am greeted first by the "bready" note typical of many Virginia tobaccos. There is also a sense of sweetness to the "bready" note, similar to a baking sweet bun (that is one without any spices). There is also a mild smell of light tobacco. In the background, there is a slight hint of baking cocoa or semi-sweet chocolate. None of the aromas are strong, even with having the jar open for ten minutes. Upon closing the jar, the aromas dissipate quickly.

Handling: Personally, I prefer to rub out flakes fully before packing my pipe. Beginning to rub out the flake immediately after removing it from the jar, the moisture content is noticeable. The pieces that crumble off the flake initially stick together slightly because of the moisture content. Rubbing out with a lighter touch and for a little longer time reduces this issue and I feel leaves me with a moisture content just about right for smoking. With this method, the flake rubs out to mostly small crumbles with the occasional thin strands of tobacco. Allowing a flake to air dry for 15-20 minutes before rubbing it out reduces the amount of time needed to do so and creates a relatively nice, albeit somewhat chunky, shag-type texture. I find it is relatively easy to pack this tobacco too tightly in my pipe.

Flavor: The first light (after the charring) I initially taste the sweet "bready-ness" evident in the aroma. With the first quarter of the bowl, this is noticed even more in the retrohale. That is also when the cocoa note is most noticeable. In the beginning of the bowl, upon exhale, there is also the occasional citrus note; although it is not there with every puff. Even with a medium cadence, there is no noticeable tongue bite to me. (On a side note, I have tried puffing this one quickly to see if it does bite. If allowed to get too hot and pushed too fast, it can bite slightly, but does dissipate quickly.) I personally find the sweetness stays relatively constant throughout the entire bowl.

By the halfway point, I still notice the sweetness and start to taste a rather straight tobacco flavor as the cocoa in the background slowly wears off. It smokes cool and fairly constant with very few relights needed. While the sweetness of this tobacco is certainly present, I do not find it to be a very strong sweetness. This flake has a tendency to leave a little moisture in the bottom of the bowl and if smoked all the way to the bottom (which I rarely do with any tobacco), there can be some bitterness at the end (which is common with tobacco that leave residual moisture). It leaves a fine light grey ash.

This is a very light and mellow tobacco with no harshness and is very easy to smoke; it is far from complex, but nor is it boring and lacking of flavor. The vitamin N is very mild and barely noticeable. It is not what I would choose first when sitting to read Norse mythology, nor to pair with a 10 year old bourbon. Rather, it is something I'm happy to fill my pipe with and puff on as I run my Saturday errands and don't necessarily want to contemplate what I'm smoking. For those who constantly bombard their palates solely with strong, heavy flavors, this is surely to be a disappointment. However, if you are looking for a change of pace and/or will be smoking near people who are oft inhospitable to pipe smoke, this may be for you.

As a side note, Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. make no mention of any Lakeland casing on this tobacco. However, they do state they use a cocoa casing on it. My presumption is that many tobacconists store all of their tobaccos by one manufacturer very close to each other. With that, I believe that the stronger Lakeland tobaccos could easily assert themselves onto a mild tobacco such as this. I also believe there may be simply some guilt by association, if you understand what I mean.

Another nice flake from GH. There is a very light chocolate scent that reminds me of Bob's Chocolate by the same blender although the chocolate is much farther in the background. I smoke a lot of GH tobaccos and unlike many of them I don't find much of the floral (often described as soapy) taste in this flake. Some reviewers have described it as having a strong soap taste, but unlike many other GH flakes, I don't get that much of it with SF. Scotch Flake burns cleanly and as a puffer I still find no tongue bite, although it can get hot if not careful. I enjoy it best when fully dried. The sweetness is slight at the beginning but grows as the bowl is smoked. I plan of storing some of this as I think time will serve it well. Recommended.

Just a really nice sweet smoke. The sweetness does not intensify as one progresses down the length of the bowl. It stays consistently steady, with an ever so slight floral presence wafting in and out of the smoking experience. Definitely one of the 'milder' flavored blends by this company. The steaming and pressing also adds to the smoothness.

Cut into cube. Smokes cool to a grey ash. Lakeland topping is there but not overwhelming. This was my first Lakeland blend and I found myself wanting more. Flavor impressions: chocolate, fresh baked bread, floral perfume, raisin, cardboard, musty books (in a good way).

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.

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.