Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Scotch Flake

I just keep coming back to this great tobacco because I love it. It is a pure steamed/pressed VA flake that has a great natural tobacco taste with a bit of natural sweetness. Not like McClelland VAs, which are great too, but much more tangy. There is something about how Gawith steams and presses the tobacco that makes it so approachable. It is just so easy to smoke. You don't have to be in the "mood" for it like you do many other tobaccos.

None of that perfume stuff that taints (in my opinion) alot of the other Gawith flakes. Just good, mellow yet rich, tobacco.

The only thing I don't like is the hassle of the flakes. While thin, they are very long (6" or so long), and must be broken up to smoke readily. But heck, I will deal with that.

If you like good old-fashioned tobaccos with no frills, give this a try.

Scotch mixes are a fairly light and easy smoke and this thin cut flake is no exception. The cut of this flake is thinner than most from the same stable and this lends to an easy to use tobacco that will dry if needed very quickly. My batch was very dry when I got it and perfectly ready to review.

The pouch note is sweet and chocolate is detectable a light brown coco leaning towards white chocolate type. Also present is the so called "Lakeland topping" if you know this then one then skip to the next paragraph. If however you don't the topping is a floral type which may contain geranium a bean extract called tonquin and even rosehip. This topping is a secret I'm sure so the exact flavours are rightly so a mystery. The Lakeland style topping is a feature of many tobaccos from sam gawiths and gawith hoggarth.

The taste upon lighting is floral but not strong and to date this is the lightest application of the Lakeland I have found. The Virginia is a fairly light one and easy to smoke it burns quickly and smaller pipes will give a very short smoke. The tamper will be in use throughout to keep the whole lot tight due to the fast burn.

About halfway down I got a nice change of pace as the coco kicked in and rounded out the floral somewhat, the whole smoke became very solid and the light start was left behind. The Virginia was now also much fuller in flavour and became a main player, as opposed to a carrier to the toppings. I was enjoying this tobacco very much by this point and was wishing I had been more brave and chosen to load a bigger pipe.

Taste notes to me were, sweet, caramel, toffee. floral, (hay mild)(grassy medium to strong) chocolate and a medium dry style with no bite and moderate heat, Good temperature for a all vg smoke as my sample was very dry and I was expecting some fire.

So overall a pleasant smoker with much more going on flavour wise than a straight vg tobacco could offer. The topping is lightly applied but not so light as to be hard to follow. This was not what I expected from scotch flake but a very welcome surprise as the tobacco exceeded my expectations. So for this reason I can only give a full four star review. If you have never tried a Lakeland tobacco this would be a great place to start as it is the thin end of the wedge.

I'm either getting accustomed to the Lakeland scent or it fits in really well with this flake. Probably a combination of both. Either way, I really like this smoke. You can tell that the sweetness has two sources. Some from the Lakeland and some from the Virginia. The two have a contrast that I find very appealing. I love the way they interact. In my sample the Lakeland is just a little stronger than mild and I would classify the natural tobacco flavor as mild. Overall a medium flavor experience. Medium in body as well. Burns very nicely. This is a great flake.

I can't tell if this is scented. My gut is that it isn't, that it displays a pouch aroma created by steam-pressing and leaf selection. (Remind anyone of that never-ending silly rumor of vinegar being added to McClellands?) If it DOES have a top-note, it is applied more lightly than Glengarry Flake, and that is almost completely unnoticeable in the flavor.

Anyway, this is sweet (I believe naturally), friendly, easy-smoking. A good choice when you want a tasty blend that you don't have to concentrate on while doing something else. This would be a good choice if recommending a tobacco to a new pipe smoker or an aromatic-only smoker.

As usual with GH steamed Virginias, you aren't going to get a McClelland or Esoterica-type of complexity, but you won't have to walk that fine line of overpuffing either. The African Virginias are rounder, with a dark brown sugar mellowness to them. Highly recommended.

I am not sure whether the Lakeland essence was meant to be present in these flakes or if this is by accident, but you can barely notice it. This tobacco seems to comprise flue cured leaf, but it feels more or less like your ordinary straight Virginia tobacco. Quite mild as you light up your pipe, it gets somewhat stronger as you progress with your smoke, but never to the point flue cured tobaccos will. It is only as you go past half your bowl that you start thinking these flakes might contain a little bit more than just unstoved Virginia leaf. There is this sort of subdued smokiness, most particularly when you pass the smoke through your nose, that gives it away. I think there is a gap in the market for these kind of flakes, but due to its intrinsic complexity and sophistication I am not sure every Burley/Kentucky lover will be able to appreciate them.

Scotch Flake;

Star Rating = 4.0;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 10;

Room Note = 10;

Flavor = 10;

Bite = 9;

Burn = 10;

After Taste = 10;

Raw Score = 59;

Rated Percentage = 98%;

Comment = Very Smooth, Very Mild, Nice light Whiskey Flavor, No Bite, White Ash Burn.

Another venture into the world of GH&Co and this time I wanted to try one of their milder, 'straight' VA tobaccos. Taking my cue from the reviews of Mr DK (below) I thought this one was most likely to please, and I am glad I followed his judgement.

I have little to add. Yes, the chocolate notes are there in the aroma. Yes, it is a sweet, bready VA. Yes, it smokes impeccably as is typical of GH&Co tobaccos.

Benefits from a bit of drying time, but I don't let it get as crispy as I do most VA flakes.

The only important thing I have to say is that my sample has quite a noticable level of Lakeland soap, apparently more so than experienced by other reviewers. No floral flavours with it, but definite soap. I could have been experiencing some ghosting, as the pipe I have been using for this tobacco was previously host to Bosun Cut Plug, although it has had an alcohol clean since. Anyway, it wasn't a problem for me, but the usual warnings apply for those who are not keen on the soapy stuff.

I can understand that VA purists might prefer a more fullsome, flue-cured number over this (edit: okay this is flue-cured, but you know what I mean). Yes, it ain't the most complex VA flake in the world, but it is a darned good smoke with plenty of flavour. Sometimes that's enough. Will buy more, in larger quantities...I suspect it might cellar wonderfully.

Sweet, sweet, sweet. This is the sweetest tobac I have ever smoked. It is smooth, one dimentional, smokes well, and a nice break from heavy Latakia blends. Very nice tasting & DGT's well.

Another winner from Gawith Hoggarth. This flake looks very much like Bright CR Flake, which is becoming a daily smoke for me. In the past few months I've been exploring the GH flakes and so far I've enjoyed them all. Whatever they do during the pressing and steaming process, produces a flake that tastes like it has been aged for years.

The flakes came with exactly the right amount of moisture for my tastes, which is to say, a little on the dry side. I fold the flakes and pack them vertically in the bowl. The lights are easy. I would say that Scotch Flake has just a touch of that floral aroma that I am beginning to love, but it disappears slowly and yeilds a pure, sweet Virginia flavor. (If you are searching for a GH flake with no floral aroma, try Bright CR Flake.) Mid-bowl, the flavor is supurb. It has everything that I am searching for in a VA flake. It may be slightly less complex than Bright CR Flake, but maybe not. I don't find GH flakes to be as complex as McClelland flakes or Rattray's Marlin Flake, but they give me a more consistant excellence from bowl to bowl. I am currently smoking my second bowl in a row of Scotch Flake and I rarely do that with other flakes.

The end of the bowl always comes too soon. I find myself longing for more free time to sit and enjoy this wonderful flake tobacco. Gawith Hoggarth are producing some of the best blends currently available and I hope this will continue for a long time. Highly recommended.