Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake

No doubt the description given by SG corresponds to 100%.

It is a nice smoke, smooth, truly enjoy between nose and mouth.

Some light reminiscent of a flake that no longer exists, Craven mild flake.

Is a blend that can be safely smoked by those who start with a pipe, in fact I recommend it to beginners! Slow smoking, without broken the flake

Better in a small pipe.

Leave off the pipe if the smoke gets hot too, is not no problem!

Indeed, it is better!

I love this tobacco. Just thought I'd get that off my chest from the get go!

Opening the tin, you are greeted with a nice, earthy smell, and medium dark brown colored flakes. I just love the way Gawith's flakes look - they look very appetizing.

The moisture content out of the tin was good for me. It could help with a bit of drying out but I felt no need, I just took a flake, folded, packed, and lit. Holds to a flame well requiring few relights. If you rub it down it won't go out at all, but just burn smoothly and evenly.

The taste is outstanding. I love how the Virginia's and Burley's play off of each other. The sweetness of the Virginia's and the boldness of the Burley's is excellent.

Nice and creamy, it's easy to smoke, and doesn't wear your tongue down. It's not coated with a whole bunch of stuff so the base flavors you get are just really high quality tobaccos - the way it should be.

Four stars.

I love this stuff! It's sweet, creamy and flavorful. Mild mannered yet robust, smooth and refreshing. This is a big time smoke! Buy it in bulk, it's very affordable. Definitely in my top five.

As with all Sam Gawith flakes, Kendal Cream also benefits greatly from at least an hour of breathing time before lit. To be honest, when I first opened the tin, the aroma was so strong and so weird, I thought "no way". But I'm glad I didn't place false judgment based on the tin aroma. The smoke is thick, creamy, and tasty right from the start. The added flavor is pretty light and pleasant. You mostly taste high quality tobacco. I did find this tobacco to become a bit harsh at times, and it can bite if provoked. The flavor is earthy and somewhat sweet, with a hint of fresh grass. I'd smoke it again for sure.

Among the Kendal offerings by SG that I've tried, this is the one in which the "lakeland" elements are the most mild, or toned-down. I can see what people mean by lavender, but it is unobtrusive enough to allow the Virginia to shine through. The burley is evident as well, but not overpowering. Based on the first few bowls, this seems to have little bite potential for me, which probably means that it is about the right strength for me, and flavor can be found without overpuffing. The bowl starts out as a thin yet pleasant smoke, but develops in complexity, as a good smoke should. It never becomes strong or harsh to my tastes, but in the "homestretch" I am reminded that this is a Kendal-style flake. All in all, I recommend this blend heartily, but leave the rating at three stars because there are a couple of other SGs, Navy Flake and FVF, which I would buy before buying this one again, and in larger amounts. But I will buy it again eventually; the taste at the end of the bowl is quite nice!

A great Lakeland tobacco! Very rich and lavender like. Some reviews on here claim that it has a 'soapy' taste to it, yet I assure you my palate did not detect soapyness but a rich creamy lavender taste. Very full bodied and smooth. Great Choice! Get a tin and try it!

Popping the top...difficult to isolate the minimal topping flavor positively...a bit of anise & maybe a touch of caramel. This stuff is moist from the tin & requires a bit of drying which doesn't take long & it rubs out easily. Not bad at all & a good bang for the buck. The casing is minimal and doesn't overpower the tobacco. Room note seems kind of neutral as I didn't notice hardly any tobacco odor or much aroma from the topping...like the tobacco odor has simply been masked. Anyway, the sweet taste & nicotine content in this blend makes stoking any pipe worthwhile. It is easy on the tongue/palate & smokes cool. Easy to keep lit & burns dry all the way to the bottom...smooth & "creamy," as it were. Overall, this is really a good pipe tobacco. Therefore, IMHO, Samuel Gawith's Kendal Cream Flake merits four ****s!

I don't know what all the negativity is all about. This is my first try at a Lakeland type blend and I rather like it. I don't know what the flavoring is but it is not overly applied.It's not floral as is reportedly the case with a lot of the Lakelands. It's smooth,creamy with a good bit of strength and over all I find it to be very satisfying.It's not one of my favorites but I enjoy it and will be keeping some on hand.

I was rather disappointed by this flake. I truly enjoy FVF, BF and CF from Samuel Gawith. The added essence was definitively interesting and I was looking forward to start enjoying the flakes.

After 4 bowls, it came to me as being rather tasteless with a tendency to bite, even when smoked carefully. All I get is a nicotine hit, but flavor wise, not much. Too bad!

I will stick with the other offerings from this high quality tobacco house.

I will not rebuy KCF again. I did not even care to finish the tin.