Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake

My recently-acquired 8 ounces of 2009 vintage Kendal Cream is a stout affair. I don’t really detect a Lakeland thing, like many reviewers have mentioned. Maybe the years have helped it fade into the background. Or maybe it’s because I smoke an awful lot of Lakeland tobacco.

The years have darkened these flakes somewhat, into something that reminds me a great deal of the color of rough planks of redwood… an almost mahogany brown but with a reddish tint.

Anyway, this is a great change of pace flake for me. In the month or so it’s been in my possession, rare has been the day when I don’t have a bowl of it.

My recent obsession has been VaPerKys, in all their sweet-tangy-smoky goodness. And this one is certainly an excellent change of pace from that. The lack of any Kentucky or perique gives my palate a bit of a respite.

KC smokes creamy indeed. The burley and Virginia (and, I imagine, the flavorings) combine to produce a stout, earthy, woodsy, a little smoky, mocha taste… flavorful, quite flavorful. And creamy. Always creamy.

I realize this is Samuel Gawith, and not Gawith Hoggarth… but I’d place this experience somewhere between GH Dark Flake Aromatic and Brown Flake Aromatic. This is maybe somehow a little richer tasting. I suspect it’s a result of the added flavorings as much as anything.

I’ve found that Sam Gawith adds more non-tobacco flavorings to each blend than does Gawith Hoggarth. GH, therefore, tends to be my favorite in a head to head matchup, as a more natural tasting smoke. Maybe it’s just the way they use them.

But in this case, the added flavoring isn’t as “in your face” as with other SG blends. Maybe it’s a characteristic of Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake, maybe it’s because it’s a decade old. Maybe it’s a little of both.

Regardless, this is a rich, tasty smoke… not quite in the league of a Dark Flake or an Old Dark Fired, but not too far behind.

It smokes nice and cool. Employing the fold and stuff (or my variety of it), I find that it requires slightly more relights than normal.

Would I recommend it? Well, I certainly wouldn’t recommend against it. Will I buy it again? That’s a distinct possibility.

Because, to be honest, I do tend to find the Irish Flakes and Dark Flakes of the world to be a bit much at times. This baby hits a lot of the same notes, but in a less heavy-handed manner.

So yes, I can definitely see myself seeking this out in the future. The only thing that gives me pause is a fear that more recent stock could potentially suffer from a stronger—and harsher—presence of whatever flavorings S. Gawith is using here. That would certainly take away from the edge this decade old example has earned itself in my pecking order.

So until then, I’m giving this one a cautiously optimistic 3 & 3/4 stars, rounding up to four.

For now.

Wonderful tobacco, i am very glad i have ordered 100 grams this time.

Very yummy flavuoring twist added to virginia-burley, has all chances to become my daily smoker for few weeks.

As always with Samuel Gawith, you have to dry tobacco for at least 20 minutes before smoking. Besides that a great tobacco!

These flakes look like they have been pressed into tobacco cakes. They are very light in colour and seem to crumble easily in your hand. The casing seems to provide some creaminess to the very nice Virginia properties which is not soapy or overtly sweet. I am finding the Virginia content quite satisfactory and very light on the tongue despite being full of taste (no tongue bite here). As these flakes only contain Virginia and Burley I am missing the sharp edge of the Kentucky, but I appreciate this for a little bit of a respite. I am not sure why they've class this tobacco as an "aromatic" as I cannot find any properties that would justify this term. Yes, the smoking experience has this sort of creaminess to it, but for the most part, it is the taste of tobacco what I detect in my tongue. Also, they seem to have good burning properties and won't smoke hot in your bowl. I have enjoyed this, so I will give it 3 stars.

Edit1: This tobacco is doing the trick for me, so I am upgrading to 4 stars.

I've always liked the taste of Burley, but have not come across a tobacco that hits the 'Goldilocks' spot;till now.This has the vicelessness of BB Virginia flake with just enough Burley taste. It starts off a bit peppery but after a few minutes the Burley taste takes over and remains until the end.My first pipefull gave me a queasy stomach from the nicotine but this has not recurred although it is a little more than I am used to.I have not noticed any 'floral' or 'soap' as others have mentioned. So if you, like me, are looking for a tobacco with a bit more 'oomph' than Best Brown Flake, this could be the one.

Another great SG blend, pairs nice with morn'in coffee or a nice bock lager...

my taste/likes to compare: 1792, Bracken, Best Brown, FVF and now Kendal Cream Flake

Once dried out the added essence is subdued, revealing a rich creamy smoke of excellent quality leaf, smooth without a bite. A splendid afteroon tobacco.

I have never been overly fond of Burley, but Kendal Cream could make a convert of me yet.

Lakeland Tour Stop 9

The epitome of the Lakeland burley/virginia flake. Like all Lakeland flakes (at least those with little age on them), this one needs to be dried out. I popped the tin and left it in a large tupperware container with other tins for a month before smoking it. By then it needed no more drying out.

The thing with this flake is that it REALLY varies depending on the kind of pipe you smoke it in, more than any other tobacco I've experienced. Sometimes it was cloyingly sweet. This seemed to happen in significantly tappered bowls of all sizes. And in straight-sided bowls of 15/16" diameter or larger, it was very "soapy" and herbal. The best smokes were in straight-sided bowls of 13/16-7/8" diameter. In these, you get a lot more spice and that earthy, nutty burley goodness.

Also, I had a bit of an epiphany with this flake that will probably help with other Lakeland flakes (especially FVF) in the future. After about 6 weeks after popping the tin, the smoke lost its flavor, just as FVF has done to me in the past. I always thought that since these tobaccos seemed to be a good humidity that this was irreversable. But since I had a few more smokes-worth, I thought I might as well add some moisture and see what happened. Success! Even more hard-hitting burley goodness than before! Maybe it's obvious to you, but somehow that solution had evaded me before. Hope that helps others.

In the right conditions, this is wonderful; a must-try for burley and Lakeland fans. Lots of nicotene, as others have noted. Give it a try and be patient with it.

After a disappointing engagement with 1792, I wanted to revisit Gawith to see if my initial experiences with them were a fluke, or if I truly enjoy any of their tobac.

I was pleased to find this was a much nicer experience then the 1792 flake. There is what I discover to be that soapiness experienced by other smokers in this blend, but it's not at all unpleasant, and stoking the pipe to large puffs of white smoke, brings out that delicious flavor I enjoy in 1792 without the nasty aftertaste.

To me this flake is recognizable as Gawith, strong, tasty with a wonderful je ne sais quoi that I have come to associate with Gawith. I like it. I especially enjoy getting this blend hot in the bowl and tasting the wonderful flavors produced. There's just something about the way Gawith handles Virgina tobac that draws me to their blends. There's a flavor in this that reminds me of aged beef or cheese. A very rich blend.

Recommended. (3 stars)

*Update* 3.11.08 I have been smoking this now for a few days and it has really grown on me. I am upgrading it to a 4 star.

September 24, 2007: I have ordered a pound of this in bulk, which came in 6" long, beautiful dark flakes! Kendal Cream is bliss. One more tasting note: I "taste" a very light and modicum of Oriental leaf (not in any way Latakia) when exhailing through my nose. I did not notice this after smoking Orcilla, Embarcadero, Yenidje Supreme and McConnell's the Original Oriental Mixture during the summer.

August 7, 2007: This is not floral or soapy in my estimation, but Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake is scented with essences that speak of berries, raisins and honey. This seems topped rather than cased and without added sugars. Lakeland blending is certainly unique in the world and Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake is as good an introduction as any blend for flake fanciers. For a solid example of Lake District floral scenting, try GH?s Best Brown #2. The latter, to me, tastes ?soapy? (as do nearly all their blends).

My tin description says ?Mild, Full [sic] Flavoured Tobacco.? Since ?Mild? and ?Full Flavoured? are distinct, I assume ?Mild? refers to strength. But this is no mild strength blend. It is very nearly full and requires that I eat something sweet after a bowl to get my blood sugar back on track. If by ?Full? and ?Flavoured? are meant ?full-flavored? then not really, except maybe the last quarter of a bowl. Neither is KCDF heavily laden with scenting.

KCDF?s tin aroma is reminiscent of Bracken Flake, as is the broken flake cut. With these, the similarities end. Bracken is more intense from the fire-cured Burleys, whereas Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake is a bit sweeter (though not a sweet blend) and less redolent of SG?s twist tobaccos as is Bracken. Kendal Cream is more like a Virginia flake with Burley accents and the cool character to go with it. The smooth nature of KCDF makes me give it the nod over BF. Flavor-wise, the only comparison I can make between KCDF and 1792 Flake is the taste of fire-cured leaf, albeit much lighter in KCDF.

KCDF also reminds me of Erinmore Flake. They are not similar in terms of flavorings (well, sort of in some ?berry essence? kind of way), but in deceptive strength, easy burn, mottled white ash, dry dottle, and each starting bland and ending complex and much fuller in flavor. KCDF is also smooth like I remember Erinmore Flake. Both are made from markedly very well-aged tobaccos, with all the harsh edges lost in time.

My first go with KCDF was three bowls in immediate succession, meerschaum, briar, meerschaum. Such experiences are atypical for me, as I like to switch it up if I have the time to smoke more than a bowl a day. My sample came from a 50gram tin. It was very good in either the silicate or briar pipe, though briar ultimately won the nod.

My real joy is the side stream aroma and the aroma exhaling through my nose. I simply get lost in smoke when puffing on this kind of blend. I have now consumed almost an entire tin and plan on purchasing a pound in bulk, along with the incomparable 1792 Flake. I will save a bowl or two from the tin to compare with the bulk when it arrives.

Really quite lovely, KCDF is something that I have been reaching for first when my palate is clean.