Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Deluxe Flake

Smoked this in the tin first and then found that I could get it in bulk so I ordered a pound. What a difference between the tin and bulk. WOW.. the aroma was sweet like a Holiday Fruit cake, my wife gave it a wiff and said it made her hungry. Eager to smoke it, broke some up and packed my favorite Von Erck and puffed away. FANTASTIC from beginning to end. So glad that I found it in bulk, so much smoother and fuller than the tin. Full body, smooth and flavorful with tons of character. It is so good to know that there are still great blends to be smoked when other companies are folding. This will be my daily smoke and believe it or not the price was not as bad as I thought. SG keep it coming. I highly recomend this blend to anyone who like a good steady smoke.

EDIT: A few days into this pound of Kendel Cream and I have discovered something very strange. Some of you may even think that I am off my rocker. But, this blend has a 'whisky' taste a few days in. It reminds me of the 'drug store' tobacco that gramps used to smoke. Much more refined and full, but that tone of whiskey is present for me.

It was with great anticipation that I purchased this. Having sampled Gawith's fantastic snuff, I had high hopes that the fine craftwork put into their nasal tobacco would transfer across to the tin that now sat in front of me. Opening up said tin and taking a good, deep inhalation of aroma, I was more than pleasantly surprised by a strange soapy creaminess that possessed a very slight hint of something acerbic underneath, much like a beautiful summer's day with just a hint of storm in the dark rain clouds poking over the horizon.

Having got over my initial confusion of what "flake" actually meant as these strangely delicate "slabs" (for want of a better word) of tobacco peered out of the tin at me, I finally got round to rubbing one out and packing it into my weapon of choice and pulling the trigger. The soothing, creamy taste enraptured my senses and my soul like a Keira Knightly back rub after a particularly heavy triathlon. The pleasant room note merely added to an already perfect, if strangely delicate, smoke.

A surprising delicate yet flavoursome smoke, this is, for me, as perfect a smoke as can be had and a definitely a star player in my perfect Pipe Tobacco XI. Perhaps, my only word of warning is that it is quite a subtle, delicate tobacco, more Pele and less Vinnie Jones. So if you do prefer a stronger smoke, by all means try this, but it's not Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Pipes.

Like lots of other SG virginia blend flakes, this one also took its place in my forever favorites list.

I don't realy know what essence they have added in this but this mild addition made a great combination with virginia-burley strength. SG used again a very fine recipe for preparing this true pipe tobacco.

Must be dried for easy lighting and full taste. I dried it to crispy and one light was enough for the whole bowl. The strength is not overhelming but it makes me to be saturated.

Virginia blend lovers, please do not miss this one!

Too wet in the tin, and not much in there...compares to escudo in terms of how little you get, volume wise.

Dried out, this is a fantastic smoke. Notes of gingerbread and some weird minty kind of thing overtop a not too sweet dark flake.

I like. You like? High five!

There are a few pipe tobaccos that I don't smoke very often but when I do I go on a hardcore binge. This is one of them. When I have a bowl of Kendal Cream Flake I will smoke it exclusively all day for a few days. The Virginia is smooth with hay and earth. I would guess that this blend uses Malawi Burley as it is nutty and woody. The topping is very hard to describe. The best I can say is it tastes like tea with milk and honey. There is a notable floralness also. This probably isn't an all day smoke for most people but it sure is for me.

This is realy good stuff...SG knows how to use virginia...Virginia and burley mix sweet, creamy and a true pleasure ...

Too wet in the tin but dry fast...Burns slowly and nicotine level is very good for me...If you like nicotine and creamy taste use this stuff...Now best SG for me...I ll smoke everyday one bowl...

Kendal Cream Flake. Or KC Flake, as it's known around here.

Out of the tin, you get a woody, flowery smell from it. Pleasant and fairly restrained. It's a Samuel Gawith Flake, so of course it comes on the moist side and needs a bit of drying time. Not too much, though. You don't want to lose the flavour with this one.

Once it's in your pipe, it lights up nicely and quickly begins to provide it's flavour. Much like the tin note, it's got woody, floral notes, with the occasional whiff of nutty burley. It's very pleasant and smooth.

That, along with it's moderate nicotine content and fairly slow burn, makes this blend true to it's name. It's a creamy, lovely smoke, peaceful in character.

In the latter half of the bowl, the Virginia leaf makes it's presence known a bit more, providing some spice to the sweetness.

It's an easy blend to handle, though if you do manage to smoke it too fast, it'll punish you with some tongue bite. Other than that, it burns clean and dry, though it does need some relights.

At the end of your smoke, you'll be left with some dottle, but zero moisture.

It's a massive recommendation from me. I like to call this stuff "peace in a pipe".

The scent of this tobacco is exquisite, almonds, lemongrass, tonquin, cinnamon, other sweet spices and who knows what kind of botanicals… And besides all these aromas real tobacco smell! I really wish I knew what aromatics they use at Gawith’s! In any case at this firm they have elevated tobacco scenting to an art form. And it all smells so natural! The flakes are brown colored with some black parts and a few bright spots. They are well formed and thick. Easy to rub out.

I smoked Kendal Cream from a 250g box which contains the tobacco inside a plastic pouch which is not vacuum sealed and the flakes came in perfect moisture condition to just rub and smoke. Contrary to most Samuel Gawith tobaccos this one needed no preparation apart from rubbing! It also had excellent burning behavior and without any bite for me whatsoever. I do not know how the tobacco comes out of the tin though…

Now to the actual smoke despite the heady scenting, you never forget you are smoking …tobacco. And it is a medium to strong tobacco with a healthy nicotine punch to satisfy most smokers. Virginias offer both sharp and darker yeasty notes. The first are accentuated in my opinion by the cool-tasting scenting. Overall Kendal Cream has a slightly bitter-sweet herbal taste, a combination I suppose of the botanicals used and the Virginias. Then around mid-bowl the smoke becomes earthier and nuttier, seems like the Kentucky is taking center stage. What a nice surprise!

I really like this tobacco as I also do Ennerdale Flake, both Lakelands but quite different. Kendal Cream is less heady and less perfumy, in the sense of real perfume. If you’ve never tasted Lakelands do not approach Kendal Cream with trepidation, it is just a high quality tobacco that is mildly scented and what's more the scenting is much less obvious in the smoke than the (heavenly!) tin note suggests. I also use it to scent other tobaccos with good results.

Another great combination for me is to blend half and half Kendal Cream with McClelland's 5100 Red Cake. Beautiful combination, with 5100 adding some more sweetness and a mild tang.

This is one of the most extraordinary flakes I've ever tried. Tin note brings a good café au lait to mind. First draws remind me of something nutty and dry, perhaps it's that Burley. I definitely taste some tonquin as well. Halfway down the bowl, all flavorings and burley tones die out, and wonderful Virginias start to shine and sing getting smoother and richer towards the end. N-vitamin levels are quite decent. Burns suspiciously cool and dry.

Nothing to add, nothing to complain about: 10/10