Samuel Gawith Firedance Flake

According to SG, this starts out as their BBF, which in my opinion is one of the classic straight virginias in existence. It certainly looks like BBF but has a distinct blackberry tin aroma, with a little of what is claimed to be brandy in the background (sort of a slight alcohol-ish taste). I never picked up the vanilla, either in the nose or the flavor.

This was a nicely flavored flake, with the berry taste lasting throughout the smoke. Nothing earth-shattering, but certainly steady. Unfortunately, the depth and "color" that each bowl of BBF provides me was completely missing in action, as this was as nuanced as a brick wall. And once again, SG's flavored tobaccos seem to me to fall well short of their namesake G&H. It's hard to explain but while both are consistent with the flavoring down the bowl, the G&H flavorings seem to not only meld with the tobacco but they enhance it. SG's flavored blends seem to cover up the tobacco taste. Instead of the "merger" that the G&H blends accomplish, SG's flavored blends seem like just short of a hostile takeover. The berry flavor in this one was nice but it blanketed the tobacco flavor instead of melding with it. This is one I may smoke on rare occasions and anyone interested in a dry-smoking virginia aromatic with a low nicotine content and flavoring that doesn't go kaput from mid-bowl down should give this a try. It just doesn't measure up to the Lakeland process that is so masterfully accomplished by G&H, St Bruno and others.

This is my latest foray into the quality jungle of SG tobaccos. Not a totally random pick, the idea of an aromatic flake intrigued me, nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say. So here goes.

The sweet blackberry aroma from the tin on first opening was, despite being a little artificial, a pleasant greeting to my erstwhile nose. It wasn't overly strong though, so i wasn't overly surprised when very little of it made it into the smoke, which turned a little more oaky and leafy, with hints of chocolate and stake, all with just a little sweetness. Packing and lighting are reasonable given that it's a flake, though the odd relight is necessary. The room note doesn't really stand out but is certainly not unpleasant. Now, I know my previous reviews that I whinge and whine about pipe tobaccos with flavouring in the tin aroma not delivering in the smoke, but in this case, it doesn't matter, the flavour in the smoke amply makes up for it.

On the whole the, a very nice, pleasant smoke. It doesn't really stand out amongst SG's fantastic tobaccos but is equal in quality. A lot of flakes, I find are very strong and, thus, probably only really enjoyable smoked once a day at most. This, however, can be smoked all day every day. It reminds me of those midfielders you rarely find in football these days, like David Mcreary or David Batty, someone who doesn't have a lot of flair but more than makes up for it in work rate. You won't realise they're there, but they end up playing a pivotal roll in the match.

So there you go, Firedance is the David Mcreary of the pipe tobacco world. It won't dazzle you, but it will pull out all the stops to give you a good smoke.

People have said that English tobacco companies had best stick to making the styles of blends for which they are known, that is to say English blends. People have said that when the English try and make anything other than an English style blend that the blend will be bad or, if it was made in the Lake District, just plain weird. Those people are wrong. All that I need to prove this is Firedance Flake. I am not even particularly fond of fruit-topped aromatics, but I am inclined to say that Firedance Flake from Samuel Gawith may have everything that is required for the perfect expression of this sort of blend.

I have always found the Lakeland brown flake to be a bit on the bland and grassy side, but it does very well with the addition of aromatic top dressing, especially such natural and masterfully concocted aromatic agents as are used by Samuel Gawith. The flavors of fruits, especially blackberry, are just like the real thing and pleasant throughout the bowl, never becoming harsh or foul-tasting. There are two more subtle underlying flavors that I find particularly interesting. One is the toastiness from the Burley and Virginia flake; the other is a combination of essences that draw me back into my early childhood, being like unto Play-Doh or Crayola?s.

One can rub this flake out if so desired, but it isn?t necessary. It will burn perfectly with an entire flake packed into the pipe. Never once did this burn my tongue or even come close to doing so. Like so many Gawith aromatics, the flavoring agents are pungent and will remain in the pipe for a while, but I have never minded this and find that they burn off rather quickly. If you are an aromatic smoker, though, I doubt that you will have to worry, given that it may be difficult to smoke anything other that this tobacco.

I recently purchased this blend as my first flake tobacco. First thing you notice about Samuel Gawith's tobacco is the pricing. Their 50g tins sell for €11 whereas a 100g tin of Mac Baren's Vanilla cream sells for a mere €13.

The flakes in this tin are somewhat moist, and I find them to smoke best if rubbed and let to dry for about 30minutes before actually packing and smoking.

Upon opening the tin, a very fruity scent immediately fills the room. The blackberry is very dominant in smell, with the brandy and vanilla as a noticeable undertone.

After drying for about 30 minutes, this tobacco is easy to pack and light. Being somewhat thicker (because it's a flake tobacco) it burns very slowly and evenly and smokes very cool. It requires little or no relighting in my Big Ben Bruyere De luxe, in which I smoke it the most.

I got no tonguebite at all from this, but it does tend to get a little too wet every now and then, causing the pipe to gurgle. The taste is what you'd expect upon smelling the unlit tobacco: fruity, quite mild yet complex, with a vanilla undertone. The brandy is a bit absent in my opinion.

Perhaps not really recommended for new smokers, this tobacco has become my absolute favorite blend so far!

This is the aromatic that is not an aromatic. Perhaps because it is a flake, this tobacco is a little weird. On the charring light, it brings a burst of fresh blackberry... and I mean FRESH, with the tartness, the sweetness, and summer sun. However, the berry flavor diminishes almost instantly. The remaining smoke is very much dominated by a natural tobacco flavor. There is a subtle berry flavor and vanilla note present, but the topping seems to mostly disappear once this is burning.

The tobacco is first rate. The VA flavor is mellow and medium-bodied, and it is complemented by vanilla throughout, though mildly. I find a bit of a tart aftertaste from the blackberry on relighting, though this seems to fade quickly,

Firedance is unusual and enjoyable, It might not be the ideal smoke for the natural tobacco aficionado, or for the aromatic lover, but it is solid and pleasurable.

I like brandy, cognac, and the like, and after having recently tried apple brandy the room description for this blend sparked my interest. SG's Firedance Flake is their Best Brown 6" Flake with the addition of Blackberry Brandy and a light Topping of Vanilla.

The tin is simple but effective. Once I opened the tin and removed the cardboard insert I found a nicely colored Flake. The tin note smells of Blackberry, Vanilla, hay, citrus and grass. The flake was pretty wet out of the tin so I do my usual method of packing a pipe and leaving it overnight. Write a few people have said that this can be hard to light and keep lit, and I agree.

After the charring light I get an interesting blend of flavors. I taste the blackberry brandy for sure and the vanilla is just a hint in the background, but I do taste a lot of the original leaf shining through. The Virginias are citrusy, haylike, and soft. Don't be mistaken you will taste the toppings and I feel like this is an Aromatic in the truest definition of one.

The taste is a medium and has a pleasant aftertaste. The strength is a medium, and you time with Lady N will be average. The room note is very pleasant, and may garner a few compliments. All this being said it is a very finicky blend, don't pack a bowl with any intention of doing something else. A decent smoke.

2021 Update: and, it's a good one. It's rare I do updates, but this blend deserves one. After several months of sitting in a jar the berry notes have mellowed and now interweave brilliantly with the baccy. A very pleasant smoke. What's further, the baccy is bound to smooth out even more as time goes by. It's still a tad on the strong side, but no longer moist and much smoother; even the back end of the smoke smoothed out. Wonderful! When something improves, even over time, credit is due. So there you are.

Original post: Here's a funny story. Was in Denver, CO just before the plague broke. I ubered to Edward's Pipe Shop looking for a tin of baccy. They had tons of Sam Gawith on their shelves, a sight I had not seen in many a moon! I was impressed. Knowing I hadn't tried probably more than half of Gawith's line, I purchased several tins: an old fav, Squadron Leader, Best Brown Flake, Cabbie's Mixture and Firedance. Somehow, I mixed up Golden Glow with Firedance. I purchased Firedance by mistake (both blends were next to each other on the shelf, and didn't realize my mistake until after I got home). My bad!

Anyway, after reading about Firedance, here on TR, I thought maybe I wasn't going to like this blend, and, I must admit to being split on it. The flakes were moist, had to dry them out before smoking (took 5 hours!). I enjoyed the taste, right away, a sort of berry-taste came through, very interesting. As I went along the blend became increasingly harsh, until toward the very end, it verged on being foul tasting. The front end of this blend is good, the back end not so good. The in-between moments were average. So I'm going to give this blend a 2.5 stars, or a two, I always round down.

One last observation. I've been to oodles of pipe shops in my day, Edward's Pipe Shop in Denver, CO, truly impressed me. They sell tons of pipes, and had a LOT of pipe tobacco, both in bulk, and in tins. Very impressed!

Keep on Pipin'

After having a very pleasant experience with BBF i thought how would it be in aromatic version?once the tin breaks a tense blackberries and grass smell comes out.the flakes are heavilly aromated and vey moist so some drying time after rubbing is needed°wich also helps to reduse the topping tensity.packs and lights ok with several relights needed.while smoking the topping is dominant over the virginia flavours.blackberries in the front with some alcohol notes adding more strength.the vanilla topping is very soft most of the times barelly noticeable.virginias are grassy,fruity ,citrucy with some spices.generally though strongly flavoured it feels natural and nice quality.burns slow and medium hot to perfect ash with lots of moisture left at the filter.the nicotine level is medium, the aftertaste is nice if you like blackberries with no tongue bite.the room note is pleasant.an all day smoke.if you like blackberries you are gonna love it.if not don't bother buying it.i am neutral to blackberries taste so 3 stars from me.

There was a lot of buzz about this blend, and judging by the reviews it seems to fall in the "love it or hate it" category. I'm not sure I fall to either extreme, but it's certainly less than favorable in my book.

The tin note is exactly as advertised: blackberry, brandy, and vanilla. The flakes were typical of Sam Gawith - thick, meaty, and moist (don't take that out of context!). Fold-n-Stuff is virtually impossible with this stuff, unless you want to air it out for a decade or two. Rubbed out and left to dry, 24 hours or so drying time got it to where I needed it (you can smoke it without drying, but it's touch to keep going and mucks up the bottom of the bowl very quickly).

So the good news - the room note is fantastic. A true "aromatic" in that sense. This will certainly be a crowd-pleaser in that regard. Also, the aromatic casing/topping does not seem to burn off after the first quarter bowl or so, as is often the case with aromatics. The added flavors stick around for most of the smoke. Sadly, the experience falls off from there (and quickly).

The topping, sweet though it is, is fairly faint. So if you're looking for a super sweet aromatic, this isn't it. Blackberry is there, and so is the vanilla. I found the brandy hard to spot, and the vanilla is a lot more dominant than the tin description would suggest. I'd call it the primary flavoring with blackberry a close second. On the whole, the topping is relatively subdued, especially considering the intensity of the tin and room notes. This would all be fine and good (in fact, great) if the Virginia base was able to speak for itself. To my palate, the flake is nowhere near the quality of Best Brown - it strikes me as poorly aged, undeveloped, and generally flat. I'd age the tin, but by the time the VA sweetness has time to develop, the casing is sure to have gone totally dead, leaving me with a muted Best Brown Flake at best.

Granted, I'm not a big aromatic smoker - I'm no stranger to the stuff, but it's not my bread and butter. True aro folks might get a better experience out of this. To me, it was a middle-of-the-road aromatic that requires more work, drying time, and fuss than is required with others of its ilk.

I'm glad I tried it, but it's not something I'd ever buy again. For what it's worth, though, SG does produce this blend as a snuff - I've had that, too, and it's FANTASTIC. If you take snuff, it's worth checking out - but I can't recommend the version for the pipe smoker.