Samuel Gawith Firedance Flake

Very strong smell of blackberry on background ketchup out of a tin. Pleasant, but intrusive. Flakes dark and very moist. When smoking, the taste is sweet, mild, creamy, but not fragrant as the smell from the tin. My girlfriend likes roomnote of Firedance. But my nose picks up some naughty notes, they distract and hinder enjoy the taste of tobacco. I could not finish smoking my 50g tin. Ketchup of SG is very strong for me. I'm not a fan of aromatics. If you, too, use a pipe for him not of your rotation. I give only two points, cause my pipe can't rest from the cologne of SG for several months.. And the smell from the bowl are a really unpleasant.

When purchasing this tin, I failed to realize it was berry flavored... maybe I was too distracted by the name "firedance" to realize it was a berry based flake. Not that I have anything against a berry aromatic but I already have some Devil's Holiday on reserve.

Regardless, when opening the tin I smelt a strong smell that reminded me of berry flavored vitamins... gross ones. Other than that, the smoke was just okay and the vitamin aroma lessened. This was defiantly not the worst aromatic I have smoked but if you're in the market for a nice berry smoke, go for Dan's Devil's Holiday.

First time flake order, and I was expecting to be pleasantly surprised. I was surprised to a degree-I can definitely taste the berries to a very slight degree that everyone raves about. I found that it wasn't as heavily aromatic as I was expecting but I have come to expect that from the vendor I ordered from. I guess I will just have to keep searching for that perfect aromatic as this one doesn't fit the bill all that much-also this blend didn't pass the wife test which is would help to fit the overall perfect aromatic test....

Ok, I get it...we smoke aromatics to please others in the immediate vicinity. Or do we? Where I couldn't taste the blackberry (at all), the War Department stated that the predominate aroma with this one, was berry.

Terribly moist upon tin opening (and for weeks to follow) and truly the first blend where I can actually detect the chemicals (that shouldn't be there).

There was a hint of something with the flavouring but I can't figure it out. Otherwise, the earth is flat. Requires some significant drying out. Lazy light but didn't require much attention after it got going.

Surprisingly, no bite. I was hoping to get more out of Firedance but it confirms, now, aromatics are just aromatic and nothing more. Just 1Q to try and then I'm certain, I'll have to find an organization to donate all my aros too.

I'm surprised this tobacco is held in such high regard! Ok, it's pleasant, but in my opinion nothing more. Very moist from the tin and needed drying out, it did however have a very nice tin note. When I first lit the flake (rubbed) it was ok, nothing special just a slight berry-ish flavour with a pleasant room note. Happy New Year Pipers

Not all tobaccos age the same way... I don't remember how I got a 40-gram bag of Firedance on my shelf. Of course, there was no date on the package. But by the look of the warnings about the dangers of smoking, I could tell that the tobacco was released before 2013. The excise stamp, which indicated Q3 2012, also spoke in favor of this. So this Virginia blend had aged a fair bit, which was supposed to do it some good.

It looks like a pressed brown flake with an uneven cut and yellowish flecks. The tobacco has been very well fermented over the years of storage and has dried out somewhat. However, the moisture content remained quite acceptable to be able to stuff a pipe.

The smell of the tobacco has changed over the years when compared to the manufacturer's description. It is claimed that the flavoring that was used contained brandy, vanilla and blackberry. In reality, however, I was met with a bouquet consisting of dominant citrus notes and sugar as well as vanilla, faint remnants of berry and a small amount of Lakeland essence containing clove and rose oil. Together it gave off a strange but pleasant smell, somewhat like orange jam. I broke out the flake and stuffed it into a pipe, a billiard with a fishtail mouthpiece designed for Virginia.

Some disappointment awaited me. Despite the fact that over the years the Virginia was supposed to give more sweetness, the tobacco turned out to be frankly sour on the palate. Well, I mean, there was sugar in it too, but it clearly wasn't enough to interrupt the sour lemon note. It additionally had the taste of yeast dough to it. To top it all off, the tobacco turned out to be stiff - at the slightest warming it wanted to bite my tongue. In my memory, this was the first time in many years that I almost immediately put out and shook out the pipe. It didn't have time to heat up much, so I immediately stuffed it with another virginia blend to kill the rest of the smell it had time to absorb.

The next day I picked up another pipe, with the same cup size, but already bent, and with a P-lip mouthpiece at that. To top it off, a filter could be inserted into it. I filled it with a portion of Firedance and smoked again. The flavor situation changed considerably for the better. First of all, the tobacco was no longer so stinging. Yes, it was still stiff (I partially solved this problem later by adding a filter), but the flavor has "picked up" and become more interesting. The yeast disappeared from it, a berry note appeared, and somewhere on the far approaches a drop of brandy was felt. However, the orange jam, lightly spiced with vanilla, dominated. When I added the filter, the flavor became more muted, and the tobacco could be smoked without fear of the tongue, but as a result, the berry and brandy notes disappeared - the tobacco turned into the usual (and very mediocre) aged Virginia of medium strength, which is clearly overdue.

I won't write anything this time about the smell of smoke, the humidity, and the amount of ash, because I'm convinced that this tobacco shouldn't be aged as long as it's been on my shelf. It should be smoked fresh, and I'm sure you'll get a pretty good European aromatic with just Virginia.

I had bought 10 grams sample of this modern Samuel’s blend. Fresh smell was after some fruit, maybe blackberry or forest fruit. But what was surprise for me, also something like cinnamon or spice. After light smell was only a bit noticeable. Burns well. Mayor taste is sweetness from virginia. I had only little moisture on the bottom of bowl. It cause sometimes a tongue bite. Overall, I have already smoke much better aromatics.

Never have I had a 'baccy confuse me this much. Admittedly, this was my first step away from drugstore aromatics (ok, it's still an aro, but much better quality). For starters, the tin note is amazing. Everyone who has smelled it has commented upon how delicious it smells, and even my notoriously tobacco-hating fiance likes the room note. The flakes are very well-crafted (if a little ragged), and it only required about 30 minutes of dry-time after rubbing out. Charring light and initial light brought the berry flavor out in force, and then it slowly receded into a very nice nutty "burly-ness". But what is that in the background? Did m'love spritz some perfume on this to spite me? Now, after a few years and more experience, i know the taste: Lakeland. I seem to have a knack for spotting even the tiniest hint of it, and I- for one- do not care for it in the least. I had unpleasant flashbacks to a high school girlfriend who covered up her poor hygeine with various mixed perfumes, applied ad nauseum. As a parting shot, it ghosted the pipe something fierce. Thankfully, it was a misshappen handmade (what other forums would call a "pipe turd") so I had no problems trashing it. That tin has sat untouched for two years; I am afraid to release that kraken upon another pipe. Maybe another dud pipe will warrant a re-examination. Maybe.

I bought this stuff to smoke when I'm craving a Virginia but the occasion is better suited for a more aromatic smoke (like being around non-smokers). Maybe I had too high an expectation but I was let down with this one. This surprised me as I'm a HUGE fan of SG's Virginia flakes.

I got a dull tasting and almost bitter note in the smoke. The room note was great, however. I suspect that perhaps this will get better after it has some time to age a bit. I will pull this out again at some point and will update if it gets any better.

If you're looking for a VA with an aromatic tinge, Mac Baren's Vanilla flake is better suited for the task.