Samuel Gawith Firedance Flake

Like the quality of the bacci as in all SG blends, this one has an odd taste/after-taste not to my likes

A very high quality flake offering from Samuel Gawith. Ships a bit moist, however after a few days in an unsealed tin, this is ready to smoke. Thick clouds of blackberry smoke make for a pleasant indoor smoking experience. Never hints at biting.

Pairs well with a ruby port.

I was a little put off at first by the description of the lady pipe-smoker's "blackberry, brandy, and vanilla." For one thing, I once had a bad experience tasting a blackberry brandy, and was lucky it was only a taste. I saw tins for a good price on an internet retailer's site though, and since the price was right and also because so many Samuel Gawith tobaccos are unavailiable at the moment (back soon, they say!), thought I would give it a chance. Glad I did. The flavorings create a lovely tin scent, and are present at the first lighting up, but only for a few puffs. Henceforth, the sauce is relegated to the background. This is my second SG tobacco based on topped Best Brown Flake, the first being Cannon Plug. The topping on that one remains throughout the smoke. Strangely enough, I have not had BBF by itself, untopped. I will have to get some, as it is obviously a quality Virginia, and it is even more evident that this is so with Firedance than with Cannon (a fun flowery patchouli concoction). The trio of toppings in Firedance Flake do not cover up the fine SG Virginia flavor at all. They make themselves known in a subtle way, more in the room note and "nose" than on the palate. If you, like me, are missing your Gawiths and don't feel like waiting any longer, you will not go wrong with this blend. The tin is pretty cool as well.

I have started using the ball method of rolling the flake in my palm until I have a fluffy tobacco ball and I push the ball in leaving an air space at the bottom. This was a little moist out of the tin, but after a few lights it stayed lit just fine. I loved the berry smell. The last half of the bowl transitions into a more natural and smooth virginia and the berry aroma all but disappears. I like this a lot. It is the best of both worlds to me. Starts out a bit aromatic and ends with natural tobacco. If you are not liking traditional aromatics, but not wanting to go fully into all natural tobacco, give this a try. If you do like this, you might also try Luxury Twist Flake.

Not only was this my first encounter with Firedance, but also my first with flake. Think I was more concerned with the packing of the pipe than with the tobacco attributes.....

A simply delightful scent assails you out of the tin. Smells like one of my late mother's fruit pies. The tobacco is soft and pliable and packing the old pipe couldn't be easier, even for a rook like me, with whatever method suits you. I used the sort-of-stuff-and-ram method !

The smoke is flavoursome as has been reported by other posters. Blackberry-ish. Could even pass as Blackcurrant or perhaps Blueberry. Couldn't detect anything else. Vanilla ? Nope. Brandy ? Nope !

That's ok with me, I'm an aromatics fan and to this rather dulled palate it's a far cry from the neutrality of Peterson's mixtures.

Needs quite a bit of relighting, but of course bear in mind that this is my first experience with a flake. I'm hopeless at assessing room note, but I've had no comments either way so far.

This blend is certainly going to feature prominently in my rotation along with the excellent Celtic Talisman and ideal for your first aromatic flake. I'm really enjoying SG's blends and look forward to opening a tin of their Grousemoor !

The flavor description kept me away from this blend for a long time, but I broke and decided to try it. Great smoke, real nice and full. The sweetness does not stay very long, just a nice early smoothness followed by a firm, pleasent, robust smoke.

I bought a lb. of this, which arrived fairly dry. Burns well, very light aromatic. Perhaps my order had been sitting on the etailer's shelf for a while because I have no problem with it being too wet or overpoweringly scented. BBF with a light top note.

I am reviewing a bulk purchase that came with appropriate moisture levels and a strong fruity smell when openning the bag. The flavor doesn't come close to the tobacco aroma. It gives an inconsistent flavor; sometimes full of blackberry sweetness and then the Gawaith soapy flavor comes through.

The flakes are inconsistent in thickness with some slices almost becomming slabs. I will say that a quick fold and it is ready to pack, I had no problems with keeping it lit or with the moisture content. One match will most often do the trick.

All in all a decent smole for the aromatic smoker, though I tired of it before finishing the bag and I have moved on to other things right now.

My tin of Fire Dance Flake came moister than any other tin I?ve ever purchased. The tin has a heavy yet still pleasant blackberry aroma and the flakes were so moist that they pulled apart when I tried to remove them from the tin. It took little effort to fully rub-out the flakes as I usually do with most SG flakes anyway. After drying out Fire Dance burned well and, unusual for an SG flake, required very little attention. Considering this tobacco?s Virginia base and added casing I was impressed that this didn?t easily bite my tongue. It also remained relatively dry. Still, Fire Dance will bite if smoked too fast, and I found it?s rich flavor best released with relatively slow smoking.

I find the natural sweet Virginian tobacco taste is well augmented by the rich berry and vanilla casing. I like Fire Dance quite a bit.

I seldom smoke aromatic tobaccos: it took me two months to finish the tin. Fire Dance was much better than many aromatics I have tried. It maintained its tobacco taste while satisfying my sweet tooth. And it didn?t flavor my pipe! If I were a regular aromatic smoker this would be in my rotation.