Samuel Gawith Firedance Flake

I will start by saying that BBF , and FVF are two fo my all time favorites. So far all S.G. blends have been very good with the exception of 1792...I guess it's a Tonkin thing. I find that there is considerable berry fragance in the tin. Nice...clean, not overbearing. As with all S.G. blends drying is a must. Rubbed out lightly, stuff, and light. Nice tobacco flavor, with a hint of berry. With a little effort you can keep this blend "in the zone" through the entire bowl. Burns cool, clean and completely. It will flavor you pipe somewhat, but to me thats not a bad thing. I try to reserve **** for the very best so I guess I will rate this one ***. I just bought a new Ser Jacopo Rowlette Maxima and two pounds each of BBF,FVF, and Firedance from smokingpipes.com.... good prices,selection, and the VERY best people to deal with. By the way the first bowl in the new pipe was Firedance.

Merry Christmas

Although I have just taken the decision to stop the experiments (because of Bob?s Chocolate and Campanille Mixture), this amazing mix came up on 25/12/07.

Blackberry? and something more. I can surely smell the blackberry but there is a British element in it. I left a dose out in the fresh air to get dry for one hour before I try it. It is not heavy and I don?t want to discourage anybody who has addicted preferences. It has something different which I don?t know whether it is the tonquin for which I read and I don?t know what it is or a very real flavor of vanilla.

They say that Samuel Gawith uses natural flavors?.. Hmmmm? this tobacco makes me believe it. Dry and easy to be smoked till the last gram in the bowl and it does not warm it up.

Once the flakes are allowed to spend a little time drying out, the tobacco packs well weather rubbed out or folded. I find this blend will likely appeal to those who enjoy the flavor of Best Brown, which is the base for this blend. The berry topping only adds a sweet, aromatic element to the blend which although apparent, does not entirely mask the predominant flavor of Best Brown. It smokes cool and has little if any bite potential for the experienced smoker. I encountered no problems with dottle.

If you enjoy Lakeland Flakes, Firedance is a very satisfying treat for both the nose and palate. Akin to Grouse-Moor in the trait that it tastes like it smells, this Samuel Gawith offering is deeply seasoned with a dark berry essence that is very strong and over whelming in the tin. It lights easy and the berry taste and aroma are present from the charring light to the last draw. It is not sweet; the strength rushes forth in the aroma more so than the flavor, but it is always subtly present in the flavor. It sometimes reminds me of blackberries and at other times of raspberries, combined with the natural tobacco flavor of Best Brown. It becomes quite creamy and marshmallow like around the middle of the bowl when the vanilla begins to come to the fore. It finishes rich, smooth and creamy. It behaves very well and burns even, dry, cool and clean all the way down the bowl. In a word, ?unique? describes this flake best. A dedicated pipe is a must with this one.

Gawith's aromatic tobaccos are an anomaly in the world of flavor. Whether it's the floral/herbal or the tonka 1792 extracts, the tobaccos rarely sacrifice strength for artificial flavor.

Once opened, the tin was too moist to smoke. Nonetheless, I tried anyway. Gurgly blackberries requiring a pipecleaner every 10 puffs.

The blackberry flavoring comes across as alcoholic to me for some reason. This is a unique blend that "aromatic experimenters" should try. Following this tin I'll jump back to the Bogey ropes!

Images evoked include a monsterous red-black demon stabbing a pitchfork into the backside of a sinful, deceased orchard maid.

Firedance Flake.23/02/07. This did not disguss me at all,though I think if you like abit of fruitiness in your tobacco then you'll most likely love this. Don't get me wrong its flavour is not overly done by any means. I do think some newbies to the world of pipe smoking would definitely appreciate this offering more. It behaves itself very well throughout the bowl and doe's not cause any trauma while smoking it. Easy to light after leaving it sit and air on paper for ten min's before smoking.

I like best brown, so it's rather difficult not to like this for me. Best Brown Flake + Blackberries and Creame liqour scenting, essentially.

CAUTION: This -will- infect the briar. You will be tasting blackberries forever, so load this in your aromatic pipes/cobs, NOT your precious VA/flake pipes.

Not really one of my favorites, I don't want to down-rate a high quality offering such as this Blackberry Flake. If you like Flakes and Aromatics, give it a whirl. Three stars of four in the Aromatic/ Flake category.

I'm not the world's biggest fan of aromatics, but this one is rather good. On my last trip to the tobacconist, as I was looking around, the proprietor offered me a whiff of this. I associated the aroma with the delightfully fruity smell that I always noticed in a relative's house (even though neither she nor her husband smokes).

"Best Brown Flake" is one of my favourites, so it wasn't with much surprise that I found myself liking this. There was a noticeable "soapy" note on the tongue and palate, but nothing overwhelming. In fact, I found it to be pleasantly astringent. And the aroma, even though I can't find the words to adequately describe it, is heavenly.

If you like Virginias and you can at least tolerate the soapy flavour that many English flakes seem to have, you owe it to yourself to at least try it. It burned clean to a fine ash with no dottle or goop in the bowl. I doubt I would want something like this often, but it does make for a nice change of pace.