Samuel Gawith Firedance Flake

Well, better than I thought! While I like Best Brown Flake and Full Virginia Flake, and I find intriguing the occasional bowl of Grousemoor, I am usually not a fan of aromatics (the only one I smoke once in a while is Mac Baren Cube because it's so flamboyant and garishly excessive) and certainly not of typical Lakeland flavored flakes with their soapy/tonquin flavored and too strong virginias.

This one is an exception, in that it has none of the typical Lakeland flowery flavoring and it has a nicotine content which is quite low and tolerable (unlike Bracken Flake, 1792 and other by the same brand). Yes, it's much more of a classic "American style" aromatic in flavoring, although the blackberry reminds me of Dunhill Three Year Matured Virginia. The difference is that the Dunhill is stomach turning (in taste and nicotine intensity), while this one is quite pleasant.

Ok, you have to like the sweet flavoring: if you don't, steer well clear. But it must be said that in the smoke it translates much less intrusively than in the tin aroma. Actually, call me crazy, it complements the tobacco quite well. And the tobacco is a very fine (though initially rather moist) Virginia flake, juicy and with a nice body, with no harshess and no excessive heaviness. The flavoring comes out in the first half, but just as a top note, never drowning the pure Virginia taste. In the second half, the tobacco is all is left.

If you take care to dry it out a little bit, and especially to rub it out a lot before packing the bowl (usually I like whole flakes, but this particular tobacco absolutely benefits from rubbing out), you will experience a creamy, rich, smooth, cool and easy smoke pleasantly alternating between sweet and sour. No tonguebite AT ALL.

I am not always in the mood for such a flavoring, but I must also say that whenever I "force" myself to pick this tobacco I rarely have a disappointing smoke. Sure, there are FAR better flakes around, but Firedance certainly is not disgusting... on the contrary, it can range from OK to quite pleasant depending on mood, moisture/rubbing out and pipe.

Almost tempted to give it a "Recommended" rating, which is certainly a great accomplishment from S&G since I am not an aromatics fan. If you are, but also care for a nice tobacco underneath the topping, by all means give it a try.

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.

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.

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.

Initial post-smoke review

An aromatic that has a great tobacco & aroma flavor is something I have never satisfactorily experienced, though I have tried. Firedance Flake isn't it, but it isn't bad.

The pouch aroma is off-putting, like a bottle of blackberry brandy. If it smoked like it smelled in the pouch, it would be disastrous. But it doesn't. When smoked, the top flavorings almost disappear, so fans of Blue Note and other heavily-cased aromatics may be disappointed.

I love Best Brown Flake, upon which Firedance is based. Occasionally, a flash of Best Brown occurs here, when puffing VERY slowly and carefully, with tiny sips; and on some of those occasional flashes, the blackberry and vanilla toppings compliment the tobacco. Most of the time, though, the toppings and the tobacco flavor diminish the other. (all of my personal attempts to mix great tobacco with nice aromatics have produced the same results). BBF's hay-like quality and brown sugar sweetness are muted here, and that is a loss. The promise of the toppings in the lovely room aroma are not met in the taste. The tobacco also causes some tongue-bite, but I can live with that. What remains is a decent tobacco with brief flashes of brilliance.

I will smoke my 4 oz of Firedance without regret, but I do not plan to re-stock.

(Please note: As with any tobacco, this is just my opinion; and is in no way reflective of the creators of this blend).

I just can't seem to smoke this stuff. Even when dried to a crisp my tongue is burned by the time I finish the charring light. Just doesn't agree with my mouth chemistry and it's as simple as that. I am sorely disappointed at Fire dance is one of my favorite Snuffs and I was hoping to recapture some of that joy in the pipe as well.

Beneath the overwhelming bite I taste what seems to be a well balanced sweet Virginia (nice hay, bread, & tangy citrus), the topping is very faint but leaves a nice bit of berry, but is nowhere near the level of complexity in the snuff (or it could just be my palate). Reminds me much of Peterson's university flake, but milder in body and much milder in nicotine.

Somehow Samual Gawith tobaccos and my pipes (ahum, me) don't get along very well (the only exception so far is Cabbies mixture wich is excellent!). Firedance flake is no exception. Difficult to light up, difficult to keep burning. I don't like the taste, not even sure what its supposed to taste like. Don't get me wrong i am not saying this is a bad tobacco, but i have tasted far better. And yes i have given the tobacco time to dry. Well maybe i am doing something wrong seeing all these very positive reviews on this tobacco.

This was the second time I got a S.G. tin with a paper finger puppet inside. All kidding aside, I assume they all have this now to help add pressure to the tobacco for storing - I dunno. The open tin wasn't what I would call Blackberry, Brandy, nor Vanilla , more so it was their Lakeland spice with some berry infused sweetness, riding atop some Virginia (sweet hay) vapors. It reminded me of their Hansom Flake with a squirt of juice.

The flake was very soft from light dampness, and coupled with it's density, you impatient smokers ought to give it moment to dry out first, or else you will be joining me on a long initial light (the Firedance). Some time later I caught my first full puff, it was less Aromatic than the unlit product and packed a solid medium nicotine blast. The Lakeland essence wasn't as "soapy" as their other brews, yet add a kind of spice that hid some of the Virginia flavor.

This flake was a strange beast. Certainly not a dessert Aromatic as the advertised flavors would suggest, nor were the so subdued enough to just be a slightly juiced Virginia, so I can't say who this would appeal to. I didn't hate it, but it wasn't worth the time to keep relighting it to really care.

ok it's best brown flake, it has a mild topping in my opinion others find it strong. Smoked ok once rubbed out and dried out. Nic level was higher than most subtle aromatics. not a bad smoke but not but not an amazing one either. I will give it one extra star as it is made in England but could well be Danish.

I found the topping diminished mid bowl and the underlying tobacco was somewhat muted by the topping. However the flavours were all in the smoke as advertised.