Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake

This is going to be a short review.........for you all that have been crying ( like me) and pulling your hair ( most of mine are gone , probably for this reason) since old Balkan Sobraine 759 in its golden pouch/tin has gone, here's the new KING. This Balkan has settled itself on the throne and I can't see any sensible pretendant around. God save the King! P.s. Ok, guys, I know that SG's Skiff Mixture is in a way closer to old sobranie, but let's admii it, this one is a winner indeed. The best Balkan tobacco I have ever tasted since the good 'ole days of the Sobranie golden pouch. ( Which died before disappearing, the tobacco made in the late 90's - by Gallagher I guess - wasn't even close to the former King but a bad alias). Highly recommended, it will always be the first choice in my cellar. Some say that since there are no oriental tobaccos in this flake so it would not even deserve the Balkan name at all. I don't know but even mislabeled nonetheless to me it's the king:-)

If I could, I probably rate BF somewhere between recommended and somewhat recommended. BF has a very odd--and none too pleasant--note upon opening the tin, which never dissipates over the life of the tin. It is a medicinal, not tobacco, scent. The blend tastes better, though, that its tin note. It is a basic, uncomplicated Virginia/Latakia mix, apparently without Orientals (which does may one wonder how it is "Balkan" when there are no Balkan tobaccos). BF does smoke cool to a fine ash--it would be a good tobacco to break in a pipe with. It comes fairly dry from the tin, which I like. Overall, BF is good but not great; it's a pretty simple blend for all day smoking.

based on 31 years of pipe smoking,excellent tobacco and i must say this is one of the best blends on the market.also i think this is the best blend that samuel gawith ever produced.because in the past there other blends i have tried i notice the soapy taste.the latakia is not over powering and this is a very enjoyable smoke.this is my next blend after penzance.so if you like english blends and also a latakia fan you cannot go wrong and gonna like this.very highly recommened.

Now this is a bit of a misnomer, a purported Balkan with absolutely no Orientals? I'd like to ask the Samuel Gawith people exactly what their definition of a Balkan is, which would likely blur the disputed genre lines even further.

The blend comprises both Latakia and Virginias, and coming from Samuel Gawith, that's quite similar to their 50/50 Virginia, Latakia Commonwealth Mixture, with likely different proportions. I've always admired Latakia mixes that come in flake form, they are rare and quite elegant. Old Ironsides is a favorite, and having sampled Quiet Nights, I enjoy the uncharacteristic cut which all possess, if a bit light in the press. And looking at my sample, I would say that seems to be true.

Balkan Flake doesn't approach the rigid form of other Lakeland Flakes, it is soft and unwinding. The flakes themselves are almost entirely black, very pliable and smell heavenly. This is a Latakia forward smoke, light in strength and almost salty, rather than sweet. There is a minimal spiciness present and the blend smokes somewhat flat without much variety in flavor. The absence of Oriental leaf makes this smoke rather bland, which I admit may be an unfair assessment, as I see nothing wrong with a strictly Virginia/Latakia combination, my palate likely conditioned to demand some Orientals in a blend.

It took an entire tin to appreciate Commonwealth Mixture, and I seem to be on track here for a repeat. I doubt I'll have a problem finishing my two ounce sample, though I can't say I'll be reordering a further helping. There are far more complex smokes out there.

"Deliciously cool"? "Suspicious cool" I say. If there isn't menthol in this flake then there's some other tobacconist's alchemy involved in stripping this of all flavour to create something artificially cool.

It's a crime to hide that lovely latakia hidden behind their "deliciously cool" voodoo.

If left to dry out then it becomes an acceptable (if dull) early morning smoke.

Update2: it's horrible! I don't want to smoke anything else anymore!

Update, i now adore the roomnote 🙂

Tinnote delicious

Roomnote burning socks

After having smoked a pouch of Best Brown I seemed to have gone of Latakia blends, but S.G's Navy and Balkan Flakes have put me right back on track. So maybe I'm just a flake smoker.

Excellent tobacco! The Latakia is rich but not overpowering, allowing the Virginias to really give this flake and extra delicious dimension. I have to force myself to stick to my rotation, so as to not waste my other open tins. They are great, but this is fantastic. This is the best tobacco I've tasted. Forget the name if it bothers you, this rose smells as sweet!!

For me this blend was good, but I thought the Latakia was a bit too dominant, and took away from the flavors that might have blossomed from a better balance of VA's. No that I count this as a bad blend, it is a unique flake, and it really took to my small bowled churchwarden, but I felt like it had the potential to be better. It smokes well when folded and packed loose in a narrow pipe. This blend is worth trying but it didn't blow me away.

Have been smoking this flake now in various smoking utensils and I feel ready to pass judgement upon it.

When you open the tin you realize that this tobacco needs some drying out. I aired out the flakes with the lid off for 3 hours, but that didn't take care of it altogether so I have at a later time separated the flakes and left them to dry on a piece of paper for one additional hour and that makes a good moisture level for my tin in particular.

Smoking the flakes is a breeze. Any way you decide to prepare the flakes works. I prefer to rub them out and leave to dry just a couple minutes more before smoking. Taste (as always subjective) is first a sweet, very fulfilling, taste of old fabric saturated with incense carrying with it the whiff of old wood and maybe a little bit of "dusty attic". As the bowl progresses the sweetness subdues and gives room for a more serious note where the smell of hardwood and campfire reigns supreme. The Virginias in this are not intrusive or "green", they just add a generous helping of tobacco sprites to tingle your tastebuds!

It burns down to an absolute small particled white dust with almost no dottle at all. No tongue bite (but I've never experienced excessive tonguebite from any quality tobacco anyway), no moisture, just tobacco heaven.

I rate this as possibly THE best tobacco I've tried so far. It's full bodied and meaty where other baccies are thin. It's deeply enjoyable even when smoked outside in bitingly cold weather and it just epitomises all the best qualities of a world class tobacco.

As I said; My ABSOLUTE favorite so far! -Recommended as heck!