Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake

Medium bodied, earthy, spicy and salty. A satisfactory smoking for every season, every hour. It is 70 Virginia and 30% Latakia, could be mistaken for a lighter version of Commonwealth, in fact, it is NOT! The flake cut makes the difference.

A bit of a long one, pull your parachute now or parse the paragraphs.

When an enthusiast of Balkan blends reads a name as such one assumes some Oriental leaf (of which there are many) would be contained within, not the case here. Although, splitting provenance-pubic hairs one could assume that all blends containing Cyprian Latakia are in fact Balkan, Greece is part of the Balkan peninsula and Cyprus both culturally and historically are traditionally linked to Balkan culture.

That said a number of years ago American growers and harvesters tried to make their own version of Latakia an experiment which failed miserably.

On with the contents at hand, my scalpel is dull and the microscope lens needs a good clean; too much Latakia wafting around:

The tin nose is very nice, definitely Latakia forward but not into the bombing zone at least for me. A dense and heavily pressed flake, many folks assume that flakes, cakes, plugs, ropes, and twists are soaking/sopping wet which is not the case. The density of such can make it feel and appear so. My rule of thumb with any of the above is to take your apportioned bowl(s) and resting for a quater to half an hour before packing providing you're in a drier climate, currently it's the middle of winter -40 outside and the wood stove in the combustion-cabin is a tad carnivorous. French Polynesia although green and floral lush would tell a different tale, mind you I would be combusting a cigar and quaffing Rum. Up here N 60° it's hearty Latakia blends for the winter often paired with a dram or two of Scotch whisky, either climes are wonderful life moments.

A simple fold and twist, usually my preferred method for this style leading to a long, cool, and pensive smoke; notwithstanding longer until full ignition.

Initially the palate is quite Virginia forward, stoved, pressed of course, and most likely some black too; interesting since the tin nose leans towards smoky although some Virginia does arise. The smoke is dense and thick, slight creaminess on the palate too. Slowing down does reveal more Latakia but I find I have to seek it out mind you my palate as of late, surfeited with Latakia. Not that it's a bad thing, akin to imbibing many peated Islay whiskies.

The first third of the bowl is rather uneventful, the middle third does reveal more depth, Oakiness and Hickory I find you do have to chase them down. I would caution against over-drying this one becomes a bit flat and mundane.

Combusting along at a good clip it behaves like a real gentleman in the bowl, never hot nor moist; gurgles. It stays the same all the way down not a lot of development and nondescript. 'Deliciously Cool' . . . 'Disappointingly Cool' perhaps my anticipation was high being a pressed flake Latakia blend, somewhat recommended.

All in all a competent smoke, alas not really for me I won't cellar this although I cannot find faults apart from my preferences, more Latakia please some Yenidje or Samsun would not go amiss either.

I enjoy Navy Flake quite a bit more albeit considerably more Virginia forward, the S. Gawith distributed Winter Time flake is certainly superior, and Commonwealth too.

Review based on a 5-bowl sample, so take it for what it's worth.

This came to me very dry which was good and bad. Good because I tend to smoke latakia flakes bone dry anyway and bad because I didn't get the opportunity to try it in various stages of moisture level. But the sample was a freebie - so it's good overall! Many thanks to the pipe buddy that provided it!

I agree with Johnny below in that this was a decent blend but that the latakia overpowered any real personality traits the VA could have brought to the party. The taste was good, with heavy campfire notes, but I would have preferred it just a tad sweeter and perhaps more woodsy-tasting. It behaved very well in the bowl, and I rubbed it out fully. Could not fold, as it was too dry to make the attempt but, again, latakia flakes I smoke dry and rubbed out anyway. For what this is, it's a fine smoke and is worth a try for any latakia fan. 2.5 stars for my taste rounded up to 3 because it's a high quality Sam Gawith product.

Winston Churchill is supposed to have remarked, a propos a fellow member of parliament named Bossom "What! Neither the one nor the other!" To my mind Samuel Gawith's Balkan Flake also manages to fall between two stools.

The absence of orientals leaves a bit of emptiness which the virginia (FVF?) cannot quite fill. I do enjoy virginias with just a teasing hint of latakia - as also smoking virginias in latakia soaked pipes - and Balkans with varying proportions of latakia and oriental leaf. But this Balkan Flake falls into neither kind of experience.

Still, it smokes cool and has good virginia and good latakia. I got this along with a Balkan Flake by Bonds of Oxford Street and far preferred the latter. Unfortunately the establishment seems to have shut down.

REVIEW 15 SEPTEMBER 2008. So far I had changed my opinion of only one mixture, Odyssey. Now I must change my opinion of Balkan Flake. Since writing the original review (based on the consumption of one tin) I have smoked upwards of half a kilogram of it and it has grown on me. If one gives up expectations of Oriental leaf, this is a very good experience of smoking a latakia flavoured virginia, the virginia coming first. At the moment of writing, it is the perfect companion to the Goldberg Variations. Recommendation raised to four stars.

A fine English smoke that works nicely for those that prefer folding and stuffing their flakes over rubbing them out. The flakes are thin, pliable and take to flame easily with only a minimal amount of dry time. The burn rate is low and slow; I have had a few group 4 sized bowls of this last a good two hours plus.

As others have mentioned, this is not an extraordinarily complex smoke, but I don’t think it needs to be. The tobaccos are top-notch and there’s plenty of flavor. The Virginias are soft, somewhat muted and have a dark, well-stoved taste. The latakia is smooth and smoky and provides a perfect counterpoint to the caramelized sweetness of the Virginias. It’s entirely possible that there’s some sort of sweet topping on this flake, I certainly get a subtle impression that there is, and I can understand why some English purists might take offense.

In some ways, Balkan Flake defies convention. It has a good amount of body and flavor strength but it’s also very mellow, refined and fairly delicate on the palate. Strangely, it’s not that bold of a smoke. Some latakia heavy flakes can be sooty, bitter or even acrid tasting. Balkan Flake is not. Instead, it’s deep, mild mannered and quite pleasant to the senses. It has a light spice on the finish but absolutely no edge to it.

Admirers of big latakia blends might find this one to be somewhat pedestrian, and one could always dry this flake to the point of crispy and rub it out to increase the intensity, but I feel that approach would be missing the point. Balkan Flake is meant to be savored, smoked slowly, gently sipped and piped at a snail's pace for optimum flavor & mellowness. For a bold and livelier experience, there's always Commonwealth Mixture. For those that enjoy the pleasure of smoking a long smoldering, gentle tasting latakia-laced flake tobacco, there's Balkan Flake.

A short while back, I ordered a big haul of different, all highly rated, latakia blends to become acquainted with a few new mixes and a few new manufacturers. Most, if not all, of the blends, had the same stereotypical latakia smell that we're all used to and for some, have grown to love. A fresh tin of Balkan Flake was the outlier of the bunch. Not even commonwealth was particularly interesting in comparison. A very creamy smell, a hint at what flavors it might produce. Absolutely not disappointed! I believe it's 30% lat, 70% va, and boy does it hit its' mark. A simple blend, of just two tobaccos, yet complex in it's own right. A beautiful, creamy flavor, that contends very readily with Penzance. No, there isn't quite the variety of flavors I'll say, but the two blends share a very ripe, soft, smoothness. I even came across a few tins from 2005, and being on the cusp of 2015 as I'm writing this, I have to say a decade of age does unbelievable things to this flake. Quite easily my favorite, possible (close) second to Penzance, tobacco. Very highly recommended.

It was very good tobacco, well blend it might because I'm a Latakia lover, very cool smoke can be a everyday smoke. Enjoy with coffee and good with after meal. Highly Recommended. It can be for those who started with latakia

Well this flake is a serious latakia player..with a high latakia content you get nothing else than woods coal and mud when you crack the tin.after rubbing your hands smell only latakia.from the first puffs you realize you don't wanna go hard because latakia it there with a dominant way and a medium nicotine level.the moist is proper with a cool burning.definitelly not an all day blend to me.if you are mostly on light english blends you won't like it.it's a flake fkr the experienced latakia smokers .

Just finished my second tin of this absolutely lovely blend.Fruity aroma from (syrian) Latakia,not so over powering as cousin from Cyprus.Virginias mellows the another wise dark and full blend.Smoked one tin as rubbed and another as folded.As folded the flake itself has much smoother but stronger taste.Creamy,fruity just perfect.The room note not so pleasant have I heard from my pipe smoking mate who's in the aromatics.Just ordered 4 more tins.Brilliant smoke.