Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake

SG's Balkan Flake has twice the Latakia as Navy Flake, but without the topping. It's in a tough category though - only quality Virginia varieties and Latakia to carry the blend.

Balkan Flake smokes very smooth - while I had the tin open, I was using it as my breakfast blend. The Latakia is present but never overwhelming, and the Virginias underneath are standard SG quality. I usually smoked this partially rubbed into a broken flake, where it would burn cool and slow.

It's nothing to write home about, though - just a simple VA/Lat mixture. I kept wishing it was a full-strength mixture with Turkish to add another dimension. Lovers of English blends with no Turkish leaf will find this a good candidate. For me, it is unidimensional and doesn't hold my interest long. The tin got finished plenty fast, but I won't order more.

I found this blend rather bland, I did not taste the oriental components hardly at all. It was mostly Latakia with a Virginia base. I did not get any Balkan character at all. However, the tobaccos used were very good, as usual for Samuel Gawith. I was gifted five bowls of this and will not be purchasing any.

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.

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.

Thankfully my first taste of Orientals was not with the specific smoke. I would never smoke Orientals again.

Balkan Flake is a mature tobacco with various flavors, very heavy and with a very strong and bad taste of Latakia. It is very moist, considering I kept in the cellar for a year and a half. It has a pointless complexity that will ruin your palate roof, especially if you are not very careful and calm during smoking.

I forgot there are some good points in this mixture. The flakes are easily rubbed, the smoke is easily packaged in the bowl and it burns evenly from beginning to end. It was generally a bad experience, especially for my wife who for the first time expressed her negative feelings for one of my smokes.

It is not one of the worst tobaccos I have smoked, but definitely the worst Oriental.

Curious tobacco. I taste virginia, latakia, menthol, and no orientals whatsoever. Menthol is definitely part of the recipe. Breathe through your mouth after a few puffs and taste the "deliciously cool" menthol. Not a Balkan blend per se, but Pseudo Nim's assertion that the tobaccos used are from the Balkan region was indeed a revelation. It all makes sense to me now.

I don't mind this tobacco. In fact, I'm in the middle of my second tin, but I give it 2.5 stars for its slightly misleading name. Who here bought it not expecting orientals?

I feel it's worth a try to break things up in your rotation.

Recently I ordered a tin of everything SG makes and some bulk Full VA flake. ALL their flake ships with ridiculous moisture content so their reasonable pricing is deceptive. Dried to any smokable state, the tobacco is 20% lighter. The Balkan has a muddy tongue coating effect. There is no burn and the smoke is cool. Either the VA is not bright enough to balance properly or the latakia is of low quality. The muddy flavor fades in the 2nd half of the bowl but its not worth the wait. Their Commonwealth Blend did not have the muddiness issue despite the higher latakia content so I suspect the VA is not up to its task in the Balkan. Its not bad but its not great. There are so many great latakia blends out there, this one won't be missed by me.

I'm going to keep this short: This is not a Balkan at all, but rather a straightforward Va-Latakia concoction that is smooth, extremely sweet, and nice to look at. The room note is unusually pleasant for a latakia mixture and there's not a hint of tongue bite to be found. After going through a tin, however, it simply failed to hold my attention. It was kind of like a ramped-up, all-natural version of Frog Morton, which isn't really a bad thing but isn't exactly spectacular, either. I'd recommend it in a heartbeat for those wanting to get their feet wet with latakia and those who enjoy a restrained English-type tobacco, but I don't plan on buying anymore.