Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake

One of the best Latakia blends in my opinion. The flavour is smoky and even a bit sweet. The Latakias are superb and the Virginias remind me of FVF.

The reviewers who report a kind of "medicinal" flavour are right. Some elusive hint of capsicum plaster or something similar to it is definitely present here, which I prize a lot.

An excellent mixture, I buy it in bulks to have it always in my constant rotation.

It is raining here and the big heatwave went away, time for some real tobacco. That means I need something strong and full bodied, like a good English blend can offer. The summer was mostly dominated by some kind of Virginia flakes. Now is the time to go back to my beloved Latakia leaf.

The decision was natural to order some Balkan Flake from Samuel Gawith, a traditional English flake.

It is a very dark and smoky tobacco. When you open the tin you are greeted by the nice smell of Latakia. If I remember correctly there is 30% Latakia and 70% Virginia, so it has quite a bit of Latakia inside. You could call it a "Latbomb" but that is what I like about.

It is not the most complex blend. It is a simple but highly enjoyable high quality flake. I would call it even luxurious. On the tin it says "deliciously cool"! It is indeed an absolutely cool smoke, the coolest I ever had. No idea why or what it makes to be so "calm", it is not the minty note some describe.

There is one downside. The fresh opened tin is ridiculously moist! Let it air some hours or a day before putting the tobacco into your pipe. The best packing method for me with this blend is to rub out the flakes between my hands until I have very small particles and then filling the bowl as the tobacco is so moist that otherwise you would not be able to get it lit. With this method it burns very well with few relights. Relighting is also not changing the flavor and the flavor stays constant until the end, that is why I find it a simple blend in a positive way, no exceptional changes through out the bowl. Maybe for some smokers not exciting enough but for Latakia lovers it gives you what you expect.

It is not a womanizer, my better half runs always away when she notices the smell. Forgot to describe the flavor a bit; it is like burnt car tires :), leather and very very smoky. Short, a rich blend with a full flavor for lovers of natural tobaccos and a medium nicotine content. A real English, enjoy it with a drink of your choice and listen to the rainfall outside, pure pleasure. I have mine accompanied by a regional beer.

I love it!

Beautiful, very dark flakes. Intoxicating combined taste of spicy Latakia and cool, sweet dark VAs.

Simply delicious.

My Balkan Sobranie just ran out, so I tried John Aylesbury Latkia Blend (which is great) and this lovely Balkan Flake which was recommended by Shervingtons (337 High Holborn, WC1. Tel: 020 7405 2929)

Opening the 50g tin, the smell is everything tobacco should be, it is lovely.

The taste is quite flat,not spicy, but very pleasant and very relaxing. Easy to smoke 2 pipes in a row.

This Balkan Flake is beautiful, there is no bite and is a smooth,cool smoke. It is best rubbed and stays alight easily. There is quite a lot of smoke, but very plesant to inhale and doesn't cling to the room the next day.

The tin says 'Deliciously Cool' - It IS

This will be one of my regulars.

17.5.2004, I have now decided that the balkan flake in jar Shervingtons (337 High Holborn, WC1. Tel: 020 7405 2929) supply their Balkan Flake and this is the best I have tried. It is truly great. Better than all the other tinned or prepacked. at c.£17 75g it is quite expensive, but worthit.. It is a cool, lovely tasting smoke- highly recommended. If you want to give up cigarettes, this is the best way. Smoking a pipe is a million times more enjoyable, but not as convinient. Don't inhale and you will feel the benefits.

I have smoked cigars when going out, usually R&J 3 or 2 or cohiba siglo IV, but at home to save money , think that the Shervingtons balkan flake is wonderful. I normally get my cigars from spain , 3 box of 25 per yr., but at home, the pipe is best and more relaxing. I am 37 and dont feel comfortable with pipe in public.

My favourite pipe is the Savinelli 603 with balsa Shervingtons have the best selection in london of such pipes. They also have the best selection i have seen of tobaccos. Smith & son at charring cross road are also good. Leister sq tube

So let me start by stating that I am not sufficiently versed in Balkans and English-style mixtures. I am familiar enough, and at this point, after 13 or so years, would consider myself a somewhat seasoned pipe smoker. This is unlike anything I've encountered, and I'm here for it. This might be a new favorite. The flake is dark amd shaggy. As with all Gawith flakes I've encountered, it's a tad moist, so some drying out a bit before smoking wouldn't hurt. However, this one doesn't seem to have had any moisture or flavor added (if there is, I can't tell) so it smokes fine right from the tin but may require more relights throughout your session...and it will be a full session. This is not a smoke for a quick puff, or for that matter, while occupying yourself with tasks. It's not because it's too strong or heady, but because you'd be doing yourself a disservice and robbing yourself of the enjoyment SG Balkan Flake brings. This is that high-grade goodgood tobacco. Full, complex but balanced, cool, and uniform. Its flavor is already full and rich from first light, and only intensifies and opens as it burns. Balkan Flake is intensely smoky and woodsy, with tons of Latakia flavor, almost like cedar or mesquite. The hefty Lat-quotient balances and soothes the full, mahogany Virginias that would otherwise prove aggressive and spicy. Lastly, the oriental selections lend this a peaty, grassy quality, that rounds it all out into a perfect triangle-each leg bracing the others to comprise a strong, cohesive, and balanced structure. This symphonic melange makes for a silky, supple smoke full of character. It's a sweet, dark, sumptuous smoke that fully coats the pallate to whisks you off your feet. Imagine sitting in your favorite leather wingback lounger with a glass of 25 year single-malt scotch with a good book-on a chilly, drizzly night, with nothing but a crackling fireplace and your slippers to warm your bones. And silk pajamas. And your faithful hunting hound curled at your feet, undoubtedly dreaming of chasing rabbits while embracing the bone you gave him from the crown roast you had for dinner earlier served to you by your steadfast butler... Now remember that it's not 1890, you're not Lord Grantham, and you're not in a beautiful manor in the English countryside. Sounds like a bummer, right? Light a bowl of this in your favorite pipe, and you'll come close. Sit back and watch the day's troubles whisp away in a thick cloud of bliss like the Lords and Earls and Dukes of old. Treat 'yoself.

As the description says, it's a medium strength smoke that is smokey and delicious. The Virginia and Latakia used are top shelf. I highly recommend it.

If you like Samuel and Gawith Full Virginia flake and enjoy latakia you will really enjoy this tobacco, especially once it has some age on it to sweeten the virginia up.

The flake was a bit wet and needed to sit out for and hour and once that happened I tried to rub it out and fill my bowl..well for some reason it would not stay lit and I had to unload and repack the pipe. Once again no success keeping it lit and my fun meter was dropping fast so I dumped out everything went to the kitchen and cut the beef jerky sized flakes into 3/8 inch pieces, rubbed some out,filled the bowl and was ready for some puffin'!

SMOKE!!!!! WONDERFUL SMOKE!

Cutting the flakes into something I know how to pack did the trick and for my efforts I was rewarded with deep rich smoke not unlike smoked almonds in flavor. The tobacco burned quite cool and I did not get any of the Virginia tobacco bite I was expecting nor was the ketchup flavor present as I also expected. I puffed slow and steady and had to relight just once. While smoking I found my tongue developed some kind of "feel"....not a burn but more like the smoke was leaving something there..a coating of sorts maybe?.. but of what? I can't describe what it is or tastes like I just know that it made my dark roasted decaf with light cream taste wonderful. I smoked this at 1 am outside watching my dogs do dog things in the back yard while sipping coffee and when I finished I was surprised that it was well after 2 am..WHERE DID THE TIME GO?

This to me is a tobacco to smoke while you are relaxing or doing something you enjoy such as fishing or hiking where the smoker does not have to keep track of time.

Top of the list recommended for those that like FULL BORE smokey goodness and have the time to fully enjoy this blend!

This is the closest thing I've experienced to a perfect tobacco. The high proportion of Latakia in this blend (30%) might make you think it is a Latakia "bomb," but far from it: The thing I most notice and like about this blend is not the Latakia, but the ripe, rich, and sweet Virginias that are its base. They smell and taste as though they have been meticulously selected and matured. I don't recall ever having tasted a Virginia with such an enveloping richness and sweetness. This is a very impressive quality in a tobacco that to my knowledge is not cased or topped. I've read the Virginias are from the Balkans, hence the somewhat odd name for a mixture without Orientals. If so, I want to try other SG blends that use this leaf. It's absolutely luscious. And the Latakia, also of extremely high quality, plays the role it should: both highlighting the noble Virginia base while lending its own rich but never overpowering contrast of campfire and leather. The blending here is simply superb: no sharp edges, everything fits together, and every taste and nuance is identifiable but integrated into the whole. All these qualities make Balkan Flake, for me, the quintessential English blend. It's interesting to compare it to other blends that could claim this status. I've smoked MM965, Standard Mixtures, and other Dunhills since the late 1970s. I still like the current iterations, but I find they almost all have an acrid, sour attack on the char light that I don't recall from earlier days and show a significant change in character as they're smoked down--not always to their advantage. Not so with Balkan Flake. As the tin says, "cool and delicious." It starts that way and stays that way down through the dottle. Despite my years of pipe smoking I have just started trying flakes and am new to Samuel Gawith. Based on this perfect example of the blender's art, I look forward to trying some of their other blends.