Samuel Gawith Balkan Flake

Well, as this is only my second high-quality Latakia blend, I feel a bit unqualified to review it, but I'll do my best.

Despite the 30% Latakia, I didn't find it especially overpowering. I could definitely smell it in the tin note (unlike the Navy Flake), but the balance with the Virginias was well-achieved. I found it robust but enjoyable; cool smoking, good burning, no bite. My last half dozen flakes had dried to the point where they crumbled when I tried to rub them out, but they were no worse the wear for that - they still smoked and tasted fine. An excellent, tasty mixture : 3.5 stars

Another smooth and high-quality tobacco from Samuel Gawith. A smoky Virginia and Latakia perfectly blended. Some debate over whether this truly a Balkan but I think it tastes just like a Balkan and has a delightful nutty flavor that develops over time. Nothing too strong in this one, this could easily be a blend that you smoke all day if the flavor is right for you.

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.

A very nice smoke.

Well dried and smoked slowly with a nice cup of tea it's the bees knees.

I won't be getting more because I like things darker and stronger. Having said that, if I was stranded on a desert island, I'd be content if this was in my stash.

Finally got around to this 9 yr old tin. It's definitely smooth and balanced with the age on it, though I suspect it would be good when fresh. A nice lighter latakia blend to start my fall transition into these tobaccos. Recommended.

Initial review:

Latakia is a bit like water in that it can take on different forms. Water can be solid, liquid or vapor; Latakia can be smoky, leathery, incense-like and occasionally downright pungent. Unlike water, Latakia can be multiple of its typical states at once. In the case of SG BF, it is of the leathery and pungent type.

Tin-note is very strong, and I thought in a generally bad way. Tar comes to mind. I wasn't optimistic based on the smell, but we all learned long ago that tin note only occasionally translates to the taste of the smoke. Aromatics smell wonderful in the tin but usually taste like dung in the bowl, and plenty of English types border on rotten but smoke wonderfully. This is the latter.

Smoked from a fresh tin with 30-40 minutes drying time, I found a workable moisture level. As advertised, it is remarkably cool smoking. Taste is delightfully salty, smooth, cool, leathery; the Latakia is the leader with the Virginias really only serving to prevent a lat bomb. No noticeable sweetness, a touch grassy. But what a Latakia flavor, downright divine. In a lot of ways this reminds me of what Plum Pudding was trying to be when smoked generally fresh, but this is so much more relaxed and balanced. The flavor is big, consistent and refined. Not much in the subtlety department, it starts with a delicious flavor and keeps singing the same song throughout the bowl.

Nicotine is pretty mid-range, burns down well although I did need a few relights, easy enough to work with for a thick flake, and no hint of gurgle. Bite isn't a remote consideration, you'd have to smoke this bone dry with a vengeance to get it to bite.

Mouth feel is pretty smooth and maybe even slightly oily, we'll see how this holds up with time since opening.

This one is tough for me. As love it Is, I don't receive alot from it. Very cool, crisp smoke for a hot summer day. Maybe too much Latakia for me, but in small bites it sure is a tolerable gunner.

The coolest smoking experience in my very long piping life.Sometimes looks incredible savouring that fresh smoke coming fron a burning grass.The Punisher wrote a most perfect description.Not a show of subtle nuances,just straight Va-Lat flake.Veeeery slow burning.Once rubbed,not easy task,and,of course,dryed appear not pretty indeed but is delicious.If we insist about a slight fault,we can say that it lacks,perhaps,a touch of depth of the sibling Commonwealth.Both are fantastical on their ground.Also to say that BF needs a little attention to keep it alight.High grade virginias well matured,see the beautiful crystals,and powerful but not overhemly Latakia,maybe not so smoked than in other brands.