Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Best Brown #2

The more I smoke the tobaccos of G & H, the less I want to smoke anything else. As I write this review, I have a bowl filled with this wonderful flake. This blend has wondeful sweetness to it, I presume from the topping, in addition to the Virginias. If there is Lakeland used in this blend it does not stand out as much as some of the other blends that it is used on. The burley tobacco provides a pleasant nuttiness and very subtle hay note, the typical earthiness and natural sugar typical from high quality Virginia tobacco. Like all Gawith and Hoggarth blends, flakes or ropes, the tobacco is of the highest quality available. There is no bite, no harshness and could very easily be an all day smoke. To sum it up...this is a medium strength, middle of the road tobacco, with notes of brown sugar, overtones of earth and some hay; with nuances of chocolate, and dates. There is a very subtle floral note to this blend as well, that I am noticing mid bowl. Burns nicely, with a small amount of drying time needed, but not too much. This is not for the latakia lover as there is none here to rave about. This is a much different take on a VA/BUR blend because of the sweetness not typically found in such blends. This has become one of my favorites from G & H and I will be ordering more the next time around. A must try for those of you who are looking for something that will keep you satisfied at any time of the day or night. The tobacco will burn down to a fine white ash leaving no dottle in the bowl with very little moisture.

The first 2 oz or so of this blend that i smoked, i was firmly in the "no lakeland essence added" camp. I would have said, with certainty, that only a very slight molasses/brown sugar flavor was added to this delicious virginia. However, after not touching anything but mb virginia no.1 for a few weeks, i return to it, and upon first light i can say that there is definitively an incredibly subtle floral note here...it may even be residual upon three machinery or presses used, but it is there. And it is lovely. Its so subtle as to be missed if one has been smoking any lakelands in the previous days.

Ok. Now to the blend. BB#2 is an absolutely 1st rate flake from GH. I am a fan of the house in general, and i must say that if one wants to try out a very natural offering in this style, you could do much worse than bb2. The flakes are moist, and benefit from drying time. I almost never have the patience, and it smokes well as is too. I prefer to fully rub this one out, contrary to my typical flake preparation, because the flakes are so dense that a full rubbing doesnt seem to change the burn or flavor much. The flavor is a rich, smooth, sweet aged virginia, with bready sweet notes. Think confectioners sugar. Very sweet, but balanced by deep tobacco flavor. The floral notes are most prominent upon initial lighting, and seem to recede quickly, or rather to soften into a vague herbal spice. I taste the Virginias most prominently, but the burley is present throughout and lends a nutty, earthy flavor and a depth of body to the smoke. A superbly well integrated flavor characterizes the entire bowl. Burns exceeding slowly with absolutely no chance of bite. Is right in the sweet spot for me where depth, flavor, and nicotine intersect for an all day smoke. I am finishing up my first purchase of this, 6 ozs, of which i smoked 2 upon purchase and the remainder up to just over a year from when i received it. I will be purchasing much more to cellar. I greatly enjoy it, and while i dont smoke it every day, i do reach gor it several times weekly. Medium level of nicotine. Highly recommended. I could see lovers of viginias or aromatics very much enjoying this vlend, though it is a very high quality blend that offers far more than a typical aromatic.

i am currently smoking from a 500g bulk box of gh-bb2 which i sealed 2 yrs ago. it is quite wonderful. mild and gentle, smoothed out nicely by burley,nice fresh virginia taste, chocolate? a wee bit lakeland-floral but not excessive. i usually smoke sam gawith best brown, and this is more different than i had remembered---more floral certainly, maybe even smoother. it burns beautifully, cool right down to a fine white powder. i do not taste either perique or any latakia or that family.... no spice. it is remarkably consistent from the start right now to the dottle. ( eh- a little sharp at the dottle but what isn't?). this makes a fine tobacco when aged like this. i wish i had aged more of it.

I'm with my Engish friend who say's he's never found a soap that smells like tobacco. I too get tired of hearing "soapy taste".But I guess if that is what it tastes like to you...very well then. This is very fine tobacco that I think doesn't get enough respect. Do you like Stonehaven? Well here you are! Just with an almond and floral essence that makes it even more delectable. Smooth, mild, nutty,sweet and well rounded. This tobacco can be an all day smoke. Goes great with a coffee.

I have tried every Gawith Hogarth blend and I have settled on this as the most "reliable". I keep going back to it. Our American friends detect soap in some of these blends - I have never found a soap that smells like a Gawith Hogarth tobacco, or vice-versa,just wonderful aromas of floral and almond and so on in the tobaccos. There should be a separate website to discuss American soap, I would like to sample some and see if it smells like a pipe tobacco! (Pipe smoker of ten years), age 61. Available in UK in specialist shops only, my nearest is 20 miles away in Durham City, or I buy from many retailers on the internet.

I really do not understand some of the reviewers complaining about the floral and soapiness. This blend does not have that at all.

This is just a great old fashioned Burley and Virginia flake. In my opinion the sweetness is merely from the high quality Virginia used and not a topping.

No need to reinvent the wheel here.

Rub it out, let it dry some and smoke it.

Highly recommended.

I love the taste of a good virginia, but usually can't smoke them because they bite me so badly. This one is tolerable, if I take it very slow. It reminds me of Rum Flake, but it obviously has a higher virginia content as it burns a good deal hotter.

This definitely does have a light floral topping, but is the lightest I have experienced in this genre. If this is too heavy for you, don't smoke lakelands.

I gently puff this in grp 5 bowls, rubbed out just a bit, and it is creamy and smooth, always wanting to follow up with another bowl. If I have any criticism, it would be it lacks a heavy nicotine hit.

My stock of Best Brown #2 is now nearly two years old and I visited it again recently. I'm so glad that I did! The Germolene-antiseptic cream scent is much milder, to the extent that if a pipe is packed and left for an hour before lighting it is hard to notice. The tobacco now has a rich 'tang' on the tongue and palate without much tendency to bite. Truly delicious!

Edit 13 June 09: This flake continues to grow in my estimation. Rich, strong tobacco with just the combination of flavours and scents that make the whole process worthwhile. It is one of the few tobaccos that would make me happy if I could have no other for the rest of my days.

I suspect the previous reviewer ended up with one of this flake's topped cousins. Best Brown #2 is most definitely an unscented offering from G&H, in my opinion any lingering odours are from packaging and not from the making of this fine virigina flake.

Admittedly, there are more complex VA offerings out there, there are stronger, there are sweeter, but for BB#2 has the right combination of a good strong flavour, reliable burning and taste characteristics and it's not too strong, sweet or anything else.

If I want a light, sweet VA flake I'll go to McConnell's Scottish Flake or Glengarry Flake. If I want something that's dark and strong in the way of VA I'll turn to one of the ropes maybe. But if I want something I can puff away on when out walking in the daytime (my favourite time to smoke flakes - just stuff them in the bowl and the breeze and the slow-burning characteristics of un-rubbed flake cancel each other out) and enjoy a reliable and consistent smoke.