Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Best Brown #2

I bought this and some Ennerdale Flake at the same time. Someone please tell me where I'm going wrong. I just cannot get into them. This one I like the best of the two. My local tobacconist stocks G&H and not a lot else but I couldn't find any of the ones on this site that get good reviews, they only seem to stock a weird bunch of horrible looking/sounding ones (Peaches and Cream?!). I'm not into aromatics, so I eventually persuaded them to get in some Best Brown #2 and I was the first into the 500g box (and it said Best Brown #2 on the box in the same kind of design as the tin shown above). It took a week to dry this out to acceptable levels. Fresh out of the box it is sooo pungent!! Like a bottle of HP sauce or something. And that didn't even begin to quieten down until at least 10 days of being in a tin on a radiator and even then it was still a strong smell and I just cannot believe that there is not casing involved here (hence Strong Flavouring). And again it seems just a little contrived or artificial to me. This was doubly so when I actually tried to smoke the stuff, especially without any drying, the wet runoff from the pipe which I inadvertently tasted (a lot of moisture) tasted so chemically and ridiculously sweet that I just cannot believe it is just from tobacco. Maybe I'm wrong. And as for no tongue bite?! I couldn't get it to stop biting no matter how slowly I took it. At the very end of my packet after 2 weeks I got a couple of decent smokes out of it, so I guess that it really needs some cellaring and drying to get the best out of it, but then it loses a lot of it's weight - I noticed that it didn't last very long; a lot less time than my Samual Gawiths FVF. Kept leaving me with a soured and ruined pallete every time. I didn't get on with it. However I may try again, maybe when the tub is nearly empty at the tobacconists and the stuff has had time to sit a bit.

UPDATE: 1st May 2010 So, I bought some more from the same batch that I tried first, after it had been sat on the shelf for 5 months and I am glad I did, as now the flake is much drier and the casing much more in the background. Smokes very well, no bite anymore and a good flavour.

I smoked this for the first time from a bulk package over a year old. Moisture level was perfect, it rubbed out nicely. The soapy taste is present especially at first, not in a bad way. Midbowl that is reduced. I usually smoke unflavored virginias but found this a very nice change without getting into aromatics. I can see where this could be an all day smoke for people who like a medium bodied Va. The tobacco flavor is predominant throughout making it a good change of pace or crossover for aromatic smokers.

Well, I must agree that this tobacco can taste like both soap and flowers, but there is a way to make it very delicious.

I first tried this tobacco a few months ago when my buddy came to visit me from Knoxville. (we like to share our tobacco findings) Anyway, when I tried this blend the first time I was in love with it. I must admit that I was suffering from a few libations, but never the less this was a great smoke with only a hint of something "Zesty" in it. In fact, I thought it was so great that I purchased a pound of it, which is a big investment for me as I normally favor Latakia blends. Upon recieveing my order I jumped right into my pound of beautifully cut leaf and started smoking. WOW! It tastes like someone just jammed a bar of Dove in my mouth and then lit it on fire. It did burn well, but this is not the tobacco that I remember.

Upon talking to my friend again he told me that he let his tin age in his car under the sun, in effect restoving the tobacco. Being as I didn't want to waste a pound of tobacco I figured I would try something. I placed all of the tobacco in a glass jar, covered it up and threw it into the oven at aboout 175 degrees for about 2 hours. After that I took the lid off and left it in for about another 10 minutes to get rid of some of the moisture. The next day... WOW AGAIN! This tobacco rocks! The soap and flowers taste is almost nonexistant, and the natural tobacco taste was great.

The only reason that I don't rate this tobacco higher is because before it was restoved it made me feel like I was going to vomit daffodils and dove. But if you're into tobacco chemestry give it a try.

I decided to try a tin of Best Brown #2 because it looked lonely on the shelf at the store. I recalled seeing the tin a number of times so I decided that I would give the good old college try. (I'm still a Master's Candidate.) In the car on the way home I opened the tin so I could smell my investment. To my suprise it smelled like soap and flowers. After I got home I loaded up my Large Ben Wade and started smoking. The tobacco burned well and did not bite my tongue. From beginning to the end it tasted like soap and flowers. I was dissapointed but I wasn't ready to give up on it yet so I threw it in the car based on a suggestion of Steve Monjure and other well seasoned pipe smokers. After spending about a week in the car I tried it again. The soap and flowers taste had become a side note to the delicious tobacco.

It's worth a shot but beware the soap and flower taste will be in your pipe for the next 5 or 6 bowls.

Taste buds love it....your pipe will pay.

This is fine quality tobacco in easy to handle, very thin flakes.

Good lighting and burning characteristics, perhaps better in this regard than Germain's Brown Flake (which tends to burn moist and require frequent flickers) and Samuel Gawith's Best Brown (my favorite in this genre).

It is also easy to get copious flavor from gentle puffing. This is not always true for McClelland and Rattray Virginia Flakes.

I do not like the flavor additives common to Lakeland tobacco, which are frequently compared to perfume, potpourri, and air freshener. I found the hard to identify aromatics present with Best Brown #2. I just could not shake the taste of the fragrance and get to solid tobacco notes.

I enjoyed it best when another pipster smoked it while I abstained. The side stream aroma smelled like well-fermented, aged tobacco.

Along with Bob's Chocolate Flake and Rum Flake, BB2 will be donated to a friend. A tin of Balkan Mixture awaits my fiery trial. Since several local tobacconist stock G&H, I hope I find a blend to please.

This basically tastes like Bob?s Chocolate Flake sans the chocolate (though Bob purports to add a dash of latakia to his flake). A nice Virginia/Burley flake, but with a fairly strong ?floral? or soapy taste that I just don?t care for. For those who like flakes and don?t mind the soapiness, I?m sure this will be enjoyable. Might also be a good introduction to natural flakes for those who prefer light aromatics.

Back to my "Gawith" run. After taking a short break from all the Gawith blends I have smoking and trying over the past several months, I decided to start back with this particular blend as a first time try.

Well, I was delighted. I grabbed a tin of this to try on a three-hour car ride to Connecticut to visit family over the weekend. What a nice trip down and back!

Easy pack in a old Charatan favorite, a couple of false-lights and tamps and I was off to some excellent, mesmerizing downtime.

The taste runs consistent the length of the bowl. It is a wonderful sweet, (throughout the background), smoke, creamy in texture and it burns to a coarse grey-white ash.

If I have any complaints, it is a tad moist when first opened. Next time I will air it out a little bit before smoking.

A very satisfying experience, highly recommend.

I tried a tin of this at the encouragement of Solar Pons, with whom I have shared a fondness for Lake District tobacco.

Upon opening the tin, I was greeted by an aroma that I can only describe as a combination of leather, florals and spice. The flake strip are medium brown in color with some darker veins and a smattering of birds-eye. The strips are fairly this and need little rubbing out.

When first lit, I was a little put off by the presence of florals (often used in European style tobaccos). I have never liked the taste of florals (read - soap) but in BB#2, these soon give way to a rich and almost creamy smoke. Mind you that the florals never go away, they just seem to dance along in the background of high quality VA and Rich Burley.

I would not consider this a "sweet/sugary" smoking experience, but BB#2 does have a good sugar content that comes from top notch VA. The Burley is dense and satisfying. I would recommend this. I WILL be buying more.

There is a tobacco for everyone and this one isnt for me. As Lakeland scent goes this is as much as I ever want to get. It ghosted a Mason jar, let that sink in. The blend is quality, deep and rich presented in uniform flakes. The topping ruins it for me though.