Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Best Brown #2

The initial bag opening delivers a sick pungent rotting-thing smell, but once some fresh air bellowed in, things settled back to a familiar hay-in-the-barn Virginia affair with some added sugar spray. The flake also has a burnt musty smell. Ultimately this manure air freshener is what I would expect from a quality Burley/Virginia blend.

The batch was quite fresh and need some definite dry time to tame the moist bits I just rubbed out. The first few puffs put some hair on my chest, then midway I got used to it. Maybe I was just off, but it I found it too be stronger than most reviewers and was I wishing I still had the Missouri Meerschaum Missouri Pride (Burley/Virginia) I had earlier in the week.

Because of its strength, the taste was overwhelming and I didn't experience the natural tobacco taste I was hoping for (nor any Lakeland soap I enjoy), just a lot of pipe beef. It's likely it would develop if I aged the batch, but who has time for that.

This is the kind of thing folks with grease on their hands may enjoy, but this tenderfoot is simply too fragile.

Tastes like soap. (Hmm. My original three word review was rejected, because it must be at least 25 words in length. So, let me add some words to this review.) Let's see. How's this? This tobacco, unlike any of the other many, many dozens that I have tried and smoked over the years, TASTES LIKE SOAP. There. That oughta do it.

I don't know what's been going on at G & H over the last few years but things are not boding well. I smoked BB #2 about 3 years ago and was absolutely charmed by the 4 YO tin I had smoked. The tobacco had good body while remaining smooth. The Virginias and Burleys were top notch and I could not make out any casing. I smoked my way through the tin in record time. This time the tin I recently opened had aged for two years. Right away, things went downhill. The tin note was of strong vinegar with an underlying, typical Lakeland casing. The olfactory experience was off putting, to say the least. Not because of the Lakeland essence: I am a big fan of several G & H mixtures but the last few tins of BB #2 did not have an added essence. The smoking was worse. Already on the dry side, the bloody thing would not burn. So I decided to wait another week. The flakes had become bone dry. But behold, it would still not burn properly. And, of course, the tobacco was absolutely bland or almost bland and procured some tongue bite. As for the nicotine, it seemed to be MIA. I courageously sustained 3 pipefuls before deciding to mix it with some MB Modern Virginia and see if it will help or make it worse. I, like everyone else, work hard for my money and I detest to throw out any tobacco without at least having tried a combo with another tobacco in the hope of avoiding having to dispatch it. Back to the review. Again, an overdose of PG seems to be the answer to everything and anything. Unfortunately, it will not make an unsuitable batch of flakes any better, quite the contrary. It's very sad when I get more satisfaction and enjoyment with a pouch of Borkum Riff Original than with a reputable house such as G & H. I hope this was a 'bad' tin because I had ordered about 15 at the time it became available. I have this curious feeling that another mixture (sub-standard) was thrown in this tin. Not BB #2. In summary: Need I say I do not recommend this tobacco?

For a while I've wanted to try this blend. Finally had the chance when I got some from my pipe-club (Sherlock Holmes Pipe Club of Boston). Overall it's a fine blend but I find it monochromatic. For me, it has a main citrus note that pervades the smoke. It's smooth for the most part but has little depth. I'm not a fan of burley so can't speak to the quality of that element -- but though it adds body it seems to add little depth or flavor. It's a nice blend -- but only nice, so I won't be pursuing it. If you seek a consistent blend all day this might be your cup of tea, but for me it's just "meh" as my nephew would say. Seekers of nuance or depth in a VA blend might wish to look elsewhere.

Lakeland flavour is disgusting. What a bad idea to buy GH tobacco tins, this is the second one I must give away after the Rum Flake.

look, I don't like "Lakeland Floral" and this has it. The tobacco is of good quality but in my opinion is ruined by the "soap" flavor. I admit that the "LF" is very light, but even when I eat one piece of caviar it still tastes like rotten fish to me!

12/16/2014- I've been reading some of the reviews about " is there or isn't there" " Lakeland Floral " in this blend . I'm convinced that it's all dependent on when your particular tin was run. Reviewer " 22yrsonthepipe " states that he got it in two of eight tins. This clearly indicates that there is a quality control problem of not fully cleaning the equipment after a "Lakeland run". Buyer Beware !

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.