Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Louisiana Perique Flake

I approached this flake with positive expectations; but, having tried it, I won't be getting more.

It needed a full day of drying time to be smokable: a bad start. Handling the flake left my fingers coated with a fine dust, neither here nor there, but that's similar to the mouth-feel. I expect a Virginia-Perique combination to have clarity of taste, zest, sweetness and spice. This was to my palate just muddled and unexceptional.

Too bad

...And a year later, everything I felt was lacking with the fresh flake was present, in spades. The jar-note after a year of aging was mouth-watering, and the experience only got better.

I will be buying more to set aside for awhile.

As a big G&H fan, I received this generous sample with great anticipation. While I do enjoy VA/P blends (Elizibethan Mixture by Dunhill is the current favorite) my mindset was that G&H would "perfume" the mixture up somewhat and thus change the dynamic of the pair. In other words, I was expecting a "flower cascade" of flavor on top of a milder VA with a smidgen of perique.

This is NOT what I was expecting. If there is a flavoring agent in this tobacco it is entirely subtle. There may be a tad of chocolate or cocoa in this blend but that's about it.

Brownish and black in color, this flake arrived a whit on the moist side; No problem, I folded the flake up and cut it with scissors into an almost granulated cut. These days I find that this granulated cut smokes best for me.

After letting the tobacco air for a few minutes I loaded up my pipe and applied match; Wonderful! There is a creamy roundness to the VA's (a smidge of burley added?) and the perique is there but it's waaay in the background. Full flavor, quality tobacco which I totally expect from G&H.

What is this similar to? Nothing that I've tried in the line is similar to this. Louisiana Flake is more natural than the flakes that I so enjoy and the perique is applied with a subtle and masterful hand. You get the taste of the perique but without the "peppering" that (say) a blend like Elizibethan Mixture has.

At mid-bowl the blend hasn't changed much but has picked up a little steam, flavor and nicotine wise. While this isn't overpowering it IS full in flavor. And the perique keeps in the background yet I know it's there.

I'll buy a brick or two of this and smoke it this winter to see if my impression changes. My generous sample has been lovely. For those who like the fullness of G&H tobaccos then you'll like this one. The Perique adds a little zing to the blend without peppering your tongue. Quality and consistency is something that I always expect from Gawith and Hoggarth and this Louisiana Flake definitely continues in this tradition. Very nice and quite a surprise!

Too much cocoa for me. I can taste that soapy "lakeland" essence as well. I liked it, but would like it more if there were a little less of these two things. Some people like chocolate with hot peppers; the sweet and the heat supposedly complement each other. But Perique and chocolate? Perique's unique overtones are better enjoyed with unflavored Virginia, in my opinion. This said, I must admit I kind of like it; when the pipe starts to open up it has a nice rich taste I enjoyed immensely, and it did not overwhelm with heavy puffing. I'm just not cuckoo for those cocoa puffs.

1-16-10 Revisited this tobacco after a long hiatus. I still get a sense of chocolate from it, but am no longer convinced that it has chocolate in it. I like this smoke better in the second half of the bowl; this time I let the pipe go out while I roamed Wal-Mart for a new tobacco-jar and some beer (new Samuel Adams Noble Pils-try it: it's the best I've ever had of their beers!), and the difference this made was quite palpable. Maybe I'll try that DGT thing. So I guess the jist is, I would keep this tobacco around if I had someone to smoke the first half of the bowl for me, or some kind of smoking machine. I have about three loads left, so this unusual flake still has three more chances to convince me. Even though I may seem wishy-washy about it, this is still at least three-star quality weed, and is obviously four-star for some.

I'm just not sure!! I guess I would say earthy and smokey, not sweet at all but the cocoa is evident. When you rub this blend out and load it up it will smoke to the bottom of the bowl without a single relight, no hint of tongue bite, but a bit of an aftertaste that is not unpleasant but smokey. Maybe heavy? I like it okay but it certainly is not what I expect in a VA/Per (sweet and spicy).

I am really enjoying this tobacco the second time around. The first time I smoked it years ago, I was blown away with what some call the "soapy" aroma/flavor. I quickly turned away from the blend. Now that I revisit, I am loving it - especially the tonquin. I love good vapers and am happy with Gawith, Hogarth's take on this wonderful style. I will be buying more for sure.

I smoked this fairly fresh leaving most of the new flake moisture typically found with this blender. (I believe dry tobacco is a crying shame). I thoroughly rubbed it out, just sprinkled it in the bowl until it mounded over the top of the bowl, and then packed it down just below the rim. I lit it, let it go out, repeated, then lit it for the third time which took me to the end of the bowl. Burned cool, and was enjoyed to the fullest. I find it better to pack lighter than I thought possible, and make sure plenty of moisture still resides in the tobacco. Awesome stuff.

This could be amazing tobacco but its been ruined with perfume!!! what ever the baby powder stink is its disgusting and i keep getting blends with it, every blend from this company has it!!!! i hate it. Perfume this awful has no place in a tobacco called Louisiana flake period.

Update: after rubbing and drying some of this out to basically dust then smoking it, the baby powder smell seems to be gone, there is a slight faint bit left but its almost not noticeable, now this is smokeable and quite enjoyable, now i get a nice perique flavor and no bite.... i wont change my rating tho because I shouldn't have to go to this extent to clean the perfume out of my tobacco that i don't think should be there in the first place, its called Louisiana perique flake not grandmas perfume nighty tobacco.

This is not a va/per, it's an aromatic, and a nasty one at that. Smoke it in a corncob, boys, because you will NEVER get the smell out of your pipe.

GH&C Louisiana Flake is a pleasant enough tobacco but, IMO, a little light on flavor. The flakes are quite dark and smell strongly of chocolate. As delivered, they are moist and benefit greatly from an hour or so of airing out. However, even smoked without drying, they light easily and don't require many relights. The strength is a bit on the high side but nothing to worry about if smoked with a regular cadence. It burns to a dark grey ash, leaving no moisture in the bowl.

The Virginias lend both grassiness and dark notes, plus a touch of sweetness. Quite nice. The perique balances the Virginias, beginning spicy but quickly settling down to fig and raisin flavors. The chocolate topping is always present but in no way overpowers the taste of the tobacco. I detected the famous Lakeland essence but only a bit. I liked it.

All in all, while I enjoyed Louisiana Flake, I prefer GH&C Bob's Chocolate Flake, of which it reminds me.

I got some GH&C Louisiana Flake mostly to compare it to its ex-pat sibling, GLP Stonehenge. As much as I like the latter, I have to say, I think I like LF better! When I got my bulk sample I promptly put it in a jar that I left alone for a month, based on my experience with Stonehenge. Opening the jar, the moist, gold striated, dark brown flakes smelled like dark chocolate over subdued, stewed prunes, and - surprise – no Lakeland scent. Despite it’s a bit of a pain to smoke wet, I much prefer LF flakes this way, folded, spindled, and loosely stuffed into my Stonehenge pipe. It lights with effort at tin moisture, then, given regular attention, it burns down slowly to some black dottle that I presently toss out and write off as part of the cost of enjoying this fine-tasting flake to the fullest. As pronounced as the chocolate starts out in the jar, it’s barely there over deep, stewed prunes and very deep, exotic Perique when I smoke it. The Lakeland essence is also noticeable, though it’s much less so than Stonehenge. The VAs are pretty stout. They seem to be rich, sweet, slightly musty, air cured browns and deep, stoved reds. GH&C specify that just a small portion of Perique is used. You could have fooled me; I think there is plenty, not so much peppery as generally “spicy”, even dessert spices. Also, though there’s no mention of Burley in the TR blurb, LF smells and tastes to me of dark fired, so deep and so rich is this blend. Perhaps it is the rare, KY Cavendish? Regardless, I find LF to have a perfect balance of earth, brown sugar/molasses, spice, stewed, dark fruit, white pepper, cardamom, paprika and more. It’s darn near as deep and earthy as HH Bold Kentucky, though it’s not as spicy, nor as edgy; rather, it is soft and smooth by comparison. LF is deeper in some ways than HH Old Dark Fired. Finally, LF is deeper, “darker”, and more intense than Stonehenge, which does declare some KY. Strength is medium. Tastes are toward full from medium. Room note is tolerable at best. Aftertaste is a nice, trailing best of the smoke.

I would say, if you like the other blends I mentioned above, try Louisiana Flake. It’s cracking good.