Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Louisiana Perique Flake

Initially smell of the tobacco was a bit confusing to me. The chocolate flavoring was a little weird for me, maybe because i expected it to be like HU's Tillerman Flake although the smell is pleasant.

Easy to rub out and smokes like a champ, needs no relights.

After smoking few VaPers i was a bit concerned about this baccy nevertheless i loved Louisianna Flake. The first half of the bowl was much sweeter and less spicier. Flowery, chocolaty Virginia Flavor with a little spice coming from Perique. Definitely not a Perique bomb. Seems like a fabulous starting point for smokers who want to try VaPers. I smoked a whole bowl to the end and this tobacco is now one of my favorites. Can be an everyday smoke. You have to try this one. Highly Recommended, cheers

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Louisiana Perique Flake is exceptional. The light chocolate topping hides beneath the sweetness of this deeply satisfying VaPer. Easily medium strength but I sip, which makes for a higher hit. Prepared and smoked Louisiana Perique several different ways and each was just a little above ‘the best you can get’. Rubs out easily. I always use rubbed out dust on top to ensure an even charring light no matter what way I pack. Relights very well. Comes moist so can be stored or smoked that way for full flavour. Truly superb in a loose packed chimney.

The flakes are about twice as long as the normal tinned variety and the minute I opened the packet I got a strong smell of chocolate/cocoa... very nice.

For me the first couple of puffs still bring through the chocolate flavouring which seems to disappear for a while but return within the last quarter of the bowl. It is a very relaxing after dinner smoke, thoroughly enjoyable.

Review based on freshly bought and not cellared.

This is a nice Va/Per, produced from leaf of obviously high quality. It's one of the best of the G & H flakes, in my view.

So many people who have reviewed Louisiana Flake talk about a chocolate topping, but I have to say that I can't find it. There's a flavour of some kind, for sure, but it doesn't seem like chocolate or cocoa to me. I'd be more inclined to call it nutty, biscuity, malty or something along those lines, but it doesn't really lend itself to precise analogy. To some extent, the flavour is due, I think, to the Perique element itself; there is perhaps also an element of tonquin. G & H have something of a reputation for spoiling good leaf by overdoing the casing, but this certainly isn't the kind of floral 'soapy' Lakeland tobacco that so many reviewers dislike. It's a million miles away from Ennerdale Flake, thank God. Some people say that LF reminds them of the old Edgeworth Sliced.

Whatever it is, the flavouring of LF it isn't excessive. Far from it, in fact. Once the bowl is properly under way, the preponderant impression that it gives is of a natural tobacco that has been intelligently handled by the blender. The natural flavour comes through, and is enhanced rather than obscured or distorted by the topping. The flakes are thick and substantial and easy to deal with: best folded, with enough rubbed out at the top of the bowl to give you a good light. Thereafter, the burn is steady and the taste full and interesting: sweetish, but with a rounded, spicy Perique clearly making its contribution. DGT is rewarding also. The room note is quite pleasant. As always with VA flakes, it'll burn you if you take it too quickly, but I have to say that this is one of the coolest flakes I've ever smoked. Sipping will enhance the flavour, too.

This is a full-bodied, tasty, slow pipeful, with enough, but not too much, vitamin N. Recommended; a strong favourite of mine: nicest, perhaps, late at night by the fire, with a nightcap and a good book. Idyllic, in fact: this is what pipe smoking ought to be.

About Louisiana Flake:

Once many aeons ago while ambling through the Mediterranean streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans I serendipitously chanced upon a dear friend I had not seen in many many years. We,of course spoke finally winding up at a sidewalk begniet(French doughnut) and coffe shop. It was nice.

Louisiana Perique Flake has somewhat the same interaction for me each time I smoke it. An unexpected meeting with a long unseen dear friend. I know this sounds a bit over the top but that's the feeling.

The strength of the blend is as near perfect as I believe is posible with the constituent tobaccos. Impeccable Virginia(no matter where they come from)and Louisiana Perique compliment one another----Dark roast Cajun coffee and fresh cream with just enough seweetner to marry up the two flavors. Like that! No use in asking for better.

Very good filling and burning qualites after a bit of judicious drying time.

Room note? Not really a concern for me with a very very indulgent wife and as far as other I personally don't worry about that.

Recommndation? I am ambivlent about this particular aspect as I do highly recommend it but don't encourage others to smoke it being rather selfish and a bit leary of the supply stratagies of most British blend houses. So try it but please don't get over-enthusiastic. Thanks.

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (A Native Son of Louisiana)

This takes some getting used to and no mistake...and that's probably where some of the comments below originate; inexperience and rushing to judgement. It's a long way away from your average Vaper. Still everyone's taste is subjective.

This has, to me, the merest hint of chocolate; smoked gently it reveals creamy and fruity depths...thinking on it while puffing away, it's somewhat like the effect of stewed fruit and nice Devon custard, that sweetness and tartness so close together. It's a beautifully crafted and sophisticated virginia and perique mix. I'd go for G & H's solid, understated expertise in tobacco blending over most of the USA houses anyday, with the honourable exception of McClelland.

A fine, subtle and enjoyable tobacco worthy of its 4 stars 🙂

The aroma of this blend is a bit odd as there is more than a hint of chocolate in there. There is also the Lakeland floral that I enjoy so much as well. As far as I can find, this is the only VaPer offering from the venerable Gawith and Hoggarth company. Could it be that we have a mix of something similar to Samuel Gawith?s St. James Flake mixed with G & H?s Bob?s Chocolate Flake? This possible combination has piqued my interest and so on to the review.

These flakes are large and take a bit to rub out. I got a pair of scissors and cut them down a bit before I started rubbing them. The moisture level seemed perfect when it was in flake form but once I cut it down it seemed a bit damp to me. So I set it out on a paper towel for about 30 minutes and it seemed ready to go.

After being cut down the flakes become a lot more pliable and this blend is fairly easy to stuff down in the bowl. The pipe I used had a medium-large size bowl. It might not be as easy trying to stuff these strands into a small bowl like on a churchwarden. It took to the lighter really fast and after one false light it was off and racing.

The initial flavors were easy to discern. Virginia, yep it?s in there. Perique, yet it?s in there too. Lakeland taste, yep it?s in there. But there is something on the outlying edges that was just whispering in there. After a few puffs I was able to identify it. Chocolate. Now because I had never run into this flavor combination I was excited and worried all at the same time. I was excited because the tastes coming together at this point were delicious but I was worried that if one started to dominate then the great taste would diminish.

After the halfway mark my worry began to slip away. They had nailed this blend. It was great all the way through. I highly recommend this blend. While it may not be your favorite, the addition of the chocolate to a VaPer blend is something interesting to behold. It also makes this blend hard to rank.