Samuel Gawith Navy Flake

Wow , this is a bowl full . Like all S & G tobacco it looks great in the tin , well served up using thick , beautiful , dark flakes . The tin note whets one's desire too. The problem , as with all S & G , is the MOISTURE , and plenty of it too . Too moist to pack or keep lit . What to do? Add a neutral Virginia flake like Newminster or the ever valuable Sutlif Virginia slices . In this case , being the most moist of all S & G products use the flake at least 4 to 1 . This gives you the taste of the tobacco without drowning you or gumming up your pipe . Navy flake is flavorful enough to bring it's taste through even at a 4 to 1 ratio . The strong of heart can try 3 or 1 or even 50/50 if you are a real man . I have tried drying this out overnight but it only makes the flake too dry and takes away from the taste . This is a really unique tobacco with the latakia as a minor but important player . Picture yourself in the British navy while you smoke .

Im sitting here smoking a bowl of this SG Navy Flake as i type.

This tin was actually a gift to a friend of mine about 3 yrs ago. Which he forgot about for some time. So long actually, there were crystals all over the flakes. So the tin most likely already had some age to it....plus how long he forgot about it. So i felt obligated to take a few flakes.

Upon him first opening the tin. I remeber they were a fairly dark flake with darker streaks to them. It had a wonderful, sweet, rum raisin like aroma to the tin. When i reopened this tin after finding it later on, the flakes were now very dark, with the faintest of white crystals all over it. They smelt fantastic!!! Very sweet, and grassy like. With that raisin aroma still present.

I rubbed out 3 flakes and let them dry for about 20min.

The tobacco didnt want to take a flame at first. But after a short struggle......it was ready.

Im only about a 1/3 into the bowl, and i can taste some burnt grass with a little spice. Im not getting any rum flavoring, but i usually dont in the "navy" category. Which isnt good or bad for me. Every now and again i get that sweet virginia taste on my tounge. The aroma is very nice. Almost a sweet grass with maybe leather??? Honestly. Im enjoying the aroma more then the smoke to be honest.

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Now im a little past half way done. It almost tastes burnt. And almost egg like. Almost like its lost all the sweetness and grassy flavors. I have not been pushing this bowl, or puffing too hard either. I havent had to relight at all. Which is always a plus, regardless of the tobacco.

And now that im done with this bowl. I can say, most of the flavor is in the first half. The rest kind of becomes burnt and acrid almost, and very dry. I noticed the aroma almost changing as well. More of a burnt grassy smell. I still get some spice to it though. There is a small amount of a nic buzz. But noting major.

To be honest, i cant get on board with these "navy" flakes. Im not even that big of a fan of most virginias out right now. They all almost taste alike to me.

I wouldnt buy this again. I will try it again though(and by try, ill steal another couple flakes from my buddy). I always try to try a tobacco at least 2-3times before i really decide against it.

This just didnt wow me. Which kinda sucks because i love anything with ships or reminiscent of the military. Most of my family were all officers in the navy or coast guard(as far back as the 1940s). And i some how ended up in the army!

Maybe thats why i dont like this?!

I find this flake to be something of a paradox: With a solid backbone of Latakia and a rum topping, one would expect a strong flavor. (Based on tin description, one would expect it to be comparable to C&D's "Black Frigate"--it is not.) So on an initial smoke, one is likely to be surprised. The Latakia is there, certainly, but it is truly used condimentally and supplies only a subtle backbone of flavor. Likewise, the rum flavor is so far in the background that I'm not convinced that I can actually pick out its flavor consciously, although I am confident that I would notice a difference were it magically removed. Despite these two seasonings, it is the Virginia that ultimately wins--that blending component that is so often noted for being so subtle as to be overwhelmed by even the ghost of another tobacco remaining in a pipe ultimately defines the character in this blend. The result is slightly sweet, subtly smokey, with a hint of a floral character. Every now and then I'm sure I'm tasting lavender--a remnant of the rum, or a tiny dash of Lakeland? I don't know, but it makes for an engaging and fascinating smoke.

The flakes are thin and uneven and arrive in the tin more than a bit too wet (someone on this site needs to produce a button for a macro that inserts "benefits from drying" into reviews--this would save time, I'm sure). An hour or so out of the tin and they're good to go, however. I find that I like this in a deep, narrow pipe. It takes the match well and in the smoking one gets a very rare treat: Here is a tobacco that burns easily, produces copious amounts of flavorful smoke, and still burns so slowly that one can easily get a full hour or more out of a single pipe. I've never gotten a bite from this tobacco, even when I puff harder than I ought, which is punished by a bit of unpleasant bitterness rather than bite. A failing of the blend is in nicotine content, which is very low: All of its other features make this a nice complement to a morning coffee or an evening whisky, but there's no "kick." This isn't a terrible thing, but it does leave me wanting something more, just a bit.

All in all, a pleasant blend that is worth a try. I wish I could give fractional stars--this isn't quite at four stars, but three seems too low. Let's call it 3.5.

Absolutely beautiful tobacco. It wouldn't be the one I'd run in to a burning house to grab, but it is a quality leaf for sure. The one thing that stands out in this for me, is the absolute perfect amount of latakia. You catch it here and there, but it never overpowers always behind the scenes. The rum does wonderful things to the Virginias and it's all married quite wonderfully in this extra long thin twisty flake. It rubs out effortlessly and packs and lights easily as well. My definite favorite and recommendation among the Navy Flake varieties.

I bought a tin while on business in Europe. In the tin the flakes had a dark mottled appearance. The aroma was heady, pungent and rich. I decided to give it a try without prior airing or drying, and was pleasantly surprised that it was easy to light and stayed lit after just a few charring lights. The tin aroma was true to the freshly lit tobacco without rum overload, but there were some prominent raisin and prune notes. The flavour is of a good old virginia with latakia throughout. It is a really nicely balanced blend with consistent flavour through the bowl. The nicotine content is moderate. No tongue bite, and a smooth reliable smoke without complex variation. Highly recommended.

I tried at ounce of this from the local tobacconist bulk supply.

I am not a huge Latakia fan. I like it, just not as much as some do. That said, the Latakia found in this navy flake is mixed in perfect proportion with the Virginia as far as my tastes go. It gives this blend an extra dimension that made it very enjoyable.

This is another excellent blend from Samuel Gawith. The flavor was consistent throughout the bowl.

I would highly recommend this tobacco.

A very nice tobacco I buy for a change here and there. It can be a bit wet with rum on first opening, but dries nicely. This is, for me a lovely winter's morning smoke. The rum complements the tobacco in the way that a decent hazelnut can benefit a good coffee. Not overpowering at all, but adding to the overall experience rather well.

Delicate Latakia. Sweeter, because of flavouring. In my opinion, this tobacco can be a good choice to start your adventure with Latakia. Especially, if you seem not to like Latakia very much - you should like this one. And, on the other hand, if you like Latakia very much - this one is something different - worth to try for a change.

An awesome English blend with a dash of rum and sweet virgina's. The taste is sweet and the rum gives this a desert like smoke. Rubs out very easy and smokes nice and cool. Will take to a match after the 3rd time for myself. But over all a lovely smoke and very enjoyable. Peace.