Samuel Gawith Sam's Flake

A very good blend of Virginias and Oriental. You get a rich taste of Virginia, while the Orientals add kick to the experience, just like Perique does in Vapers. The tonquin plays in the background giving the blend an agreeable and subtle flavour. No, it does not have any of the dreaded "soapiness" of Lakelands.

No tongue bite, the tobacco burns evenly (rubbed out), requiring just a few relights. The nic-hit is medium, the taste stays more or less uniform throughout the bowl, with a little bit more spiciness in the last quarter. Virginia fans might miss the grassiness, "citrusiness" and sweetness usually predominant in Virginias.

The blend has performed extremely well in a brand new Ser Jacopo Dublin. However, this might be due to the fortunate choice of pipe (beginner's luck, I guess).

This is a blend that I would rather reserve for the evening (best after dinner), mainly because of the spiciness. But I guess it would be OK as an all day smoke for the experienced smoker.

A very pleasant experience that deserves a four star rating.

Addendum: I packed a Falcon (tall chimney bowl) without rubbing the flake (fold and stuff) and it smoked like a champ without relights. The flakes were stored in a Mason jar and the tobacco was rather dry than moist, and that might have been the reason, though. No difference in taste when compared to rubbing out.

A sort of forgotten blend in the gawith lineup. It is the non latakia Oriental version of St James Flake. In other words, scratch the perique and add a combination of oriental leaf. Medium strength and very tasty. Can be compared to Pease's Regent's Flake among others. The Pease has more oriental leaf and is a bit stronger overall. This is very smooth, very slow burning but not too difficult to keep lit. Needs a twenty minute dry time though. All gawith blends have a certain quality of richness and complexity and this is no exception. The tonquin add is a minor player but like some rum adds it serves to meld the flavors and soften any harshness. One barely notices it taste wise. This is a great flake and deserves much wider appreciation.

one add: Anyone complaining about the different size of the flakes...which is very modest in actuality, is not deserving of smoking gawith products. this is a very old school operation (like 19th century old...maybe end of the 18th ) using nearly ancient museum quality presses and is done with care and attention lacking in modern corporate life. Long may they produce as they have for generations.

2nd add: I continue to find myself enjoying this blend. Its just so neglected and for reasons I don't understand. The tonquin is very mild and perfectly melded with the rich Virginia base. Its an addictive blend. Honestly 5 stars if I could.

Been smoking this blend for on and off last 2 years.The aroma of the tobacco is just amazing.My wife can't stand the room note in most of the blends with latakia or orientals but this one get her approval. As you open the tin you'll see just thin dark flakes and the sweet aroma fills your nose. The flake it self gives best result if you brake flake length wise to small threads and then fold those threads to half...you should have by now a nice plug that you can insert gently into bowl. The plug is easy to lite and after few puffs you'll get this nice aroma from virginias,before you reach to the middle of the bowl the oriental leaf comes in and rest of the bowl is just pure joy to your taste buds. Only fault that I could find is that it is little too mild in strength...a very good morning smoke.

The strength of this flake strikes me as being mild to medium, yet after finishing a bowl, it feels like medium, yet I could easily smoke another, (which is what I'm doing now) I think I'll jus put it down to pure greed.

Taste wise, I'd say it was just a notch up from St James flake, which in turn, is one up from BBF (IMHO) perhaps somwhere around Marlin Flake.

A nice well behaved flake, smooth and easy going, rubbed out well, no problem with burn.

I must either stop adding these flakes to my rotation, or earn more money. My cave is either begining to look like a small tobacconist back room or a smugglers den.

appearence: very dark, supple, leathery, humid, finely sliced flakes. tin aroma: well matured virginia plus a hint of earthiness from the turkish. no topping detected, must be added very sparingly. rather hard to light, as it's so moist, but 3-4 matches plus tamping gets it going. taste: this is wonderful! delicious! onctueux! a rich, semi-sweet taste of stoved first class virginia, with the tanginess subdued by the rather neutral, earthy turkish. a huge amount of cool smoke, very satisfying, and a good deal more strength than reported by others here, imo. dgt reveals some more turkish, and even more of the deep rich va notes.

must be one of the best tobaccos i've ever had (and i've never tasted anything similar). it brings the best of two worlds together: the earthyness of mixtures and the sweetness of virginias, without too much of the va tang nor the dryness of latakia.

sam gawith has done it again!

This is my first review, so an introduction is in order. I took up the pipe again about four yeras ago and have stuck to Latakia mixures almost exclusively (Odyssey is my daily smoke), but have ventured into VA flakes recently. I resisted flakes initially because i moslty smoke while driving in California and rubbing out a flake while avioding other drivers on CA freeways approaches suicide. My method, which works very well for me, is to tear off a few shreds of flake and fold/squish them into a large bowled pipe and fire it up with a couple of charring lights, then a final light.

I received this mixture as a sample from Mr Tillman's fine organization (thanks again). It arrived in the ubiquitous baggy and looks like most VA flakes, except there are Turkish flecks in the flake. I suspect they layer the VA with Turkish and then press the tobacco leaves, fement, then slice the tobacco into flakes before tining. It has a slightly cased aroma opening the baggy, but i could not detect an aggressively applied casing in the smoking.

If you want a change of pace from regular VA flakes, but not a Latkia mixture, this is it. It is very complex for a VA flake and smokes cool down to a dry heal. It changes in flavour as you go through the bowl and is very interesting, but not to the point of demanding your undivided attention. I will buy more of this flake, cellar some and have some more for smoking. It does seem to have an almost undetectible scent of that famous (infamous) UK floral scent. It doesn't bother me, but i do know it really bugs many of the reviewers. Just a gentle caveat.

Sam's Flake works well in 9 mm filter pipes (with charcoal) and my traditional Italian-made pipes. Doesn't seem too fussy about the pipe, but i didn't try small bowld pipes.

If you are VA flake smoker, you must try this one. One of the best i've tried.

Sam’s Flake is a wonderful oriental sans latakia blend. The tonquin bean is not really a subtle flavouring but I wouldn’t say it overpowers the tobaccos, rather it complements them. It won’t ghost a pipe but I still like to have a dedicated pipe for smoking this flake, as for instance a pipe in which you’ve smoked Latakia previously tend to overwhelm the taste of Sam’s flake.

I also find the taste intensify towards the bottom of the bowl in a pleasant manner. It doesn’t turn the smoke acrid or harsh, you’ll just get more flavour out of it.

A new tin is fairly moist as is usual with Samuel Gawith and might need a bit of drying time. It’s easily rubbed out and can also be folded if that’s your cup o’ tea. It takes easily to the flame and burns slowly and cooly. The white smoke is creamy and you’ll get a lot of it. Without drying the flakes I found I needed to run a pipe cleaner through the stem about halfway through, otherwise it’s a dry enough smoke. No tongue bite whatsoever.

This is a tobacco that really shines after a couple of years of ageing in tin or jar.

Delightful!

Upon opening the tin and peeling back the gold foil paper holding the dark slices of Virginia flake and Turkish tobaccos, I gave this blend my nose test, after all if you can't stand the smell why bother to continue. I was greeted with the aroma of ripened raisens with their tangy sweetness and honey mixed with a soft earthiness. Unlike the McClelland Virginia blends no ketchup here!

For my first pipeful I simply folded the slices in half and slid them into the bowl. Not allowing these slices to dry slightly made them rather difficult to light. After finally getting the fire stoked up I sat back and enjoyed a mild and sweet blend that I found most enjoyable with flavors of raisen, honey and a slight caramel undertone.

The next day I tried my second bowl only I prepared the leaf by rubbing it out but not fully. I don't know why but I decided to hold a slice in the sunlight coming into my kitchen to see the real colors of the tobacco and was surprised by what was revealed to me. Covering the slice were tiny granuales of sugar, leading me to believe I had recieved a tin that had a bit of age on it. They glistened in the sunlight like a fresh fallen snow in the moonlight. I prayed that these tiny specks weren't beetle eggs but what the hell any bug that can stand the heat of a pipe deserves to be taste tested! I found that rubbing out the flake made for an easier light and a more tastey bowl from start to finish.

Bottom line - A thouroughly wonderful smoke with great flavors and a gentle sweetness that fills the mouth. Not at all like the sweetness found in aromatics but the natural sweetness of a well prepared Virginia or maybe beetle eggs. Who knows?? I plan to get a few more tins to cellar for a few yars and hope that upon opening them I am not invaded by giant insects!! JOKING OF COURSE

Keep Da Faith

I know this tobacco well enough, but it's one thing to know and love it, and quite another to try to do at least a fairly unbiased review on it.

As always with Samuel Gawith, when looking for the age of a tobacco, you can only look at the excise stamp. In my case, the package had the 2015 excise stamp on it. Even if I was a year wrong, the tobacco in the 100-gram, tightly sealed bag was still five years old. Certainly this had an effect on its consistency and appearance, but almost nothing on the flavor. The tobacco is unevenly sliced, as it usually happens with this British manufacturer, the flake plates vary in thickness. In addition, some of the plates are cracked and broken due to age. But the humidity was quite adequate for padding - only slightly drier than ideal. I have read in other reviews that fresh tobacco stored in a tin is over-moistened by the manufacturer and has to be dried. In my case, the humidity was fine. The plates are well fermented, some of them had to be simply cut and crumbled, as I could not separate them into individual fibers.

The color of the tobacco is a bright dark brown shade of well-boiled apple jam, almost monochromatic.

The scent is a lovely mix of dry hay, very sweet baked fruit from Virginia, a little bit of raisin, black cardamom and cinnamon from Turkish tobaccos. Added to this bouquet is a subtle note of tonka bean, which I love - it adds spice and sweetness to the smell. The overall bouquet is quite complex, despite the apparent simplicity of the blend. Let's say, the cardamom was recognizable only when smoking, and was barely noticeable in the tobacco itself.

I filled the new pipe about halfway, then lit it. I had to flick the lighter a couple of times to light it. The flavor of the blend was predictable: a good dose of sweetness, some wheat bread, raisins, mild spices - cinnamon and cardamom. Perhaps the overall taste was similar to a just-baked bun with raisins - in my childhood, such were called "Calorie Buns." It would seem to be a very simple product, but you can't tear yourself away until you've eaten the whole thing. Separately pleased with the fact that the manufacturer has considered spicy perique superfluous for this mixture - and not a mistake. The tobacco smokes cool, extremely soft and smooth from the start, doesn't bite, doesn't irritate the receptors. A simple and unhurried pleasure. As you smoke, the sweetness of the tobacco increases slightly, but that is the only change in flavor. The strength of the tobacco is medium, but the next time I filled another pipe full, I caught the nicotine hit. The tobacco burns into a fine light gray ash that doesn't leave much. Moisture is present after smoking, but does not remain in the cup.

The smoke has a sweet aroma with spice, my nose finds it pleasant, although some may find it a bit heavy.

Bottom line: just an excellent flake when aged. Just two ingredients, and a lot of fun. As a medium strength tobacco in the "Virginia plus orientals" category, I use it on a regular basis.