Samuel Gawith Sam's Flake

So far, nothing Gawith makes puts chills up & down my spine. Sam's flake is no exception. It's a lovely flake with occasional spots of birdseye & a soft bamboo-like texture. It rubs out into large, spiky strands, though I don't recommend merely folding & packing. It has occasional moments of woodsy taste & nutty aroma, but by the time you recognize it, the pleasure has fleetingly passed, like a hazy dream during a catnap. If you're into flake, don't bother with this. Instead, enjoy the softer, pleasingly aromatic Dunhill Light Flake, the rich, though hot Stokkebye Luxury Twist Flake or the profound & complex McClelland Dark Star. And, if you can find a tin of the no longer imported Troost Slices, indulge in its decadent lusciousness. Gawith is simply too hot & monochromatic to merit time & attention.

One and a half of five stars

This is one weird tobac, it has an absolutely lovely tin note, but none of it comes out in the smoke. I don't detect any of the orientals, it burns hot and is prone to bite. Its a shame that all that the wonderful smelling casing does is cause it to burn too hot.

New trip to Kendal, it's now the time of SF. In the scale of Va flakes - at least those distributed in Italy, i.e. FVF, BBF and SF - Sam's seems to be in the right place as the milder one. One should have a "golden tongue" (I don't remember the name of the fellow reviewer at TR who coined this beautiful term) for appreciate the subtle differences among them, sure I haven't. In particular, the comparison between BBF and SF is very difficult. I have recently revised my opinion regarding the first, as I have finished the last flakes before they went to bone-dried, and have to say that BBF better opens its heart when completely dry ... maybe the same will happen to SF so I'm also leaving a couple of strips waiting months more (the tin was bought and opened before Christmas 2008). Well, first I would say that I don't trace any sign of orientals or it's a very minimal presence (just like supposed to be into CAO's Patriot Flake, which I find quite similar but stronger). Second: a sense of boredom is felt during the smoke, I really cannot deny. And again, I cannot allow this one more than two stars.

EDIT REVIEW OCT05/2009:

sorry, Sam has disappointed my expectations. Dry after months in the tin, the three flakes were waiting me for further essay. I knifed one of them into small cubes and stuffed into a group 4 Dunhill. Never experienced a boredom like that. Hot air is the closest thing I can say. I could not go further mid bowl and stop there. The rest went in the garbage.

I was seriously disappointed with this. A VA/Oriental flake sounds great in theory and is right up my ally. But this to me proved to be a pointless variation that is principly already present in the SG line. For this has the same casing as that of Kendal Cream, which has the impression to me of spice and honey. It is not that sweet in flavor but the aroma has a nagging sweet richness that is too much for me. The oriental componet was'nt that detectable but seem to add a slightly grassy character in the tin aroma. Mild in strength and flavor with very lights sweetness and pointless. If one likes that aroma Kendal Cream is far better.

I had found that the SG line of flakes were very inconsistently sized. The cut would be thin for one flake and then thick for the next flake. Also the flakes were a little difficult to rub out. Lastly, I had trouble keeping this stuff lit and producing an acceptable amount of smoke. These flakes had really nice flavor though. Eventually dropped the whole line of flakes due to these drawbacks. Again, this is not a flake I liked regarding the flavor, another odd additive, ugh!!

First of all, I am a fan of Samuel Gawith's products, always having at least 5-6 different tins in rotation. Now comes the but: recently I have some bad experience with SG's tins. Two of them were completely rusty: Sam's and Navy Flake. But anyway I had to remove the flakes from the tin because there were too moist: the flakes are chunks, very moist and hard to keep lit. Rubbing out and drying them for 2 (!) weeks didn't improve the situation much. This is simply a boring smoke, I was lucky when it tastes like bean soup with a few drops of sweetener, a little cinammon and leather. I highly doubt there is any Oriental in this "blend", to me it seems more like a standard VA plus Lakeland. The tobacco is for sure of high quality, but the bothersome preparation and the bland taste are not worth it. Sorry SG, I hope others are happy with Sam's Flake, I'm not - I wouldn't buy it again and so I don't recommend it. BTW, I ended up putting a few flakes into the microwave oven for a few seconds, at least this time I could "enjoy" a bowl without relighting every 5 minutes.

I am a real fan of gawith but for some reason the topping makes me sick its like smoking a pack of big red bubble gum. I smoked 3 bowels in 3 different pipes and can't see myself EVER reaching for it again.

Preparation & Burn: 3/10 Moist flakes. Harsh and hard to keep lit. Bites.

Taste: 4/20 Absolutely no flavor. Hot air that bites. If you think it will taste similar to 1792 because it also has tonquin, you will be extremely disappointed as both the topping and the tobacco flavor is completely absent.

Mildness: 8/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. Didn't smoke enough to determine.

Total: 15/40