Samuel Gawith St. James Flake

So here I sit with my first bowlful of SG, St James Flake. Maybe its not fair to write a review after only one bowl but I also think that first impressions are important.

First off the tobacco, which came sealed was not nearly as wet as some reviewers have noted. Possibly the tin is older, perhaps I just got lucky.

Tin note it pretty nice, grassy virginia, perique and then that floral, oily smell that many have commented on. The flakes are in a good condition and and the components easily recognizable.

Rubbed out easily, moisture content seemed pretty spot on and it loaded quite easily.

On lighting up the Virginia tastes fantastic, clearly top shelf stuff and the perique keeps the flavor interesting.

But then the topping/casing or whichever it is also comes into play. I am not sure if it rounds off the smoke and can’t help wondering how this blend would taste without what I think may be a lakeland additive.

I used the pipe in my collection with the thickest walls and a “gecko tip” (think Petersen P Lip but with two smoke holes) as I was concerned the tobacco might burn hot. This it did not, It smokes very cool but expects constant attention to keep it lit. It also buns slightly faster than I expected, possibly because I kept sipping it to save matches.

The perique is not overpowering, again the topping might be to blame. The virginias stick it out to the end but the flavor gradually dropped off as I worked through the bowl. About halfway through the topping started to fade away only to re-emerge for the last quarter. By then the tobacco had taken a back seat i am afraid but I could still taste the components. It might be that my mouth was getting too used to the tobacco that it tasted weaker.

All in all a satisfying tobacco that gave little trouble and left me quite content.