Samuel Gawith St. James Flake

Somewhere perhaps, there are old master codgers who have worked out how to prepare this tobacco, and which pipe to smoke it in, in order to have a trouble free smoke. I am not one of them.

The thin loose flakes are very moist, greasy in fact, and cannot be rubbed out properly by hand. Used in this form I had to battle to keep the bowl alight, to ensure adequate draught, and, consequently, to get any reasonable volume of smoke going. In this form however, whereby the tobacco was barely alight, it was possible to get a good 'look' at its flavour profile. Accordingly, this might be a legitimate way to smoke this tobacco. I found it very frustrating, and in desperation, resorted to cutting the flakes against the grain to produce a sort of small cube cut. Gravity fed into the bowl it cut my relights down to 3 and when going properly, produced some lovely, creamy smoke.

This is essentially a matured Virginia flake in the British old school style. It has some nice lemon overtones, kicked off I think by some bergamot in the casing, and underpinned by a creamy licorice undertone.

The perique marries well with these Virginias and presents as a spicy pepperiness and an effervescence on the tongue. Retrohaling further reveals the smokiness of the perique.

This is a very different take on the VaPer to something like Dunhill Navy Rolls, the latter being very clean and elegant. SJF is darker and less refined, more working class if I might say so. That isn't a bad thing at all, but personally I would prefer this as a straight Virginia without the casing, and I honestly think the perique is wasted here. Having said that this is a valuable survivor in the British Flakes genre and anyone disappointed by weakling Virginias or overcased Lakeland type entries will find a place for this tobacco.

I can ditto most of the comments already made of those who highly recommended this blend. If you like blends with Perique you should enjoy this flake. There is no question that SG produces the finest flakes available. St James Flake reminds me of Knoxville Cigar Company's Laurel Flake, which is made by Gawith, one of my favorite smokes; I am tempted to believe they are the same blend.

Based on one of the reviews below I smoked this without rubbing it out, drying it for 30 minutes prior to lighting, and smoking it in a #4 size pipe. Rather than tamping I've found loosening the surface with a pick between lights facilitates smoking.

All-in-all, a nice flake.

August 19,2008 update: This tobacco ages nicely. With age, more mellow and sweet.

January 16, 2021 13 yrs. aged now. In a mason jar, so no drying. I should have dried a flake for a few hours - hard to light and get going. The flakes are dark and rich. Mellow with stewed dark fruits and subtle sweetness from the VA leaf. Perique leads the way. Earthy. No bite, cool burning, but not an all day smoke; best after dinner IMHO with a whiskey. Burns to a dry white ash. If you want a full perique VA/Per this is it.

I’m not a young man. The half century mark looms in just a few years. But as a pipe smoker, I’m something of a babe in the woods.

I’ve smoked pipes before, but I didn’t smoke for a very long time before picking it back up less than a month ago. So I remembered how to pack properly. But I was basically starting over when it came to a proper smoking cadence.

As luck would have it, I managed to find a single tin of St. James Flake at a local B&M shop. Also fortuitous was the fact that I finally got the proper puffing rhythm, although I do still tend to try to rush things. It’s definitely an exercise in patience.

I’ve certainly not made a dent in the list of tobaccos available for consumption, but I’ve made the rounds at many of the usual places: aromatics, then English and then... you know the drill.

Anyway enough back story. Let’s talk SJF.

I’ve found that Virginias and VaPers are my sweet spot. I’ve been partial to Luxury Bullseye Flake for years now, and I’ve gone through a tin or three of Escudo. By the time I finally got to SJF, I’ve tried maybe a dozen VaPers.

But my god, I’ve not lived as a smoker. But having found St James Flake, I feel like Dorothy arriving in Oz, going from sepia right into Technicolor.

It’s that much better than anything else I’ve tried.

Now, my palate hasn’t developed to the point where I can discern tasting notes. That may never quite happen. But I know this: SJF provides better flavor (of the variety I prefer) AND more flavor in each puff than anything else I’ve tried.

Rich, creamy, sweet, spicy, tangy clouds encircle my head as I force myself to keep the cadence slow.

It’s the first tobacco I’ve truly fallen in love with.

And I’m halfway through the only tin I know of. None online. None within an hour’s drive, as best I can tell. Just my luck.

Here’s hoping that changes soon. I’ll be able to manage with the likes of Bayou Morning, Fillmore and the aforementioned Escudo and LBF, as well as the various other non-VaPers I keep on hand for a change of pace. But Saint James Flake is perfection in a bowl.

For me, at least.

Great VaPer here even fresh. I got a 250g box jarred up the bulk of it to age and kept some for now. The flakes are big, moist and thick. The flakes need to rubbed out and dried out a bit before packing your pipe other wise you have a big sticky tobacco ball in your pipe that you will never be able to kept lit. The tin note is of fresh cut grass, hay, sugar and plums. With age I am sure a more fermented tang will also develop. The smoke is clean, fresh and not over-powering. I get earthy sweetness, slight tangy fruit notes and a tiny bit of pepper. The perique level is perfect for me. With age I suspect it will become more full and creamy. SG St James flake is not a smoke to rush through. It is best to smoke it slow to savor all the flavor. No hint of bite at all and leaves a nice after taste. For me this flake produced one of my top 10 Nirvana smokes. A great relaxing awesome smoking experience. Good Stuff

It sounds crazy but I would leave this stuff in a jar for a year before you try to smoke it. Even then it doesn't behave great, but at least it's smokeable. If you try to smoke this fresh it will be hot air. After a year I can dry it out for about 20 min and I able to get a decent smoke. There is a slight topping, it always reminds me of apricots. But it stays nicely in the background. Then you have a sweet va, and a decent dose if perique. I think it smokes mild/ medium for most of the bowl until maybe the last third when the taste really picks up. This jar I'm smoking is about a year old. I really think it needs a couple more years to become complex. It's not boring but it's pretty basic after about a year.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to write up my thoughts on this flake but sometimes I just forget to sing my praise of some old favorites. This one is definitely a favorite and I consider it to be one of the finest VaPer's on the market. This will give you low base notes with some sharpness from the Perique. It's of the yeasty bready kind of flavors rather than the light hay like notes you would find in lighter VaPer's. I enjoy dark flakes and low notes and this one satisfies on every level. The flakes are packed ready to smoke, especially in the box and that is usually uncommon with Samuel Gawith tobaccos, I've smoked a lot of this and have never had to dry it before I load up and I like my tobaccos dry because I get a lot more flavor that way. These flakes will age with grace but require no cellar time to produce an amazing smoke. Nicotine level is just about medium so this is perfect for all day smoking. I just can't praise this one enough!

Essential!

This flake is unique!when you open it you get spices, pepper and fruits.has a bit moist but once i dried it it became flat.so rub it and light it instantly with a little effort.the spices are dominant and they are presented with sweetness and a bit grass.very balanced taste burns medium.the nicotine level is low to medium so it's an all day blend to me.definitelly amust try for va/per lovers!

This is a thick blend. The tobacco is quite fat and greasy at the touch. Perique is quite well identified. It is not easy to light it up and keep it lit up. A bit strong, but not really too much. Coffee taste. Quite some tar.

If you're into VaPers, you definitely should try this one. Rich mature red Virginias combined with a good amount of Perique for a full taste, robust smoke. High on the Perique side, SJF is not too bitter nor too sweet, a nice balance for those who enjoy Virginias and VaPers.