Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Dark Flake Scented

This flake tobacco is not as strong as Dark Flake U/S, or so it seems, but it is pretty strong in its own right anyway. The casing is mostly Lakeland and the tin note foretells this. It smells just like some old lady's perfume, or baby's talcum powder if you like. Not sure if you can buy this in a tin, but it is freely available in bulk anyway. The moist content is really high, so be advised to let it dry for a day or tow before packing your pipe with it. The taste is pretty strong, but I am not sure if it contains any Kentucky in it. I'd say this tobacco comprises mostly virginia leaf along with some burley to soften it round the edges. So, even though the taste is full, it does not overwhelm you like Dark Flake U/S might do. However, I am not sure I would smoke these flakes in the morning. I think of them more as a late afternoon/after tea kind of thing. I am not quite sure how they have achieved this, but I think they are worth trying. I am going to give it 3 stars this time as I like Dark Flake U/S more than this particular one, but I am not trying to imply it isn't any good. As a matter of fact, I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

While I found the unscented Dark Flake to be a little too much, I was surprised by how the topping altered the experience of smoking the scented version, making it more rounded and smoother. Not something I would reach for as an all-day, indoors kind of blend, it still packs quite a punch, but I will get more of this.

It should be noted that going by the reviews here, either people experience the topping differently or, more likely, there is variation from batch to batch. A little frustrating.

This tobacco could serve as reference as the gate between childhood and adulthood metaphorically speaking. I bought it 2 years ago while i was experiencing the ARO´s fever, that odd stage in which you act like a kid in a candy store, dismissing all what is also sweet but resembles anything adult like, traditionally alike. At that point (and since i can define my tastes as exotic and even proactively daring) i wanted to try something different, something that even if could bring a sweet touch will definitively be totally into other charts. Something which tasted totally opposite if not at least distant from the more conservative aromatic blends. Then, after researching I found that there was something that somehow resembled "Licorice", a very strange mix from my perspective since this is not faved by the majority of people. Dark flake scented was my option since "Blackpool" from Esoterica is absolutely difficult to obtain and is usually very expensive also.

Let me tell you aromatic lover, this is the portal to the adulthood for those that want to experience. And what it is like? Well, it is like in ancient times a sort of a full of emotion thrill, a rite of passing. It is all about Subtlety with caps included. If what youre searching for a ride at the town carnival, full of lights, emotions evoked by popcorn and cotton candy, this is not the thing for you. This is more likely like going to the woods with your elders to hunt. The first part of the ride is tranquil, peacefully like, you observe through the window the last traces of your childhood as the woods emerge, engulfing slowly but inexorably the wholeness of the trip and as the thing advances you find yourself within a world that is incredibly vast and powerful and you have to rely on your senses in order to understand how to proceed, how to capture the moment.

Innocence is over. Dark flake scented has a very strong tonquin, anis, licorice, little wine and prune smell, it is pleasant, you capture the essence of a tabacco that is full bodied yet tailed with a sweetness that seduces you. In the end we all have a child in ourselves no matter how hard we may be. I packed not a deep pipe with it but a small one since i knew that it had a potent kick of nicotine, and it was wise to do so. When you grab the flake it is dense like, very compressed mildly humid, once i rubbed it was ready to pack. Once in the pipe it looked-and-felt like very tiny leather ribbons. It takes a while to lit and generally it demands several lightnings to ignite, which is good as it may help you to tolerate the ever increasing nicotine kick.

The quality of the smoke denotes inmediately the quality of the tobacco. In here there are no tricks, no possibility to hide the bad quality over a truckload of casing and toppings. This is extremely good tobacco in the very traditional english sense, very old school. Curiously the strong smell present in the pouch is not noticed while smoking, the whole tonquin-licorice remains distant, very mild as an aftertaste while the tobacco displays his full bodied essence. No bites, no overheating, the smoke is thin and delicate and as such enters your palate. The first quarter is sweet, just like my metaphor on entering the woods, but as you proceed, the first thing you´ll notice is the nicotine kick, like when you take a deep breath while deep in the woods and next thing you notice is that youre on your own. This is pure subtlety my friend, there is nothing notoriously obvious in here, just traces of the background flavour and the further developing of the tobaccos, the ocassional whip slash from the burleys, the sothening whisper and adult sweetness of the virginias and the tranquil peace of the topping of the tonquin that remains as a distant protectour in your round to adulthood.

All in all a great experience, from start to finish, it requires patience for both feeling what you are getting both in terms of taste and nicotine and the full development from the whole conjunction of its terms. Perhaps this is a place where aromatic and english blends lovers can gather together for a cordial hunt.

Dark brown/black flakes are a little wet, they could use some drying.

‘Tin’ note has medium intensity, it smells of dark fired tobacco with a rose petal perfume together with a headier vanilla-like, tonquin note. While still floral it is a different kind of perfume from most Lakelands I have tasted which are more on the lemongrass side of the aromatic spectrum. It burns well and tastes of of dark fired tobacco, a little ashy, with a rose petal scent and traces of tonquin and liquorice.

If you like 1792, you might also like DFS which is more approachable and more polychromatic than the 1792 Flake. It is also a strong tobacco, good for a relaxed slow paced smoking, preferably in a small pipe, not one of my favourite Lakelands though and this is because of its strength which is too much for me, not its taste which I find wonderful.

Toned down with some bright or other Virginia, Dark Flake Scented is a superb tobacco with a wonderful rose perfumy smell. Perfect to scent your blends.

I received a few ounces of this in a trade. Seems fairly fresh in the bag. I chewed tobacco for several years, and the aroma of this smells exactly like Skoal Classic. I'm not even sure Skoal makes Classic anymore, I remember chewing it back in the mid-nineties.

Anyway, the long flakes rub out well, and my batch seemed to light fairly well. The topping seems to transfer to the smoke in it's true form. The only way I can describe the aroma, is a smoked rose witch hazel. It is truly unique!

Does have a decent nicotine hit. I wasn't a fan of the DGT with this. It seemed a bit sharp. If you are looking for a true Lakeland tobacco with a decent punch, give this a shot!

Dark Flake Scented;

Star Rating = 3.5;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 9;

Room Note = 9;

Flavor = 9;

Bite = 9;

Burn = 9;

After Taste = 9;

Raw Score = 54;

Rated Percentage = 90%;

Comment = Smooth, Medium Strength, Full Body Tobacco, has a little Fruity Flavor, has a slight After Taste.

I smell lavender & soapy but pleasant fragrances in this strong blend.

Dark Flake Scented is an in your face, full bodied, rich flavored Flake of notable strength, with a Tonquin essence. Despite its fullness, it is always smooth with a consistent flavor, aroma and creamy mouth feel, regardless of prep method, folded and stuffed, torn into strips, cut into small squares or fully rubbed out. No subtlety here, but a well behaved brute. Burns slow and cool all the way down. Full of Vitamin "N" but not over the top.

If you prefer the Tonquin Lake Flake style over the Florals and want true richness and fullness in a smoke this one will deliver in spades. If you do not like the Tonquin and strength combination then its best to leave it to those that do.

This is strong and full-flavored, as if you needed me to tell you that. When I bought it, it was called "Aromatic," but that would be a misleading description for most of us. The flavoring did not show up much in the pipe, being contrasted with the strong tobacco flavors, though you could smell the tonquin in the tin. I didn't really like the flavor of the tobacco, as it had the same hairspray-like quality I noted with Rum Flake, though not so much as to make the experience too unpleasant. Decent enough leaf overall; I'd gladly smoke it if I didn't have to go out of my way to get it.