Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Grasmere Flake

I once bought a beautiful small full bent egg pipe from the estate case at the local tobacconist shop. It was manhattan branded, and after some research i learned it was made no later than 1904. This exquisite little flake pipe smoked beautifully, the very old briar delivering one of the coolest and most flavorful smokes of carter hall that ive ever experienced. Interestingly though there was the faintest note of something haunting to the flavor. An exotic, nearly-not-there something that i couldn't put my finger on, but that spoke of lifetimes ago. It beckoned to victorian drawing rooms and earl grey tea. At the time i could only liken it to a distant memory of essence of bergamot. It was beguiling, and then as i smoked more bowls it became a mere memory, and then, as things often are, it was forgotten. Grasmere flake jarred me back into that memory and sensation. It is potently scented and this translates into the flavor, but though the strength of this scent is heavy, the scent itself is dainty and oh so refined. Gentlemanly. It is almost opiumlike in its rose geranium glory. The tobacco base is well ordered and the essence is well married to it. A first rate flake of the medium to heavily scented variety. A credit to its class, and a fine example of the genre. Highly recommended if you are into that sort of tobacco. I can't say enough of how delightful the recognition of this scent was from that old briar. To the long dead owner of my Manhattan, i can say only, "Kudos, sir. Ive filled this pipe once again with something that can do justice to your discerning tastes".

Something of an iron fist in a velvet glove this one, as despite all the dainty flowers it still delivers an ample slug of vitamin N, which is just what one would expect from this estimable blending house.

In the packet I encountered a very strong rose scent, despite several days in transit to me in non-airtight conditions. This rose essence was not so strong in the smoking but would probably still be considered powerful by folks who are coming to this style of weed for the first time. I found it to be both sweet and soapy, and it allowed me to identify the rose constituent of more complexly flavoured lakelands. A quarter of the way down the geranium becomes more prominent, and gradually that too recedes to create a gently floral miasma of flavours that mixes nicely with the tobaco.

A bit more burley than I usually like but not so much that I don't want to smoke it. In fact, it works very well with the particular floral flavours of this tobacco. Mostly, this is a very honest blend, in that it delivers pretty much exactly what you would expect given its description and the well known character of GH&Co flakes. However, there is also the occassional pleasant diversion into greater complexity, where for a few moments the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

Reading the Turkish Delight comparisons I wasn't sure I was going to like this one (I can't stand Turkish Delight), but I have enjoyed working through my sample. For me, it doesn't quite match the appeal of Kendal Flake or Coniston Cut Plug but I am sure there is more than one lakeland lover out there for whom this will be 'the one'. Recommended.

Got a nice sample of this from a good friend. Thanks D.

This is a bit of a strange one for me. For the first third of the bowl the Rose and Geranium topping dominate the tobacco and I have to say that I don't much care for it at that point. Then, for the last two thirds, the Virginias and Burley catch up and I have to say that, all combined, it taste very, very good. I love this part of it. The Burley is especially good seeming to have a fair amount of sweetness to it. I guess I'll just have to suffer through the first third to get to the good stuff. It's worth it.

Medium all the way around. Burns very well when dry. Same in briar or cob.

This is for English - Lakeland aromatic lovers only. If you don't like these type of tobaccos, don't try it. Personally for me this is heavy aromatic with Chanel no 5 topping on the top 😊. One smoke and your briar will be ghosted forever. From other side I like it because this is something different. At least worth to try it.

Grasmere Flake is definitively on the rose and geranium side of things. When I received my 4oz bag, the tobacco was bursting with these floral notes. However surprising an encounter, it was, curiously, not unpleasant. It containing a clear majority of Golden virginias. After a few months in the bag, when the flakes started to separate from each other when I was manipulating them, I decided to rub the flakes out and transfer them into a jar and let it sit there for another number of weeks, to let the drying process continue. Now, the casing has toned down some, making the floral notes rather discreet, but nonetheless present, and, yes, still pleasant. The moisture level seeming almost ideal to me, I packed a bowl. My first impressions were similar with my experience of Kendal Flake. The casing does not truly transfer into the taste. It is there, but much more toned down. The main flavours are floral with some very light sweetness and the tobacco taste, mostly "hayish" Virginias, dominate. However, the tobacco being mostly golden leaf, it is more an unidimensional (but not boring or bland!)smoking experience than Kendal Flake was. I still like Grasmere Flake, but not as much as Kendal or Glengarry Flakes, for example. I will rebuy, as it is very good, but not as often as Kendal Flake.

I popped a one ounce sample of this blend right after finishing a container of Ennerdale Flake. I found my enjoyment of these blends to be pretty similar. One thing I can't do with any of these Lakeland blends is accurately describe the toppings. I don't know flower scents or the differences between them. I do know that I often smell perfumes and soaps that resemble the scents of various GH tobaccos. I guess this is why many americans refer to these blends as soapy.

So this is another heavily topped lakeland blend from GH. I would really love to try one of these with no trace of floral scent, but I don't think it exists. I can't really say how the Virginia/Burley base on these aromatic blends tastes since it is always overwhelmed by the topping, but I do know they won't bite regardless of how hard you try to make them. This is one common trait with GH tobaccos if you can stomach the toppings.

So far I will say Ennerdale is by far the most heavily topped of these blends and just the most in your face of them. Grasmere was a touch lighter and I found it a touch more enjoyable. I also like the fact that it didn't ghost everything within a few inches of it as Ennerdale is prone to do. I really enjoyed puffing both of these in cobs and found them to get tedious in my large meers. I choose not to use these types of blends in my briars for ghosting reasons.

Based on performance of the leaf, I have nothing bad to say. This, like many of the GH offerings, really comes down to what you think of the toppings. If you like the topping a lot (as I do Top Black Cherry) it deserves a four star. If you don't like the topping, you may feel compelled to give it a one star and talk about how it reminds you of urinal cakes (1792 Flake). In any case, from an objective point of view IMO, no GH (or SG for that fact) blend deserves less than three stars as the leaf is done so well and for much longer with more success than any other company out there.

I will leave this at three stars as the topping was alright to me and will further recommend that if you plan to try any of these blends start with the smallest amount you can buy, because if you don't like it, it will be hard to make it through more than a couple ounces.

I ordered some bulk of this one wanting to experience the "Floral" tobaccos which I had read about.

Opening the bag the scent I got was my mom's geraniums. The taste was Grandma's rosewater when I broke up a flake and tried it.

This is NOT something that I personally could see as an all day smoke but it is quite unusual and I found myself enjoying the experience much more than I originally expected.

Strength wise this one was much stronger than I expected with the burley's delivering a kick under the garden notes.

I've dedicated a cob to this and I look forward now to trying some of the others in this genre.

I have to say that I have had my eye on this one for awhile but was a little hesitant because of the English rose and geranium essences that has been applied. Some reviews call this floral fragrant and perfume but this is not perfume, it is floral somewhat flowery but really it is more like the entire planet is there much like walking through a garden rather than a flower shop or your grandmother's perfume. So if you are like me and enjoy these scented English style flakes don't hold off, give this one a try. The tobaccos do come through, the burley is slightly nutty with notes of damp earth. The VA's are dark fruit sweet with a note of grass and hay way in the background and a very light spice note that comes and goes too. The English rose and geranium essences blend very well with these notes and while they may overtake some of the subtleties in the tobaccos it makes for a wonderful smoke. Don't push this one too hard, it will turn acrid and bite if you do. Slow sipping brings out all the goodness and make for a well behaved smoke. It comes a little moist and needs a few minutes of drying after rubbing out. Room note will not win any awards, however. Recommended for those who enjoy a good scented flake.

I didn't even know that one could buy this in the U.S., but a friend in the U.K. sent me a pouch to try. I am not expert in Lakeland tobaccos at all, and I had up until trying this blend never even knew that floral scented pipe tobaccos existed. A little rubbing is required right out of the pouch in order to get a good burn, the moisture to me was quite high for a pouch tobacco, and the flake (actually pieces of flake) are slightly sticky to the touch. In order to avoid ghosting an expensive pipe, I first tried this in a cobb, then a meer. I liked it much better in the meerschaum. If puffed too vigorously, the floral scents mutate into a bitter garbage pile. But when sipped, the delicacy and pure "natural" flavor sings. Rose and geranium top what is essentially a nicely balanced Virginia blend. I have heard complaints that this doesn't burn well, but a half hour drying in 40% humidity seemed to help a lot. Once lit, I had no trouble smoking this to the bottom of the bowl, where it left a slightly sticky and cohesive layer of ash and a bit of dottle. This was an amazing change of pace but nothing I would smoke everyday. That being said, I finished the pouch in three days' time. 3/4 recommended.