Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Broken Scotch Cake

This is my favorite tobacco when I am sipping a dram of the single malt. It just goes so well with its namesake. When first I opened the can I was a little dismayed. This can't be right...it is all the same color in there. The can note is not significant smells kind of like sweet tobacco none of the soap and perfume you get with some of the other Lakeland blends. It burns well and smokes well. I would smoke it all day, but it is pricier than my regulars so it is reserved for the weekend. And I am working for the weekend. It is also very nice with a bold cup of tea. Try it. Slainte!

Others have touched upon the classic Lakeland soap taste they experienced with this blend. I may have gotten the ?bottom of the barrel? (or ?the top of the barrel?) in my tin as all I could taste was the overwhelming presence and taste of soap and perfume in several bowls in several different pipes from beginning to end. I never tasted any tobacco flavor. Perhaps this is a quality control issue and the tobacco in my tin was overly scented but I won?t be trying it again.

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this tobacco 1.00 out of 10.

I recently discovered Broken Scotch Cake and I'm impressed with its quality and flavor. I love the creamy smooth taste and the gentle citrus tang. I don't find the flavor as mild as advertised; I would call it medium. Fans of Bosun Cut Plug and Conniston Cut Plug might find it a little too mild in strength. This could be a wonderful all-day smoke, if that's what you're looking for. I really like GH blends, particularly the natural ones like Bright CR Flake and Brown Flake. I think BSC is as good as the aforementioned blends. I wish it was made in flake form, but the coarse cut burns slow and even, so it's not a huge deal. I wonder what a little perique would do for it. I'll get back to you.

My bulk purchase consisted of nicely prepared flakes ~ 6" long x 1.5" wide of brownish VAs with some golden birdseyes. The moisture content was much < my preference and resulted in the tobacco crumbling in the pouch and especially during packing. This might have been older stock from my supplier but I couldn't bring it back to life. Normally, I don't rub out my flakes. It still smoked cool and dry without a hint of bite and was easy to light and keep lit. In addition, family felt that it had one of the better room aromas for a VA flake. It was mild enough for an all day smoke but failed my taste buds. I sensed a soapy undertone to the creamy, smooth taste that just spoiled the experience. Although not nearly as prevalent as with their Ennerdale Flake, perhaps this is a result of G&H processing or the VAs from Brazil or Zimbabwe that may be common to both blends.

Everything you’ve read in other reviews is true, so I’ll attempt to not repeat what others have said. For me, BSC has one characteristic that takes the smoke from bland/boring to enjoyable: texture. Once it gets going, BSC will coat your mouth in cool, creamy smoke. If you’re a beer drinker this reference might ring true for you as it does for me: it kind of reminds me of Boddington’s or some other cream ale. Not much to speak of in terms of depth or nuance of flavor, but the creaminess makes it pleasurable to consume. I was not at all impressed the first time(s) I smoked BSC. In fact I was downright disappointed in light of the other fantastic GH blends in my cabinet, most of which I count among my favorites. But taking it for what it is, I can now say I enjoy the smoke as a simple, think-nothing-of-it change of pace. 2.5 stars.

This is a good VA. It was designed to be a very mild smoke and GH has accomplished that. The bright VA's provide a very light grassy and citrus note. There is a slight floral note but GH likes to use VA's from Malawi and I find that they have a slightly floral flavor much more so than VA's from the US. The flue cured portion also had a slight woodsy/fresh saw dust taste that seemed to come and go. This is far from a complex VA but still enjoyable. The VA's are sweet and never got harsh, bitter, or cigarette like in any way, even when pushed. Don't push this blend, however, the notes that I got from the first puff are all I got so slow and steady keeps the bite away. Not much nic in this blend either. It will not satisfy a craving but I don't think that was the intention here. It is wonderful as a first pipe of the day. I preferred it with a cup of Darjeeling tea as coffee overpowers the flavor profile. It is also great as an afternoon smoke on days off. I am an outdoor only smoker and now that summer here is underway I enjoy a lighter blend in the afternoon. This fits the bill quite well. I did not get any "lakeland sent" as noted above I think the slight floral note is from the VA's and it did not ghost any of my pipes. There was something there that I could not quite put my finger on and so I am leaning toward an extremely mild top note. This may also be the reason for the very pleasant room note. This will not make one of my regular rotations but I think I will pick up an oz. or two occasionally for the late summer months and to smoke around others with such a pleasant room note.

This tastes like floral soap. Which stays in my mouth long after smoking. My pipes also needed the salt alcohol treatment to remove the ghosting.

Didn't care for it at all.

I think this mild scotch cake is an excellant entry into the Va tobacco world. Similiar to Davidoff 'Scottish Mixture", and a few other mild scottish/scotch mixtures, even She Who Must Be Obeyed likes this room note. Light and airy where her exact words. Out of the mouths of Babes..... Lights well, smokes cool, mild scotch flavor to go with a tobacco taste that is very satisfying. This tin has all but disappeared; time to order LOTS more. It shows va characteristics from the char. Bermuda hay, mixed with lespodesia (sp) alfalfa. Grandpas farm cutting time. And, in the back, is that damned juicyfruit taste. Gotta love it. This is a Va type that is a good smoke at any time.

This is a pretty solid tobacco... The first half of a bowl is generally so-so - it's good, but not great. It's very much hindered by that sort of soapy lakeland flavor.. I don't really know what's so keen about that perfumey taste, but it's thankfully light. Getting down to about a quarter of the way to half way into the bowl, though, that perfumey flavor dissipates into a wonderful, smooth, tasty flavor emerges and the Virginia really shines.