Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Broken Scotch Cake

Appearance: A mostly rubbed out flake, predominantly orange/red in color. Fairly wide ribbons with some bits of flake still holding together.

Aroma: Nice Virginia aroma with a bit of top dressing. I?m not positive of the source, but it reminds me of licorice. It?s quite delicate in application.

Packing: Packs easily into any size or shape bowl. I happen to like it in a wider bowl, but it burns nicely even in a narrow stack

Lighting: Usual two match light. No problem getting a charring light going.

Initial flavor: The mild Virginia flavor jumps up right away, followed closely by the flavor additive. I still can?t be sure what I?m tasting, but it?s pleasant and unobtrusive.

Mid-bowl: This burns surprisingly cool, probably because of the wider cut. Also remains dry throughout the smoke. Can you say monochromatic? Very little nuance in the flavor.

Finish: Burns down to a clean dry ash with very little change in taste or strength. It leaves me wanting another pipe very soon, usually something else. Something stronger!

Summary: A good choice for the Virginia newbie, and for a breakfast smoke (if your coffee is also mild). Useful for hot days, as it stays cool, and doesn?t tax your palate. Excellent quality leaf.

I noticed the reviews for this tobacco tend to be of the “like it” or “leave it” type. This is very understandable, as the initial pipe was somewhat elusive. Taking note from several reviewers, I decided to hold off judgement until I was able to smoke a quarter of of the 16oz I had ordered. I did leave in the jar for 6-8 months until I could wait no longer to try this blend.

It is true, this is a very mild blend in flavor, aroma and nicotine. The bowl tends to start slightly spicy which can be misunderstood as a potential tongue biter, but this changes to a nicely creamy smoke. It does not bite, but if pushed hard, it could be a tongue tingler. The flavor shifts between subtle Virginia grass/hay and some elusively subtle sweetness. It is not a flavor bomb, but is deeply rewarding in its softness and the more you smoke over time the more the tongue can find the subtle shifts in flavor, in spicy to a toffee sweetness and then to a herbal creaminess.

While this is not my favorite, I do look forward to the next pipefull of this tobacco. Since I smoke outside only, I only occasionally get a room note and the smell on my beard is soft and gentle. I like this blend for everything it’s not as I have not had anything I can really compare it too and it rewards me for slowing down and enjoying my pipe. Again, this is not a flavor bomb and does require a little bit of time to atune to the flavor profile, but it is very rewarding for taking the time to do so.

Hope someone finds this helpful!

Edit: I must add a slight edit to this review as it is super important to ensuring you get the most from this tobacco. This tobacco will be over whelmed by a pipes previous cake. So when smoking this blend, to really allow it to shine, either dedicate a pipe or scrape down the existing cake in your pipe. Once this blend establishes itself in your pipe, all the subtlety of the blend will move forward and will be more consistent in its flavor. Don’t know how I missed mentioning this before, but it really needs to be mentioned. If you like going from dark rich heavy tobaccos, to lighter blends, then you will be baffled by why people like this blend. If you are able to set a pipe aside for mild blends or better, dedicate a pipe to this blend, then you have a much better chance of really enjoying what this blend has to offer!!!!

I divide the G&H tobaccos into two categories: The light brown tobaccos and the dark tobaccos. BSC is my favorite in the light brown range. It comes in a sort of pressed form which requires a little bit of rubbing, but you can pinch it up and load the pipe that way. It does require a bit of drying to bring out its better qualities, and it does have a slight bit of the G&H flavoring additive, or top dressing which I find in their light colored tobaccos, but much less than in, say, their Brown Flake or CR Flake. For me this tobacco has no bite and delivers what I am looking for in this type of tobacco which is the distinctive taste of Virginia. I buy it in bulk and smoke a bowl every other week or so as a very pleasant change from my usual Virginias. Highly recommended. Paddy.

This sample was a gift from a friend. It is mostly rubbed out tan medium ribbon with a few brown bits and some small hunks of flake that did not get rubbed out. Pouch note is slightly grassy with some earth. Hydration was maybe slightly on the damp side. I smoked it as delivered being careful not to overpack.

Smoked, this is a good straight Virginia with just a hint of Lakeland every now and then so you know it really came from G,H & Co. The smoking experience is mild. There is not much punch and the Virginias are good but not especially exciting. The flavor is mostly hay with a little sweet. It was easy to smoke slowly and it burned cool.

This is good and not challenging. I have no regrets. It is not likely to be something I will get, but I could smoke it all day if it were what I had. It is a solid 2.5 on the scale. For someone with a nicotine intolerance who wants a tobacco flavored smoke, this might be just the thing.

When I began smoking this was a favorite of mine. A very mild VA, it has the perfect moisture content for a quick light and a bowl that stays lit the whole time. Coarsely broken strips that easily pack, a fairly uniform reddish brown color, and a nice VA smell. Quality stuff and highly recommended for the beginning smoker or someone who favors a lighter blend every so often. Don't try to puff hard to gain more flavor. Take it very slow and you will be rewarded with a flavorful experience. If you are coming off a more powerful blend, sit with this one for a few days and you'll start to appreciate it more and more. I'm going through my cellared stash of tobaccos now as I probably can't buy any more and smoke it before I myself am ash, so most of my further reviews will be from aged tobaccos.

This is made from a base of broken medium Virginia flake, similiar to Samuel Gawith's Medium Virginia Flake.

To this fine tobacco, an interesting topping has been added. Some describe it as a Lakeland Scent, or perfume. I wasn't quite sure what to make of this at first, but I've since tried Cannon Plug, so it seems a little more normal. I haven't taken to the flavour of this tobacco as much as cannon plug, but it is applied much more lightly.

The topping is strongest, of course, on the charring light and mellows out fairly quickly, although it remains throughout the smoke. The topping doesn't mask a fine tobacco, however, and Broken Scotch Flake makes for a nice all day smoke for those with a sweet tooth, but no desire for the hot scented steam that is an American Aromatic.

This is another great blend by GH, and like just about all of their unscented blends, this does have a touch of lakeland essence to it. In terms of rating how strong that essence is, I would say it is a touch heavier than what it is in BB#2; otherwise, this is a fantastic virginia. The virginia leaf appears to be mostly of the bright variety and has heavy citrus and hay notes. This is very much like the Bright CR Flake, but with more lakeland sauce.

Like all the GH blends, it just won't bite. This is one reason I really like their blends; you can smoke these mindlessly on autopilot and still enjoy them. I would definitely rebuy this one and give it a solid 3 stars.

A mild smoke... but with a lot of body.. and a typical light g&h soapiness.. but light enough where it doesn't really bother me.. not complex at all.. but cool and easy.. lovely aroma..solid Virginia but no stand out flavor notes.. maybe toasty breadiness with a subtle sweetness.. and smooth floral undertones.. I love the cut.. reminds me of the cut of one of my favorites.. scottish cake ironically.. pleasant with nothing to complain about other than being one dimensional.. certainly pairs well with a warm beverage. Another contender for all day smoke.

Gawith Hoggarth - Broken Scotch Cake.

From the pouch I see a well broken cake, it's more like ribbons with only a few larger flake/cake like pieces in there. The smell coming from the bag is a very full Virginia one, it would be almost impossible not to be able to identify it as being so. The moistness of the rough ribbons is good and this helps it light well. The flavour of the smoke I think is a basic Virginia one. Grassy and citrusy without being too sweet. Instead of the Virginia sweetness there is an almost herby quality there which I find quite fresh. The nicotine is fairly mild, maybe far too mild for a nicotine smoker.

I wasn't really too enthralled to try this one, I assumed it might be a bit simple but it's the simplicity of the smoke that I enjoy. Three stars.