Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Ennerdale Flake

Now, to be fair, this may well be the archetypal Lakeland tobacco around which all other Lakeland tobaccos orbit but I’m not getting much of a Condor or St Bruno feeling from Ennerdale Flake.

People have said that the flavouring is almond, vanilla, floral - yada yada ya. What I’m getting is that raspberry sauce you get from the ice cream van, liberally squirted over your ‘99 at the seaside and, to be fair, that comes through in the first 6 or so sips before it settles down to be a lovely smoke.

The flakes are those huge Gawith & Hogarth ones that they favour - nothing wrong with that - each flake is probably three pipes worth for me. I find that they do need a little drying at room temperature and it does need some relighting but I find that this helpfully slows me down enough to properly enjoy the stuff. If you smoke it hot and quick you lose the flavour after all.

The room note is pleasant and I am allowed to smoke this indoors. The flavour is enjoyably mild and the same with the nicotine - this doesn’t set my heart racing like a runaway train.

For me this could be an all day smoker but I think that half the fun with this is the flavour and smoking too often might mean I would lose sight of that, therefore I’ll add this to my “I fancy a bit of…” rotation for those times I fancy something different.

This is definitely an aromatic but it isn’t a synthetic flavour that you can taste three days after you’ve smoked it - it is subtle, it is sweet, it’s well worth a try; especially if aromatics aren’t your thing but you fancy something different every once in a while.

Let me start off by stating firmly that I normally detest aromatic blends. I just cannot understand the appeal. That being said this is hands down the best aromatic I have smoked. Maybe it's not even appropriate to call this a aromatic. With Ennerdale the topping works in concert with the natural flavor of the tobacco as opposed to covering it up. You will get the sweet earthy and slightly fruity flavors of the Virgina, as and the nutty, sweet, and woodiness from the Burley. These natural flavors are accentuated with the lakeland flavors offering notes of bitter orange, almond, dark fruit, and a very fleeting boozy note. Overall very nice flavors. I like to give this alot of dry time before smoking. The flake breaks apart and packs easily. I find it smokes hotter than I usually like.

My first foray into the dreaded world of Lakelands. I tried to approach this one with an open mind. First, the tin note. Yes, its slightly gross once youve read about all the unpleasant associations it might have. The presentation: they call it a flake but its quite rubbed out already. More like a shredded flake. Slightly moist. I packed without paying too much attention and the thing behaved very well. It has VERY forgiving burn characteristics. The first time i tried Ennerdale, maybe my expectations were biased, but i didnt find it as perfumy and ''aromatic'' as most people would have it. I found it pleasant and rather subtle (coming from someone who usually favors Lat blends...). On subsequent smokes i had to admit that it is quite perfumy after all, but not in an offensive way. I dedicated a cob to it so no ghosting problem at all. The room note is strong but pleasant, with some notes id describe as dark cherry. A welcome change of pace for me, a lovely tobacco, making me wonder at all the VERY polarized reviews out there...

This is a perfect Lakeland tobacco and if you want to taste and know what really is a Lakeland tobacco with its typical flavoring here it is! I mean that Ennerdale is the archetype prototype of the Lakeland (Kendal) tobacco and it is the archetype prototype of the characteristic Lakeland flavoring (I really don’t know the composition of this typical essence). A perfect flake with a good smell and an excellent burning. Even the nicotine content is perfect. In conclusion a really nice flavoring and a really good tobacco. For this reason in my personal system rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 9 and 3,5 stars. My review is about the tin version.

I understand the comparison to St. Bruno, take away the almond/vanilla flavor and add a prune/raisin one and you got St. Bruno! Now for the kicker, I do like this, like it a lot, would like to love it but can't. Why, one word, Tonqin! Why do they have to poison this beautiful tobacco with that God awful stuff? It adds a flavor of Pinaud Classic Vanilla, ick! If I were using it as an aftershave rub fine, but I would like to smoke it? ? Its not as heavy as 1792 but there's enough Tonquin to know it's there. If the Tonquin were absent I'd be in love with this tobacco! It's a shame because I like ever other aspect of it, cool, sweet, nice aroma, nice kick of vitamin N. Tonquin is a love it or hate it kind of flavor. It's not even an acquired taste, you either like it or you don't! As for being compared to Condor, never happen. Condor is a Honeydew flavor and is the light version of Rich Dark Honeydew by Gallaher. A tobacco I miss here in the states! (This Damn greedy country and their tariffs! ) Honeydew tastes like.....we'll honeydew! Tonquin is no honeydew my friends! Hey if you like Tonquin more power to you and I envy you. If you don't stay away!

Very pleasant. if you are interested in lakeland tobacco this one is a must try. I smoke it in a clay to avoid ghosting my briar. despite the very strong essence added to the flake, it retains an impressive degree of natural tobacco flavor. not something i would smoke regularly, but a nice occasional alternative.

The very essence of the 'British' style of pipe tobacco. Flavour is overwhelming if you don't like it, and very pleasant if you do. I found it to be an upscale version of packets like Mellow Virginia and St Bruno, with the same flavour but a bit more subtlety and less of a chemical taste.

I hate the "it tastes like soap" every time I read about a non Latakia English tobacco. I find them wonderfully floral and a great change for me. Grousemoor and Sam's flake are two of my favorites and both smell wonderful to me. I never tried Ennerdale because I was actually scared off by th vanilla and nut flavorings listed- just not my thing. Well I finally, after about 5 years Thinking about it bought a couple tins. One arrived unsealed, which always drives me crazy because I will usually let them cellar a while, so I tried it right away.

Well, it smells and tastes like "soap" before lit! But the flavor when it matters, lit is great. Tobacco is the main flavor, Virginias mostly to me, with some burley strength noted. The soap turns into a nice floral and, another often used adjective, perfume background. I don't notice the vanilla, but the floral scent is quite strong, and the Virginias are sweet and a smokey background from burley peeks in and out when I smoke it. Floral, soapy and perfume...yes. Real, quality tobacco...also yes.

This is NOT for everyone. I always believed flavored tobaccos are better for experienced pipers and I feel it's a disservice to tell new smokers to start there. But, if you were ever thinking of trying it, go for it. Just don't blame me if it disagrees with you and you hate it.

A 50grms pouch of bulk Ennerdale came to me through a friend from Kingsize, seems the only specialized pipe tobacconist still in Sheffield (UK). I gave my friend a list of 15 english tobaccos (mostly flakes) to choose, sadly the most part of them were not availabe (and we are talking of Samuel Gawith, Gawith & Hoggart, and the likes... incredible!). He was back to me with: Ennerdale Flake, Coniston Cut Plug, Walnut, Yachtsman Mixture (plug unavailable) and Germain's Brown Flake.

Ennerdale is one of the best-sellers in UK. A fine scented flake in the Lakeland tradition.

At the opening of the non-sealed pouch I was greeted by a strong perfume: certainly almonds, bergamot oil, flowers and who-knows what else. That kind of perfumes of old. The long and partially rubbed flakes have the right humidity for immediate smoking, and something tells me that better they are not dryed further. Smoked in a couple of narrow bowls: a sandblasted Savinelli Punto Oro shape no. 105, and a smooth Parker Dublin shape. The strong pouch smell is only partially imparted to the smoke, and the good quality of the leaf (mostly Virginia) develops in a steadily medium smoke with mainly citrusy notes, and some soap. Yes, I share someone else opinion that Citronella comes to mind.

No way to be bitten, but you must keep slow drawing under control, otherwise you will hardly be able to keep your small pipe in your hands...

Ennerdale has delivered me long, cool and satisfatory pipe experiences.