Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Ennerdale Flake

Continuing my foray into the world of Lakeland tobacco's I came upon this pleasing flake.

Greeted with thick strands of a mottled brown and black flake flecked with yellow, it is highly satisfying to rub and mould the mixture into a medium to large sized pipe.

The immediate aroma from the unburned flake is that of pineapple, perhaps with traces of other sweet fruits.

Like many flakes it took awhile to start burning to my satisfaction, but once combustion has properly begun the first impression was of a rather mild, cool, insipid smoke. However, the strong fruity tastes soon emerged as the tobacco heated up.

Overall the mix burned a little hot with a background dry spiciness flavour akin to perique. Never harsh, however, this smoke gradually improved down the bowl and it was disappointing to finish early. I was personally unable to detect either vanilla flavours, or the "soapy" floral overtones one reads so much about with Lakeland blends.

This tobacco was a very nice suprise and one I will certainly be returning to again.

Ennerdale Flake combines the talents of two of its kinsmen, Scotch and Kendal Flake (imho). It has the all the floral qualities of Kendal and the wonderful sweetness of Scotch Flake, and as such, is a bit much for my regular consumption. It is truly an elegant smoke, however, and as noted by the pipestud, the flavouring of this tobacco is not at all like a cased aromatic--which is to say that it smokes like a premium Virginia flake should, with the added bonus of an unusual share of natural sweetness and an unforgettable bouquet that goes along with it. Nonetheless, I don't see myself smoking this blend other than as an occasional treat.

Another great G&H flake. Not quite as rich or as full as Brown Flake but much sweeter. I've read and been told by some British tobacconists that this is a flake preferred in England over all other flakes. I can see (and taste) why, but you need a sweet tooth here. Unlike many aromatics, this does taste like tobacco and is reasonably dry smoking thoughout.

If you like sweet, fruity flakes like St. Bruno (which has a thicker flavor but smokes more wet) or Condor long leaf (which has a similar flavor but is a lighter leaf), you should try this.

This is a rich tasting, scented flake. It's not hot, but I would recommend not breaking the flake much here, as that can give it an edge. It has a nice full, zesty (not like the sometimes hot golden virginia variety) almost spicy, fruit taste. It is a desert blend (but not exclusively), yet satisfying enought to smoke again during the day. The touch of burley keeps it cool and that matured virgina sweetness keeps it tasty.

No words can describe how good this tastes all the way to the bottom of the bowl. (The only thing this flavor vaguely reminds me of, is in the old days I smoked Edward's Rum Toddy -- a burley based blend with virginia added and essence blended with a fragrance call "Bowl of Fruit" (BFL). The European formula for the original BFL was lost to cost in the late 70's, and Edwards substituted it with "English Aroma", "Cherry-A", and something else ("Vanilla-B"?). Still good if special blended but not the original same.) The essence here in this flake is like the original I recall from BFL. Mouth watering!

Preparation & Burn: 5/10 Moist flake, hot burn unless dried a bit.

Taste: 13/20 I don't know what the fuss is about -- it tastes good, but the toppings aren't overpowering. Not sure why people often cite it as being the strongest Lakeland scent. Can't see why it's so polarizing. Grousemoor? Sure. Ennerdale? Fairly middle of the road!

Mildness: 8/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. Not much nicotine!

Total: 26/40

I don't know why it took me so many years to try this one. Probably some bad experience in the past with some odd flavoured Lakelands that I had sampled by the bulk (with the recurring result ranging from "meh tobacco with soapy flavour" to "downright nasty"), or experiencing the Lakeland ghost in too many estate pipes I have tried, or simply a parallel with other traditional ultra-flavoured British tobaccos that I really don't care much for.

Anyway... By a whim, I grabbed a tin at my tobacconist a few days ago. And now I am cursing myself at not having done so before: I wasted so many years.

Granted: I could never smoke this stuff on a regular basis, it would grow tiresome rather quick, so it's better kept as a fun change of pace. Yes, it's overwhelmingly flavoured. And no, I would never put this stuff in a briar: my two meerschaums will do.

That said, it's one of the loveliest aromatics I have ever tasted. And I very very rarely smoke aromatics of any kind. The tin aroma is intoxicating: like Earl Gray tea plus an array of other subtle nuances. Vanilla? Almonds? Hints of flowers? Liquorice? Delicious. And no, not soapy at all. Some other Lakelands I have tried in the past had a note of washing machine detergent. This one is not soapy: it simply is as powerfully flowery as it could be, with those incredible notes of bergamot on top of all. Beautiful. But my scepticism towards aromatics in general is due to a simple reason: the tin aroma might be lovely, but usually they taste like hot air. Not this one. This is a fantastic Virginia flake, and you can both really taste the flavoring AND the tobacco, in alternating puffs. Really, it's a match that seems so unlikely that it actually works.

For a Lakeland flake, it packs and burns like a dream, and it's so creamy, velvety, smooth, easy to smoke, with never a touch of tonguebite. Nicotine strength is quite light compared to other Lakeland flakes. It's not explicitly sweet (there are several Virginia flakes with a much more sugary taste, around there), on the contrary it's delicate, hayish (not grassy, which is a note that I detest), slightly nutty. And with that weird flavoring interplaying so well with the taste of the leaf.

I am a convert now: this is a great tobacco, absolutely unique. I restrain myself from giving it a top rating only because I can't picture myself smoking this regularly. But I'll gladly revisit it once every few months.

Ennerdale for me is a high quality aromatic. Very different from those aromatics with heavy casing. This tobacco has a great Virginia base, burns a little hot but can be managed. I get those spices from the Virginia and most of the time those delicate floral essences(a little soapy sometime), then some almond taste and for me nothing else. For the Virginas used it is a 4 star, overall a 3.5

A lot of reviews here but feel I have something to add. Yes this blend has ample floral essence, yes it is strange if you've never tried it before. That being said, I now smoke this daily. A couple tips for enjoying.

DRY IT OUT. I lay mine out in a big clump to reduce surface area and shuffle the deck of flakes as it were a few times for a day. Then I place all the flakes in a large Tupperware to normalize for a few days. Then repeat until the flake is just a touch moister than I would want it to smoke.

RUB IT OUT. Burns great rubbed out. As a whole Flake I couldn't get it to light Worth a crap.

Smoke a few bowls (in a cob if you care about ghosting) before making your decision. The first half of the bowl is pretty intense. After that the floral dies down quite a bit and you get a wonderful interplay between the virginias and the essence. The smoke is super creamy with flavor for days. Really good in summer and damn good with some single malts or iced tea.

I find this the smoothest of all the scented Lakeland flakes. Like a perfumery in your pipe. A very fine, not nuanced, pure Virginia flavor morphed with a field of wildflowers. I don't detect the Burley at all. It says it's there so I believe the blender, but I can't taste/feel it.

Actually, it is wildflowers combined with Almond. Think Amaretto and some kind of Pinaud, but in a good way.

Aromatic smokers used to the artifical esters in American style aros ought to try this at least once, for despite all the flavorings, it never seems artificial. And, further contrasting American aros, this flake cannot be made to bite.

Only negative for me is it doesn't actually have the N level which I like, only mild to medium, which is my only reason for docking it a star. Oh, and it is not really complex, but none of the Lakeland flakes are particularly complex.

There's so much sweet, natural flavoring here that blending in a little Kendal Kentucky for strength works quite well, you can't taste the KK at all (a great tobacco in its own right).

To me, Ennerdale Flake is the quintessence of a soapy blend (the typical Kendal scent). Carefully selected and refined tobacco and a memorable flavouring that made it a perfect tobacco for the first smoke of the day. 4,5/5 in my personal rating system.