Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Glengarry Flake

An excellent Lakeland flake that is on the mild side of the spectrum both in terms of the floral flavoring and overall strength. On charring light an ever so slight honeysuckle like essence is detectable but this quickly dissipates, giving way to a straight forward Virginia smoke that fits nicely into that pleasant all day pipe tobacco type category. This flake is of the highest quality, rubs out easily and smokes perfectly. A small amount of dry time is recommended, but it still smokes well without. There's very little complexity with this one, but the sweet grassy flavor of Glengarry is undeniably superb. Highly recommended

When I first ordered this, early on in my pipesmoking career, I ordered it purely on the extremely flimsy pretext of having just watched the film Glengarry Glenross, proof enough that I'm still acting my shoe size and not my age.

My impressions, first time around, were a little disappointing, though my reasons for thinking so are shrouded in a haze of pipe smoke. This time round though, things are a little better. This one has grown on me slowly but surely.

Both the packet aroma and the room note, as with the flavour itself, are hard to pin down, maybe little hints of flowers sprinkled with early morning dew during a pleasant August break to the country, wiffs of oak and other such wonders of the English countryside. While not an easy pack or light, it is a lovely slow burner and a pipeful can last me over an hour on the one light. There is no tonguebite whatsoever, but I found it can be a little harsh on the throat. This so makes me want to camping in the wilds of Britain, just so I can sit round a log fire while my beans cook so I can smoke this and sing Jethro Tull songs. My only complaint is that I don't have enough.

My initial forays into GH pipe tobaccos has been a bit of a disappointment, especially after sampling their impeccable snuff. At last, I have found one that I can finally call home.

A dark brown broken flake, needing some rubbing out. Smell: leather, wood. Taste: rich, dark, dry, leather, dried fruit. Honey comes through subtly later. Excellent, but perhaps not for the faint-hearted.

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Glengarry Flake.

Note: one of my first reviews which I considered inane when I noticed it whist reading someone else's new review. So, I ordered a fresh pouch to re-post.

When I took it from my cellar I couldn't remember what sort of blend it was, Virginia, aromatic, VaPer, etc. But a quick whiff of the pouch soon rectified that query: Lakeland. The flakes are just below medium in colour, partially broken, and the moisture enabled fresh smoking.

It reminds me of what the fellers down the club my dad used to take me to as a boy smoked back then: old school. I'm unsure if the amount of Lakeland has adjusted, but like in the pouch's aroma, I get a fairly heady hit of Lakeland. It's not just perfume/flowers, the Lakeland gives a notable sweetness and piquancy, also. Next to the fuller topping the Virginia seems a bit middle of the road; I don't mean that negatively, the smoke's lovely, but the Virginia doesn't seem particularly special. The burn from it's slow, steady, and cool.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: I like.

Glengarry Flake? I like it very much. Highly recommended:

Four stars.

GH&Co. Glengarry Flake is a moderately flavored pure Virgina tobacco that comes in rather thick flakes. As delivered, the flakes are a little on the moist side for rubbing out so, either give them an hour or two of drying time or use the fold and stuff method. Either way, they light easily and burn cleanly with only an occasional relight being required.

How does it taste? In a word, delicious. For the first half of the smoke, the casing is at the fore. The flavor is sweet, fruity and slightly floral, with the Virginias adding some spiciness and dark notes. But this is not the old lady cologne or soapy taste that many dislike. Instead, the casing is rather subdued and intriguing.

About half way through the smoke, the casing mostly burns off, giving the choice Virginias a chance to shine. They are rich and plumy, spicy and earthy, with no grassy or hay taste. The burning tobacco produces a fair amount of creamy smoke which makes for a very pleasant room note. While one needs to smoke it with a slow cadence given it's strength, it won't bite if you puff hard although, as others have noted, to get the most out of it you should sip rather than gulp it. Towards the very end of the bowl, one detects a bit of a cigar note, but it's the taste of a good cigar.

I would recommend aging this tobacco. I purchased mine about a year ago and, while I liked it when I bought it, after sitting in a jar for a year undisturbed, it is much better.

My only criticism of GF is that the flavor is a little on the light side. Frankly, I wish it had more of the wonderful casing. But that's a minor criticism of what is a very solid tobacco.

I think GF would make an excellent introductory blend for those who want to explore the world of traditionally cased English flakes, or for someone who wants a sophisticated aromatic that still tastes like tobacco.

UPDATE: After another year of cellaring, this has become a "highly recommended" tobacco. Just wish it were more available.

I see that Glengarry Flake has had some mixed reviews - more evidence (if any was needed) of how widely people's tastes vary. In my view, it has all the advantages of the Lakeland flakes and none of the drawbacks. There is a casing of some kind, but it's pleasant and, to my palate, not ‘soapy' or ‘floral.' I don't usually share this common objection to the Kendal tobaccos anyway, with one or two exceptions (notably Ennerdale Flake). I've smoked quite a lot of Glengarry Flake, and never found the casing obtrusive or unpleasant. The quality and smoking characteristics are very uniform over time, too. I don't understand the description of it as 'gently aromatic': this isn't an aromatic tobacco in the usual sense of the term.

I find that Glengarry Flake lights well, burns slowly says consistent all the way down the bowl, doesn't leave behind any unpleasant residues, and has a respectable room note. It's not murderously strong, either. A good, slow, cool all-day smoke for the flake lover. I would say that it's on a par with G & H's Brown Flake and Louisiana Flake, but subtly different.

'Breathsmoking' is the way to get the best out of this tobacco. The more gently and slowly you take it, the better it is. At its best, it's very, very good, IMO. I'm inclined to recommend Glengarry Flake highly. Some people clearly dislike it, but it's well worth a try, I think.

Summary: taming the Virginia flake by making it into a light aromatic, this flake smokes easily.

Perhaps the English blenders want to show us what a good aromatic would be like with "Glengarry Flake," a Virginia flake of mixed brown and bright varieties which gets a treatment of honey, liquor, and Lakeland-style flavorings to spin its flavor toward an aromatic direction without overwhelming the malt and grain flavors of the Virginia mix. This one takes a long time to light but once it starts, will not go out, smoking down to ash dust over a couple hours of a light mixture of pleasant flavors.

Beautiful sticky flakes covered in honey with a lovely floral-honey taste that compliments the top grade tobaccos brilliantly. The taste of this delicious flake reminds me of fresh clover honey. The flakes come a shade moist; however, dry quickly. Easily rubbed out or chuffed out into chunky ribbons of pure smoking pleasure with a light and easy burn. This baccy is an excellent all-day blend, and one that I would highly recommend to any that wish to give the Lakeland Genre a go. Cheers

Another excellent Lakeland scented tobacco. Scenting here is mild – one of the mildest scented Lakelands. It is sweet and complex, I could say it reminds me of roses, pine cone, freshly mown grass, earth, honey. What they do at Gawith Hoggarth’s with tobacco scenting is amazing.

Glengarry Flake comes at perfect moisture, rubs out very easily, takes to light very easily and burns very slow. It produces an immensely satisfying smoke where the natural earthy tobacco taste - as with all Lakelands the tobacco taste is always there and it’s exquisite- of the Virginias combines perfectly with the mild and sweet scenting. Taste-wise it’s close to Ennerdale though much less scented and milder in strength.

Glengarry is not only one of the milder Lakelands as regards intensity of scenting, it is also one of the milder in strength, on the mild side of medium I’d say. Because of this it can easily be smoked all through the day and it's the ideal tobacco for an introduction to the Lakeland style.