Tobaccos Samuel Gawith - Scottish Autumn Flake (Four Seasons)

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peter Piper (41)	2014-02-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is probably one of the easiest reviews I have ever written.

Virginia, mostly gold and light brown, pressed into coarse flake: check.

Nose is sweet and mildly honeyed: check.

Composition is perfect, easily rubbed out and lit: check.

And then just a beautiful wave of ripe, smooth, sweet Virginia flavour of the highest order. Simple and yet magnificent; simply magnificent?

Samuel Gawith have done it again, a must-try for all true Virginia lovers.

Highly recommended.

31 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2014-11-15		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Typical lemon to bronze colored flakes with a tin note of basic fine Virginia. Easy to fold or rub out, with no excessive drying time needed. I did transfer the contents to a ziplock after I noticed the tobacco drying rather quickly in the opened tin.

This is almost a BBF-meets-Dunhill Light Flake for me. The slight honey fruitiness of Light Flake and the robust tang and maturity of BBF, with its mellow darkness and rich flavor. Sam Gawith is the McClellands of the UK, with Virginias unparalleled by their competitors. They taste different but they are uniformly excellent. This one is no exception. It starts off sweet and mildly tangy with that slight honey and light fruit combo and then ascend to more robust territory, with that SG "zing" that BBF and FVF contain. This more leans more toward the mature and mellow of BBF rather than the boisterous earthy character of FVF. Not as complex as BBF but a bit more so than the Dunhill, the combination of the two brings the Dunhill closer to my wheelhouse. But not nearly as closely as BBF, which is one of my mainstays. This will be an occasional smoke but should be tried by all straight Virginia aficionados. It might just be the perfect one for someone.

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3019)	2015-01-29		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

There's an ever present light honey topping throughout the smoke, but it doesn't detract from the fairly grassy, lightly earthy Virginias. It's tart and tangy, slightly acidicly citrusy with a hint of tangy, fermented darker fruit, and has a little wood, bread, and slight floral note. There are several light Virginias mixed with a darker one, which takes a back seat to the lighter leaves. The flake is easily manageable, and needs very little dry time. Burns at a slow to moderate rate and requires several relights, but it smokes cool and clean with just a minute amount of moisture at the finish. The flavor is mostly consistent from start to finish. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a step past that mark. Has a slightly more that a mild nic-hit. Barely has any rough edges. No bite, no harsh spots, and has a lightly lingering, pleasant after taste and room note. An all day smoke. Three and a half stars.

-JimInks

25 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2075)	2014-02-10		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Samuel Gawith - Autumn Flake.

A similar construction to Winter Time Flake, and the moisture's anomalous for Sam G', it isn't soaking!

Lighting's easy and all the way it burns slow and steady. The taste of Autumn is sweet, fruity, rich, and ripe. The smoke's quite thick for a Virginia, nice and cool, without a bite to be had.

Nicotine: mild to medium. Room-note: pleasant.

Autumn Flake? Four stars:

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

15 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Motoyoshi (68)	2015-05-21		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

It's hard to write a review about one of your favorite tobaccos. You want to do it justice by conveying the utmost pleasure it brings you with a smoke. Ultimately, I doubt myability to convey my enthusiasm for this blend.

Popping the tin you get a standard non-uniform SG flake. Thin strips of rusty red and sunset orange. Moisture is comparatively lower than most flakes from the company and breaks up easily (despite being a roll and stuffer).

Hard for me to describe the smell but it has essences of sangria, blood oranges, hay, grass, honey and so much more. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a slight casing but it doesn't matter to me. I love this stuff.

What a lovely VA flake. Smooth and tangy with citrus high notes and deep fruit medium and low notes. Truly a versatile Virginia covering octaves of flavor. This profusion of tangy smooth sweetness builds throughout the bowl and ends in a delightful whirlpool of VA goodness.

Yeah, I may be praising it a bit too much :) Interesting thing is that I have a tin of Dunhill Light Flake from 10+ years ago and it tastes very similar to the Scottish Autumn Flake. Keeping that in mind, I can only imagine what this stuff will taste like 10 years in the tin despite being this fresh. I hope they decide to make this in 250g.

Pipe Used: cobs, mortas, briars and meers

Similar Blends: Like a mixture of [#1005] Samuel Gawith - Best Brown Flake, Dunhill - Light Flake, Ilsted - Own Mixture Golden Flake ...and then some magic.

11 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cobman (15)	2015-08-06		Medium	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

Ater 40 years of pipe smoking, I have finally found Nirvana...the ultimate pipe tobacco. This is what I have been looking for all my life. This stuff is so good it could make me give up my search for a meaningful relationship. I am in love.....

I bought this on a lark because it was the last tin of good tobacco on the shelf at the local beer/liquor/tobacco shop (mostly the first 2...). Their tobacco stock is limited to mostly cheap drugstore blends, and lots of cigarettes, but he always keeps a few random tins of higher end tobacco around for the occasional connoisseur. I felt sorry for the tin, and took it home.

When I opened the tin, like a happy puppy dog licking my face, the aroma of top quality Virginia was all over me. It was an alluring aroma of hay, dark sweetness, a bit of citrus, and just good tobacco. I was thinking, "There is no way this stuff could taste as good as it smells." I looked it up online and it is touted as being 100% Virginia tobaccos, with no flavorings or anything else added. It was hard to believe all of these complex aromas were coming just from Virginia. It looked like nice course-shredded flake. The moisture was perfect...not dry, or wet. It felt nice and springy, and loaded easily. It also lit well, and from the very first puff, I was transported to Tobacco Heaven. First impressions: marvelous sweetness, not a condimental or sugary sweetness, but more like a natural sweetness, a little tangy citrus in the background ( no doubt from Yellow Virginia), a nice mellow musky, bready taste (probably from the Red Virginia), and a smooth, silky mouthfeel, like Corinthian leather. The tastes played off each other to create complex nuances that defy description. Incredibly satisfying. The taste never changed, all the way to the bottom of the bowl, and it burned to nothing but grey ash. No dottle at all, and only one relight, when I tried to squeeze the last bit of smoke from it. I was sad when it ended. I was wishing I had used a bigger pipe.

The really strange thing is that there was absolutely no catsupy aroma at all, as in all other Virginias I have smoked. I have smoked a lot of tobacco in my 5+ decades of living, but this is by far the very best I have ever experienced. This will have a permanent place in my tobacco rotation. I can't wait to try the 3 other blends in the Four Seasons Series.

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Ozark

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Local Beer Store.

Similar Blends: The closest I can think of is Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake, but this is in a class by itself..

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2017-02-11		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This has some nice flavors, but also has a couple of characteristics that I don't much care for. Very tangy citrus notes and a touch of grass, a modest sweetness with darker fruit flavor. Some of the sweetness is an addition. The tang can be a bit sharp at times on the retrohale and the burn is a little inconsistent offering wispy smoke at times and fairly thick smoke at others. A decent smoke, but not entirely to my liking.

Mild to medium in body. Medium in taste. Added sweetness is very mild. Burn is fair.

Pipe Used: MM Marcus, Country Gentleman, Mark Twain

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Berzerker (28)	2016-08-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is a superb straight virginia. No bite or harshness. It tastes very similar to Cabbies Mixture but without perique, in fact it may actually be exactly that. Either way, a fantastic smoke with depth and complexity. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Svenborg

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Samual Gawith Cabbies Mixture but without perique..

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2016-04-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Smooth, creamy VA domination with a touch of a floral note. Spicy tingle on the retrohale. Flavor and strength build as you work through the bowl. No harshness. Burns clean; moisture is perfect out of the tin.

Pipe Used: BR

Age When Smoked: Recent purchease; no tin date.

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2016-03-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I found this the most enjoyable of the 4 Seasons collection with a great natural VA sweetness. Easy to fold and pack and light without the need for relights. Burns evenly and cool without condensation. Great smoke!

Pipe Used: various briar bowl sizes

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: pipes & cigars.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Young Piper (304)	2016-01-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

While I prefer McClelland Virginia's to SG, Autumn Flake was a really nice surpirise. I agree that AF is much closer to BBF than FVF to my tastes. Not as heavy in flavor as those two in body and strength but has a lighter citrusy taste. This flake is actually hard for me to characterize since my usual McClelland favorite blends aroma and style of processing is so different and I think that's why I really enjoyed this one. A slow burn is ideal, almost letting the bowl go out brought a medium strength and cool smoke which would indeed make for an enjoyable sunny Fall day strolling companion. AF is a solid 3 star blend and may even mature with age leading to a 4th star, I bought three tins so it will be interesting to check back in a year. Awesome artwork too!

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-10-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is my third out of the four season collection blends.I waited for the Autumn to come so i could try it as recommended by the blender!when the tin cracks a nice smell comes out.citruses,dark fruits accompanied from some sweet notes.the flakes are brown with some bright notes,proper in moisture and very manageable either to rub or fold.i tried both and i noticed the folding method was better.lights with some effort(less if you rub it)and needs several relights.while smoking the pleasure is fitted in the Autumn mood.dark fruits woods and tangy notesare dominant.citruses and grass notes come after but not tonned down a lot.some sweet notes also are present without subtlimating the tobacco flavours.perhaps some sugar or honey topping is added.the flavours taste very natural and combine very well each other.burns cool and a bit faster than other SG flakes with some moisture being created.no tongue bite present.the room note is ok and the nicotine level almost medium.the aftertaste is pleasant.an all day blend that pleases every virginia lover!totally recommended.

Age When Smoked: Straight from the tin

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Cumarinophil (108)	2015-04-11		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

If you are familiar with Best Brown Flake, this could be called “Best Bright Flake”. Orlik Golden Sliced in color, without additional casing, fuller and bolder. I cannot say how this differs from Golden Glow though. As with all Virginias monitoring the temperature while smoking is essential for it not to bite, because then it doesn’t. Unbelievable pleasures can be achieved so simple and pure, leaving you completely satisfied any time of the day.

These guys at Samuel Gawith definitely know their Virginias! Thank you Bob, again.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2014-07-24		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is the 4th of the Four Seasons line that I have tried. As with all the others in the series, this one is of a high quality leaf. This one comes at the right moisture level to smoke right out of the tin, no drying time needed here. YMMV of course. The thin flakes are easy to break up and stuff into the pipe. It lights easily and stays lit with hardly any effort. The nicotine level is about right in the middle of the road. You may detect a slight sweetness to this, but hardly anything that would come close to being cloying in any way. Sit back and reach for the bottle of Scotch and you will have yourself a fine smoking experience. Highly recommended whenever you can get your hands on a tin or two.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_german (309)	2017-06-03		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A thought before the review: the descriptions of all Four Seasons flakes say these blends are from a collaboration including DTM, which is a subsidiary of DanPipe. How come it took four years for these blends to make it into DanPipe's shop after the blends were released in the rest of Europe and even in the US?

That mystery aside, opening the tin I get slices of medium brown mottled with bright, and a wonderful scent of aged VA with a citrus sauce--probably orange. Very well done though. This is the wettest of the Four Seasons flakes, but still quite a bit dryer than Sam Gawith's usual products. Ready to stuff from the new tin, I would say. The slices are thin enough that they can be easily fold-and-twisted, which gives a very slow smoke but leaves some dottle for me. Rubbed out, the flavour is the same: sweet, very slight grassiness, lots of niceness. The room note is as usual for a VA, improved somewhat by the orange topping or sauce.

Overall, this is the kind of VA Flake I enjoy most. Heartily recommended.

Pipe Used: Stanwell Viking, db Mayflower

Age When Smoked: 5 months

Purchased From: DanPipe, Lauenburg, Germany

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Full Virginia Flake, Orlik Tobacco Company A/S - Richmond Navy Cut, Ilsted - Own Mixture Golden Flake, Dunhill Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	THROATHIT (38)	2016-03-24		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A great selection box of fine virginias. The tobacco to my tastes has a topping of some kind. I get a mildly floral honey taste but the wide spectrum of virginias which seem to cover most tastes the tobacco can offer is only enhanced by it. The flake is a nice cut and not wet at all. I simply pluck and roll in the hand and this is all it takes to make a pipe load. Lighting is easy and burning is consistent. The tobacco is robust and nicotine is in good supply. I do rate this tobacco as It has never left me wanting. If you like sweet earthy virginia with citrus and grassy fruits then give this a go. I got a ten gram sample from GQ Nottingham and was pleased that I had four nice smokes with ease.

Pipe Used: various briars

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: G Q Tobacco Nottingham U.K

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (632)	2015-04-06		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I think Samuel Gawith makes the finest Virginias across the board and this one is no exception to that statement. I enjoyed this tin and have gone back and forth as to whether I should give it three stars or four stars as I have already bestowed Four stars on FVF and BBF.

So the thought process is, are they the same? No. There is certainly a different twang to this Virginia than the aforementioned duo. I find the Virginias to be a little tangier than the other two and perhaps, there is a slight topping as others have suggested. It does come off as sweet hay with maybe a touch of fermented cider.

The second consideration is whether the differences make this blend any worse than the other two. Definitely not. There is room for all three of these fantastic Virginias in a rotation.

With that, I am hanging four stars on yet another Sam Gawith Virginia.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Reagold (29)	2021-04-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Samuel Gawith deserves all praise for their unique Virginia, wich is, like the blender, really one-of-a-kind.

This said, I always find their flakes tricky: hard to fold or to rub, hard to pack, hard to keep light and hard to burn evenly. Still, it's worth it.

This really resembles a lighter (and more "civilized") version of BBF. I enjoyed it very much.

Age When Smoked: at lest 5 years old

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Best Brown Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TobaccoGonSPM (9)	2019-10-11		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

It comes in beautiful golden/bronze colored flakes, without the usual SG moisture level. SAF tin notes are the usual from Virginias with an extra touch of honey. You get hay, citrus, dark fruits, little earthiness, floral notes and honey.

Once in the pip lit it gives a very sweet velvety smoke, with warm fresh bread flavor, almost 100% natural. I detect here and there some kind of honey/brown sugar flavor added. Also this Virginias are mildly tangy providing citrus, little dark fruit and hay flavors, little earthiness and light spice. You get a very flavorful and fragrant smoke. The flake is easy to pack fold and stuff method and easy to rub out, with the right moisture level. Burns slow but can get hot if you push it.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Punto Oro, MM Diplomat Apple

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2018-02-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is an excellent straight virginia flake. It falls between best brown and Full Viginia Flake. Closer perhaps to FVF. There is perhaps, a very VERY mild honey casing. But its very subtle. Drier out of the tin than many Gawith flakes this is a delight to smoke.Smooth, never bites, and is very forgiving in terms of staying lit. The flavor has grass notes, but also a touch of earthier fig or dried prune tastes. Its simply top notch and its shame they wont continue it.

Similar Blends: danish pipe shop.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pencils (57)	2017-11-16		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I am a confessed novice to the world of virginias. Having struggled to appreciate the grassy and hay - like, and the cigarette - like quality of many, this is a revelation. Autumn Flake is utterly outstanding, and a new essential to my rotation.

I have no hesitation in commending this to anyone wanting a full taste, easy packing, lighting and show stopping smokes. A winner in large and small bowl sizes, and a lingering aftertaste with lemon and honey.

Works best when dried a little, as it bites when too damp. I would love to wax lyrical about comparable blends but my inexperience with virginias prevents me, but I have no problem with naming this among the finest purchases I have made since taking up the pipe 25+ years ago.

I have cellared multiple tins if that is any recommendation.

Pipe Used: Several

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: GQ Tobaccos

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Volcán (2)	2017-08-08		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Very nice flake! It has a little -barely perceptible- nuts scent that combine really good with the well matured Virginia's Is sweet and very bodied. Full flavour and easy to smoke (never relights needed). The nicotine amount is perfect: I can get satisfaction burning this tobacco! (and Im a Latakia lover... ) So no more words needed (applause, applause...)

Similar Blends: SG - Navy Flake without the Latakia.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Christrom (34)	2017-06-18		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I'm sat here on a very warm summer night and this tobacco is just burning away excellently. Tons of deep hay flavour with a grassy tang, keeps lit easily, and the second half of the bowl is just pure luxury.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	onurturker (14)	2016-03-15		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Woow, candidate of best pure virginia tobacco and for me it is best: Pure taste but not flat, great bright virginias gives us extraordinary taste.it is between fvf and bbf,not so sweet bbf and no so dark-spicy like as fvf.

I think there s nothing to say so much , it must try to get fan of SAF.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Pipe Used: il ceppo straight grain(5)

Age When Smoked: fresh

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	smoking-rob (79)	2014-10-17		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

What a delectable flake this is, a blend of light and dark Virginia's with a very mild topping that definately includes chocolate. A mildishly sweet but full smoke with no bite is what I got, highly recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Warwick (37)	2014-09-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A just-ok VA flake, slightly sweet. Requires only a bit of drying, and lights ok.

I find it lacking, though, compared to other VAs. The flavor is mediocre and somewhat thin. I just can't think of why I would buy this again over other better VA choices, hence two stars for it's rank relative to better VAs.

Pipe Used: Stanwell

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Mars Cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tobaksrøg (53)	2022-09-30		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I think this is the blend that made me realise that I am probably not the biggest fan of Gawith virginia blends. Like Full virginia flake, this is lacking that something that makes me love virginia pipe tobacco. I think it is the sweetness that's missing. Aptly named though: the sweet summer is gone and autumn is here. Its great mechanics push it to three stars. Most probably discontinued, but you can still find it in stock here and there.

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	smokethefox (11)	2021-12-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Opening the tin, you are welcomed by beautiful brown flakes. Looking delicious. After giving a deep smell I noticed some berries, hay, bread and citrus. Rubs out easily, or you can cut it up to little cubes and fill your pipe that way. Did not try folding yet. The moisture level was OK, could require a short dry-time. Lights up easily, but requires some relights. The smoke is sweet, creamy, cool and delicious. Taste of berries, citrus. Also reminds me of freshly baked bread. Taste gets stronger half way through, but never harsh, or unpleasant. No tongue bites, even when pushed. Leaves little moisture. Can highly recommend. 4 stars

Pipe Used: Windsor

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Best Brown Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (190)	2021-09-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

It took me a bit to find this tobacco but after a while I was able to get hold of two tin cans. Sometimes it happens with some things that are delayed and then come at the right time.

After the opening of the tin, some nice frayed flakes appear stacked, wide, very wide, the widest I have seen to date, made up of shiny virginias and others that are darker.

The aroma of tobacco is absolutely intoxicating, with some very accentuated notes of chocolate. Every time I catch a flake I hold it close to my nose for a while to enjoy its aroma. To my surprise, considering that it is SG, it comes with a perfect humidity to load the pipe directly without the need for prior drying. It takes a while to start but after several puffs a variety of delicious flavors begin to appear, and although some of those flavors were similar to those of other virginias, other nuances seemed singular and unique to this tobacco (from what I know) , and they are related to those chocolate notes I was talking about. I have to deduce that it has a slight casing, since I had never perceived those notes in a straight virginia, but that very soft casing suits it perfectly to make it different from other virginias.

This may not be the place to talk about the ever-changing palate, and it may not matter to anyone either (understandable), but since I keep these reviews as a kind of personal diary of my life as a pipe smoker, I will say that I learned to value this guy. smoother virginias while smoking Classic Flake (Luxury Flake) by John Aylesbury. At the same time that this was happening, I began to substitute pipes with larger bowls for smaller and narrower ones for the softer tobaccos, where I have the impression that the flavors are more concentrated and the milder nuances can be better extracted, leaving the larger bowls for tobaccos where the flavor comes through. A second advantage is that in order to prolong the moment of smoking, it "forces" to smoke more slowly, helping to ensure that the flavors are not lost. Hence the comment in the first paragraph, since if this tobacco had come into my life earlier, perhaps I would not have valued it as it deserves.

In short, one of the best virginias I've had lately. I'll try to cover my back by getting a few more tin cans and then I'll post this review.

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Similar Blends: John Aylesbury - Luxury Flake/Classic Flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pryhosm (248)	2020-10-26		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Tin note is lemony VA with a bee’s nest buried in a hay stack. This definitely has some topping, mostl likely honey and/or molasses. I bought all 4 seasons at once and I if I remember right I bought them at the end of Autumn and the beginning of Winter. I dove into winter and tossed this on the shelf...two years ago. With two additional years of age this is fantastic, but I cannot comment on a fresh tin. This may be one of the best VA flakes still produced today. It is bready, earthy and the honey topping is a fantastic compliment to the tobacco. There may be a hint of molasses that also boosts the tobacco flavor. There is some depth to this tobacco but it is not overly complex but the smoke starts out as rich, slightly sweet and bready and becomes more earthy and oddly enough, the lemon VA seems to come out more later in the bowl. I have only smoked 1/3 of the tin but I can see this becoming a top 5 VA flake. Not easy to find in the colonies and I only have 2 tins in the cellar but this may be the best in the series and a new favorite.

Pipe Used: Briar's, meerschaum and cobs

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RonR (85)	2020-03-05		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Tolerable

3rdguy

Just finished a full tin of this Virginia. Required very little dry time, easy to light, hardly any relights. Smokes down to a nice ash. For what it is, it was a nice alternative to FVF, Best Brown and other similar blends although I like the former blends more. This was a bit too....uninspiring for me. While an enjoyable smoke I can’t see reaching for it often. It left me wanting a bit more. Low in nic, light to medium in taste. I am glad it is still being made and readily available from Europe but not a bell ringing for me.

Pipe Used: Cobs.

Age When Smoked: 2 years of age.

Purchased From: GQ Tobaccos

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (77)	2019-11-29		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

Very nice full rounded taste of VA. Very good smoke, without moisture. Nice sweet taste and aroma. Room note is very pleasant and sweet. Maybe it is just me, but I had feeling of some very gentle casing of fruits and ginger maybe vanilla and sugar. Strongly thing this will be one of my pure VA in my blend rotation.

Pipe Used: Stanislaw

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	McQueen (41)	2019-08-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Now that McClelland is gone, The next best Virginia blender is easily Samuel gawith. Scottish autumn flake is is an outstanding straight, sweet, high quality Virginia. Can’t add more than what’s already been said.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Liverpool 47 (10)	2019-08-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I am a newbie to the pipe so compared to most people here I am sitting at the back of the class. Since starting I have smoked quite a few tobaccos. Bold Kentucky,1792 flake and aged Burley, plus the odd English. I love the flakes especially in the evening but was looking for an all day smoke that I loved. And now I have with SG Scottish Autumn Flake. I was a bit nervous about a full Virginia but on reading the reviews here I thought, give it a go. This is the best tobacco I have had. My wife immediately said that the smell reminded her of her grandad way back when who was a pipe smoker. This is great old fashioned stuff. I am not expert enough to talk about tasting notes. Just to say I love the purity this gives. On opening the tin the flakes just fell apart. Moisture absolutely perfect.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: C Gars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2018-12-12		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Yet another damn fine flake from Gawith's.

I was impressed by the lovely aroma coming from the tin when I popped the lid and it seems to remain whilst I make my way through this really tasty flake.

It's quite a lot darker than I thought it would be and it can actually be smoked straight from the tin, which is unusual for Gawith's blends. I just hope it doesn't over-dry (?) as the days pass. Not that it will have much time to dry out anyway, as this is so delicious I keep diving in for one bowl after another.

A superb smoke, ranking with some SG's finest, including Best Brown and Golden Glow.

Get this while you can. No prizes where I had to go to get this.

And no there's not a drop of whisky anywhere near this and I have to say I really don't know why this classed as Scottish.

No scotsmen were harmed during the writing of this review.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Dan Pipe Lauenburg

Similar Blends: SG's FVF, BB, GG.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leandro (13)	2016-03-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfect composition of gold and light brown Virginias, easily rubbed out and lit. Sweet and rich flavour (honey and light fruit). Highly recommended full Virginia tobacco.

Pipe Used: Chacom Billiard

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (437)	2022-10-31		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Tin notes of fig newtons, Rasin and bread. The flake is light brown and tan and a bit sticky but rubs out easily and burns slow with multiple relights. May need some drying. The strength mild, nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is med and consistent, with notes of sweet tangy fruit, lemon grass and mildly spicy. Room note and taste are nice.

Pipe Used: 2016 XXX Ashton Brindle Dublin

Age When Smoked: 7 years

Nobody has rated this review yet.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sound Dude (10)	2018-08-14		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Excellent!! I have had all of the "Four Seasons" by Gawith (and Stanislaus) and enjoyed each one. My biggest complaint is I can't seem to find it any more. To me, this is the perfect pure Virginia. Flakes are nice, easy to fold-n-stuff and always an enjoyable experience. Some say there is a honey topping. Maybe, but even if there is, it doesn't detract from the experience. This is aptly marketed for autumn. In my neck of the woods (cactus more like it), autumn brings warm (90's), dry days with nary a cloud in the sky. This flake is ideal for sitting on the front stoep and letting the world go by. On a recent trip to Europe I found this flake duty-free for €6.95 a tin, so I snapped up a few more. I can't see any Virginia lover not liking this flake.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: cupojoes.com (2 yrs ago), German duty free (recently)

Nobody has rated this review yet.