Samuel Gawith Scottish Autumn Flake

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.