Samuel Gawith Winter Time Flake

Recommended. Nice smoke for long winter evenings. Go outside with small hip-flask full of scotch and walk around the snowy park.

There is only one issue with this flake I have learned. Always melt a moisture in the end. Pity, the latakia inside is too smoky for me

3rd guy

I absolutely love this blend. Have a few dozen tins in the cellar. Has the best tin note and tin art I have come across in awhile. I have only had this and the Spring Time Flake so far of the 4 blends in this series. I have the other 2 in the cellar.

The 2 components they blended here just work in such a harmony I wish it was easier to obtain. If you are a Latakia lover put this on your radar. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste.

Still for sale in Europe so find a shipping buddy overseas which is what I do.

This may just be me but I do not believe that there is such a thing as a "complex" Latakia Flake. I have read a bunch of the reviews of this blend and the chief complaint seems to be monochromatic, or that it lacks complexity. Of course it doesn't! It's a Latakia Flake (and I love Latakia Flakes btw). Brebbia Latakia Flake, HH Latakia Flake, Germain Special Latakia Flake (may be the one slight exception)....all good but none overly complex to me. Maybe it is my palate or that I haven't had the right one, but that is my 2 cents. Hopefully that is acceptable to the reading public. This is a nice Lat Flake. It is sweet and smokey and creamy. It comes a bit wet but I left the open tin (opened so well the lid wouldn't stay on tight) overnight and it was perfect to jar and smoke, I did dry the flake for an extra 5 minutes prior to smoking each time). The smoke like the tin note is Latakia, as one would expect. The tin note does have some "other" scent from a topping that I cannot identify, but it is nice in both scent and flavor. The sweet and slightly floral topping is only detectable to me on the relight, which are moderate for me...I tend to have a problem keeping flakes lit from top to bottom of the bowl, most likely from my inattention, A puff or two after the relight and you are back to the core flavors. I would describe the Virginia's as bready and it works wonderfully with the creamy Latakia. The VA sweetness seems to marry with the Latakia sweetness, really nicely. Very consistent in flavor. Hard to find and I have no idea what the dating was on this my tins came in an ugly box from the UK with the faces of death all over them, BUT the tin inside was beautiful with NO other info on it or any type of stamping or stickers. I like the balance the struck here between the God awful tobacco laws in the UK and preserving tin art. Kudos to SG, DTM and Stanislaw on incurring the extra expense! I wish this was easier to find and/or available in the US.

Samuel Gawith - Winter Time Flake.

This was one of my early reviews a few years back, but given the time that's passed since, and a lot of tins smoked, I wanted to re-post.

The tin holds a set of dark, slightly mottled, flakes. As usual, these arrive quite damp. I've found the moisture can vary, some tins are horribly wet, yet others are acceptable. Acceptable: don't expect perfect, this is, after all, Sam G'!

I find the title fitting, it makes a comforting winter smoke. The Virginia's added to a lesser degree, the Latakia has more tenure in the smoke. Although the Lat' dominates, it doesn't seem overly smoky, or asperous, there's cedar and smoke, but it isn't in the same league of astringency as something like Sam G' Balkan Flake. The Virginia isn't overshadowed completely, it's definitely present: refreshing the smoke, with a grassy, fruity, note, toning down the Latakia. I detect no added flavours, it's a natural tasting blend. The burn's steady, cool, and requires very little maintenance.

Nicotine: medium. Room-note: traditional.

Not a Lat-Bomb.

Winter Time Flake. It's been in my rotation for years, so it can't get less than four:

Highly recommended.

I am surprised, I must admit, for these flakes seem to be so easy going and forgiving. Not that I did not enjoy things such as Navy Flake, Balkan Flake, and so on, but what sets Winter Time Flake apart is this apparent lack of complexity and the fact they are so easy to approach. I can detect some sweetness here and there, and the latakia side of the argument is rather mellow, creamy and so soft on the palate. And the fact they are so easy to crumble due to its thinness and consistent cut will tick another box. Also, I cannot detect any tongue bite and they don't seem to smoke hot in your bowl. In true honesty, I wasn't expecting it. I think I might buy again.

WTF is one that I purchased impulsively right before Christmas. I was at the local B&M buying McClelland's Holiday Spirit as I have for the last two years, neat little tradition and as I was checking out I see this gorgeous snow covered tin. Take note tobacco companies: as with all colorful labels or anything with the words "Autumn, Winter, Haunted, Spooky, Christmas, Halloween, Strong, Scary" Etc. Young Piper is and always has been a sucker for pipe Marketing 🙂 it was a must have for my collection regardless of contents. I was certainly not disappointed when I got home and looked up reviews on the blend. My tin required a couple of days drying until two notches below crunchy which is perfect for this blend, folded and stuffed is my preferred method for WTF as rubbed out it burned a tad hot. I have enjoyed smoking WTF as a before bed smoke and its quite nice for a strictly Virginia / Latakia blend but honestly I do prefer Orientals providing some complexity in my smoke. I think those that enjoy Lancers Slices or Commonwealth would also enjoy WTF since they are all very similar with light nicotine and in the Medium English category (IMO). No bite, smokes cool and no real complaints on room note but certainly not going to win non smoking friends. Worth buying just for the tin art, high quality tobacco's, recommended, but not a favorite for me.

This tobacco is the best pipe tobacco I have tried so far; it's my absolute favorite. The moisture content upon opening the tin is perfect, with no drying time needed. The flakes are easy to put in the pipe, and the smoke is cool, causing no tongue bite at all. Additionally, the tobacco burns very well.

Now to the best part: the taste and effect. The first time I smoked this winter flake, I was sitting in a chair, trying to relax. After a few puffs, it put me in a very relaxed, almost meditative mood. The experience is so enjoyable. The nicotine is strong, and the tobacco is of excellent quality. As I've stated, this is my favorite pipe tobacco so far.

WINTER TIME FLAKE: Excellent partnership between Samuel Gawith and Josef Stanislaw. For this season, Gawith and Stanislaw suggest a classic: a Virginia/Latakia flake, an English blend with a lot of Latakia and a sweet and gentle high quality Virginia. Latakia fits perfectly with the winter season and this is a good choice. WTF is a medium strength flake, with an intense and smoky flavor. Persistent taste. Not a great blend, but a very good one. Personally, I would prefer a little less Latakia but all in all this is a balanced flake with no defect. Not as complex as other English mixtures. Anyway a little gem for Latakia lovers. But if you don’t like Latakia stay away! In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three complete stars.

This is the third of the four seasons blends that I have tried. I purchased one of each shortly after they were first released around 6 years ago. From the three I have tried, I believe the theme is that they showcase the Virginia leaf. As Sam Gawith IMO makes perhaps the finest Virginia blends offered today, it seems they are sure to be great. I won't delve into the joint venture with stanislav as I know little of this blending house or who did what. For what its worth, I would not have bought them if SG's name was not on them.

I certainly loved the English Summer Flake and actually purchased more of it because it was so good. It was a straight Va which certainly fits the season. This also does well to fit the season as the cold weather of winter makes me and, I like to think most pipers, think of Latakia.

To my knowledge and perception there is nothing but Virginia and Latakia in the blend. The components made me think immediately of SG Navy Flake which also has Va and Lat with a touch of rum. SGNF is one of my favorite blends by SG. This is different from NF in that the Latakia is more prevalent yet it never overwhelms. There is no way one could characterize this as a Lat bomb.

I have been slowly losing my attraction to the lat heavy blends that I used to love, but this one was quite good, because there was enough virginia sweetness to carry the latakia for my tastes. IMO this does not rise to the level of SGNF, but it is pretty good. I liked it, but would not buy more as I did with the English Summer Flake.