Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Rum Flake

This was an exceptional moist flake that reeked of a sweet/sour topping that didn't even remind me of rum. The flavor mirrored the tin note almost exactly - fruit cake, honey, or even Jolly Ranchers candy. It dried out eventually to an almost rock-hard consistency without losing much of the treacle sweetness. The burning characteristics were oddly good, even if I did get a bit of a bite from it. I've come to appreciate G&H tobaccos in a big way, but the flavor (and bite) here really turned me off.

Tasted like plastic. At first I thought it was the match I lighted it with so I continued to smoke it. The overwelming taste of plastic never ceased. I threw the rest away.

a guy at my local tobacconist recommended this when i asked him for a rum flake. i think he's fried his taste buds on too many cigars or something. the flavoring is way too strong.

they should call this licorice flake! too many flavorings. it's exceptional tobacco like any GH blend but i like rum flake to have just rum. the maple casing is nice.

give it a try but be warned it is like candy.

I believe that certain people treat tobacco like candy, if it says chococlate on the tin they expect to smoke cocoa. That's the thing with tobacco,it's tobacco first of all. For example this tastes like kentucky and burley mainly, I see it as a milder version of Peterson's Irish flake, for me this is NOT an aromatic tobacco, and I expected it not be as it is a flake cut, as I have seen, flake tobacco is usually stronger. It's true that I don't find any taste of vanilla what so ever, but I am thinking about that I read certain reviews where other smokers didn't noticed scents that I have found. That is why tastes are different,and that is why, there are hundreds of tobacco mixtures on the market.

So what can I say about it. It has a full kentucky and burley taste witch I like. It has indeed a certain taste of rum (not rum essence that is used for cookies), note that I am a 100% black rum drinker. I couldn't taste the licorice but I could notice the sweet taste. It's a long smoke tobacco, it burns nice but hard so you can enjoy it for about an hour even in a medium pipe.

I am smoking pipe for a few months (started again after 5 years) and I have tried for about 10-12 tobaccos, form straight latakia and perique mixture to excellent danish aromatics.

This one is in my "Good full taste tobacco section" (by now I didn't find one I could call the best), not an aromatic,as far as I can taste it.

Just to let you know, and please do contradict with me if you disagree: if a tobacco is brownish and smells like smoked plums then it should be judged as pure tobacco, not spice, not aromatic.

UPDATED: from Recommended to Somewhat Recommended. I've let the tobacco "wait" for a while, and it seems to me now harsh and soapy. But there is also a thing that I might be doing wrong, mainly the fact that I only have mid-size - big-size pipes (38 mm depth 18 mm chamber width the smallest - 50 mm depth and 21 mm width the largest) and I always fill them to the top. Perhaps this tobacco is better when smoked from smaller pipes in smaller quantities.

I get really ornery when someone says they're going to do something and then doesn't do it. Similarly, I don't have much patience for a pipe tobacco that claims to be one thing and then shows you a totally different side. Rum? Nowhere to be found. Licorice? Whatever. Vanilla? That's a good one.

I wish I had spent my money elsewhere rather than monkey with Rum Flake. This will be the last time I dabble around here, thank you very little.

I found this blend to be very flat in tobacco kick and tasteless and the toppong was crap. I felt cheated by Gawith and Hoggarth on this blend and I actually threw this blend out,one nice thing I can say about it...it lights very well like all Gawith blends I've had.

Well well, what have we here...a gorgeous English aromatic. I came by 2 ounces of this flake and have rendered it to a wistfull memory in short order. Other reviewers have made mention of the "maple" smell. I concur but I don't taste it. Initial taste is thin, dare I say somewhat cheap, especially when exhaled through the nose. Thankfully, several puffs later the smoke revs up and tastes wonderfull, rich and full. I have been smoking it in a long Canadian, providing a gentle, cool experience. Due to it being cased and sugary, relights can be a tad ashy, but the unpleasant flavors soon diminish. Not an all day smoke but rightly rewarding when in the proper mood and space. As to the mention of "floral" notes, I couldn't detect any. I smoked it alongside half a dozen of the traditional Lakeland mixtures and found it a welcome departure. Enjoy.

Good leaf, well-intentioned, well-behaved, and targeting a market of which I am not a member.

When I went looking for a Rum Flake, I went looking for Rum and good Virginia. What I found was a Virginia seemingly cased with Anise/Licorice. This in no way even approximates it's advertised casing of "maple sugars" and "rum". In it's totality, it tastes like fine orange Virginia and Burley cased with Pernod Liqueur and sprinkled with Pepper. Beyond it's flavor, it seemed to have a prickly, bite. Not tongue bite, but the chemically induced little bites of black pepper.

I can relate and adjust to some of the soapy, florid blends from England. However, this was not one of those tobaccos. This was nothing short of an assault on the tongue. I had tried this the first time in a pipe in which I had smoked English, so I switched to a new corncob to be quite sure. I am quite sure that this is not for me. My wife, seated next to me in our car commented on the reasonable room note, however (which is impressive if you know my wife).

At another time, with different expectations, I might try it again. This just did not come close to what it bills itself.