Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Rum Flake
(3.03)
The 'Christmas cake' of all our tobaccos. A very rich, sweet fully flavoured blend. The main feature is the high proportion of naturally sweet sun-cured tobaccos in the blend - over 40%. Only 30% Virginia leaf, with the rest of the blend coming from burleys and dark-air cured contribute to a strong, but rewarding smoke. The whole blend is cased in maple sugars to further enhance the natural sweetness of the sun cured leaf and then rounded off with a dash of rum.
Notes: Due to EU regulations, this is now sold in those countries as "Jamaican Flake".
Since 2016 and perhaps earlier, the tin label on the back states ”Virginias and burley with flavors of rum, licorice and vanilla”.
Details
Brand | Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. |
Blended By | Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. |
Manufactured By | Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. |
Blend Type | Aromatic |
Contents | Burley, Virginia |
Flavoring | Maple, Rum |
Cut | Broken Flake |
Packaging | 50 grams tin, Bulk |
Country | United Kingdom |
Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Medium
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Medium
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant to Tolerable
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium to Full
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
3.03 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 131 - 138 of 138 Reviews
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 10, 2003 | Medium to Strong | Mild to Medium | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
GH Rum Flake is one of my first forays into GH soap flake land. And I like it. I, too, found it to need a bit of drying before it was ready to smoke. As it came, it was fairly harsh and monochromatic, but once dried a bit, and consumed slowly it revealed a rich spectrum of flavors. Rum was not one of them. The restrained floral soapiness was evident in the background throughout, but VAs and added sweetener make it a rich and rewarding smoke.
I also like the cut. Contrary to the description above, my sample came in nice broad flakes. A gentle rubbing-out into long strands (after the requisite drying of course) produced a nice slow-burning texture. I found that it burns best in a tall narrow bowl, where a smolder of just the right temperature can be attained.
I also tried it chopped into teensy cubes, and it was amazing how much sweeter the flavor was. It had a tendency to burn the back of my throat, however, so I went back to the long strand consistency I prefer with VA-type flakes. It is fun to have it both ways.
I have enough to cellar several oz in a sealed glass jar for a few months/years to revisit frequently in the future. A recommended smoke.
I also like the cut. Contrary to the description above, my sample came in nice broad flakes. A gentle rubbing-out into long strands (after the requisite drying of course) produced a nice slow-burning texture. I found that it burns best in a tall narrow bowl, where a smolder of just the right temperature can be attained.
I also tried it chopped into teensy cubes, and it was amazing how much sweeter the flavor was. It had a tendency to burn the back of my throat, however, so I went back to the long strand consistency I prefer with VA-type flakes. It is fun to have it both ways.
I have enough to cellar several oz in a sealed glass jar for a few months/years to revisit frequently in the future. A recommended smoke.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19, 2001 | Very Strong | None Detected | Overwhelming | Tolerable to Strong |
I found this one to be too strong for my taste. It was very heavy and the strength of the tobacco over powered the flavour for me.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2022 | Medium | Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
I like this one a lot, but I wasn't expecting so much Latakia although that is more evident in the first half of the bowl. I used a loose stuff method and also rubbed the flake out. Took the light after a few attempts and burned slow, clean and very creamy to the bottom of the bowl. I couldn't detect any rum flavour but this is crazy well put together and pairs well with black coffee. A stellar breakfast smoke and leaves a pleasant room note that doesn't hang around for long. The smoke is lovely on first light and gets better as you go down the bowl with the Latakia taking a step back and the Virginias start to shine. A delightful flake that I will continue to enjoy in the future. Highly recommended.
Pipe Used:
Various meerschaum pipes
PurchasedFrom:
GQ
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 07, 2022 | Medium to Strong | Mild | Medium to Full | Tolerable |
The bag note smells deep, sweet, rich. Earthy, vegetative, slightly floral, and of course maple rum. It’s nice. Broken apart brown flakes.
Smoking out of a clay pipe.
So bias alert, I’m not a fan of burley tobaccos. This is predominantly burley with a healthy dose of sun cured tobacco and 30% Virginia. That being said this was ok. I get big earthy, woody, vegetative, and grassy hay flavor that I expect from G&H tobaccos. The Lakeland taste thankfully isn’t there in abundance however it is detectable and tastes floral and soapy. There’s a deep, dark, sweetness that surrounds this blend, obviously the rum and maple sugar, and it’s what makes this blend enjoyable to me. The rum definitely tones down and mellows out the tobacco so much so that I even enjoy smoking this predominantly burley blend. It is what I would say a sweet tobacco.
Have a breakfast before this pipe as this blend is mostly burley so the nic level is a solid medium.
Rum Flake didn’t dry my mouth out too bad as burley usually does. This blend did have some bitter spots for me that came and went but that could be because my ph does not get alone with burley. Would definitely recommend smoking slow. It smokes well, hardly any relights, cool and consistent smoke. **Has a definite and pronounced vegetative flavor**
Some people love this stuff and it’s a fine tobacco, but for me it’s relegated to the dog walking pile. Stuff I smoke when walking the dog. However as far as rum and maple blends go this is one of the best as it’s not a typical wet and goopy aromatic. You’ll notice the rum and maple and enjoy the sweetness if that’s what you want.
Smoking out of a clay pipe.
So bias alert, I’m not a fan of burley tobaccos. This is predominantly burley with a healthy dose of sun cured tobacco and 30% Virginia. That being said this was ok. I get big earthy, woody, vegetative, and grassy hay flavor that I expect from G&H tobaccos. The Lakeland taste thankfully isn’t there in abundance however it is detectable and tastes floral and soapy. There’s a deep, dark, sweetness that surrounds this blend, obviously the rum and maple sugar, and it’s what makes this blend enjoyable to me. The rum definitely tones down and mellows out the tobacco so much so that I even enjoy smoking this predominantly burley blend. It is what I would say a sweet tobacco.
Have a breakfast before this pipe as this blend is mostly burley so the nic level is a solid medium.
Rum Flake didn’t dry my mouth out too bad as burley usually does. This blend did have some bitter spots for me that came and went but that could be because my ph does not get alone with burley. Would definitely recommend smoking slow. It smokes well, hardly any relights, cool and consistent smoke. **Has a definite and pronounced vegetative flavor**
Some people love this stuff and it’s a fine tobacco, but for me it’s relegated to the dog walking pile. Stuff I smoke when walking the dog. However as far as rum and maple blends go this is one of the best as it’s not a typical wet and goopy aromatic. You’ll notice the rum and maple and enjoy the sweetness if that’s what you want.
Pipe Used:
Clay
Age When Smoked:
1 year
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 18, 2020 | Medium to Strong | Very Strong | Very Full | Strong |
I purchased this and a few other SG tobaccos a few years back when being adventuresome exploring numerous varieties of tobaccos. I found it too much for my pallet and put it away. The tin was almost full but dry. To tone down the tobacco and moisturize it I combined it with a simple American Burley the Match Sugar Barrel. Unfortunately this didn’t help much. I stop found myself repelled by the assault on my tongue by a barrage of strange flavors. Yes the stuff is perfumed and has a number of strong flavors in addition to a bitter and rough tobacco flavor. I still gave it two stars because these are some pipe smokers who would enjoy just the aspects that led me to almost toss my pipe out the window. Call me unsophisticated but I will attempt to erase the foul taste away with a bowl of good old simple Velvet.
Pipe Used:
Most recently an old Vauen Basic
Age When Smoked:
5 years
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 09, 2019 | Medium | Mild | Medium | Tolerable |
Bulk. Moist like all Gawith products. After some serious dry time I prefer to rub this one out fairly fine. Sweet aromas. I do get the Christmas cake reference made by previous reviews. I also notice the burley quite distinctly in the aroma. A few lights required to really get it going. First taste is sweet and savory. The Virginia's are noticeable and robust. Somewhat dark fruit like. The burley is nutty and earthy. The burley for me really takes over about a third of the way. The sweetness becomes a mild side note. I did not once get the rum flavor. Overall a decent smoke.
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 23, 2018 | Medium to Strong | Mild to Medium | Medium | Tolerable |
Another reviewer here commented that this is a little bit like a cup of coffee: bitter-sweet. I too had that impression while smoking it. It would probably go very well with coffee!
I didn't find the flavour to be very specific. I'd like a little more dark fruit in this. It's a little plummy and maple/rum sweet from the toppings, but the burley is a little muddy for me. DK called it "a mostly non-descript mish-mash of tobaccos." I get what he's saying but I wouldn't go that far. There's fruit and oatmeal I would say. I did like this, but G&H has better flakes than this, so I won't buy this one again.
One great thing about this is the burn property. I rubbed it out after about 2 hours of dry time and it needed only a single light and burned cool all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It would be a great flake for breaking in a briar if it weren't for the added flavouring!
I didn't find the flavour to be very specific. I'd like a little more dark fruit in this. It's a little plummy and maple/rum sweet from the toppings, but the burley is a little muddy for me. DK called it "a mostly non-descript mish-mash of tobaccos." I get what he's saying but I wouldn't go that far. There's fruit and oatmeal I would say. I did like this, but G&H has better flakes than this, so I won't buy this one again.
One great thing about this is the burn property. I rubbed it out after about 2 hours of dry time and it needed only a single light and burned cool all the way to the bottom of the bowl. It would be a great flake for breaking in a briar if it weren't for the added flavouring!
Pipe Used:
Savinelli Bing's Favorite (Billiard)
Age When Smoked:
Fresh
Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 07, 2017 | Strong | Extra Strong | Overwhelming | Tolerable |
Very strong rum topping on this tobacco. And while I normally enjoy Navy Flake and Navy cut offerings that have some rum, this was way over the top for me. I attempted four times in four different pipes to sample this tobacco. However I got the very same soapy like taste each and every time. The nose from the can was actually quite good and I really thought this would be a favorite. However, once match met tobacco, I really could not shake the bitter soap taste on my tongue. I used 3 briars and 1 MM cob to test samples. All were regular smokers for me. Sadly, this offering for GH and Company won't be a regular smoke.
Pipe Used:
Peterson POY 2016, Cayuga Oiled Briars, MM Cob
PurchasedFrom:
Smoking Pipes
Age When Smoked:
New from tin