Samuel Gawith B.S. Flake (Brown Sugar Flake)

Well this particular Virginia based Flake has a few odd twists to its history and it’s smoking properties for me but the end result is a delicious variation on a typical Virginia Flake! The first twist is it was known as Brown Sugar Flake when introduced years ago as a collaboration between Samuel Gawith and the Danish Pipe Shop. Then due to changes in the E.U. Laws it had to be renamed in 2017 to B. S. Flake, but there is no bs here as it’s a delicious blend indeed. Its current limited release carries its proper name of Brown Sugar Flake as it has been imported by Sutliff for US sales only.

Now onto what we have here and it is a mixture of Virginia leaf that I believe may of African origins as it does seem to pack a bit more nicotine punch than leaf from elsewhere. It’s a sweet variety with some hay, woodsy, dark fruit, some citrus and makes for a solid base with a touch of spice. There is some well processed, in the English style, cavendish that seems very lightly sweetened and adds a smooth somewhat creamy nature to the smoke and helps make for a cool bite free smoke. It also has some nice nutty burley that has a touch of a brown sugar note as well as adding to the mouth feel and volume of smoke. The Orientals add a noticeable spiciness as well as a touch of herbal and floral notes. Upon opening the tin you will notice a wonderful tin note and some very dark brown flakes, very moist but not as damp as often is the case from SG. Now the other odd twist I mentioned, I usually find I get the best results and flavor from cube cutting my flakes but cutting cross grain with scissors, not this time. This time rubbing it out seems to result in a more complex and enjoyable smoke. Either way it will need some drying to bring out the flavor and to help facilitate lighting and minimize relights.

The end result is a delightful smoke with medium strength and medium nicotine. Complex and slightly sweet with a mild natural brown sugar note. As far as added flavoring it’s either non existent or very mild and of more a faint honey or brown sugar, but this is no aromatic but a solid full Virginia Flake with added variety and complexity that smokes cool and smooth.

Four out of four stars for me and I am sure enjoyable for anyone who appreciates such a blend.

Dave da Dragon

This tin was sent to me by famed pipe maker Jake Hackert. There is a lot of flavor complexity. The sweetness of the Cavendish and the nuttiness of the Burley really gave me a sence that I was smoking a very earthy bowl of Irish oatmeal with a pinch of raisins and a dash of brown sugar. The Orientals linger in the background but are present nonetheless. Obviously, the Virginias are center, adding delicious dirty hay and heather to that bowl of oatmeal I mentioned. I rubbed into a broken flake and then let it dry for a few days. It smoked exceptionally well with a nice even burn. After you finish smoking this, take a few draws through the now-empty bowl. There's a delightful bowl tatse that lasts about a day that really does remind me of "unsweet brown sugar," if that makes sense.

I bought a couple of tins in summer of 2017 when I was getting back into pipe smoking.

I remember at the time really fighting the moisture level and not enjoying it as much as I had hoped. I cellared the 2nd tin and put the rest of the 1st into a mason jar to some "later".

A year later, I've gained some experience with SG flakes and have really started to appreciate some of the tobaccos I gave up on back then.

Dried out, the flakes are easy to pack either rubbing out or using stuff and fold. The First half of the bowl gave me the sweetness and the taste of sugar/molasses/brown sugar I was missing before. The 2nd half let the orientals have some time in the sun and I really enjoyed their flavors.

I'll finish off the remainder of tin 1 and let tin 2 cellar a little longer knowing I have a great treat in store down the road.

A typical SG flake that rubs out well. Not too wet.

Doesn't taste like a Danish surprise. Straight forward Virginia with an edge. Burley rounds it out some. Minimal sweetness. Not brown sugar taste to me (e.g. molasses). The black Cavendish sharply mutes the Virginia in my book. Whatever else is in it, creates a spiciness that gives the taste some extra strength or push.

Not bad; for those who like their flakes with some zip.

I'm down to about a third of a flake of this, so I can't delay much longer. This is . . . nice. It's a bit better than alright. Overall, it's a good middle-of-the-road brown flake. It smokes clean, with no bite and rarely a relight. I'd likely have a stronger opinion in some direction or other if the Orientals really occurred more than the occasional showing in passing. So, I would happily smoke this any time, but I won't go out of my way to buy more.

After hearing good reviews, and being in general, a Samuel Gawith fanboy, this didn't impress. Upon opening the tin you get the typical SG beef jerky slices of beautiful, albeit wet tobacco. After a couple of hours drying time all I get is a weak, slightly sweet smoke that doesn't really lead me anywhere. The cavendish tastes a tad bitter, and there's a slight buttery salty sweet at the finish. I hate to slander a fine blending house but this isn't for me.

Tin note is a deep brown hay, sugar, yeast, fruit, earth,’wood. Smells nice. This tin is fresh. Took a pinch for my pipe as I was jarring it up for storage since these tins are not sealed anymore. A wet broken flake. Dried for hours. Still hard to light, par for SG products.

However this is worth the effort. A deep dark sweet Virginia with hay, fermented bread, sugar. There’s a nice woody molasses body and notes of floral sourness on the retrohale. It’s sweet but not aromatic sweet. Brown sugar flake is a fitting name. The burley gives this some nice body and contrast to the Virginias and the orientals add a floral and sour note. Extra sweetness from the cavendish is welcome by me. Worth the hype.

First I want to say that I hope this gets restocked as I am enjoying it. I managed to purchase 2 tins from Smokingpipes.com the night of its release; by morning, it was out of stock. Upon opening the tin I noticed very evenly cut flakes (not typical of SG or GH for that matter) that were not sopping wet. The tin note did remind me of brown sugar along with a bit of spice note I'm assuming from the oriental/burley addition. It loaded well and took to the match quite readily, requiring 2-3 relights while smoking. There was no bite to speak of even with fast puffing. The taste of brown sugar was evident throughout the smoke (smoked 3 bowls so far). I could taste the orientals and burley throughout the smoke as well. A very nice combination. There was no Lakeland presence to my palate, nor could I detect any other flavorings like honey, licorice, etc. I favor Irish Flake as my daily go-to, but I can see me reaching for Brown Sugar Flake as a regular as well. It is similar to SG's Brown Flake, but with more flavor and body. From what I've read, this was what was sought after in the manufacturing. My assessment is this was accomplished. Highly recommended and would give 5 stars if I could.

Samuel Gawith — Brown Sugar Flake - There is a lot going on here and it’s all good . The Virginias lead but I taste all the different tobacco’s throughout the smoke . It is grassy ,citrusy, floral, sweet , nutty , earthy and herbal spicy . Brown sugar notes for sure . It almost tastes like a little tonquin is present . It is creamy . Needed a little bit of drying . It has no tongue bite at all . This is the probably the best Sam Gawith blend I have smoked . It burns a little hot so I take my time with it . I will buy more if possible. 4 ………………………………………Edit 4/30/22 I dried the flakes out quite a bit . Not to crunchy but just to when the flakes were soft to touch . Loaded my bowl loosely and it burns better and doesn’t get hot . Better taste also but the brown sugar is less noticeable but the other tobaccos are more prominent.