Venturing into the Lake District: Ennerdale and Dark Flake Scented

I've actually been quite scared of trying the Lakeland blends from Gawith, Hoggarth, and Co. for quite a while. They've jumped in and out of my P&C basket depending on what kind of reviews I read. I finally ordered some, and figured I'd review them both together, since it's my first time venturing into this territory.
Tin Note:

Dark Flake Scented:

The posters who mentioned oil of bergamot / Earl Grey tea were spot on. This was an extremely pleasant tin note, and I couldn’t really determine any sort of soapy or perfume-y aroma. It just smelled like an herbal tea.

Ennerdale:

Wow, now this is a tin note. It is probably about four times as strong as the DFS aroma, and certainly much more floral, perfume-y, and fruity.
Preparation and Smoke:

The flakes were, as I had expected, moist, but I let them dry for a while and they both smoked quite well.
Flavor:

Dark Flake Scented:

Overall this is a very flavorful tobacco, but I found the topping to be mild. The oil of bergamot / Early Grey aroma was certainly detectable by me, but my brother in law couldn’t smell it at all during my smoke, although he certainly could in the tin. The tobacco itself has full flavor, somewhat like 1792 or the G&H ropes: deep, rich, earthy.

Ennerdale:

Its bark is worse than its bite: the insanely powerful tin note translated to a comparatively mild taste and aroma during smoking. Again, my friends sitting around me couldn’t really smell the Lakeland essence, and they generally can detect sweet-smelling aromatics like 1-Q and Autumn Evening. On the other hand, the tobacco itself was substantially more flavorful than your average aromatic—a nice balance between Virginia and Burley.
Nicotine Level:

Dark Flake Scented is up there with G&H Twists, 1792, and other nicotine bombs—it is very strong. I did not detect any nicotine kick from Ennerdale.
In Summary:

Why do people recommend Ennerdale as one’s first Lakeland?! I understand it’s an archetypal Lakeland, but do they want to scare everyone off? I did like Ennerdale overall, but I can see why some (even most) would find it off putting. The aroma isn’t something I’d want to smoke very often, but it is pleasant in its own way. I’m sure I’ll get a hankering for it again, but it isn't going to be a favorite any time soon. I think Ennerdale probably doesn't appeal to most pipe smokers because the smell is a bit "feminine" to our noses, which cuts against the general associations with pipe smoking.
Dark Flake Scented, on the other hand, is amazing. If you like herbal teas, then you’d probably enjoy this—even if you don’t like the floral Lakeland blends. I did not find DFS topping to be floral, soapy, or perfumey--maybe cologne-y? It's certainly a more "manly" smell--British, dignified. If one isn’t scared nicotine bombs, I’d say to try this as a first Lakeland.

I know I may be the outlier here. I think my associations may be different, as I didn't have a grandma who wore strong perfume, but I did have parents who drank Earl Grey tea constantly. Perhaps if it was titled "Queen Grey," my associations would be a bit different! I always thought of it as how male British royalty might have smelled.
The way the smell works is strange, especially in the tin. Let me emphasize: I only found the topping mild during the smoke. It seemed like the fire burned it away.
It is certainly a persistent aroma in the tin, however. It lingers around on your hands after breaking up the flake.
Since Lakelands (as I understand it) were an attempt to flavor tobacco while not adding significant moisture or weight to the tobacco (because of purity laws), I'm assuming that's why the flavors behave so differently than in a normal aromatic. I'm guessing most aromatics these days are alcohol based flavors, while the Lakelands are actually oils, which might explain why they seem to be muted by smoking more than typical aromatics.

My understanding was that they weren't allowed additives that contributed to a certain percentage of the weight of the tobacco. So, they'd be confined to adding small amounts of extremely powerful scents--thus moving toward the more perfume/essential oil realm of flavorings.

That's interesting! You guys may have more sensitive palates than mine.
My favorite blends so far are G&H ropes and flakes, so I do like stout tobacco. That said, I'm not a huge fan of latakia. It's OK.
I'm actually surprised I don't hear the unscented Dark Flake mentioned more. Available in bulk, and it's a simply beautiful flake. The nicotine kick of Irish Flake, but with more flavor.

But I don't want something so persistent that it emerges many months later. I'd have to really like Lakelands to bother with it, and from the description, it isn't tempting.

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You could always grab a $5 corncob for a test drive, but if you're not tempted, then you're not tempted.
For the record, I actually went into this experience expecting to dislike the Lakelands. I wasn't so much tempted; it was more that my curiosity got the best of me. I'm glad I tried them, because I do really like Dark Flake Scented.

I like to recommend Ennerdale because it's the most "different" from an ordinary tobacco. It delivers on the reputation, and that's going to be a good thing for anyone who wants a strong aromatic flavour.

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Ennerdale was the first Lakeland I ever tried and I loved it. If you're gonna try a Lakeland for the first time, I say go whole hog.

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There's certainly a logic to this, and that's one approach I've taken to new blends. Nightcap was my second English blend.
I think, however, that a lot of people try Ennerdale and then go and try to say that all Lakelands are the same perfumey essence. I've only tried the two above, and they seem radically different to me, so I'll probably continue through the Lake District and try some others. Maybe Grousemoor next.