Best Brown Flake #2

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

New Cigars




PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
Well, I just tried my 1st ever Lakeland blend, G&H Best Brown Flake #2, in an old Jelling Dublin pipe. I've read so much about the Lakeland essence. It seems very polarizing. People seem to either love it or hate it. I've got to say, I just don't get it. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. It was pretty good, you know? It was okay. I'll keep smoking it this week to see if it grows on me. It certainly won't dethrone my regular blends and my heart won't be broken if I miss a drop, but it wouldn't be bad as an occasional change up.
 
Oct 7, 2016
2,451
5,195
I think if I smoked a bowl of Best Brown#2 blind I could tell it was from Kendal. But...

Why not just ignore any preconceived notions of what a blend “ought” to taste like and just enjoy it on its own merits, or move on to something else f you don’t like it? Gawith Hoggarth makes lots of different styles of tobacco.

Do the flavors come from the Commonwealth leaf? Casings? Toppings? Stoving? Fermentation? What you just ate or drank? The shape and size of the bowl you smoked it in? How slow or fast you smoked it? Some of the above? Preconceptions based on others opinions?
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
I haven't had Kendal #7, but I suspect that will be a good intro to more pronounced Lakeland style flavorings. I tend to prefer the unscented versions of most GH&C tobaccos, which still tend to have a touch of something unique, though as Geezer points out, it really could be from any number of things. But I dont have any hard and fast rules, as it depends on the blend. Best Brown #2 is good, but I prefer Brown Flake Unscented. Mostly the same stuff, in different proportions. Occasionally, I want some Conniston Cut Plug which is pretty dang floral to my tastes, but a good change of pace from my usual fare.

All of the different classifications can be helpful, but they can also tie people into knots and take on an almost dogmatic aspect, which is some pretty weird shit at times.
 

Sonorisis

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 24, 2019
853
4,578
To my tastes, Best Brown #2 is not a Lakeland. What it is is a wonderful Virginia. Well aged, sweet, smooth. I have it stocked pretty deep, as I think it is one of the very best Virginia varieties available. I don't taste any soap, or perfume, or geranium in it. So, the OP kind of has me baffled.

Now, I DO have some Lakelands so I have a good idea of what is meant when someone calls a tobacco by that name. BB isn't one of them.
 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
To my tastes, Best Brown #2 is not a Lakeland. What it is is a wonderful Virginia. Well aged, sweet, smooth. I have it stocked pretty deep, as I think it is one of the very best Virginia varieties available. I don't taste any soap, or perfume, or geranium in it. So, the OP kind of has me baffled.

Now, I DO have some Lakelands so I have a good idea of what is meant when someone calls a tobacco by that name. BB isn't one of them.
As I said, this is my first foray into Lakelands, so I'm a complete rookie. I thought all GH blends that didn't say Unscented had the Lakeland essence. Guess not. I did buy Broken Flake #7 and will try it tonight. I did get a faint floral taste from Best Brown Flake, but that could have been from being packed tight with #7, who knows? It was certainly faint. Definitely quality leaf in there, though, which I would expect.
 

danimalia

Lifer
Sep 2, 2015
4,385
26,440
41
San Francisco Bay Area, USA
I did get a faint floral taste from Best Brown Flake, but that could have been from being packed tight with #7, who knows?
In my experience they all usually have at least little taste of something "lakelandy" but it could be a lot of different things from shared equipment and manufacturing space, to casings (I think they use maple sugars on a lot of tobaccos), to leaf origins to, yeah, psychological effects/ power of suggestion... But the scented versions are definitely way more intense and, I guess, purposeful, with those flavorings.

Curious to know what you think of the #7.
 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
I think if I smoked a bowl of Best Brown#2 blind I could tell it was from Kendal. But...

Why not just ignore any preconceived notions of what a blend “ought” to taste like and just enjoy it on its own merits, or move on to something else f you don’t like it? Gawith Hoggarth makes lots of different styles of tobacco.

Do the flavors come from the Commonwealth leaf? Casings? Toppings? Stoving? Fermentation? What you just ate or drank? The shape and size of the bowl you smoked it in? How slow or fast you smoked it? Some of the above? Preconceptions based on others opinions?
Huh. I thought that's what I was doing. I didn't have any preconceived notions of what it would taste like. After reading and hearing about Lakelands all these years, I figured it was time to try a couple for myself. I guess I missed the mark with Best Brown Flake 2. I guess it's not a true Lakeland? All I said was Lakelands seem to be very polarizing. Every time someone posts about Lakelands, the responses seem to fall into the Love or Hate category with a small middle ground. Much like Peterson pipes. Most seem to either love them or hate them. So I DID expect to either love them or hate them, and maybe I will. Who knows? I still have a lot of tasting left to do. I guess Broken Flake #7 had more of that Lakeland essence? I'll be smoking that the next couple of days, so we'll see. Next will be my first foray into Tabac Manil Samois, which I've never smoked either.
 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
I haven't had Kendal #7, but I suspect that will be a good intro to more pronounced Lakeland style flavorings. I tend to prefer the unscented versions of most GH&C tobaccos, which still tend to have a touch of something unique, though as Geezer points out, it really could be from any number of things. But I dont have any hard and fast rules, as it depends on the blend. Best Brown #2 is good, but I prefer Brown Flake Unscented. Mostly the same stuff, in different proportions. Occasionally, I want some Conniston Cut Plug which is pretty dang floral to my tastes, but a good change of pace from my usual fare.

All of the different classifications can be helpful, but they can also tie people into knots and take on an almost dogmatic aspect, which is some pretty weird shit at times.
I did grab some Brown Flake Unscented as well. I'm saving that until I try the others for a while.
 

tschiraldi

Lifer
Dec 14, 2015
1,813
3,555
55
Ohio
In my experience they all usually have at least little taste of something "lakelandy" but it could be a lot of different things from shared equipment and manufacturing space, to casings (I think they use maple sugars on a lot of tobaccos), to leaf origins to, yeah, psychological effects/ power of suggestion... But the scented versions are definitely way more intense and, I guess, purposeful, with those flavorings.

Curious to know what you think of the #7.
Smoking my fist bowl of it now. Initial impression was "Wow! That flavor is STRONG!" and I didn't think I would be able to finish the bowl. That flavor quickly lessened, though, and as I am halfway through the bowl, it has actually become very pleasant! I may actually love this blend, but I am not committing to that opinion yet. I would certainly recommend trying it, just be prepared to survive the first 30 seconds or so.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.