Chocolate Flake Discussion

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jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,520
50,598
Here
I am currently enjoying my first bowl of Samuel Gawith's Chocolate Flake, in a MM Cob.

I'm not quite ready to share an opinion but I had some questions and wanted to get a thread going.

I notice that SG and GH&Co's Chocolate Flakes both contain the same base tobaccos. SG lists cocoa/chocolate topping while GH&Co also has Vanilla and "other toppings" (presumably whiskey?)

So, who has tried both and can offer a comparison and contrast?

How might the experience differ in a briar vs the cob?

Have you found this blend to be a "ghoster"?

What other Chocolate influenced tobaccos have you tried?

Thanks.

1581549453990.png
 

python

Administrator
Staff member
Apr 8, 2009
3,756
7,254
Maryland
pipesmagazine.com
I have smoked both, but it has been quite awhile. So take what I say with a grain of salt because I'm just going off of memory.

SG to me was more of a tobacco flavor with some good hints of chocolate throughout the smoke. Also from what I remember, it was more of a dark chocolate (like slightly bitter chocolate) flavor.

GH was a little more on the sweet side where the chocolate flavor was more pronounced. And a little more akin to a milk chocolate as opposed to a dark chocolate. But not overly sweet or cloying. You still get a great tobacco flavor as the predominate flavor. Also there is some Lakeland presence in Bob's Chocolate Flake where there is none in the SG version.

I prefer the GH Bob's Chocolate Flake, but they are both good smokes in their own right.
 

Casual

Lifer
Oct 3, 2019
2,577
9,420
NL, CA
In an almost completely different blend style, I am enjoying burleys topped with chocolate. They’re not aromatics, but the cocoa is there. Things like Mac Baren Burley London, Carter Hall and it’s copies such as Chatham Manor, and Edgeworth Ready Rubbed match blends.

Completely different animals to something like Bob’s Chocolate Flake.
 

lightmybriar

Lifer
Mar 11, 2014
1,315
1,838
I’ve tried both flakes, and have also had English Chocolate.

My preference is Sam’s Flake, but I have more of Bob’s because it was more readily available.

The reason I prefer the Sam Flake is, to my tastes, the chocolate flavoring is more of a natural-tasting component in that one. It is a little more obvious and out front in Bob’s, which I don’t particularly mind, but it gets close to being a touch on the out-of-balance side of things to me. I love chocolate, so it isn’t that it’s too aromatic...it just doesn’t seem to meld as smoothly with the tobacco as it does in Sam’s.

Regarding any ghoulish behavior, I smoke these in my Latakia pipes and my Virginia pipes, and have had no need for a priest yet. I do no smoke bowls in a row, though. These are an occasional smoke for me.

English Chocolate is good, but that one to me is more geared towards the chocolate as the star, rather than the tobacco. If you’ve ever had C&D Corncob Pipe Xmas tobacco, the chocolate flavoring is very similar.

All three are different enough to have a happy place in one cellar. The individual nuances make them all worth trying, in my opinion.
 

jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,520
50,598
Here
I've been holding some Stonehenge tins for a while. Maybe it's time to break one out.

Based on everyone's input so far, I'm glad I started with SG. Bob's may need its own Lakeland pipe, I guess.

Stonehenge- more like SG or GH&Co?

1581558373793.png
 
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alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,370
42,530
Alaska
I've been holding some Stonehenge tins for a while. Maybe it's time to break one out.

Based on everyone's input so far, I'm glad I started with SG. Bob's may need its own Lakeland pipe, I guess.

Stonehenge- more like SG or GH&Co?

View attachment 19194
I don’t think Bob’s will ghost too bad, its just an odd combination of tobaccos and topping. Its not heavily topped and only has 8% Latakia.
 

kschatey

Lifer
Oct 16, 2019
1,118
2,272
Ohio
I am currently enjoying my first bowl of Samuel Gawith's Chocolate Flake, in a MM Cob.

I'm not quite ready to share an opinion but I had some questions and wanted to get a thread going.

I notice that SG and GH&Co's Chocolate Flakes both contain the same base tobaccos. SG lists cocoa/chocolate topping while GH&Co also has Vanilla and "other toppings" (presumably whiskey?)

So, who has tried both and can offer a comparison and contrast?

How might the experience differ in a briar vs the cob?

Have you found this blend to be a "ghoster"?

What other Chocolate influenced tobaccos have you tried?

Thanks.

View attachment 19175
Jay, I have not had the SG Chocolate Flake before, but I really enjoy GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake. I feel lucky to have gotten a single tin a couple months ago since it seems hard to find lately. I can't comment on how it compares with the SG Chocolate Flake, but did want to provide my own experience in regard to your other questions.

I have smoked the GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake a few times in one of my Savinelli briars that I use for other blends (mostly English tobacco), and have not noticed any ghosting concerns. I cannot comment on the briar versus cob for this particular blend and I have not yet tried it in one of my MM cobs.

I would also highly recommend the Two Friends English Chocolate. For me the GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake has a really nice soft/milky chocolate flavor with a lightly floral undertone from the Lakeland essence (check out THIS THREAD for more on that if it's new to you as it was for me). I think it's a great combo and has a great richness overall. The Two Friends English Chocolate is definitely different as it has more of a cocoa flavor with more smokiness from the latakia and toasty tobacco overtones, but it's an equally great combination. I find myself reaching for the Two Friends English Chocolate a lot because it's really good the fact that is more easily available, and then treat myself with GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake occasionally as an indulgence when I have the time to really take the time to sit, enjoy, and contemplate it (if that makes any sense).

Hope you enjoy the GH&Co Bob's Chocolate Flake and Two Friends English Chocolate if you decide to check them out. If not, just send them my way along with a sample of the SG Chocolate Flake for me to try! ;)
 
Last edited:

kschatey

Lifer
Oct 16, 2019
1,118
2,272
Ohio
Have you ever tried Stonehenge Flake? It's pretty darn close to these blends as well, with the addition of some perique. It's my substitute for Bobs.
Thanks for this tip! I have an unopened tin of Stonehenge Flake in the cellar that I've been wanting to crack open for awhile and your comments has made me even more excited since I do really enjoy the SG Bob's Chocolate Flake and it's hard to find.
 
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