Lakeland Recommendations: Here We Go

[Perique]

I'm curious to try a few Lakeland blends. Just can't get my mind around the reviews and descriptions, so have to taste for myself.
So I put it to the forum braintrust. I figured a good place for me to start would be GH Louisiana Flake. Thoughts? What else would you recommend for someone curious about Lakelands?

 

[rmbittner]

I got a lot of good suggestions recently: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/i-need-to-explore-lakelands.
Bob

 

[sallow]

The two that I have smoked the most of are both from Gawith Hoggarth.
Rum flake has a simply beautiful topping with a bit of the essence. It is a marvelous thing. The tobacco underneath is top shelf. It smells like I think JD Salinger would smell. I mean, when he was alive.
Kendal Flake is all rose and burley. You will know what I mean when you light it up. This is very similar to the Sam Gawith Kendal Cream, so either one.

 

[Perique]

Thanks RM, that was helpful!

 

[Perique]

Thanks Sallow.

 

[weezell]

Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake...

 

[petes03]

The two I've tried are Grousemoor and Hyde Park. If you like smoking flowers and soap, then go for it. Personally, I can't stomach them, but there are those who love them. They are definitely "love them, or hate them" blends.

 

[jimmyh]

I have a few lakelands on my rotation and i've set out to try them all.

Dark flake scented and Ennerdale from GH along with Hyde park Peterson are my fav so far.

Cant really decid on the 1792 flake as i do really like the tonquine flavour but a bit thin and lacks that full taste i get from Gh's.

 

[matchstickman]

Got a bunch of tins of Lakeland, haven't smoked any of them yet. I did try some Bobs Chocolate flake long ago when I first started smoking a pipe but it was lost on me. I should go and pop one of those bad boys open one of these days.

 

[11fb]

GH Coniston cut plug - daily smoker for me.

 

[cortezattic]

I don't care much for the scented stuff, but I read where H&H's Lakeland Brickle (and Fortissimo) are very popular.

 

[mikestanley]

I used to smoke a bit of Bob's Square Cut back in the day. Bob's Chocolate Flake is a favorite too.
Mike S.

 

[lawmax3]

I really like Kendal Flake. It does have a rose aroma but it also has something else maybe almond or maybe just the burley mixing in that makes it my favorite lakeland.

I am not a fan of Ennerdale. Bobs Chocolate is also good.

 

[surlysoul]

I like Gawith Hoggarth Rum Flake and Brown Flake. The Brown Flake unscented only has a hint of lakeland, but the scented has a stonger lakeland flavor.

 

[rmbittner]

I'm currently enjoying Ennerdale very much, after really not liking the first Lakelands I tried many years ago. I think it's a great place to start.
Brown Flake Unscented and Bob's Chocolate Flake are "Lakelands" only in the sense that they're produced in the Lake District. They are not typical of the "Lakeland" scented/flavored style. Yes, you get a hint of that in each of them, but it's only due to their having been produced on the same equipment used for the "real" Lakeland flakes.
Bob

 

[shutterbugg]

The two I've tried are Grousemoor and Hyde Park. If you like smoking flowers and soap, then go for it. Personally, I can't stomach them, but there are those who love them. They are definitely "love them, or hate them" blends.

+1 on the soap. I tried Hyde Park...a couple draws were all I needed...not for me. Tasted like my grandma's purse used to smell. I still have a tin minus the one bowl...anyone wants it can have it.

 

[billypm]

I really have learned to LOVE the Lakeland style blends. G&H are the big daddy of the artform to me, and Coniston Cut Plug, Bosun Cut Plug, Kendal Flake, Brown Flake Scented, and Ennerdale are all excellent. My palate isn't yet schooled enough to tell the rose geranium from the heliotrope, but the base tobaccos are all top shelf and vary a good bit blend to blend. CCP is quite stout, for instance, while Ennerdale is less so. And if you ever get the chance to score some Condor-- LEAP at it.
I just ordered an ounce each of a bunch of these things from my etailer of choice and started smoking them. Be advised that your pipes will ghost from these, so act accordingly. So far I've found no need to dedicate a pipe to each blend, but I do have specific Lakeland-only pipes.

 

[rmbittner]

I think the biggest challenge when approaching Lakeland-style blends is to move past thinking in terms of "soap" and "flowers" when it comes to the flavor/aroma. Yes, those connections can certainly be made. Just like there are those who make similar connections between the aroma of McClelland's matured VAs and "ketchup" -- leading them to bypass some of the most amazing VA blends on the market.
If you go into a Lakeland thinking in terms of familiar VA/burley flakes or familiar aromatics, you're likely to be put off. But if you go in saying, I'd like to really explore this style -- and I'm open to whatever it shows me -- then I think you're going to have a much more enjoyable experience.
Bob

 

[oldtoby]

@Bob;
Very well said.

 

[lordnoble]

Lakelands are very much a polarizing genre of tobacco. There are very few who just like them; most love or hate them. Let me be clear. I'm talking about the tobacco blends that use scented toppings to create something different, not just blends that are created in the Lakeland District. FVF, Skiff Mixture, Squadron Leader, Best Brown, etc. are technically "Lakelands" since they are manufactured in the district. But these aren't what I consider part of the Lakeland genre of blends. Hyde Park, H&H Lakeland Fortissimo, Grousemoor, etc. are the type I consider "Lakelands".
I LOVE Lakelands, and yes a few will ghost a pipe. But I'm not necessarily against that since I think of most of my pipes similar to a well-seasoned cast-iron pan. The blend I smoked last enhances the next and it gives each blend an added twist to make something new. I'm not saying that I do this often, and I certainly do dedicate some pipes to certain genres, but I have a few which I will smoke anything in.
I love Lakeland Fortissimo. It has a "floral" scent, I guess, but to me it's more like a herbal scent. Hard to explain, but it is certainly a triumph for Russ.
Hyde Park was a new one that blew me away when I first smoked it. it was so good it found a place in my cellar and I add a tin to my orders whenever I can.
1792/Cob Flake is good, BUT since I'm a Vitamin-N lightweight, I only take half-bowls and DGT often.
G&H Rum Rope is really good, but again, as a lightweight, I prefer smaller bowls with frequent stops. This blend is great when you're doing something like working on the car, where you can't have the pipe in your mouth all the time.
Anyway, these are my observations, and you will have different ones. Either way, I look forward to hearing what you think of them.
-Jason