If you age it for 5 years or longer, it should get very dark. All of the new I've gotten is quite light.
Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake
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If you age it for 5 years or longer, it should get very dark. All of the new I've gotten is quite light.
True.
It will also get harder and require more work to prepare. Perhaps a jack hammer will be of assistance. But, my oh my, old FVF is glorious.
Thank you for a well written and thoughtful review.
I’ve only smoked one tin of this blend as that is all I’ve managed to get my hands on, but I did love it. I just got a half tin of St James Flake based on lightmybriar’s recent review and I think I may give it the edge over FVF.
I’ve only smoked one tin of this blend as that is all I’ve managed to get my hands on, but I did love it. I just got a half tin of St James Flake based on lightmybriar’s recent review and I think I may give it the edge over FVF.
This thread inspired me to fire up a bowl and I probably had my best experience yet with it. In my cheapest pipe of a cheap collection, my $25 Scott's Burner, it really sang. I have noticed the pipe does bring out some extra sweetness from blends. Go figure.
It's about time to open one of the jars. I figure at 8 years of age it should be pretty good. The first time I tried this blend I absolutely hated it. It tasted like straw in the stable after the horse had urinated over it. I tried drying for an hour and it was a little better but still wasn't rocking my world.
A member here suggested that I let it dry out for about 5 hours and that did the trick. All the flavors popped. I'll play around with prep. I haven't tried cube cutting it, just breaking up the flake. But as I haven't smoked it for several years it will be fun to experiment.
I also have a couple of pounds of SJF of similar vintage that needs some attention.
A member here suggested that I let it dry out for about 5 hours and that did the trick. All the flavors popped. I'll play around with prep. I haven't tried cube cutting it, just breaking up the flake. But as I haven't smoked it for several years it will be fun to experiment.
I also have a couple of pounds of SJF of similar vintage that needs some attention.
M
mothernaturewilleatusallforbreakfast
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It's a pain in the ass blend, but it's good. I've never gotten citrus from FVF, but I guess if it was fresh,,, then???. It's always been the hot beef of Virginia flakes for me. Ribbon? I've never gotten it to ribbon on a rub out for the life of me. Cube cut is the way to go with FVF.
Thanks for this encouragement... I'm going to give SJF a go. In fact, I am going to give a fair number of SG blends a go, including this one, Skiff Mixture and Squadron Leader. Problem is that it will take me a while as I don't smoke every day and I can get too many tobaccos going at once if I am not careful...
So many good tobaccos to try! Nice problem!
I tried this for the first time several months ago and did not like it at all. I placed the remainder of the tin a jar a put it away. I pulled it out the other day and rubbed out a couple of flakes. This time I found it pleasing and easy to smoke. I noticed a sweetness I did not recall from the first time. I have several jars put away and look forward to the aging process.
Great write up on a fine tobacco. I've got 250g in 5 jars aging in the cellar. plus a few other tins I usually rub out the flake and let it dry for an hour or two and it smokes fine with a few re-lights.
I've had some nirvana smokes from the Gawith stable.... it's sometimes hard to get it perfect, but when it is, it is!
That was my experience with FVF occasionally transcendent, just not often enough to smoke regularly.
Good Review OP ty
It took me a long time before I learned how much dry time was needed for me to be able to fold and stuff FVF. Once I got it down it has been a real pleasure to smoke.
This is a fantastic tobacco.
Can't say I've got it hassle free but I just love the fermented, bready taste.
Can't say I've got it hassle free but I just love the fermented, bready taste.
This is one of those tobaccos that everybody just has to have. Many new smokers buy 250g boxes without ever trying it. Experienced smokers have mountains of it stashed in their cellar. The online shelves are wiped clean quickly after it becomes available. It feels to me like it's become a status symbol, almost like you can't be a real pipe smoker without having and enjoying FVF. I find it to be ok but not necessarily miles above the many other fantastic virginia flakes on the market. I predict that a massive glut of well aged FVF will be available on the secondary market when the baby boomers start kicking the bucket.
I've skipped the boxes of FvF for the SjF instead....oh so good!
I’ve skipped them both in favor of Best Brown Flake; not that I’m short and any of the three.
I got a 250g of this thinking I couldn't go wrong. Boy was I wrong... Old fashion British tobaccos are a nightmare to deal with. After coming from out of the tin smokeable blends like Dunhill, this was the total opposite. Even with all the warnings that come with Gawith blends, and I was ready for the worst, I'm still blown away. I just cant get anything enjoyable out of it. No matter how long you dry it in the open air, it smokes hot and bitey. Ive tried cutting my own ribbon from a number of flakes, jarring and air drying my bowl for 30minutes or so. The way it dries is so strange, it doesn't get nice and bouncy, it becomes like strands of ROCK. I mean how dry do does it have to be before its not a total mess? Is the "tongue bite" im experiencing not really tongue bite, but the actual flavor/sensation of a "full flavored virginia" ? Even got Esoterica Dunbar recently, I love the taste but holy crap, gotta dry this one too and it still tends to be bitey.
Are all old world British blends like this? Is it just my mouth chemistry? At this point my only hope is to let it age for the next decade and maybe it'll be smokeable, but even then I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was just as bad then.
Any suggestions or experiences similar to mine would be appreciated.
Are all old world British blends like this? Is it just my mouth chemistry? At this point my only hope is to let it age for the next decade and maybe it'll be smokeable, but even then I wouldn't be surprised at all if it was just as bad then.
Any suggestions or experiences similar to mine would be appreciated.
I completely empathize with your frustration, pooch. It took me a few years as a new pipesmoker to figure out how to get these blends to smoke favorably for me. I tried and failed so many times that I wrote off the whole brand. After three or four years, I was able to come back to them with more experience and better technique. Now I have no trouble whatsoever.
In my case, I erred in just about every way possible. Over-puffing, not drying the tobacco, poor packing...coming back, I had a much better cadence, and had much more experience packing successful bowls of properly dried tobacco.
Gawith stuff ages very nicely. I’d recommend that you put yours aside for a bit, smoke some more hassle-free tobaccos, learn your preferences, then revisit them later. That’s what I’d say to my past-self.
That's good advice, as I am a new pipe smoker. I will certainly keep trying. It quite obvious blends like FVF are premium and I love the old world vibe but dammmnn it's been frustrating.
I already somewhat gave up on it, and tried blending it with other blends that im not so crazy about to maybe equalize the effect and that kind of works.
I already somewhat gave up on it, and tried blending it with other blends that im not so crazy about to maybe equalize the effect and that kind of works.
It's fussy tobacco. You're not going to get instant gratification out of it like you would with Dunhill. My first experience was about as bad as you're describing. I'd say just put it away for a while and come back to it at a later date when you're feeling more patient (and cuz time in a jar only helps it anyway).
In any event, what works for me is to rub it out pretty thoroughly between my palms and then dry it before putting it in a pipe. I light it using a lighter. I tamp a lot and relight regularly. I don't try to puff too much and I don't let the bowl get very hot. If it's still smoking too moist, I set the pipe down and move on to something else and let the pipe rest for a good long while (sometimes overnight) and then come back to it later. It's usually pretty compliant by then and lights up instantly and tastes pretty damn good.
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