Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

[Mis Pipas]

Ball
you might have more luck in your country to find Bormiolli Rocco, Fido.

Only from abroad at exaggerate freight cost. Thank you anyway

 

[logs]

aging is the new "thing" it seems.

It seems?? Apart from bitching about government regulation, it's about all anybody talks about around here. (Well that and dark-fired Kentucky).

 

[B.Fee]

I also think it has to do with the fact that flakes/rope/plugs age extremely well.
and aging is the new "thing" it seems.

Aging is my excuse to buy large quantities of tobacco. ?

 

[PoochPiper]

Thanks to some advice on this thread I may have finally gotten a grasp on this one.
Rub it out vigorously, leave out to dry wayyyyy longer than you would for anything else.
Leave it in a previously used tin that is not air tight forever. Dry,dry and more dry.
It may go against every bit of common sense you have to dry it that long but it must be done.
Even if you are left with dust in the end, It is the only way to enjoy this tobacco.
It will smoke fine in bone dry state, I suspect these Gawiths are so wet that even after a year in the Saraha desert, there would still be sufficient moisture in the leaves so smoke without bursting into flames.
Im glad I gave this another chance as I have plenty more to enjoy.
This also gives me hope for plum pudding special reserve that refused to work with me.
Time to get drying.

 

[bent1]

This is how I quickly dry fresh from the tin SG flakes. Put on a paper towel & microwave for 10-15 seconds. Let cool for a minute, then rub out & stuff into pipe.

 

[Saintwilliam]

This is how I quickly dry fresh from the tin SG flakes. Put on a paper towel & microwave for 10-15 seconds. Let cool for a minute, then rub out & stuff into pipe.

I do not have a microwave, I have put a tealight candle , using a medium sized, upside down, sour cream container that had had the bottom and sides cut out, under my tobacco plate and just heated the plate up and thus the tobacco to dry it out. Seems to work a little...

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Obviously fine blend but It was too much hassle to prepare, Capstan Blue suits me better,taste and otherwise

 

[Saintwilliam]

This has me hankerings to go crack a tin, but i have so many other tins open...

What to do?

 

[perdurabo]

I have never written a review and compared to the likes of some of the jedi night smokers on here, I don't hold a candle. However, maybe a few novice reflections for the piper passing by might be of some use.

My entry point into Virginias has mainly come through VaPers. I bought a tin of Orlik Golden Sliced and a small bag of PS Luxury Bullseye Flake. Immediately I liked what I smoked and continue to explore VaPers a bit, but thought I should try a straight Virginia. Searching this forum and tobaccoreviews.com, you can't miss the the venerable Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake (FVF). A fellow piper on here sent me a sample, which I tried and thought I liked, so I finally splurged this week on a tin.

Opening the tin which is beautiful in its own right, you are immediately greeted with what you expect from a Virginia. Sweet, grassy, and maybe a bit citrusy. From the start, you have a sense that this is a gentle tobacco that is going to give a mellow, but pleasant experience. In fact, it is one of the few tobaccos I have opened that I have thought, this would be even interesting to chew! It smelled that nice.

Reading tobaccoreviews.com, you can't help but notice the debate and sometimes outward hostility about how damp FVF is, resulting in multiple relights. I must admit I was a bit intimidated by this and expected the worst. My tin was not dripping in moisture, but it was certainly damp. Reading around on the reviews, some people even leave FVF out over night before smoking. Rather than do that, I took a bit of a risk and decided to compromise. I rubbed it out and let it set for 30 minutes.

It was still pretty moist and loading my pipe I could see the risk of over packing, so I intentionally adjusted my technique to go slightly lighter than I would a ribbon cut aromatic. Having already smoked VaPers, I was prepared for the possibility that it might take several lights to get it going and it did. However, once I did get it going, it was no worse to keep lit than an aromatic requiring a few relights. I was prepared for the worst and it actually did not seem too bad.

The smoke was smooth, buttery, cool and was consistent with the tin note. It was not dominating, but rather enticingly subtitle... inviting you to slow down and find the flavours, as opposed to a freight train of flavours that knocks you over. I did not find in my impression that the flavour profile changed much through the bowl, though towards the end it seemed to get a bit more tangy for me. I did not notice a lot of nicotine, so I would rank it somewhere between low to medium. I did not get bit and never had a concern as this just strikes me as an easy smoking tobacco unless you get crazy in the relights.

I don't usually drink alcohol when I smoke a pipe, but on this occasion I paired it with a healthy shot of Jim Beam Double Oak on the rocks. It was a nice combo.

Compared to a VaPer I must admit I had to adjust my frame of mind that this is much more one dimensional smoke and I could easily see that sometimes that is what the doctor has ordered... a simple, refreshing, smooth smoke, that you could sit out on the front porch with on a warm sunny day, like a glass of iced tea. I am going to keep some FVF for such occasions when a VaPer just seems a bit too much. Nice tobacco!

Thank God you got a tin. I’ve had to age the 250g box for 2 years to get it to taste even remotely close to the tin version.

The first tin that I smoked stellar, but Hype is strong with this one. I think GLP Union Square is better. Different, but better.

Always jar tobacco and watch how much your taste change, or in some cases the tobacco changes.

 

[perdurabo]

Obviously fine blend but It was too much hassle to prepare, Capstan Blue suits me better,taste and otherwise

Very True on all accounts.

 

[PoochPiper]

This has me hankerings to go crack a tin, but i have so many other tins open...

What to do?

Get more mason jars, that's what I do :p

 

[chopper]

I've only tried one Samuel Gawith tobacco; won a tin of Firedance on an ebay auction [with a tin of Black Forest that I've yet to open] Terrible stuff.

Had a sniff of it several months later & most of the topping had dissipated, leaving quite a nice smoke [FD is supposed to be BBF topped with blackcurrant topping]

Here in Nanny State Australia it's now illegal to import tobacco. A 50g tin of tobacco is over $110.
So it looks unlikely that I'll get to ever try FVF. [Unless I win lotto & go O/S]

Oh well, I at least managed to sneak in a few pounds of baccy over the Xmas rush [Off course there were no Gawith/SG products to be found]

If there's any Aussies here who have a stash of G/SG baccys who would like to do a trade I've got plenty of VAs & VaPers. Shoot me a PM.

 

[PoochPiper]

I've only tried one Samuel Gawith tobacco; won a tin of Firedance on an ebay auction [with a tin of Black Forest that I've yet to open] Terrible stuff.

Had a sniff of it several months later & most of the topping had dissipated, leaving quite a nice smoke [FD is supposed to be BBF topped with blackcurrant topping]

Here in Nanny State Australia it's now illegal to import tobacco. A 50g tin of tobacco is over $110.
So it looks unlikely that I'll get to ever try FVF. [Unless I win lotto & go O/S]

Oh well, I at least managed to sneak in a few pounds of baccy over the Xmas rush [Off course there were no Gawith/SG products to be found]

If there's any Aussies here who have a stash of G/SG baccys who would like to do a trade I've got plenty of VAs & VaPers. Shoot me a PM.

It's stories like this that make me want to stock up as much as possible. Could just be a matter of time for Canada.

 

[chopper]

It's stories like this that make me want to stock up as much as possible. Could just be a matter of time for Canada.

From what I hear Canada is not far behind.
Range of choice was rather limited here due to being a small market but when plain packaging with the disgusting pics was introduced many importers/blenders tossed in the towel. And really, who could blame them?
Apart from MB Plumcake I had never tried an English blend until I realised that one could order from O/S.

Before the new laws were introduced last July, we were told that the new laws would only affect 'commercial quantity'. I had a really bad feeling so I ordered as much as my limited income allowed. [I've got over 45lb in my 'cellar']
Other Aussies on social media bagged me out [probably govt. stooges] calling me 'paranoid' amongst other things.

As it turned out I was right. It's now illegal to import even a small tin of tobacco without a license.
If it's stored correctly then tobacco does not deteriorate. Some get better with age.
You'd be wise to stock up while you can before your govt treats citizens with the same contempt as mine.

 

[BROBS]

You heard it here first, folks!

 

[Sonorisis]

My approach to FVF is unorthodox, but it works for me. I dry it each day for three days, putting it back in the tin to normalize (equalize) at night. After three days of drying, it is pretty crispy, but still doesn't take a match well. So, before smoking it, I give it a couple of whirls around in the coffee grinder and that produces ribbons. At this point, it packs well with just the use of gravity. It lights easily and smokes really well. It is an effortless smoke when full "rubbed" out and dry. Any less than this amount of preparation, however, results in the aforementioned frustrations.

 

[logs]

Obviously fine blend but It was too much hassle to prepare, Capstan Blue suits me better,taste and otherwise

I understand this. I often feel like Gawith flakes are more trouble than their worth.

 

[Kozeman]

It's stories like this that make me want to stock up as much as possible. Could just be a matter of time for Canada.

This reminds me of a funny story Groucho Marx told. He was visiting W.C. Fields and was shown an attic where W.C. had stashed a ton of booz. Groucho said to W.C., "You know prohibition is over, right?" to which W.C. responded. "Ahhh, but if they try to do it again,,,,".

 

[magicpiper]

Just received a 250g box of FVF. It is a lot darker than ones I received in the past. I suspect it had a little more age on it than usual. The smell out of the box was unbelievable. I jarred it up for future use. I do love aged Virginia’s!

 

[snoopy311]

I haven’t smoked much of FVF but I have about a pound put away in jars for aging. I’m excited to try it with about 5 years of age on it. I’ve heard it’s sublime.