What follows is the first time I've tried to get a deeper understanding of Lakeland blends, the tobacco but more the flavorings. After that are some general remarks.
Perhaps Russ Ouellette's comments on them in tobaccoreviews in his introduction to his "Lakeland Brickle" would help by way of introduction. "Over the past decade, the popularity of the Lakeland tobaccos, with their stout body and unusual flavors, has exploded. In fact, they’ve grown to such a point that availability is now a big issue. What differentiates these blends from everything else are their strength and the old-fashioned “scents” they use. They also make quite a few of their tobaccos in the form of flakes, cakes and ropes."
1792 from what I now understand is not really a Lakeland, but as it is highly flavored and odd to the initiate can be adequately discussed with them. My first reaction was that it was very strange, and very strong. I couldn't keep away from it, however, attracted to both of these qualities but smoked it in small amounts, with a tin here and a tin there for nearly a decade. It in fact at times still continues to confuse my palate; the taste impression that I come away with can be very different from what I deem its real taste, basically tonquin, with adequate tobacco flavor support.
I've read many times the estimation that the tobaccos in Lakelands, and by that term I mean specifically those made by the former SG and now SG/GH, that are highly flavored with rose geranium, ot tonquin, etc., are very good or excellent; specifically I've read this about 1792. Maybe, but given the amount of flavoring that is used, these blending houses might be choosing the substrate tobacco by how well it soaks up the topping/casing, and perhaps also by how well it burns given that casing. Though the contention that the base tobacco is of high quality may be true, I find it challenging to get more than a nominal tobacco flavor from 1792, as tonquin dominates. The flavors of Ennerdale flake are described as "A background flavour of Almond is enhanced with the addition of fruit flavours, vanilla, and the special 'English type' flavours, which give this tobacco its distinctive, yet typical "English Aroma" associated with the UK best selling brands such as Condor and St Bruno." Doesn't this description seem to indicate a boatload of casing? And if so wouldn't the tobacco substrate be more likely chosen not for excellent taste but by its ability to carry the casing, and thus manipulated, burn?
Glengarry Flake would seem to be more lightly flavored, "with the addition of some special Virginia casings to enhance the natural sweetness of the leaf, finished off with a light top flavor of Honey Dew and other sweet flavorings which all combine after pressing to provide a mild sweet gently aromatic smoke." Grasmere would seem more lightly scented as "an overall top-note flavour of English Rose and Geranium." More lightly flavored, these two flakes would need better tasting tobacco, as would Coniston Cut Plug and Condor that are not so dominated. Bosun Cut Plug would appear to be not dominated, as it is described as "with only slightly over 50% (54%) flue-cured Virginias from Brazil, Zimbabwe and Malawi and 31% dark fired leaf this is a fairly strong smoke. There is also some sweeter sun cured leaf from Malawi and rich cigar type notes." "The special Virginia casings complement the top notes derived from the addition of sharper flavours including oil of cloves and rose geranium."
Finishing this look at the tobaccos themselves, more general remarks follow.
By an inexplicable shift in my palate, I never liked rose geranium scenting until this year, but I was convinced that I would love Condor before I smoked it, and now I like it very much. Poking around online looking at tobaccos not distributed in the US I found that GH makes a version of Dark Plug scented with rose geranium; Guantley's has it for ~$180.00/pound, but it is not distributed in the US.
There is a great deal of interest in and writing about Lakelands, and such is very well done by misterlowercase here:
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/lakelands-an-attempt-to-understand-the-famous-gawith-scents
Loving Condor has put me on the Lakeland trail, and the history and complexity of what the Lakeland blenders have done I find very interesting, as I'm up for something new in the tobacco way given years of adherence to the school of thought to which I was introduced when I started smoking, that natural tobaccos were superior to flavored, and given that blending techniques could fashion endless variations using only them, what was the point in looking for flavor elsewhere; and that any flavor achieved by additives was therefore unneeded or possibly a cheap trick to increase revenue. Everyone wants to profit from their business, but I think dismissing the entire category is done more from ignorance than any point such comments make. Saying that Lakelands taste/smell like granny's perfumed panties certainly indicates aversion but beyond that doesn't say very much. Applying several casings and tracking down which tobaccos shine the best with them, or vice versa, has much difficulty and art as the complex blending of natural tobaccos.
Mr. Pease is ambivalent about scenting, although he ends with a strong accolade, " I’m not an ardent fan of Eu d’OldLady in my tobaccos, though there are some wonderful, more delicate scents being used by my friends at the traditional UK houses. But, the whole of the Lake District picture is something quite beyond drenching a bunch of baccy with Jean Naté and being done with it."
We might end with more of Mr. Ouellette's description of making "Lakeland Brickle." "We start with a combination of Virginias (mostly red), along with dark, tangy Burleys (which add depth, spice and strength) and infuse them with traditional Lakeland-style flavors such as Rose and Tonquin Beans (among others), but with a light hand to avoid the “soapiness” that some people dislike. We then heat-treat it and put it under pressure to further develop the flavor and body," I read thoughtful blending with thoughtful application of additives.
