SG Best Brown

[crpntr1]

Im not quite as eloquent as some of you guys but heres a review for ya:

Several of you rave about this stuff so I was excited to acquire a tin, I'm dissapointed, it's uneventful at best. Mostly bleh, not bad, just not great either

 

[scurvydog]

I just opened a tin for first time. It is drying right now before I jar it up. It is sliced much thicker than FVF. I'm going to smoke a bowl in the AM while doing my 90 minute study session.

 

[rhogg]

I like them both but I find they have very different flavors. FVF is richer, and BBF is brighter. FVF is stronger, and BBF is sweeter.

 

[dragonslayer]

...Perique...

 

[drrock]

Sorry it didn't float your boat.

For my personal taste, Gawith's Best Brown Flake is one of the most consistent straight Virginia pipe tobaccos I've tried. Hadn't had it in a few years - for a while it was darn near impossible to find.

Then one day in August 2011, it showed up in stock at Payless Pipes. While I realized the blend might have changed for the worse, I still took a flyer & picked up a few tins. Opened one that December & once again discovered what a fabulous subtle delicious easy-smoking high quality blend it is. For me it is one of those blends that didn't knock my socks off right away, but it really grew on me. As in the old Robbie Robertson line, "You like it know but you'll learn to love it later..."

 

[hfearly]

BBF is probably the sweetest VA I've ever smoked. Rich dark bread, hay, sweetness. Instant summer day. Then again, all my BBF has at least 3-5 years of age on it, which truly does make a difference with a Virginia. Chris, jar it, forget it and try again in 2020! ;-)

 

[dragonslayer]

I enjoy BBF as the first bowl. Sets you up with a smooth and sweet flavor. Later I get into the vapors so it's nice to start out slow.

 

[crpntr1]

Chris, jar it, forget it and try again in 2020

already put in cellar

 

[surlysoul]

It is interesting to see everyone's different tastes. I like BBF so much that I have a pipe dedicated to it and I don't have as many pipes as a lot of people here.

 

[scurvydog]

Dry it out and you may get a different experience.

 

[crpntr1]

Dry it out and you may get a different experience

I treated it like I do FVF,i.e. let it dry about two hours then cubed it, loaded the bowl and let it sit another 30 min or so

 

[crpntr1]

@scurvydog what did you think of it?

 

[scurvydog]

I think is is very good. I still like FVF better, but it is right up my alley.

 

[flyguy]

rhog wrote:

I like them both but I find they have very different flavors. FVF is richer, and BBF is brighter. FVF is stronger, and BBF is sweeter.

Totally agree. I find it important to make BBF the first smoke (or at least smoke it with a clean palate). It is subtle and if I smoke it behind another blend I miss most of the flavors.

 

[sparroa]

Smoke it by itself for a few days if you want a true picture of the blend.
(Some would say to smoke an entire tin)
BBF is pretty good but FVF is more of my style. Like all things Samuel Gawith, it can be tough to have a consistently sublime experience. (St James Flake is the best performing tobacco in the SG stable, IMO)

 

[sparroa]

Try, try again...

 

[scurvydog]

Send me all FVF that you don't like!

 

[gray4lines]

it's uneventful at best. Mostly bleh, not bad, just not great either

Well, that doesn't sound very promising! Lol! I have one tin I am waiting to pop.
I may have to give it a try tomorrow!

 

[alexl]

From my experience, FVF and BB must be cellared for 6 months at least before opening. It become totally different.

 

[taerin]

On my scale, BBF is only a 3/10, FVF is a 10/10...