Blend of the Week #11: Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake
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I'm going to start off this review with a rather controversial bit of speculation: I think 1792 Flake is a pure Virginia. It's a dark fired African Virginia so the flavor is a little different from US grown Virginias, but it smokes like a pure Virginia, has the mouth feel of a pure Virginia, and the room note of a pure Virginia so I feel reasonably confident in asserting that it is indeed a pure Virginia. There's no hickory smoked barbeque pit Dark Fired Kentucky flavor here nor does it have the smoke density, throat scratch, or heavy room note of a blend containing Burley; it seems to be a pure dark fired Virginia through and through.
That matter out of the way, the tin aroma of 1792 Flake is... unique. There's just no other way to say it, this stuff smells like a pack of Black Cat firecrackers (and the strength of it's nicotine content is not dissimilar to a firecracker). It reminds me a lot of the way the air smells on 4th of July, all warm and summery with a firecracker'y gunpowder aroma behind all the natural grassy summer evening scents. As weird as it is for a pipe blend to smell like fireworks in the summer, I actually really like it since it's an aroma I have a lot of positive associations with.
Flavor wise though 1792 Flake is kind of a two note wonder. There's the dark, earthy, woody, fireplace smokey dark fired Virginia and a whole heckuva lot of slightly herbal vanilla'y tonquin bean, but it is a good combo. The tonquin topping blends with the natural flavors of the dark fired Virginia tobacco so well that it's often difficult to tell where the tobacco ends and the tonquin begins, and neither flavor overpowers the other. It's a very harmonious blend and I think tonquin was the perfect topping choice for this one. Also, in spite of 1792 Flake being a Gawith blend you'll find no floral Lakeland essence whatsoever in this one.
The mouth feel of the smoke is light and pleasant like a pure Virginia, and the retrohale is smooth and surprisingly gentle for a blend of such strength with only an occasional mild tingle through the sinuses. As with most Samuel Gawith blends though, even when dried well before smoking it does still require quite a few relights. After smoking it leaves the bowl clean and dry with almost no moisture to speak of and no ghost at all.
The room note is quite light and mellow as well, combining a bit of fireplace smokiness with the aroma of bread baking in the oven that pure Virginias are known for; with a little touch of some vanilla confection from the tonquin. 1792 is one of the few very strong blends that I think non-smokers would find the scent of to be appealing, assuming they don't mind the smokey fireplace aroma aspect.
I won't go into too much detail about the nicotine content, since I feel like I covered all the warnings and precautions about Gawith's dark range pretty well in last week's Coniston Cut Plug review, but suffice it to say that regardless of your experience level as a tobacco enthusiast, 1792 Flake will slap you in the face and call you a sissy. It's right up there at the top of the "extra strong" category and 15 or 20 minute smokes are about my limit with this one. Thankfully it relights quite well and never turns harsh even when the pipe is put down and relit hours later or the next day, so it's easy to just smoke a little bit here and there as your nicotine tolerance allows.
I've had a bit of back and forth relationship with 1792, initially finding myself repelled by the Black Cat firecracker tin note and tonquin flavoring before eventually developing a fondness for it. Then late one night last summer I foolishly smoked it on an empty stomach without sipping it slow and respecting it and got (understandably) horrendously ill with nicotine sickness. After that I refused to smoke 1792 for many months, before eventually coming back around to it again and sipping it with the measure of respect it not only deserves but demands. Now I've been having a pretty good experience!
It smokes well and is very smooth, has as much nicotine as anyone could ask for, and is overall just a very nicely behaved blend. However, this is not a terribly complex blend with a lot of intricate flavor nuances to suss out. 1792 Flake is a blunt instrument. From it's presentation to it's flavor profile and strength it's all fairly simple and straightforward. You get dark fired Virginia, tonquin bean, and a whole lotta nicotine. If that's what you're after then you'll certainly find it here, but if you're in the market for something more complex with lots of subtle ever-changing flavors then you might be served better by other blends in Gawith's dark range like Dark Flake Aromatic or Coniston Cut Plug; and that's kinda where I fall on this one.
1792 isn't a bad blend by any means, but after smoking it every day for a week there just wasn't enough variety to the flavor profile to keep me interested. It was just the same two flavor notes every puff every time and by the halfway point of the week I was already feeling bored of 1792 and wishing I was smoking something else, so for me this one sadly isn't a keeper. I'd highly encourage anyone else looking for a nicotine rich yet still very smooth blend to give Samuel Gawith 1792 Flake a try though! Just because it wasn't for me doesn't mean it won't be for you, and you may find that you appreciate 1792's consistent flavor more than I did.
In other news, this week I had a very difficult choice to make. With the impending closure of Sutliff in February and somewhat limited finances on my part, I had enough funds to either purchase a lifetime supply of my all time favorite summer blend (and all around favorite Virginia blend) Sutliff 507C Virginia Slices or stock up on War Horse Bar and War Horse Green, which I do like but haven't thoroughly smoked enough to determine how I'll really feel about them over the long-term. With only enough funds to choose one, I went with the 507C Virginia Slices since I know it's my favorite summertime blend that I never want to have to go a summer without, and with 3 pounds of it on the way and the plan to acquire another 2 pounds next week I should have enough to smoke a couple ounces every summer for the rest of my days; which if I'm lucky will be another 40 years or so.
With my favorite Virginia fairly well secured that got me thinking about other bulk blends I might want to never be without and could reasonably afford to cellar a lifetime supply of, and there are definitely a couple that come to mind. So, for next week's blend of the week I'm doing a Burley blend that I'm extraordinarily fond of! Historically I've had difficulty smoking Burleys, since even though I love the flavor of Burley it can give me a pretty sore throat, but as my smoking technique has improved I've learned that if I keep the tobacco burning very slow and cool, sip the smoke gently, and dump out the bowl when it gets down to the bottom third and starts turning harsh I can usually have a pipe of Burley without getting a sore throat. With that in mind, next week's blend of the week is...
Cornell & Diehl Pegasus
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