Tobaccos Samuel Gawith - Navy Flake

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2004-08-20		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is another masterpiece from SG, similar in appearance and presentation to their Balkan Flake, but quite distinctive. My discription of the appearance and handling of this tobacco is the same as can be found in my review of SG Balkan Flake. Here the latakia is used sparingly and submerged into the overall flavor of the smoke. Clearly, the Virginia has a top dressing which reminds me of plum, but that is a mere approximation. The result is that the flavor of the Virginia combined with the latakia and top dressing hits a pure and beautiful note that is sustained throughout the entire bowl. This is a mild and mellow smoke that will transport you far from the madding crowd. Somebody at Samuel Gawith is a genius. Most highly recommended. Paddy.

55 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2014-05-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The Virginias are slightly grassy with some tangy fruit, providing a nice solid base for the light smokey, woodsy, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia. The Latakia will pop up a little more here and there if you cube cut it, but never enough to dominate. The rum topping is lightly applied, and doesn't tone down the tobaccos much. The strength and taste levels are medium.The nic-hit is a couple of steps past the center of mild to medium. No bite or harsh moments. This flake may necessitate a little dry time, but not too much, and you do need a little moisture to get the inherent flavors. Slow burning, cool and clean with a smoothly, mildly sweet and savory, consistent taste all the way to the finish, though you may have a little wetness at the bottom. Will require relights. Has a pleasant, lightly lingering after taste. Depending on your smoking habits, this is nearly an all day smoke with just enough strength to keep you interested if you wish to indulge more than once a day.

-JimInks

54 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-08-23		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one took quite awhile to show its strengths. I did not like the first half-tin but eventually I caught up to it. Certainly it seems straightforward enough but it let go of its secrets with reticence.

Nice looking flake... thick flakes that took well to fold-n-stuff. It performed best in that state and with minimal drying out. Too dry and it lost its sparkle, but somewhere halfway between tin moisture and tinder was best. No nicotine overload with this one.

This tobacco has one of the best finishes of any blend containing latakia that I've ever smoked. Even during the first half-tin when I was bored out of my skull, the finish on this was gorgeous. I think this is why I gave it so much attention - in order to get to the end! Eventually the high quality virginia tang won me over, with the wisp of latakia to make things interesting and complex. Never did taste any rum but I could smell it in the tin. A light smolder on this one rather than heavy clouds is the way to go. The flavor seems to open up better with the least amount of heat. This then becomes an almost chewy smoke with incredible depth. I can't quite rank it as a "top dog" but this is one that any VA lover that isn't afraid of a little latakia should try. I will probably pick up a couple more tins (if I can find them) and smoke on rare occasions. Man, that finish is to die for! If the entire smoke tasted like the last few puffs, this would be in the top 5 of my rotation.

26 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2005-08-25		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I don't know why I chose to order a bunch of Navy Flake tobacco recently. Perhaps because they all seem so different. I have read books, reviews, pipe board and pipe club "experts," etc, and I still can't seem to get a definitive answer as to what constitutes a Navy Flake tobacco. I've recently smoked three of these genre tobaccos from three different makers and gotten three totally different taste sensations. The only common ground seems to be Rum casing.

Gawith's version contains Latakia in subdued measure along with some varying types of Virginia. My tin was only six months old and perhaps that's why the Virginia didn't taste very "settled." The Latakia did come through lightly as did the rum flavoring.

Pipestud

26 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pauliepipes (5)	2013-02-02		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I am a SG flake lover. I also love rum, so I had high expectations for this tobacco. The tin aroma was strong Latakia. I did not detect much rum. As far as flakes go, this was not as difficult to stay lit as some others. Yea it goes out some but the pipe you smoke flakes in makes a big difference. If you are having problems with this, I suggest you get a pipe with a wider inner bowl dimension and one that is not too deep. Check out a Baronet Bruyere 320 EX, a fantastic inexpensive pipe. It sports a 1” inner diameter bowl which is great for flakes.

Back to the Navy Flake review. The smoke has a very pleasant sweetness on the tip of the tong from the rum. It is mild-medium with absolutely no bite and medium nicotine. Not sure of the room note. I definitely don't mind it in my car! My next step is to compare this tobacco to G.L. Peases' Sextant. I'll give this one three and a half stars. I highly recommend it and I enjoy smoking it.

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Clive Moses Apikouris (41)	2012-12-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is an unbelievably satisfying and scrumptious tobacco. I was immersed in enjoyment from the moment I opened the tin. My nostrils filled with a literally mouthwatering sweet, smokey, savory aroma. Visually the strips of tobacco look to be chewy and tasty and match the olfactory experience. As others have mentioned previously, I felt the urge to tear off a bit and begin noshing on the stuff. Instead I rubbed it out and for a first run packed it into a favorite Peterson system pipe. It rubbed out moist but I never dry out tobacco. I like moist tobacco. Dry tobacco usually becomes bitter in my opinion. Lighting up my mouth was filled with smoke that was consistent with both the previous visual and olfactory information I had acquired. DEEELICIOUS! Lots of sweet n'smokey in a smooth viscus and non-monotonous manner. The flavor always stayed in the sweet n' smokey category but varied in degrees of bright and dark flavors. The latakia is only a seasoning here, this is nothing like a Balkan or English Oriental blend. It'a really on the other side of the "English" varieties. Just ripe sweet Virginias with a pinch of Latakia and a splash of Rum. Oh I suppose there is some of the famous (or infamous) Lakeland essence here also. The result is outstanding and a pure pleasure to smoke without a hint of harshness or tongue bite. I've since smoked it in a variety of pipes. It's best enjoyed in a medium size bowl with a bit of depth like my Blakemar Briars Straight Grain,bent billiard. I've smoked it in a nice Shalom Author and the lack of depth led to too much re-lighting. Most very highly recommended!

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (202)	2015-10-31		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The tin note is difficult to describe, but it smells nothing like latakia. It is sort of acrid and somewhat reminiscent of Squadron Leader. As it is customary with SG, these flakes do come in different lengths and thicknesses. The thinner ones will crumble easily whereas the thicker ones are harder to rub out. The flavour is of a subdued nature, creamy and mature. if you could smoke a dusty and musty old book, this is probably what it would taste like. The latakia side of it is not as strong or pronounced as in Balkan Flake, but it gives you the same impression of aged tobacco. I am finding this smoke both mild and satisfying at the same time. I am not sure as to what function the rum flavouring plays in this mixture, or if I can detect any. Not a complex tobacco that will evolve in different layers and undertones as you progress with your smoke, but it is really good for what is. It is easy to smoke, will get stronger every quarter of your bowl and won't change its nature, or get sour, at any point in time. Despite the fact it has no nicotine kick, this tobacco seems better suited for afternoon/evening smokes. The room note is mellow and rich, and has a spicy note to it. This is good old fashioned tobacco and I'll be buggered if it did not please the most demanding smokers out there, so I am going to give it four stars.

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (231)	2018-04-07		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Few words to describe a navy mixture or a navy flake. Essential elements of a navy blend are: Virgina – some other tobacco (usually Burley or Latakia or both) – Rum, preferably Jamaican Rum (without any other flavor). Samuel Gawith Navy Flake is really a navy flake, with a harmonious proportion of the ingredients and a skillful dosing of the Rum. Latakia is in a leading role; Rum is perceivable in the background but it is well present; Virginia is the sweet humus on which the flavors of Latakia and Rum develop. This is a quite perfect navy blend but you have to remember that it still remains a Latakia blend. In my opinion a little less Latakia and a little more Rum and that’s it. Anyway an old “noble” navy flake with Latakia. In my personal rating system (from 1 to 10) my score is more than 8 and three stars.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wibblefishofdoom (139)	2013-06-20		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Where to start with this one, it's a toughy. Bought it as part of a bulk order with the idea of leaving it enough time to dry out enough not to suffer from any relights from that famous SG moisture. After six weeks and several smokes in the past seven days, I now know I needn't have bothered.

The aroma from the tin is that of a mild rum, very pleasant. The flakes are nicely cut and have an nice healthy brown glow to them. Rubbing out is easy enough as is the packing. The lighting, well, that's where the problems start. Without drying, the tobacco does need a few relights. With drying - this is five weeks worth followed by three seconds in a microwave (yes, I was that desperate) - this improves only marginally. The smoke itself, well, what is there to say? It's just a sorry mess. For the first few smokes I got little bits of rum here and there and the odd whiff of a sea breeze, a fond reminder of a day trip to Whitby perhaps. It was a little dull but not unpleasant. However, as time goes by, the smoke has descended into some kind of intolerable awfulness that just can't be described, the taste of seaweed perhaps? Or the taste of French grapeshot maybe? This quickly descended into something unsmokable and, as a result, confined the remainder to the bin.

So, a very sad day indeed. The first few smokes, while dull, had a little promise. That little taste of sea air that pops up is to be admired, quite noble and ambitious of SG to try something like that, something a bit different. But this sadly, does not float my boat. In fact, it quite nicely sinks it. Which is fine by me because if I had a load of this stuff in the lower decks, I'd quite happily see it sink into a watery grave.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (250)	2009-10-12		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love the presentation of this flake-big, meaty rectangles cut to fit the tin. Dark brown with little lighter flecks here and there, and also some strange almost powdery off-white discoloration. Just sugars leeching out; not mold. Mold is hairy! One can smell the Latakia and the rum, but these do not overpower the Virginias in either the tin smell or the smoke. A good smoke-when one wants a Gawith natural Virginia with a little Latakia and mild rum topping to make it interesting. A good change of pace, in other words. Like most Gawiths I've tried, best smoked slowly, but won't hurt you too bad if you don't.

Well, after finishing the tin just have to upgrade to four stars-can't see why not. A unique and satisfying tobacco, and one of my favorite uses of a light application of Latakia. I will have to get some more, and may try the bulk version.

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-09-26		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Strong

Good lord, this is a delicious tobacco. I think the good points have been stated well enough by others. It's meaty. I mean, it really has a meaty, sweet beef jerky kind of smell in the tin.

The first time I tried this flake, I expected it to be a lot heavier blend; in fact, it's pretty moderate. The flavor is rich and smooth, it burns beautifully if rubbed out and dried a little (it's downright moist on arrival), and it's got enough nic-kick to keep one going on a late night writing session.

Delicious. One of my favorites.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	htduck (28)	2008-01-14		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This blend of Navy Flake is to puffing as a good grilled sirloin is to eating. Full yet not harsh. I love this smoke in the evenings outside by a fire. I don't understand anyone having a hard time packing and lighting this if they would take the time to visit the website. The instructions take all the guess work out. A fun friendly smoke. Three stars.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mnadz (69)	2015-11-18		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I have yet to find a Samuel Gawith blend I come close to liking, and for some reason I am desperately trying. Alas, I think this is it for me with SG. This blend has no idea what it wants to do. Is it an english with Latakia? Is it a virginia? Does it try to be an aromatic with the rum casing? Who knows, but for me it does none of the above and the three do nothing combined. Way to mild for me either way. Either I want a strong english or an aromatic where I can taste the casing. If you are anything like me, don't bother with this one at all.

Pipe Used: Ben Wade

Age When Smoked: Fresh

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-12-06		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

My local tobacconist got some of this in a few days ago. I was on my last flak of Mac Baren's NF, so i thought I would give SG's a try.

The rum flavoring may have come out in the aroma a little... but not much. There is plenty of Latakia, but not overwhelming amounts. Seemed to be nice dark virginias mostly. Lit it up easily after "fold-n-stuff". Has a very nice spicy taste! I loved it! Definitely will be ordering some more of this! Highly recommended

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (632)	2019-04-16		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

As I just recently finished what was left of my 250 g box of this that followed the tin I bought forever ago, I just realized that I have never reviewed this blend and what a shame that is, because it is so great.

Sam Gawith is one of the top two Virginia processers IMO (the other being the now defunct McClelland). This is a great example of another fine Virginia blend offered under the label.

Their Navy Flake is different from most others in that it includes Latakia with the standard ingredients of Virginia and rum. This blend does not have much complexity, but what it lacks in complexity, it makes up in taste. The Latakia is lightly applied just enough to take the Virginia sweetness in a different direction. The rum is applied even lighter still, which IMO is a good thing.

True to SG blends, the bulk is better than tinned. Like their other flakes, the tins have thick rubbery flakes; whereas, the bulk has long thin bacon like flakes. Both need some dry time, but after that, they will perform splendidly. This is one of my top blends and one of 4 SG blends everyone should try. The others being FVF, St. James Flake and Squadron Leader.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2017-04-22		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Samuel Gawith - Navy Flake.

I reviewed this years ago but wanted to re-post.

The flakes run the length of the tin, are around 2 cm's wide, and are of a medium thickness. They're quite a dark shade of brown with some light grain running lengthways, and the best part of the unlit blend is the moisture: 7/10 for any other manufacturer but 10/10 for Sam Gawith!

When I had my first bowl, years ago, I instantly noticed the thickness of the smoke: big plumes! The Latakia has a more subdued style than some of the over smoky, sharp, and caustic varieties. The Virginias form the majority of the smoke, giving gentle fruit, some sweetness, and a touch of hay. The rum is added lightly: there's no alcoholic traits, only a sort of molasses sweetness from it. Navy Flake burns steady, very slowly, and is cool.

I'd say the nicotine's a bit lighter than the majority of my fellow reviewers: mild to medium, and the room-note's not the best.

Not perfect, but I'll highly recommend it!

Four stars.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: New and opened

Purchased From: Various

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leeboy (20)	2015-10-02		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

I really wanted to like this but no. I have smoked three bowls and don't feel at all inspired to try anymore. I detected no rum, very light Latakia and occasional nice Virginia's. To me it just seemed like a weak English tobacco. Very bland and dull. I wish I had tried a sample before buying a tin. I know some people love this stuff but its not for me.

Pipe Used: Mr Brog

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: smoke king uk

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	twaksak (54)	2015-04-11		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Bought a mason jar from a friend which was 5 years old. Smoked a few bowls straight out of the jar; moist. And a bowl which I dried out as some suggested. Generally I don't like dried out tobacco - in most cases I feel the defined tastes of the different elements gets lost and all that remains is..... a dull, generic tobacco taste. And so it was with this dried out bowl for me. I would therefore smoke it moist as is.

Tin: A strong lemony smokey smell which was pleasant. Did not smell the Rum at all. Taste (Moist): A nice dark chocolate, infused with lemon taste with a smokiness far in the background. As I progressed through the bowl, some leathery, mouldy tastes were also present with Rum very far in the background. Taste (Dry): Nothing of the tastes I recorded was present in the dry bowl. Just a generic tobacco which even gave me tongue bite. Smoke slow; to the point that your pipe will die :-)

Overall: I will not dry it out again. Other than that, pleasant but will never be my "go to" tobacco. I don't like the tongue bite and would even have liked some more Latakia.

====EDIT REVIEW: Dec 2015=== Again, I'm forced to review my review - not the first time though. Just shows you how we, humans, change and how our tastes change (and of course, the tobacco too). I have upgraded my rating despite the fact that I don't like additional (aka other than tobacco) additives/casings etc.; but tried a bowl recently which was so satisfying that I find myself smoking this tobacco more and more.

Why I said in the first review to add Latakia, I wouldn't know because here is enough Latakia to keep me satisfied. Its smokey, leathery, mouldy layered with that dark chocolate and lemony flavours I mentioned in the first review. This time, I barely noticed the rum; actually, not at all. If I didn't re-read my review, I wouldn't even mentioned it.

So, really nice tobacco. In short, reminds me of a smokey, old cellar, or old study, with years of history packed in those leathery mouldy aromas.

Pipe Used: Stanwell, Savinelli

Age When Smoked: 5 years

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-09-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

As soon as you open the tin of SGNF you know it's not like their more famous offerings- rich blonde Va with dark Lat ribbons. I'll be honest, I can't taste the casing- there's no inherent sweetness to my palate apart from that of Va. This is a tasty blend; the quality of the virginias definitely shines through. A good everyday tobacco, great to have around when you don't know what to smoke or you want something straightforward but not prosaic. A bit of an inspired offering from S.G. It's beige, but in a good way. :-)

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	camachoman (6)	2010-01-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Although rubbing out flakes can be bothersome, this is worth the effort! Great balance, with just enough Latakia and a nice rum taste in the background! Excellent smoke!

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-12-13		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

like old dublin, but with rum. almost butterey. more latakia, too. good amount of nicotine, very tasty. good after dinner smoke. amazing taste when blown out the nose. ill buy it again from time to time.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-07-03		Medium	Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

On top of everything good that has been said about this weed, it has a very pleasant and distinctive tin aroma. I filled an empty tin of this with balkan Mixture, a week has gone now and every time I open the tin I still smell Navy Rum, rather than Balkan Mixture! A smell to die for.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pseudo Nim (128)	2008-05-30		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I've gone through several tins of this now over the last few months, and my views have changed, what I felt was a rather strong evening smoke, has now moved into a daytime one. The first time I smoked this, not being used to Latakia, I wondered what I was setting fire too. It seemed a bit strong but very pleasant, with just a hint of rum, so I kept this for an evening smoke with a book. As time and tins progressed, I now find I'm burning this earlier in the day and it seems quite mild and very pleasant. This is one of several Sam Gawiths Flakes I will not be without, and I keep a number of tins on hand. Four Stars.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dafunk5446 (1)	2016-08-07		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is by far and away one of my favorite tobaccos. I cannot stress how good this blend is. To me it is the perfect mix of Virginias and Latakia. You get a constantly shifting flavor profile out of this blend. It's fades in and out of Latakia and Virginia, and then a perfect marriage of the two. Not very strong Latakia (which I'm not a fan of anyway) but enough to keep you interested. It's the blend I load up when I want to sit out on back porch, watch the sunset, contemplate the universe, and relax before bed. I drift off and 45 mins later I realized I have snorked the whole damn bowl cause it's an amazingly simple, yet deeply complex flavor profile. This was the blend that made me finally understand Latakia. Sweet Smokey leather/meat fig pudding

Pipe Used: All

Age When Smoked: New to 1+

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2015-08-19		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Not real crazy about this one. The Latakia is more woody than smoky. Not much smokiness at all. The sweetness seems artificial in that it doesn't really show in the smoke, but shows in the mouth in the aftertaste. I don't taste any rum at all, but it is possible that the sweetness that builds in the mouth is from there. Just not my type of LatVa. I can smoke it without dying though so it gets two stars.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is extremely mild. Takes a few matches to get going, but burns well after that.

Pipe Used: MM Country Gentleman, Mark Twain, Diplomat Apple

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipemanuk (76)	2013-06-22		Medium	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

Well, I agree with Wibble on this one.

To be honest I have got fed up with SG's poor track record. I've had quite a few tins either not sealed and/or rusted inside. Tobacco so unevenly cut and soaking wet that it's a pain to get them to smoke evenly. I've even found mouldy tobacco on opening the tins. Sad to say it because I love Bracken Flake and 1792, when I could get a decent tin that is.

As for Navy Flake...I've had one or two tins where it's been a tolerably nice smoke but on the whole I have had the results Wibble has had.

I go to G & H now in the main...always good in cut, taste and flavour...and value for money.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2005-03-06		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

03-06-2005 Not a bell ringer for this piper.

Appearance and Tin Aroma: Smell sweet in the tin. Not sure what type of Rum that was used, but it is not overbearing.There is a slight odor of Latakia. The flakes are stacked neatly and look dark and feel sticky.

Packing and Lighting: even though the flakes are sticky, I just stufed them lengthwise in my pipe and let her rip. Surprisingly, it lit fairly easy, 4-5 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Sweet rum, Va tastes on the mature middle to low end flavor spectrum.

Mid-Bowl: A slight increase in strength. Not nuch complexity. Burns cool. Is there Latakia in here?

Bottom of Bowl: Just a slight increase of flavor. Nicotine is there but not overbearing. Definitely enough nicotine to require a good meal before smoking, though.

Overall: Where's the beef? This is a smooth no-nonsense Navy Flake, but it just did not do anything particularly exciting flavorwise for me. It is just a smooth middle of the road smoke. For some, that is enough. The leaf used in this blend is of high quality. I much prefer C&D's Black Frigate over this one.

Rating: 3 out of 5 Points

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2004-11-26		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Similar to Blackbear Queen Anne's Revenge (the Knoxcigar flake made by Gawith), perhaps lighter in Latakia and overall punch... Read my review for this other tobacco, and you'll have an idea.

This Navy Flake is even duller, more monochromatic and boring: not smooth and delicate, just dull.

You can't almost feel the Latakia, and get less Virginia sweetness and richness than in Gawith's pure Va flakes.

I really can't smoke this stuff: not unpleasant, simply in the category of "why should I waste my time with it?".

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WorkingClassChap (192)	2022-06-02		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Smoking now.

Tin from 2012. In my experience even 10 year old tins of SG blends are still too wet to smoke and this is no exception. After a long dry time this was ready to be smoked. Dark, formerly wet, flakes well formed and playable. Smells faintly of Latakia, more of a Virginia and fermented ketchup aroma from the jar. Packs and lights with some extra effort but it was well worth it.

The taste is definitely like the smell. The Latakia is in a distant second place to the Virginia. Now this is 10 years old so I suppose that is a major factor too. The Virginias are fermented, dark, woody, some lemon tartness, a tad sweet. The rum and age tones this down as it’s pretty mellow for a Virginia flake. The Latakia is herbal leathery and musty but it is faint. Adds some nice body and depth to this.

A Virginia navy flake with some character from Latakia. The retrohale is nice but may make you sneeze. The after taste was a bready flavor. No bite, slight back of the tongue tingle. As the bowl continues I thought it got better and better picking up some vegetative and floral notes. Had trouble keeping it lite so don’t be afraid to just let this dry and keep a fire source near by. Burns cool and as slow as can be. This burns so slow that I put my pipe down can came back to smoke it later.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Venkmann (1)	2019-12-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I have tried a dozen or so tins of this over the years and simply can't go along with the Virginia leaf explorers society nor the SG fan club that appears to love everything that is: 1. Flake 2. has the word 'Navy' somewhere 3. Tobacco from Britain (as in 'steeped in history')

SG has been available in Canada for at least fifty years if not a lot longer and I've smoked every SG blend that has reached our shore for decades. I am not anti-Gawith but neither am I weepy about the 'priviledge' some associate with access to SG tobaccos.

I smoke several SG tobaccos - three on a very regular basis and a three others every week or so. Samuel Gawith Navy Flake is not one of them. It is a bit of an abomination and certainly not to be considered a 'Navy Flake' despite what's on the label. What's wrong with it?

Firstly, the Virginia component SG chose for this flake is not the best they have. Secondly, their 'recipe' defies the historic blending conventions of a Navy Flake and the resulting taste is confused, just short of a shambles and completely misses the mark. Thirdly, even after considerable drying and working the flake, it's difficult to keep lit while smoking on land let alone at sea. Any real sailors would chuck this to the gulls in frustration. This is not just an exercise in academics either because I am not the type to write at length about a pipe tobacco because it is oddly made -- IF the end result is tasty. But it isn't good. It isn't even average. Latakia really has no business in something called Navy Flake let alone one produced in Britain by a company as old as SG. They should know better. Add to that mix a sprinkle of SG's Eau du Lakeland and you have an incomprehensible tangle your mouth can't sort out. Admittedly, I am old and cannot pick out all the nuanced tastes younger pipers believe thay can but good Navy Flake is simple and clean. This one is not.

Make no mistake; it doesn't matter how you air it, prepare it, pack it or what you smoke it in because for me, whatever small change that bring has never turned a sow's ear into a silk purse. SG Navy Flake is not getting any better over the years. I've smoked too many tins over time trying to like it, trying to reconcile myself with SGs approach to navy flake but it's a poor tobacco at best and does not deserve the high rating it has here. 1.5 to 2 stars from me.

Pipe Used: Dedicated bents

Age When Smoked: 6 months

Purchased From: Walper Hotel Tobacco Shop

Similar Blends: A bad batch of Three Nuns is the closest I can come.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2010-12-24		Medium	Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

Take a good English blend and a great navy flake. Put them together and you get a gem like this. A solid dose of Latakia. Love it. Sweet and smokey.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hemlock (65)	2009-08-08		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Reliable latakia flake. I've had my tin open for over a year, just getting around to it again. Imagine SG's Full Virginia Flake with a latakia leaf or two pressed into the cake before the factory cut it into flakes. It is meant to smoke on the dry side-- jam a couple flakes in a bowl without much method (no rubbing), and it smokes on its own.

Don't analyze it, just smoke it and get about your other business as you do. It is a companion smoke, not a religious rite.

Update 2022-04

Finishing the last bowl of flakes from the above tin. Same pipe, a full bent Savinelli. Tin seal was ineffective since opening, so it cycled between humidified and completely desiccated over the years. Impossibly cool and still as flavourful as ever with smooth Latakia, and hot pressed Virginia sweetness. Nicotine must be a highly stable molecule since it is still present in a 15 year old tin opened and closed over the years. Wish I had a bought a few more tins.

Pipe Used: Savinelli antique shell 604 KS Full bent

Age When Smoked: 15 years

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-05-06		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a really interesting tobacco! i've had a real experiment with navies recently and this is a favorite. I came to realise with smoking this that the term Navy refers more to the process than to the archetypal rum casing. I'm certainly a latakia lover, and greatly enjoy smoking in public/amongst friends where Latakia isn't so appreciated by those around me. Well here we have a delightfully flavoured navy with a wee smidgeon of Latakia that satisfies the Lat-palette yet hides in the room note! for me this is fantastic and quite unique!

I especially like flake tobaccos when i want a long slow smoke or when outdoors where a ribbon or shag cut just seems to burn to fast with the wind. this is a good flake to walk smoking with. like i mentioned with squadron leader, a good amount of nicotine in this 1, so best on a full stomach.

there are a lot of complaints regarding the moisture content of this smoke, but all tobaccos required different technique and this is a wonderful tobacco if you simply fold with a air pocket and leave for 15mins before lightning up. treat it as it deserves and you get a lovely smoke! I must stress how unique this navy flake is with its splatter of latakia a real must-try.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Django (4)	2008-06-15		Medium	Mild to Medium	Full	Tolerable

What a pleasure to smoke this ! I'm now having a great time with this tobacco ! In my opinion, this is the best flake I ever tasted. Although, it's a bit strong, the little dark chocolate aroma is excellent. It's a very well balanced tobacco. Very pleasant to smoke, I'm sure flake's amateurs will be delighted ! It shows well Samuel Gawith's experience in tobaccos.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-09-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

tin aroma reveals no rum, imo. only virginia and latakia. i rub the flakes out, as i find they light and burn too slowly i don't. the taste is rather different from the tin aroma. or rather, a lot of notes are added. this is a very spicy and complex tobacco. quite amazing, given it's simple contents. i wonder how the people at samuel gawith achieved this effect, as i don't feel that it's just the addition of rum.

anyway, this tobacco is a joy to smoke at any time of the day. bite free and lightweight, it's fine in the morning, and it's still got enough of interest to do fine in the evening. highly recommended.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-04-25		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Out of the three flakes I tried from SG, the others being Bracken and Balkan, this is my favorite. Navy Flake is very similuar to Balkan Flake, but with less latakia and real rum. The VA's are dark brown and the rum flavor is light and provides a nice sweet background. Don't get me wrong, this does not taste like a aromatic. Burns cool and down to a fine grey ash, with no tounge bite.

Fairly moist in the tin, so it needs some air time. My flakes had beautiful sugar crystals on the VA's. Unfortunetlly, since SG does not put any dates on their tins, I don't know how old my tin was. Nice price for Smoking Pipes. I will buy this in bulk on the next order.

Highly Recommeded

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-11-12		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is a great blend.....This is more of a Navy Flake than most other blends I have tried....Or at least to my expectations... The Virginia is typical S.G.- Nice, Sweet, flavorful...Just enough Latakia to make it exotic, and a great rum flavor that sweetens the whole effect. From begining to end, a smooth, tasty smoke. No hint of bite, no harshness...Just a good smoke. Definatly a doer....

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-10-26		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I just love the taste of the tobaccos used in Sam Gawith flakes. I assume that it is a combination of where they are from and the processes used to produce the flake tobaccos. Almost a meaty flavor. Superb!

I have to leave a tin out for a couple days to dry a bit. I really don't mind, just wish they would pack a full two ounces per tin to make use of the space. But I have also been stocking up with pounds.

Rubs out easily, packs well. Navy flake smokes as cool as other Sam Gawith flakes. No tongue bite waiting here. Plenty of latakia and a nice chosen flavor. Yes, that could be rum, but it might just be good Virginia's and the process that makes a sweet tasting flake. The latakia is present and not overpowering. This could be an all day smoke for most.

This Podunker gives a thumbs up.

Enjoy, Carlos

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Spike (296)	2005-10-22		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

As a big fan of Balkan flake I anticipated liking this and I do. As with moist flakes, I rub them out pretty thoroughly and load them in the pipe bowl. After waiting 15 to 60 minutes I fire it up. If it doesn't light right away let it sit a while. I think if you smoke this too wet the rum flavor is too much. My only regret is the limited amount in the tin. Looks like about ten smokes to me.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	smokethefox (11)	2022-02-23		Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong

SG Navy flake was my first of this kind. I was hoping for a VA with just a hint of Latakia. Nope. Not in this case. I like Latakia, but also sensitive to it somehow. But lets see.. The tin note is awesome. Sweet and smoky. Reminds me of a barn. I could not detect the rum topping in the smell, nor in the smoke. A bit moist out of the tin, the flakes are beautiful dark brown. (yes, I have a crush on flakes :)) After 20 minutes of dry time I stuffed my pipe with the fold method. The tobacco lights easily, but needs a few relights. The smoke is rich and cool. Sweet and smoky. Burning campfire is what it reminds me. Regrettably this blend has too much Latakia for me and dizziness comes after a half bowl. Still, its a quality blend, that I use for spicing up other blends. 3 Stars

Pipe Used: Cob pipe

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	lastOFtheBOHEMIANS (5)	2022-02-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is my favorite blend. The Virginia tobaccos used are really quality. Sweet and mild while still being very flavorful. The Latakia is noticeable but very subdued, same with the rum topping. This blend really starts to shine at about the midpoint when these subtle, sweet, floral(not perfume-y) flavors start to come out of the Gawith Virginias. I agree with JimInks that you should not completely dry it out for the best flavor even though I usually prefer my tobacco fairly dry (hard to do in South Texas).

Age When Smoked: 0-2 years age

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ScienceSmoker (60)	2022-01-27		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I had to smoke quite a bit of Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake to get a good feel for it. Upon opening, the tin note has an almost Oriental spice scent, and not much else. The flakes are long and rugged looking. I rubbed out a bowl's worth, which was a bit too moist, so I let it dry for 15 minutes. First few puffs... sweet and savory. There is very little rum flavor. I expected it to be quite rich, but it's actually fairly mild. There's Virginia sweetness, a little bit of smokey, musty Latakia, and a very light molasses sweetness as topping. The flavors are hard to describe, and hard to get a hold of. It makes me want to smoke faster as I keep trying to catch this really nice flavor that doesn't linger. No bite, and it burns to a fine grey ash.

Bottom line: It's a nice, contemplative smoke. Good, but nothing spectacular, 3 stars.

Pipe Used: Georg Jensen Special

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	LiterarySmoker (143)	2021-08-25		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Now this is an interesting one. Navy Flakes are one of my favorite types of pipe tobacco. The length of smoke, the soft spice from the rum and simplicity of it all adds to the experience. I credit smoking Navy Flakes for moving my taste from purely aromatic tobacco to more straight tobacco blends. This one in particular though is quite unique with the added addition of Latakia.

The tin is a classic, there is no need to guess what thus product is, or what sort of experience might be contained therein. When I opened my tin and removed the thick cardboard insert I found a nicely packed, and sort of firmly pressed black and brown flakes. The tin note is English forward: soft, sweet, smokey, tangy, but there is an inherent brown sugar sweetness and distinct spice from the rum. You may think that these flakes are not that wet, but they are. If you pack this in right out of the tin you may find that the muscles you use to light a match or lighter are quickly growing larger than a pro-wrestler's biceps. I left my tobacco in my pipe overnight as I do when it's usually way too wet for my liking, and it has drastically improved the amount of time it takes to get this lit.

When lit this tobacco is really engaging and relaxing. The soft woody and smokey Latakia is what I taste first. This isn't as light as Skiff Mixture but it isn't as heavy as Nightcap. It's more smooth and lingers in your mouth pleasantly. The Virginias are pleasant, sweet, slightly tangy, and very slightly bready. The rum is identifiable but if you are looking for an through and through aromatic topping you won't find it here. It tends to float through your smoke and soften whatever it touches.

The taste is a medium. This is a simple smooth blend that pleasantly lingers on your tongue. The strength is a medium, I don't notice any identifiable nicotine hit. The room note is pleasant and you may get a few compliments in public. A nice and slow burning blend to relax with. Easily recommendable. It does what it sets out to do.

Pipe Used: Peterson Standard System XL315

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Reviewer (22)	2020-06-01		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Nice, smokey, rich with sweetness that comes and goes. Sometimes a bit spicy here and there. In my opinion the room note is just a smoke version of the tin note. Taste is good and doesn't linger around too long. Satisfying smoke for sure. Smoke this one nice and cool. Very enjoyable. Will be buying this again. Very little moisture in the bottom of the bowl and smoked all the tobacco to ash without difficulty. I let one flake air out for 5 min prior to breaking it up and smoking it. Nice smooth relaxing smoke. I like it.

Pipe Used: Brigham

Age When Smoked: Fresh out of the tin

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	natibo (169)	2015-01-04		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

This blend was not too bad. I love navy flakes, but like them with a little rum. The addition of latakia is nice and certainly not overwhelming. However, Sextant it is not! If you're looking for a Navy Flake with a little latakia, go with that instead.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Capt (339)	2012-01-17		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I burned through a tin of this in no time flat. I was kind of curious as I cannot recall ever smoking a rum topped Navy flake with Latakia. These flakes are very moist in the tin that require drying for several minutes. I like to put some flakes on the cool ledge of the woodstove to delicately dry these in about 15 minutes. Rubbing out takes a bit of effort, but well worth it. Initial light reveals a slight Latakia flavor, but is in perfect harmony with the Va. The rum is there, but barely noticable. Small sips brings this out the best. Definitely a flake to keep around.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-09-17		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Interesting blend of Va. and latakia with a light topping of rum. I like the concept of adding latakia to the mix in order to beef up the flavors, however, in this case I feel that SG overdid it a bit. Very flavorful flake and I enjoy it as a nice detour from my regular rotation of straight Virginias. Definitely more kick than MacBaren's and less sweet. Rum note is weak but present. Moist like most Gawith products so rub it out fully and find something else to do for an hour before packing and lighting up.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2011-03-12		Medium	Medium	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a fantastic smoke, and the finest navy flake, by far, that I have ever tried. In keeping with Gawith blends, this is really a horse of a different color, and not a cookie cutter navy flake. In relation to that, one could argue that the latakia component, which is generally not found, at least to any appreciable degree, in a navy flake makes this "not" a navy flake at all. If, however, you consider the navy flake genre to be the rum flavoring on a primarily VA flake, and see the addition of latakia as merely as an attempt to give it another dimension flavor (which it most certainly does) than this can fairly be considered a navy flake, and fly its colors proudly.

Some reviewers appear to be hung up on the latakia issue. I read at least one review that griped that this did not have enough latakia for his taste. In response I would point to paragraph one, and reiterate that the presence of latakia here is a pleasant surprise. This is not a "latakia" blend, and should not be reviewed as one. The latakia is here to add flavor and dimension to the mixture, but it is not the main attraction. Gawith does this masterfully (see chocolate flake) and the results are some of the most unique and tasty pipe tobaccos around. The latakia in this blend cools the smoke, and adds depth and richness which is simply lacking in similar blends (and I use the term "similar" loosely, because there is really nothing else like this out there that I am aware of).

Similarly, I find the rum application to be both one of the strongest, and tastiest, that I have ever tried. The tin aroma is delicious, and that odor is realized while smoking. In addition, while my general experience has been that alcohol cased tobaccos burn hot, this is an exceedingly cool smoke, like most Gawith flakes.

Some have noted, with varying degrees of consternation, that this is moist out of the tin. To this I say "duh!" Flakes are moist. I have a tin of Christmas Cheer from 98 or 99 that went about six years after opening before I needed to add a humidifier (I keep it for a special occasion smoke, so that it will last forever!). Further, tin moisture is not a relevant criteria for review, unless the tobacco is so dry as to be damaged. Most flakes are going to need to be dried out before smoking, unless you like your smoke exceedingly wet and hot. Have a little patience, dry that flake out for a couple of hours before smoking, and see what a difference that makes.

This flake explodes with flavor. The rum is present, the sweetness of the VA's is there, and the latakia rounds things out in a singular way. It is a cool smoke unless abused. The nicotine strength is medium to my tastes. It does not make me woozy like 1292 or Bracken flake do, and that is a good thing in my book, as it allows me to smoke more if this in a bigger bowled pipe.

Gawith has been making their singular products for literally centuries. No other company comes close in my book in terms of consistency and quality. People gripe about the Rattray's that used to be, or the blender who made Dunhill twenty years ago. Gawith has been cranking it out on the same machinery for a very long time, and believe me, they have the process down. I know I sound like a Gawith commercial, but after trying literally dozens upon dozens of blends from around the world, my experience is that Gawith products are usually a breed apart, and this Navy Flake is no exception. A super tasty, good smoking flake. Buy some and see for yourself! (FYI, there are still a few sources for Gawith blends in the USA right now if you look hard enough, and I personally have purchased six or eight tins in the last month. I am not telling where, though, because I am a selfish only child, and do not want to share, so there.)

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	the_german (309)	2010-12-06		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Strong

After a lot of dinking around with mild Latakias, to get used to English blends again after a long time, and revisiting a store actually carrying this blend (and a few other by SG) while visiting friends, I decided to splurge on a few tins, one of this blend being among them.

Opening the tin, I was hit by an as yet unequalled combined force of good rum and Latakia. I loved it on first smell. Unfortunately, like all SG flakes I have so far experienced, the tobacco is a bit on the moist side when opening the tin. With some preparation, still smokable, though.

The presentation is the usual stack of slices, with the slices being rather unevenly cut -- they are from a few microns to over a millimetre thick and packaged in random order, so I guess one could rummage around the tin to find the perfect slice to fit the size of pipe one feels like using for a fold-twist-dunk approach. The leaf is quite dark, with traces of white from either sugar or mould (or maybe both) -- whichever it is, it does not impair the flavour or aroma of the tobacco.

Because of the moisture levels, so far I have only been able to light this blend up rubbed out. Works fine, though. Good, meaty, sweet taste, the Latakia room note tempered by the rum to such an extent that it was actually described as "unobjectionable" by a non-smoker who usually goes looking for his gun whenever a lighter is used within a 1-mile radius. I was rather astonished at that. You might want to check with your significant other before trying SGNF in the house, though. It is, after all, a Latakia blend. A real beauty for me, though -- I live next to the sea, and this blend, from opening the tin to finishing off the last cinders, is the closest equivalent to an evening out on the pier I have yet experienced. It has the salt of the sea, the spice of the spray, the tanginess of the tar...

The burn when rubbed out is uncomplicated for me; even as moist as it comes from a fresh tin, it will take to the match after one or two re-starts, and then burn down right to the bottom without much maintenance. The taste continues sweet and meaty, the aroma will attract all horse afficionados right to the end, and all in all, I must say I like this 'baccy. A lot.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-04-10		Mild	Very Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Just about every SG tobacco I have tried so far has been somewhat of a disappointment. Navy Flake unfortunately was no different.

The tin description sounded intriguing, and though I am not a big fan of casings with my Latakia blends, I decided to give it a shot.

The tin aroma was pretty horrid. The rum came out and simply assaulted me. I could barely detect a little bit of Latakia through the stench of the casing. The aroma of the sweet Virginia had been totally knocked out by the fake liqueur smell.

The pressed flakes were pretty dry and easy to break up, but then again my tin was about three years old.

I smoked this out of numerous different shapes and sizes of pipes, and still could not get it to taste like what it was advertised as.

The Virginia was not at all playing its part in this blend. In fact the only reason I could detect any VA leaf was the way this tobacco would bite when puffed even the slightest bit too hard.

The Latakia that was promised never really made an appearance, but lingered in the aroma instead.

I think had the casing not been present, this would have measured up to be yet another one of Samuel Gawith's two star bland mixtures.

Good thing I had 965 on hand to remind me what a good English mixture is supposed to taste like.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-13		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

It's a balkan flake light. I didn't get where the rum is but put this aside i consider this one as entry level to English/Balkan , while medium in strength .

Quality tobacco but to light for my palate .More latakia Please SG, and put some more rum next time.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-03-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Lakeland Tour stop 18

This was pretty good. It's in the same vein as Balkan Flake and Chocolate flake--virginias much like Best Brown or Full Virginia with some latakia and a discrete topping. Like Balkan but unlike Chocolate flake, the latakia in Navy is noticeable enough to merit smoking this in latakia-dedicated pipes. Chocolate Flake seemed at home in virginia dedicated pipes and clashed with latakia pipes.

Of those three, Navy is, to me, the most immediately enjoyable, though perhaps not as interesting as Chocolate. The rum flavoring is discrete, and adds only a nice sweetness. This flake dried out very fast and had to be significantly re-hydrated at one point. Otherwise, not too distinctive but always enjoyable.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2008-11-27		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Navy Flake is a sweet tobacco with rum casing and some top flavoring, Latakia isn?t strong, it?s here just for support, the smoke is sweet, honey like, nicely flavored with some perfume, mild tasty and enjoyable as dessert smoke.

Good quality Navy blends for sweet and top flavored tobacco lovers.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-10-28		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is another homerun for me . I pack this semi rubbed out in my ashton x pebblegrain billiard and smoke it slowly contemplating childhood memory's . This blend is not super powerfull but that does not mean it lacks taste. Sweet, and musty the perfect duo. Lots of white smoke make this a goto smoke on a cool night or a warm summer morning, pair it up with some fine columbian supremo and wala. That reminds me to order another pound or five. I found this smokes sweeter aged. Dribs and drabs of light cherrys, or plums as patty mentioned wait until you can see some white in the almost black flakes you won't be dissapointed.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	puro66 (73)	2007-06-07		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Many companies offer a Navy Flake and they generally smoke hot with a bite if you're not careful. Not so with SG. This is a smooth smoke with no bite. The rum adds a faint sweetness that is very pleasant with just a hint of latakia. An excellent well balanced flake that can be enjoyed by many.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-05-15		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Another winner from Samuel Gawith. If you let this dry out for a week it will greatly improve your experience with this blend. A European version of C&D's Black Frigate. A little less Latakia and a bit more European in character. This is a good one. 3 stars.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Captain Pete (83)	2006-11-29		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I'm updating my original review. Initially I found the flavor to be a little flat, and wasn't overly impressed with this flake. I have since found that, in the right pipe, it is quite a wonderful smoke. I have a Peterson tankard and an Irish Seconds zulu with a long stem, and these pipes are just the right size for a smallish, delicately flavored flake like Gawith's Navy flake. The dark brown, leathery flakes rub out to just the right broken consistency, and stuffed in a small pipe just so, light right up and stay lit. The latakia is almost a little overwhelming at first light, but fairly quickly fades into the background, there staying just as a lingering presence. The flavoring is mildly sweet, but not at all spicy like one would expect with a traditionally cased rum or navy flake. The trademark lakeland flavor just barely makes itself known ocassionally, but after one or two bowls is unnoticable. I will definitely be smoking more of this in the winter months to come.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (440)	2022-11-01		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Tin notes of tart plums, vinegar and sweet grass. The flakes are dark brown and dense, rubbing out takes some effort. Tobacco is a little sticky and may need some drying. Burns slow and with an average amount of relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. Flavoring seems mild, but I think it gives the tobacco some depth. Taste is medium and fairly consistent, with notes of stewed fruits, smokey wood, grass and floral. Room note had no complaints and after taste was great.

Pipe Used: Castello Sea Rock Briar SC 31

Age When Smoked: 5 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krog (20)	2021-09-27		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Its my favourite VaLa . Frankly, Rum's smell is very noticable but it only slightly correlates to flavour while smoking . Definitely a good tobby, I personally love it and every smoker should try it. I dont think there is plenty of latakia in it, Virginia plays the main role . As long as you smoke reservedly, Virginia will contribute it's sweetness. Its actually fine everyday VA/LA blend and admittedly every smoker should have it in storage. Cheers

Pipe Used: Missouri Meerschaum Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Tobacco shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Poodlejuice (49)	2021-08-09		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I taste a bit of cocoa, a sour grassyness, some oaky woody notes, and dark dried fruit, but what really brings this blend together for me is this musty, earthy, dank-basement type note that the light bit of Latakia seems to provide. All of that held together with a creamy finish.

This one is definitely a biter, and If I'm not prepared to fully relax and slow my caedence it tends to be rather unforgiving. It is, however, well worth it. Very low nicotine content, burns clean and dry, and makes for a lengthy smoke.

This is quite a well done and unique blend. I quite enjoy having Latakia as a condiment for VA's without any added oriental leaf. It has me on the hunt for other VA/Lat blends but nothing quite compares.

Pipe Used: Falcons, billiards, cobs

Age When Smoked: 2 years from tin date

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bowler Hat Piper (24)	2021-04-26		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

In a word, splendid. A real nirvana smoke every time. So smooth and satisfying with all the flavours complimenting each other throughout the duration of the bowl. The flakes need a little drying time before packing, but it behaves well and if you concentrate on the smoke, it needs very few relights. I highly recommend this.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Various

Purchased From: My Smoking Shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2021-02-18		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Having smoked quite a bit of Macbaren's Navy Flake, I was a little sceptical about a 'navy flake' with Latakia, but this Samuel Gawith offering is an outstanding tobacco. The Virginas hold center stage, with the rum flavoring and Latakia a distinct but not overdone presence. It smokes consistently all the way down the bowl, and burns cleanly and slowly, leaving behind no unpleasant dottle. Fold and stuff, with a little rubbed out for kindling at the top of the bowl is best, I think. It needs a bit of drying time - it's not a bad idea to fill your pipe and leave it overnight before smoking - but, having been dried a bit, it's a well behaved smoked that does not need constantly relighting.

A top quality tobacco, this; it reminds me very much of Samuel Gawith's Bothy Flake. It rewards a slow and leisurely pace. Excellent: very highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Bewlay bulldog; Falcon International

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the shop

Purchased From: GQ Tobacco

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith Bothy Flake..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kik_rpm (15)	2021-02-09		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

This one came after a hard day of work, I was kind of ambivalent because the state of mind always affects the smoking experience, but this time was very pleasant, relaxing, its complexity was a great treatment for stress.

Right out of the thin it is very moist, I would recommend letting it rest for a while before smoking it.

Although this blend has rum favoring, it is barely noticeable, which in my opinion is great because it makes rather than evident is complex. It has a certain sweetness and creaminess, that in contrast with the latakia makes a great smoking journey. Later those sweet and creamy flavours got mixed with some toastiness.

I have tried different ways of packing this tobacco, and in every way it tastes different, a total exploration. Although for my experience crumble it helps to bring out its flavours.

One con of this blend is that several relights are needed, but until the last relight the flavour is always pleasantly present.

It has a very long lasting aftertaste.

Pipe Used: poker briar

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: estanco (ecuador)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Graquet (6)	2020-12-16		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This blend is sweet and very well balanced. The rum flavour is subtle but present. And when it pops out of a puff while you're taking a walk and it's snowing, you know you're not alone. (Montreal can be cold.) The latakia is as subtle. They work together to bring the taste a step ahead. They simply dynamise the virginia base without being too present. Not smoky. Grassy and sweet. The flakes need to be dried as they come quite moist in the tin.

Pipe Used: briar

Age When Smoked: 6 month tin

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrAcula (62)	2020-12-02		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Presentation: A nice light blue tin with a silhouette of a colonial sailing vessel.

Cut: Comes in somewhat neat, somewhat long, thinly cut flakes. This blend was Gawith level moist (that means the highest level). And with the rum topping, you need to devote substantial drying time to attempt to avoid it biting you in the ass.

Tin note: Smells earthy, figgy and a sharp note of that I assume is the rum.

Tasting notes: Smokiness intertwines itself with all other notes but is not overwelming in the slightest. Slight grassy sweetness, some earth, some creamy sweetness, figs. High complexity, hard to describe.

Mechanics: This blend smokes like a glass of water, even after several DAYS of drying time while rubbed out. This blend is very difficult to light. I must have made 6 or so charring lights before it finally gave me the smoke output I desired. This blend also definitely bites, beware for that if you're willing to put your tongue on the line. Also expect it to need a couple relights throughout the bowl.

Extra Remarks: I feel like I dragged my tongue through shards of glass. This blend mechanically, is absolutely atrocious; but flavorwise, is absolutely excellent. If it smoked as easily as Old Joe Krantz, being dry with zero bite, this would EASILY be 4 stars. Alas, it fails miserably at that. Try if you dare. There are other blends you can smoke without sacrificing your tongue or sanity. I might dry it out for a month and try again. Perhaps then it would be the blend of my dreams. As of now though, it is not even close. 2 stars.

Update: After drying for 14 whole days (336 HOURS), the bite is extremely reduced to a minimum. In its current state, the blend is smokable, although I feel like I have lost flavor for a mechanically better smoke. Be sure to dry this one enough or your tongue will pay! But like it is now, the blend is somewhat enjoyable, albeit on the mellow side. Still 2 stars.

Pipe Used: IMP Straight Billiard Meer

Age When Smoked: Fresh from tin, 9 months

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fusty the pipe (33)	2020-10-25		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Strong

This one that I just can’t get along with.

I’ve had a tin, jarred up, for over a year and, unless there is a subtle nuance too subtle for me to get, it isn’t offering anything to me.

I don’t get any rum from the pouch note or from the smoke. I guess, it being a navy flake, that I should be getting some rum, from somewhere, somehow?

It is very moist so maybe my jaded pallet is missing something?

The test of a good tobacco to me, is how quickly you need to restock and this one has been sitting on the shelf - alongside some Gold Block and some Kentucky Black Cherry - for significantly longer than some other blends that have been smoked and repurchased.

Once every so often I’ll try one, to see if they’ve changed in the jar but they don’t seem to have matured in the least.

The room note doesn’t smell pleasant at all; more like you’ve been smoking a pair of old wellies you found at the bottom of the garden - a 3) on the wife’s “you aren’t smoking that in here!” Scale.

This is, of course, only my opinion and I don’t doubt for a second that for some this will be the tobacco at the end of the rainbow, but not one for me.

Maybe I’ll leave it a year or two more and see if anything changes.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	HabaneroHardy (395)	2020-07-28		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Disclaimer: If you are looking for an in-depth review of this blend then keep on scrolling. I have reread some of my reviews and my sense of humor is not always the best, please continue to read. I actually only had two bowls of this at the pipe club, jarred and dated 8/12/19. Thanks friend. I smoked the two bowls consecutively and did the fold and stuff method in my brand-new Mark Twain Corn Cob. It took me about a quarter down the bowl both times to get the fire going at a nice steady rate. This has a pleasant lightly topped rum flavor. It was good but something I would need to revisit to give it more of the justice it probably deserves for a proper review. If my friend brings it again and if I remember I will hit him up for another bowl.

Pipe Used: Mark Twain Corn Cob

Age When Smoked: About a year.

Purchased From: From friend.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pfeifenkopp (25)	2019-08-28		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

My first impression after opening the tin was that this tobacco is way to moist to be smoked directly. So, this tobacco needs some hours to dry. Usually, I am to impatient with the drying time and then it’s hard to keep it lit.

The tin note is sweet rum and a bit smokey. Furthermore, I smell a hint of wet earth.

After lighting the tobacco, I can taste a mix of all ingredients mentioned on the tin while none of them is dominating. It’s just perfectly balanced. The Virginia got a taste of earth, grass and sometimes a bit of wood. The Latakia adds from time to time some smokiness. And finally the rum adds some fruits and sweetness. In some puffs I even get a faint alcoholic taste.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Flyingdutchman (20)	2019-08-21		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

What ever happened to this tobacco, that used to be among my favourites? I bought a tin two months ago, and the wonderful big thick dark flakes were gone, replaced by what looked like FVF. Also, the tin aroma was something in between FVF and Balkan Flake, a pure not the best Virginia aroma! No traces of Latakia or Rum. No moisture... I smoked it, after having rubbed the flake, only to get warm air. No strenght, no N vitamin, nothing. I thought it was a bad tin. So I tried a new one, and another... today it's the 5th tin with the same results. Probably, reading all the enthusiastic comments, it is a bad stock SG sent to us here, I don't know.

Update: I mixed 50/50 Navy Flake and 1792. The result is a smooth and creamy VA-KE, bringing down Vitamin N. Still, non latakia was detected.

Pipe Used: Brebbia

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the tin

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Calamiti (84)	2017-10-25		Mild	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

In Navy Flake, I recognize the same noble Virginia Leaf which makes the base of other Samuel Gawith's grand flakes like Best Brown, Full Virginia, Balkan and St. James. Each of those blends plays a variation of the same base leaf with a different seasoning. In this case the seasoning condiments are Rum & Latakia. Latakia is blended in so masterfully you barely notice its presence in the mixture. However it's definitely there adding a subtle and unique flavour note to the blend. Would you believe Latakia and Rum could be happily married together? Neither me. And still Samuel Gawith managed to arrange such an unlikely marriage with a great success.

As much of a dreamer I am, I fail to stretch my imagination far enough to associate this light, sweet and soothing blend with "howling winds and beating sails" pictured in the advertising. When the bloody winds do bloody howl and the bloody sails do bloody beat the last thing you fancy is a puff of a cute sweet light low-nicotine blend. (You'd rather need some bloody chewing rope like XX Black). Navy Flake is definitely an indoor smoke.

It's the lightest of all Sam Gawith's flakes. It's about as weak as Best Brown Flake. But it's way better than the BBF because its' much fuller flavour perfectly balances the low Nicotine level. Sometimes you just need a low-octane tobacco for a change of pace. It's not so easy to find a light tobacco which is good enough. And Navy Flake is the best of the lightest and the lightest of the best.

If you like other blends made of the signature Sam Gawith's Virginia Leaf you will love this blend too. Bloody Recommended.

Similar Blends: Brown Flake, Full Virginia Flake, Balkan Flake, St. James Flake.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RoundTwo (38)	2017-09-24		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

You do not have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that this is Samuel Gawith Balkan Supreme with a rum topping which makes this a perfect tobacco. This has all of the high-quality ingredients as the other SG blends with a little more flavor. Exactly what this guy was looking for. Fun to smoke and smell. I was lucky enough to get an older box from Iwan Ries and to my delight, upon opening there were long lines of plume following the layers of the flake. With age, it had developed a stronger flavor which makes me think that SG blends may be great candidates for aging based on the generally mild flavors of their fresh tins. Some list the Navy Flake as aromatic because of the rum topping but this tobacco will leave only mild ghosting and only when smoked over and over in the same pipe which will quickly go away like a non-aromatic with a strong casing thanks to the balance created with the Latakia. This is one of my first favorite flakes and I have only recently moved on to more fuller flavored spicier blends. Every tobacco has its time and place and the time and place for this flake is on the water. Another appropriately named tobacco by SG.

Age When Smoked: Aged

Purchased From: Iwan Ries

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kiev Pipe Smoker (2)	2017-04-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I had many expectations to this staff. SG does quality mixtures and tobacco blends. However, I finished tin only in one year after I opened it. Tobacco is very simple, empty and mediocre. This is first tobacco in my smoking pipe career which I force myself to smoke.

Pipe Used: Savinelli 101 (Big Nine)

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: local tobacconist

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JustinCarcerated (99)	2016-10-05		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

So as seems to be the M.O. with me and Sammy G, I have such difficulty getting past the construction that the experience is lessoned. Here despite 3 years in one of my cellars, upon opening the tight vacuum these flakes remained too wet throughout the entire tin. Initially I could sense a nice light rum scent, but this didn't translate to the taste at all. Everything was dulled by the moisture here. Having said that, as is my experience typically with Sammy flake size is never consistent, so there were precious few flakes that were near paper thin and they were fantastic, profound in flavor, burn, smoke... but that was maybe three to floor flakes total. Good thing I wasn't relying on matches or I would have burned through a box in two bowls...yeah that is how wet it was.

Pipe Used: Meers and Briars

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pinko (52)	2016-07-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Navy Flake has half the Latakia of Balkan Flake - 15% according to Synjeco. It's a rum-topped Virginia flake first, with the addition of Latakia for depth.

At times the Lat fades in and out of the smoke, which I found I had to pack very loosely to get a good burn with. The rum topping is integrated well with the blend and not overused in any way. It lends a nice additional sweetness to the Virginias.

Mostly, this is a tasty Virginia flake. It's a little fussier than FVF, which it resembles. I find that I prefer the straight VA to a lightly topped VA with a whisper of Latakia in it. None of the additions are enough to make me prefer this over any alternatives - either a pure VA or a Latakia mixture. It might be a good introduction to light amounts of Latakia for smokers who don't already love that leaf.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	A Scot in Argentina (19)	2015-04-05		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

Another cracking flake from the Gawith collection and for me anyway comes out on top of their 1792 flake and just below their Virginia flake. The Latakia content must be very small and thank God for that I say as it allows the Virginia to take centre stage with the hint of rum unobtrusively following on in the wings. Yes it is a bit moist so rub some out and leave aside for a wee while before filling your pipe and lighting. A good smoke for any time of the day......not strong not weak.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2014-12-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This tobacco is a good Virginia with a hint of Latakia and a small scent of rum. I think that the Virginia play the main role and the Latakia is just there to give more structure but the rum.....is the ghost of the town. Still a good tobacco, but not my favorite

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	crrbassman (12)	2014-11-03		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

OK, OK, OK...now I get what all the fuss is about.

I bought a 50g tin of this at the local Edward's franchise (yes, there still is one in Denver) from all of the favorable reviews I've read on it. I like Latakia, so this seemed a no-brainer to try. Brought it home and rubbed out a couple of flakes right out of the tin. I will admit that I was annoyed, borderline shocked, at how wet it was right out of the tin...it left a gloppy mess in the bottom of the bowl of the pipe I was smoking it in. My initial thought was that I had wasted $14 on a tin of tobacco, but I decided to let it dry out for awhile to see if it might change. After all, I have a ton of tobaccos in my cellar, so what could it hurt to let this one sit for a bit to see what happens??

After reading the advice of another poster in this forum, I let it dry out for three weeks with the top off the tin in my cellar. I then took a couple of flakes and cut them crossways against the grain (per the other poster's advice) so it came out as a cube-cut tobacco, and gravity-loaded it into one of my pipes.

Man-Oh-Man what a difference that made! The sweetness of the Virginias comes shining through with the Latakia keeping everything ultra-cool all the way down the bowl. Highly-recommended, but with a month or so of cellaring before it's really enjoyable. Outstanding quality, but definitely needs some drying/cellaring time before it's at its optimum smoking height.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Nonpareil bent pot

Age When Smoked: < 1 month

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jonoz (14)	2014-09-07		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Although I don't like 'Navy Flakes' as a style, I was curious as to what S.G. would do. If you're looking for a full on, gale force Navy such as C&D Black Frigate, this will be too timid for you. It is sweet and gentle, although the Navy taste is all there. I just don't like that taste, no reflection on the tobacco, which is why I have given it 4 stars.Whatever floats your boat (sorry!)

Pipe Used: various

Purchased From: www.smoker.co.il/info@smoker.co.il

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CTS (138)	2014-03-18		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Fold flakes in half and pack them right out of the tin. Burns cool and smooth. Voluminous plumes of smoke. Flavor is buttery/creamy straight Virginia with enough Latakia to lend a complementary smokiness, without overpowering. Very little flavor or aroma of rum noted. 4*.

Pipe Used: Karl Erik Semi-Churchwarden

Age When Smoked: Undated tin recently purchased.

Purchased From: Smokes on Burdick, Kalamazoo, MI

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	onehitter (16)	2013-11-13		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Bought 1oz from bulk. Wet out of the bag, it rubbed out well and dried on a plate for 10 minutes, packs well and burns well no relights for me. Fairly mild up front. I do get a sweet sea/seaweed fishy beach taste backed with a hint of latakia and a sweetness on my lips after a few puffs. For me it starts to taste bad or stronger on that sea taste as it burns deeper in the bowl and that's where it looses me. I gave it a few chances in different pipes and that's that, bye bye navy flake. I smoke outside so no room note.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (317)	2013-04-10		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Lovely Latakia and rum combo. With the exception of one flake, this tin had the thinnist flakes I've yet to come across, which made for pretty easy lighting despite my using the fold and stuff method. A medium-medium light Latakia blend, balanced nicely with the light rum flavoring. I really enjoyed this.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-01-18		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong

wife doesn't fancy ('stinky-smoky but not as bad as cigars').

being an aromatics fan, I was expecting this to be a big no-no, but actually it is not bad. wet wood, gym socks, hints of peat,wet walls of an old building, burning moss. flavour..... smoky i guess?

overall not an everyday smoke for me, but wouldn't mind revisiting occasionally.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CoolPilot (69)	2013-01-17		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I rate this flake 4 stars, initially after a few bowls. Latakia is weak, I would say 15%, dark virginia like in brown flake, some rum made in the islands, for what is worth, but not disappointing. Tastes full, not so strong, and I can describe it as a delicious smoke. It is not even a mid-english blend, for me it is just a standalone blend. The Balkan flake is another matter. This is a brown flake with some latakia and rum flavour, maybe. Good, very good. Same problems of lightning and the tobacco need some drying, as in all SG tins, but that's part of the deal with SG.

Update after the first tin: the problem with this good flake is that it does not burn. We all know too well the SG attitude to deliver hard to smoke flakes, but this one beats all of the others. I mean I cannot bear with lighting 20 times the flake to keep it burning, and nothing changed no matter I tried all tricks. It is too pressed, I believe.

Update: by rolling a lot the flake, reducing it to broken flake, the smoke is ok. Lots of moisture nevertheless. But very good all the way.

Similar Blends: cornell & dhiel black frigate.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KahveDelisi (73)	2013-01-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Amazing tin aroma (well I LOVE rum)

smoked "out of tin" wet -- it is the bite machine

Completely dried out -- starts kind of dull but through half of the bowl it gets sweetened, and finish is exceptionally sweetened.

I'd suggest occupying yourself with something else till you reach first half of the bowl.. then take a seat, enjoy the rest.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SmokingMySav (9)	2012-06-03		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Never got any rum flavor out of this one.

I tried 2 different tins and a bulk 250g box and still no rum whatsoever. The taste is of very mild Balkan Flake, which I hate with passion, but somehow Navy Flake is quite tolerable and I see no reason not to finish what I have left.

Definitely not one of the SG products I plan on buying in the future.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-04-03		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I was quite disappointed in this blend. I read that this was Balkan Flake with rum, so I thought it would add a new dimension to the tobacco.I was wrong. This was one of the most boring tobacco's I have smoked. I don't know if I got a bum tin or what, but I found this to have less flavor than Balkan Flake. I could tell that this was quality tobacco and it burned nicely, (after drying out), but was wholly lacking in taste. Commonwealth Mixture is the exact opposite of this blend and I enjoy other SG offerings, but this one fell flat for me.

Soli Deo gloria!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2012-03-30		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An interesting mix of VA, Lat and Rum flavour. I got my last order in a rusty (!) tin, which had negative effect on the tin aroma. Big chunks of dark tobaccos, bit on the moist side. Smells like a mix of smoked bacon, liquorice and a hint of Ouzo. Tastes well-balanced, slightly sweet and not typical for a tobacco containing Latakia, which only plays a supporting role adding the leather base. Top quality tobacco, light to medium in Vitamin N. Tastes fantastic in cold, windy or rainy weather. Not a summertime tobacco in my opinion, but definitely recommended for autumn afternoons. Gets four stars if SG manages to introduce a better quality control for their tin material.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-03-11		Medium to Strong	Medium	Very Full	Strong

I reach for Navy Flake when I want a strong, rummy flavor hit with Latakia. No-brainer really. Not too much nicotine, but strong enough.

Really good Virginias, a splash of Latakia and a dash of rum. Rich and full flavored; I can't smoke it all the time, but when I do I am always satisfied. Keep room note away from loved ones if you want to be loved.

This is tarry and difficult to rub out fully, and it leaves the fingers coated with Latakia/rum residue. But once lit (a few charring lights required) it smokes well with some attention. For me, it is worth the trouble, and is a unique combination in my experience. The consistency is similar to Sam Gawith's Balkan Flake, although a touch gummier. Less Latakia though, but more depth of flavor.

I "highly recommend" this to lovers of rich flavors, who are not afraid of a little extra preparation time. Others need not apply.

This too shall pass.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-03-05		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is one of my top 5 smokes. It is full of flavor and is just a great smoke to enjoy with a guinness. Truthfully the reason I enjoy this smoke so much is it returns me to Ireland. I can almost fil the mist and hear the sheep of that lovely green land when I light this tabocco. The smoke itself has a extremely warm and smooth body. I always return to this smoke when I just want to totally relax and leave my toughts of worries and cares behind.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2011-10-16		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

As with some of the SG flakes, you will need to dry this for a bit before attempting to even come close to it with fire. I must say this is my first try of a navy flake and I find it is a very nice blend. After getting this lit, it seems to burn nicely and gives me a bit of an oomph in the Vitamin N department, which is hardly a bad thing. The rum flavoring is not overpowering in any sense of the word, but has a good presence. Overall, recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-08-25		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

this is best navy flake i have ever smoked,excellent tobacco and has to be the brother of the balkan flake.i find this needs a little drying out before loading the pipe.when packing the pipe its best not to pack too hard.this is best enjoyed sipping rather than power puffing away.if you like english blends with latakia not over powering well worth trying.a top notch from samuel gawith.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-06-28		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Bought it, smoked it, loved it. Even though I am a rum drinker I still haven't found the taste of rum in any tobacco that I've smoked, even so I like everything about this flake, the high initial moisture that ensures long lasting in the tin strong smell, oily texture and the absolutely special taste. Not for beginners as the smell might scare them :), as it did to my cigarette smokers colleagues.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	flyrod6057 (18)	2011-06-26		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Strong

A good navy flake, with the added surprise of a bit of latakia. The appearance of this flake is dark and firm. I rubbed it out a bit, loading the pipe with a modified "fold and stuff" technique. It took a bit to light, but once the flame took, it burned cool and steady for quite a while. The flavor is a robust Virginia, with just enough latakia to make things interesting. The entire pipe was wonderful. I paid special attention to smoking this slowly and deliberately, and was richly rewarded. This leaf put me in the mind of sitting on the bow of a tall ship, taking a moment to relax after a hard day hauling lines. While too complex for an everyday smoke, this is a great blend for just kicking back and relaxing.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-01-09		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Well.., I ordered this one because it was advertised as the 'younger brother' of Balkan Flake. The rum addition did not register in my mind at the time so the tin note came as a surprise, totally rum!

It ofcourse came very wet out of the tin, so I put one and a half flake out to dry, forgot about it and came home 6 hours later when it was very dry.

Fold and stuff, lighting was easy, taste bitter, sour in a nice way, but a bit harsh. The rum I noticed more in the nose than on the palate, overall a sweet nice smoke.

Subsequent smokes when dried only 15 to 30 minutes were smooth in taste but harder to keep lit.

All in all a pleasant experience best dried about halfway.

Update: When I only have time for one pipe on a day, I find myself grabbing Navy Flake as a treat, upped to 4 stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-12-19		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

after reading the reviews of this tobacco , i decided to give it a try...i must say i was very surprised at how good this tobacco was..it is now one which i smoke on a regular basis..try some.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sweetbriar (14)	2010-12-16		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

been awhile and popped a tin of this recently and thot "welcome back 'ol friend". a nice virginia with just a tad of latikia. dont really taste any rum.. yet..:)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-31		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I used to think that SG Navy Flake was too strong for my tastes. But I pulled it out a year later, popped open a sealed jar, and found myself pleasantly surprised by the robust flavors I was enjoying. It reminded me of fresh espresso and cayenne pepper. It burned smooth and cool. I was very impressed.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Monopod (26)	2010-02-28		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Love at first light ? I have been working my way through the maze of tobaccos towards Navy Flake for quite a while. I had set to one side blends that contain Latakia, as I had tried many and palled of them all.They can become all-pervading in terms of taste and residual smell.

I didn't really register the "dash of Latakia" here until I opened the packet ........"Navy" flakes ? why are they so called ? My sample could have been used to caulk the timbers on HMS Victory judging by the texture and smell. I squeezed it, and it remained squeezed, just like tarry gaskin with almost the same smell. I must confess to being old enough to remember drainage pipes being jointed with stuff like this, but it didn't deter me from charging and lighting up my Plumb lightweight that I sample "stuff" in.

There the comedy ended. What on earth had I got here ? I regularly smoke Dark Flake Aromatic having found my "staple" baccy. Mouth full of tasty smoke, and "Latakia" in large case letters. It then became balanced with the other choice tobaccos, and turned into sheer heaven. Licked my lips .... yes, there was the Rum. Sweet but right in character. There went my resolve to reduce my library of acceptable tobaccos, as here is one which I shall have greater association with, along with "Cob" flake.

Oh well, who said that this journey would be short and uneventful ? The main thing that I have learned is that there are sufficient good "Honest" tobaccos here in Blighty to do ALL my tobacco shopping at home.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-02-08		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is my first review here, and I would like to preface it by saying that I don't review a tobacco without getting to know it in as many ways possible. Some tobaccos are far more finicky than others, approaching perfection in a certain pipe or packed a certain way, and horror other ways, while other tobaccos can fit anywhere.

I've yet to experience a Samuel Gawith tobacco that, all else aside, deserves less than two stars. The quality is always there, and at a price few can compare to.

Opening a tin of S. Gawith's Navy Flake, I was a bit overwelmed by the powerful scent of Latakia, with the trademark scent of "Lakeland" Virginia a mere wallflower in the presence of the overbearing smoked weed, but still there nonetheless. I've yet to identify the scent of rum, though I admit my experience with alcohol to be less than thorough. After being slammed with the telltale scent, nay, olfactory overload of Latakia, I had a feeling that this would turn out to be more of a Navy-Style English than an English-Style Navy Flake.

But after rubbing out a few flakes and packing the first pipe, I found that the Latakia settled down in a perfect marriage with the Virginia in a cool, flavorful, and unique smoke. No bite at all, despite the presence of Va's, and I am a VERY hot smoker, being a cigarette smoker as well (though less so since taking up Pipe smoking with more vigor over the past few years).

I would not suggest this as an example of the standard Navy Flake, but I highly recommend it nonetheless. It's a pipe weed that could be enjoyed by smokers of Va's, English's, etc. I personally do not subscribe to any one type of tobacco, rather, I enjoy everything from Full Va Flake to the 965 to Peterson's outstanding yet cheesy named aromatic, Sunset Breeze. It bridges the gaps, an ambassador if you like, a Gandhi of the pipe tobacco world, bringing different styles and flavors together to create a weed where all exist in peace and harmony (especially for he who is smoking it), and that could only come from centuries of experience.

...And if you're one of those people apparently wealthy or foolish enough to through away your tin of this in disgust, by all means, contact me first.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-02-03		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I'd give this 2.5 stars if I could, but can't justify three stars. There is a goodly bit of latakia in here, and the topping amplifies it. It can bite somewhat when relighting, and occasionally it gets fairly spicy. I am sure I will smoke more of this, I need to try it rubbed out more fully, as the flakes I received in a sample were more like pressed chipboard i.e. very hard to break up. I'm generally not a big fan of toppings with my English and this is no exception.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Giaach (3)	2009-09-28		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

One of my favorite tobaccos in rotation. The best way to describe it is as a "companion" smoke. It's great for smoking while going about your everyday business or just relaxing and reading a book. The smokiness of the Latakia is present but not overwhelming and same goes for the rum topping. I recommend this to anyone looking for a Navy Flake that isn't overpowering. 3 Stars

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-06-20		Medium	Mild	Full	Tolerable

I recently tried Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake for the first time, and have quickly become very fond of it. Its moderate strength and full body make for a satisfying smoke, good any time of day and in any kind of weather. The Virginias are rich and flavorful in Navy Flake. I normally prefer a stronger dose of Latakia, but there is enough in Navy Flake to add some dimension to the Virginias. I don't seem to miss the extra Latakia of my customary English and Balkan blends when I smoke this. Navy Flake isn't especially complex, but it's far from dull or one-dimensional. The rum flavoring isn't too assertive; it seems to stay somewhat in the background here and blends well with the natural tobacco flavors. Navy Flake in bulk or in the tin resembles strips of bacon; the tobacco is rather moist and should be allowed to dry a little before lighting up. When sufficiently dry, Navy Flake burns well with only one or two relights required; when moist, it's tough to light and keep lit. I've never been bitten by Navy Flake, despite my sometimes vigorous puffing. While the room note doesn't seem to drive people from the room, neither does it earn many compliments-- but I like it myself, a rich, smoky, tobacco scent. Navy Flake is a good one; aromatic fans might enjoy this as a sort of change of pace too.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-06-02		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I don't smoke many flakes because of the bother of rubbing them out, but I make an exception for SG Navy Flake. It is worth the effort. The Virginia tobacco along with the rum give it a nice sweetness. Not an overpowering sweetness, but just a touch, and the latakia gives it some smokey body. A nice smoke for sitting in the shade and relaxing with.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Croaker (13)	2009-03-22		Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Navy Flake is a medium bodied flavored flake tobacco that can bite when smoked too quickly.

Navy Flake needs to be dried out from the tin. And, after quite a bit of experimenting I fully rub-out SG's flakes and I can't remember if I tried the fold-and-stuff approach with this flake. Navy Flake has some burning difficulties: it requires multiple re-lights and seldom burns to a fine ash. I get a somewhat vague Virginia and Latakia tobacco taste with a mild yet pungent rum flavoring. Between the burning difficulties and the (surprisingly) mild flavor I frequently smoked too fast and managed tongue bite.

This tobacco requires too much attention for my frequent use. When I did get a meditative smoking cadence I found the flavor a bit underwhelming. It does, regrettably, stink up a room. I am a big fan of SG and Navy Flake is certainly not a bad tobacco; nevertheless, I don't think I'll buy more tins.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jankoez (69)	2008-08-05		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is correct tobacco - maybe to correct since in taste it lacks expected fullness of taste. Who knows, maybe it needs more latakia... However, it is good blend especially if you are in company with others in a room.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2008-06-22		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

A very solid mixture of Virginias and Syrian Latakia with a mild rum-like topping. Although Navy Flake will satisfy your Latakia needs, its lack of complexity makes it more suitable for casual than comtemplative smoking. Being myself mostly a comtemplative smoker, I can't give it more than 3/4.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillardFan (90)	2008-06-19		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love most Latakia blends, so of course I had to try this one. I'm a big fan of Gawith Tobaccos, so I was hoping this would be a good choice.

I'm on the fence with this one. I like both Commonwealth Mixture and Squadron Leader, more than this offering from Gawith. My biggest con on this tobacco, was that I couldn't keep it lit. I must have relit this stuff 8 times, and even as I type this message out, I have to relight my pipe again.

On the plus side, it has a nice flavor, though I'd like a bit more of the Virginia's to come through. This is a rough cut flake, and took a bit of doing to get it broken up, in the way I like to load tobacco into my pipes. There were also quite a few pieces of stems and twiggy stuff mixed in as well. Maybe I got the floor sweepings on this tin?

The bowl I'm smoking, was loaded and left out over-night, before firing it up this morning, and it still doesn't want to burn.

I'll finish this tin, but I don't think I'll be buying anymore of this one...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-02-02		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

The emphasis in this blend is on Virginia, with a relatively mild Latakia adding body but remaining very much in the background. The rum flavoring takes the form of a pleasant added sugariness; it doesn't taste at all rummy, just nicely sweet. It comes from the tin quite moist and can be very nippy -- a tendency that the topping, however mild, can only exacerbate. The flavors get fuller as you go down the bowl and the bite tends to subside.

All in all, it's a pleasant tobacco but I don't think the extra sweetness is quite worth the extra bite. I prefer the natural sugars of a good VA flake -- almost as sweet and invariably better balanced.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-09-17		Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Notes: I smoked about 100 grams of this in several pipes; I found it good in both my Meerschaums and my briar billiards. The tobacco was wet to start, I smoked it this way and also allowed it to dry out over time, which yielded a progressive improvement in flavor and burning characteristics.

Appearance: A black, densely pressed, moderately heavily cased perfumed 6" flake.

Aroma: Redolent of ripe plums and over-ripe cherries. A bit of a compost sort of smell, akin to mulch in the garden or forest undergrowth and morel mushrooms, reminscent of cow manure fertilizer and cherry-flavored cough syrup. This is typical of the mixture of aromatic topping with latakia leaf.

Taste: Strong flavor of sweet rum, mellow and dull in its flavor, not exactly smooth. Moderately to mildly perfumed with a Chanel No. 5 fragrance, mixed with ripe black plums, stewed mixed fruits, and freshly baked cherry pie. Smoky flavors stayed everpresent in the background.

Comparisons: Numerous blends are labelled "navy" which means universally that rum or rum flavor has been used in the casing. Most navy flakes from the early 20th century were rum-cased virginia blends cut into broad flakes. More recently, liberty has been taken with the descriptor. This is certainly the most perfumed, smokiest "navy" flake I've encountered. Amongst the lakelands, quite sweet and heavy but without the cakelike flavors of, say, Gawith and Hoggarth's Rum Flake.

Bottom Line: For Lakeland and scented flake enthusiasts who seek a smoky, sweet taste veering toward Saint Bruno, which still retains the typical lakeland perfume.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	sasha (228)	2005-07-06		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is a very good tobacco, the rhum flavouring is clear but not overwhelming, you can still taste the virginia and latakia notes. To be a flake it's unbelievably easy to pack and light, and it burns evenly and really cool. Pay attention because its sweetness hides a strong nicotine content that becomes perceptible and maybe disturbing by the end of the bowl.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-02-18		Medium	Very Strong	Medium	Tolerable

Sampling amongst all the various blends of tobacco and gauging the various reactions to those blends gives me a much needed reminder that we all have different tastes.

I found this to be a pleasant enough Virginia and Latakia flake. Except. The contents of my tin arrived wringing-wet with rum. I tried a couple of bowls, then tossed the tin aside. Forgotten for over half a year, I found it several days ago; I'm afraid my reaction hasn't changed. Unusually for an opened Samuel Gawith tin, the contents were still unsmokably wet.

I just don't like booze soaked tobacco, if you do, here's a blend for you!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sacquesuit (1)	2023-01-30		Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

There was no rum scent in the tin or in the smoke. The tobacco tasted terrible to me neither Virginia nor Latakia...just a muddled, unpleasant musty taste with an overlay of the Lakeland scent. Disappointing.

Pipe Used: GBD Baronet

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Smoking pipes

Similar Blends: ?.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MeNoVa (8)	2023-01-07		Mild	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

I am very sorry to say this, but this product is so bad that I threw it straight into the trash and wasted my money. I regret my purchase. This product smells like rotten seawater and I bet the manufacturer of this product is never willing to use this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Grizzlywulff (1)	2022-06-04		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tin has definitely improved with age and drying. I wasn’t that impressed with it when I bought it, so I put the tin in a canister and ignored it for several years (3 to 5 years?).

The flake nearly fell apart when I folded it for stuffing. The smoke was cool, dry, sweeter, and less grassy. There is just enough Latakia to keep it interesting. I won’t go as far as saying it was blissful, but I might have imagined a foghorn and the sound of seagulls about halfway through the bowl. Smooth sailing.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (77)	2021-02-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

They said, there is rum topping in it. Honestly I did not noticed it. Latakia outfight smell of tobacco and any topping there. Compering to other latakia blend is peppery, tangy, some kind of sweetness is inside(may be from topping?), very earthy, little bit citrusy. Tobacco need time to be dried before packing to pipe. Anyhow need some relights.

Pipe Used: BPK, Stanislaw

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tomcat (212)	2021-01-11		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Unnoticeable

SG Navy Flake - The Virginias are very fruity and tangy . I get a little citrus at times and some very minor hay and grass . I get some smokey bbq from the Latakia . There is a little bit of spice in this blend . The Rum is perfectly applied and with the Virginias give it that fruity plum sweetness. Rum goes great with Virginia tobacco for me . I bought in bulk and aged only 6 mths . I only dried it maybe 20 minutes from the jar . Smokes great fairly moist . Lots of deep rich flavor . Most SG blends need a year or so of age for me but this one I think can be probably smoked fresh . Nicotine is mild-medium . Highly recommend

Pipe Used: Pots

Age When Smoked: 6 months

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rohann (16)	2020-01-09		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

My first ever vaper and flake. This blend should be carefully contemplated and meditated on for it to reveal its true colours.

The tin note is dominantly perique; strong scents of pepper and wood. A friend's opion stuck with me on the room note, an old wooden ship. Upon smoking it, the virginia is very prevalent with a sharp hay taste. The peppery perique is consistent in the lead with the virginia. There is absolutely no rum present in my taste buds. While I fear my opinion will not be shared by non smokers, I really enjoy the room note. It is a clean smokey smell found in any barbecue.

This tobacco burns hotter then the fiery depths of hell. I would only be satisfied with a dry system pipe and filter crystals to bring down this immense temperature.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2019-10-18		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Navy Flake is more akin to the aged Virginias of House Gawith than the traditional English blends (Va/Or/Lat) despite the Latakia on which it is quite mild. It lacks the high tones of bright Virginias and Oriental which the English blends contain and is more monochromatic, but that is not to say less interesting. Actually, it is an elegant blend where one can taste the aged and cooked Virginia with the addition of the smokiness of Latakia which as I said is mild and sweet. I think I can even taste the rum but it is discreet, it just adds a nuance and does not overwhelm the natural tobacco taste. There’s also a note of alcohol but very slight, also some notes of burnt caramel. Strength is medium at most and it does not contain much nicotine. Navy Flake has a mild and smooth flavor that needs a serene atmosphere to appreciate fully. Room note is not bad at all and I experienced no bite. Lastly it burns much more easily than most Gawith straight Virginias without the need of much preparation and drying.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	snow901 (12)	2019-09-08		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first impressions of this tobacco were not good and I left it for a few months before trying it again. I'm not overly fond of blends with alcohol toppings but given it's reputation I wanted to give this one a try. Trying it a second time I like this a lot more. The rum is there but the virginias are forward and the run does not seem has strong as my first smoke. There is a sweetness present that could be from the topping. Its a fun smoke that produces heavy smoke. The first half of the bowl I get an aftertaste that I'm not crazy about and it's ever present in my mouth. If you are typically an aromatic smoker you may not mind it. I like this tobacco but it's not going to be part of my regular rotation. I'll likely keep some for an occasional smoke when I'm looking for something a little different.

Pipe Used: L'Anatra Billiard

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: The Briary - Brimingham, AL

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Davedmn (17)	2019-08-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Thought I'd try a loose tobacco. Nice tidy flakes. Sweetish dried fruit with hint of smoked wood pouch note

Folded into pipe and lit. Burns well. Some relights. Right to bottom of bowl.

I found the Latakia somewhat more than a background taste. And a nice sweetness from the rest.

Nicotine mild to medium and room note only just accepted by SWMBO

I've jarred it and ordered some more! Very nice

Pipe Used: Bent peterson

Age When Smoked: Just bought

Purchased From: On line GQ tobacconist

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	3pipeproblem (28)	2018-11-22		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Well, my first sampling of Samuel Gawith and my second Latakia blend. When I opened the tin and stuck my nose in, I couldn't smell any Latakia ! Upon handling it I do get a light odor. Nice flakes, a bit moist, but by the time I had finished the tin it had dried out considerably. I smoked it folded, cubed, and rubbed out. It burned well regardless, and no bite. I was surprised to see a bit of plume although it was just under a year old. I like it quite a bit. The rum is very subdued, as is the Latakia. I think this is a great intro to the "big L". I have a lot more to learn, but I could definitely see getting more of this : 3.5 stars

Pipe Used: Dr. Grabow briars.

Age When Smoked: 10 months

Purchased From: Smoking Pipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Briar Piper (89)	2018-11-18		Medium to Strong	Medium	Full	Tolerable

Enjoy an English blend, and a navy flake? Well here you go! A combination of both! This is the best navy flake I have found, richer than MacBaren's, and has a rum note almost as strong as Fribourg & Treyer's special brown. Unlike both of those flakes, this has latakia, and very good latakia at that. If there was an actual blend favored by sailors, I'd imagine this would be it. You must try this at least once, it is that good.

Pipe Used: comoy, ser jacopo

Purchased From: Tinderbox

Similar Blends: A cross between an english blend, and a navy flake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TheAromaticDan (10)	2018-07-28		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Strong

Latakia heaven, hello! You’ll notice that you’re smoking a Latakia-forward blend the minute that you first light it. No, you even notice it the first time you pop the tin. A Latakia bomb greets your nose, no doubt about that. The Virginias aren’t really present in the bouquet, I feel. Anyway, I used the fold and stuff method which is why the bowl didn’t take light as easily. However, it doesn’t get hot which is a major plus! Now, onto the taste. Latakia, Latakia, and - you guessed it - Latakia. This amazing tobacco leaf dominates the flavour, never allowing the Virginias to make an appearance. That’s fine by me, though, since Latakia is what I love and crave. I packed a no-name brand bent billiard and was able to smoke one slab of SG’s well-known thick flakes for over one and a half hours. Never felt a nicotine kick which, again, is fine by me. Definitely recommended for lovers of Latakia.

Pipe Used: no-name bent billiard

Age When Smoked: possibly early 2017

Purchased From: tabak versand.de

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Commonwealth Mixture.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	doc pipes (106)	2017-10-31		Medium	Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

This is an interesting take on a traditional navy flake. There is quite a bit of moisture noted on opening the tin. The flakes themselves are rough cut and of various size and thickness. These flakes are sopping wet. I noted that they required at least an overnight dry session before it was dry enough to take a match. The Virginias are of high quality, redolent of cereal. The Latakia is applied somewhat heavy-handedly per my taste, and there certainly seems to be more than a condimental amount present. The rum topping disappates after a thorough dry and lends little to the flavor of the smoke. Not one that I will be buying anytime soon, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try it.

Pipe Used: Basket bulldog

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Iwan ries

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	adam543 (8)	2017-05-23		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is one of my favorite tobaccos from Samuel Gawith but when I first tried it, I was rather disappointed. It took me some time understand this blend but once I knew what to expect, it started to grow on me. Is there a lot of Latakia flavor? No, Latakia is much in the background, giving a little of smoky taste. Is there a lot of rum flavor? No, it is far from aromatic tobacco, it gives delicate aroma and not quite what you taste when drinking real rum. I would classify it rather as a "Virginia based" tobacco. There is a very nice Virginia sweetness, perhaps enhanced by the casing, other ingredients play important but minor role. The flavor is very consistent all the way through the bowl. It needs to be always in my cellar.

So far I have been smoking mainly 10g samples, even though I have some tins put away. I have to say that this blend slightly differs from one sample bag to another. As almost every SG flake, it needs time and effort to prepare it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2017-01-28		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

SG Navy Flake- A typical SG "wet" flake that was purchased in Bulk. The existence of "Rum" was totally missing. The initial light gives off a slight Latakia blast that quickly fades to a Virginia forward blend that is similar to FVF. Navy Flake is slightly sweeter than FVF, is slightly more flavorful than FVF, is NOT as smooth as FVF and it comes with a slight bite. Nothing here that I have to have, won't purchase again. Agree with reviewer mnadz (64)

Pipe Used: cob

Similar Blends: lancers slices.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Little Steven (76)	2016-07-29		Medium	Medium	Full	Unnoticeable

There's been a lot of discussion about drying times and what have you.

I'm of the opinion that the blenders know their business better than what I do.

So, it's fluff up a flake fresh from the tin. A good hearty light and everything's fine.

The amalgamation of rum, latakia and fine virginia is just PHWOAR!

And why is it called Navy Flake, some chaps have asked. Better than calling it Hello Sailor, I suppose.

Pipe Used: A Stanwell Billiard.

Age When Smoked: Fresh.

Purchased From: The Danish Pipe Shop (nice chaps)

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	William H. Hardy (93)	2016-07-15		Medium	Very Mild	Full	Strong

First off, it came a lot less moist than most SG tobaccos. So the tin goes into a baggie. So, yeah... Dark. Dark flavors of Virginia and latakia. Very little sweetness. Couldn't really taste any rum in it through the smoke.

The first quarter of the bowl, I thought it had too much latakia, but I haven't had a lat blend in almost two weeks. By the halfway mark, I thought that it had just enough latakia to keep it interesting and burning cool.

The virginias have to be well stoved or even fired. I could definitely taste charred steak and spice. It burned a little hot near the bottom, but I slowed down and that helped. Good stuff, in my opinion. Sam Gawith, you got a winner in my book.

Pipe Used: Orlik DeLuxe Bulldog

Age When Smoked: Fresh tin

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BryGuySC (26)	2016-05-24		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

On the initial light, and first few minutes, the hay from the virginia was very present, and the mild latakia came through in a pleasant way. I’m usually not a fan of the oriental & latakia mixtures, but this was not too strong. After a few minutes, something magical happened, the smoke became smooth, buttery, and sweet. It is difficult to nail down. The image that came to my head is kind of like brown sugar and butter heating on the stove, but with an added “coolness.” Maybe like a buttered rum or a caramel popcorn. Again, this is hard to discern, not an in-your-face flavor. This flavor was only in my mouth. It did not come through the retrohale or the exhaled smoke. About halfway through the sweetness faded, and the virginia shone through again. Every exhale that hit my nose popped with the mild latakia. I think I should have let it dry some more, as it wanted to go out. I enjoyed it so much, that I had a hard time not puffing too hard. I get the feeling it would bite pretty good, with too much puffing (as I am prone to do). I really enjoyed this smoke.

I’ve smoked through about half a pound of this now. It is not always this experience, but it is always a solid smoke.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Train (118)	2016-04-08		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Strong

Wow , this is a bowl full . Like all S & G tobacco it looks great in the tin , well served up using thick , beautiful , dark flakes . The tin note whets one's desire too. The problem , as with all S & G , is the MOISTURE , and plenty of it too . Too moist to pack or keep lit . What to do? Add a neutral Virginia flake like Newminster or the ever valuable Sutlif Virginia slices . In this case , being the most moist of all S & G products use the flake at least 4 to 1 . This gives you the taste of the tobacco without drowning you or gumming up your pipe . Navy flake is flavorful enough to bring it's taste through even at a 4 to 1 ratio . The strong of heart can try 3 or 1 or even 50/50 if you are a real man . I have tried drying this out overnight but it only makes the flake too dry and takes away from the taste . This is a really unique tobacco with the latakia as a minor but important player . Picture yourself in the British navy while you smoke .

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	jedibastard (36)	2015-09-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Im sitting here smoking a bowl of this SG Navy Flake as i type.

This tin was actually a gift to a friend of mine about 3 yrs ago. Which he forgot about for some time. So long actually, there were crystals all over the flakes. So the tin most likely already had some age to it....plus how long he forgot about it. So i felt obligated to take a few flakes.

Upon him first opening the tin. I remeber they were a fairly dark flake with darker streaks to them. It had a wonderful, sweet, rum raisin like aroma to the tin. When i reopened this tin after finding it later on, the flakes were now very dark, with the faintest of white crystals all over it. They smelt fantastic!!! Very sweet, and grassy like. With that raisin aroma still present.

I rubbed out 3 flakes and let them dry for about 20min.

The tobacco didnt want to take a flame at first. But after a short struggle......it was ready.

Im only about a 1/3 into the bowl, and i can taste some burnt grass with a little spice. Im not getting any rum flavoring, but i usually dont in the "navy" category. Which isnt good or bad for me. Every now and again i get that sweet virginia taste on my tounge. The aroma is very nice. Almost a sweet grass with maybe leather??? Honestly. Im enjoying the aroma more then the smoke to be honest. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now im a little past half way done. It almost tastes burnt. And almost egg like. Almost like its lost all the sweetness and grassy flavors. I have not been pushing this bowl, or puffing too hard either. I havent had to relight at all. Which is always a plus, regardless of the tobacco.

And now that im done with this bowl. I can say, most of the flavor is in the first half. The rest kind of becomes burnt and acrid almost, and very dry. I noticed the aroma almost changing as well. More of a burnt grassy smell. I still get some spice to it though. There is a small amount of a nic buzz. But noting major.

To be honest, i cant get on board with these "navy" flakes. Im not even that big of a fan of most virginias out right now. They all almost taste alike to me.

I wouldnt buy this again. I will try it again though(and by try, ill steal another couple flakes from my buddy). I always try to try a tobacco at least 2-3times before i really decide against it.

This just didnt wow me. Which kinda sucks because i love anything with ships or reminiscent of the military. Most of my family were all officers in the navy or coast guard(as far back as the 1940s). And i some how ended up in the army!

Maybe thats why i dont like this?!

Pipe Used: Freddie Prieto

Age When Smoked: 3+ years out of the tin

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Laserboy (16)	2015-09-08		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I find this flake to be something of a paradox: With a solid backbone of Latakia and a rum topping, one would expect a strong flavor. (Based on tin description, one would expect it to be comparable to C&D's "Black Frigate"--it is not.) So on an initial smoke, one is likely to be surprised. The Latakia is there, certainly, but it is truly used condimentally and supplies only a subtle backbone of flavor. Likewise, the rum flavor is so far in the background that I'm not convinced that I can actually pick out its flavor consciously, although I am confident that I would notice a difference were it magically removed. Despite these two seasonings, it is the Virginia that ultimately wins--that blending component that is so often noted for being so subtle as to be overwhelmed by even the ghost of another tobacco remaining in a pipe ultimately defines the character in this blend. The result is slightly sweet, subtly smokey, with a hint of a floral character. Every now and then I'm sure I'm tasting lavender--a remnant of the rum, or a tiny dash of Lakeland? I don't know, but it makes for an engaging and fascinating smoke.

The flakes are thin and uneven and arrive in the tin more than a bit too wet (someone on this site needs to produce a button for a macro that inserts "benefits from drying" into reviews--this would save time, I'm sure). An hour or so out of the tin and they're good to go, however. I find that I like this in a deep, narrow pipe. It takes the match well and in the smoking one gets a very rare treat: Here is a tobacco that burns easily, produces copious amounts of flavorful smoke, and still burns so slowly that one can easily get a full hour or more out of a single pipe. I've never gotten a bite from this tobacco, even when I puff harder than I ought, which is punished by a bit of unpleasant bitterness rather than bite. A failing of the blend is in nicotine content, which is very low: All of its other features make this a nice complement to a morning coffee or an evening whisky, but there's no "kick." This isn't a terrible thing, but it does leave me wanting something more, just a bit.

All in all, a pleasant blend that is worth a try. I wish I could give fractional stars--this isn't quite at four stars, but three seems too low. Let's call it 3.5.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2015-08-24		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Absolutely beautiful tobacco. It wouldn't be the one I'd run in to a burning house to grab, but it is a quality leaf for sure. The one thing that stands out in this for me, is the absolute perfect amount of latakia. You catch it here and there, but it never overpowers always behind the scenes. The rum does wonderful things to the Virginias and it's all married quite wonderfully in this extra long thin twisty flake. It rubs out effortlessly and packs and lights easily as well. My definite favorite and recommendation among the Navy Flake varieties.

Pipe Used: Peterson Rocky 05 and Mark Tinsky Cutty Hawk

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Pipes and Cigars

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Hillbilly08 (38)	2015-03-29		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I bought a tin while on business in Europe. In the tin the flakes had a dark mottled appearance. The aroma was heady, pungent and rich. I decided to give it a try without prior airing or drying, and was pleasantly surprised that it was easy to light and stayed lit after just a few charring lights. The tin aroma was true to the freshly lit tobacco without rum overload, but there were some prominent raisin and prune notes. The flavour is of a good old virginia with latakia throughout. It is a really nicely balanced blend with consistent flavour through the bowl. The nicotine content is moderate. No tongue bite, and a smooth reliable smoke without complex variation. Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Butz Choquin half-bent briar with a 9mm filter

Age When Smoked: fresh out of tin (not dried)

Purchased From: Churchill's Tobacco Store (Prague, Czech Republic)

Similar Blends: .

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JosephJames (12)	2015-03-19		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I tried at ounce of this from the local tobacconist bulk supply.

I am not a huge Latakia fan. I like it, just not as much as some do. That said, the Latakia found in this navy flake is mixed in perfect proportion with the Virginia as far as my tastes go. It gives this blend an extra dimension that made it very enjoyable.

This is another excellent blend from Samuel Gawith. The flavor was consistent throughout the bowl.

I would highly recommend this tobacco.

Pipe Used: MM cob

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Pipes Ltd.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SamH (31)	2015-03-15		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A very nice tobacco I buy for a change here and there. It can be a bit wet with rum on first opening, but dries nicely. This is, for me a lovely winter's morning smoke. The rum complements the tobacco in the way that a decent hazelnut can benefit a good coffee. Not overpowering at all, but adding to the overall experience rather well.

Pipe Used: Various billiards

Age When Smoked: New from the shop

Purchased From: mysmokingshop

Similar Blends: A Rum flavoured Samuel Gawith flake, it has similarities to other Gawith tobaccos..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Carlos (21)	2015-03-02		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Delicate Latakia. Sweeter, because of flavouring. In my opinion, this tobacco can be a good choice to start your adventure with Latakia. Especially, if you seem not to like Latakia very much - you should like this one. And, on the other hand, if you like Latakia very much - this one is something different - worth to try for a change.

Purchased From: Synjeco

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Otis56 (31)	2014-11-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

An awesome English blend with a dash of rum and sweet virgina's. The taste is sweet and the rum gives this a desert like smoke. Rubs out very easy and smokes nice and cool. Will take to a match after the 3rd time for myself. But over all a lovely smoke and very enjoyable. Peace.

Pipe Used: Philip Trypis - Strait Billard

Age When Smoked: 3 Months

Purchased From: 4noggins

Similar Blends: Nothing I have run into..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lochinvar (78)	2014-07-02		Medium	Mild	Mild	Tolerable

This is one of my new favorite tobaccos, and is very unique. It is the only blend with Latakia I have ever smoked where I got the smoky flavor without the spicy, leathery flavors. From first light, I get a light rum taste and the sweet grassy taste of the Virginias. The rum quickly dissipates and the Latakia kicks in, the taste turning sweet, smoky and creamy. From mid bowl to the bottom, a kind of pine tar resinous taste starts peeking out every now and again.

I was floored by this flake. It's not like any other Navy flake, nor any Latakia flake. I still think Full Virginia Flake is the best thing Gawith produces, but Navy Flake is the most original.

Pipe Used: Colossal

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nekeke (19)	2014-04-17		Medium to Strong	Mild	Very Full	Pleasant

I am a fan of strong tobaccos, I really like nicotine. But for the purists, I believe this one is a every day, all day smoke. Enough strenght and enough flavour. Quite pleasant, but nothing too fancy... If you smoke from morning till bed time, this one is a keeper, but if you like a strong taste and strong flavour do not expect an eye opener...

EDIT* This has become my favorite tobacco of all. Best taste on the tongue and especially best blowing through your nose. If there is someone who hasnt tried it yet, please do. I agree, truly a masterpiece

Pipe Used: stanwell royal guard 63

Age When Smoked: new

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nicotiana_rustica (23)	2014-01-31		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

similar to BALKAN flake, but with rum. almost buttery. more latakia, too. good amount of nicotine, very tasty. good after dinner smoke. amazing taste smoking slow. Regular tobacco in my rotation! For me the best navy flake out there!

Pipe Used: peterson 999, 9mm filter

Purchased From: http://www.pipe-shop.net/

Similar Blends: SG balkan flake (with no RUM).

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	o3Ho3 (28)	2014-01-14		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, I didn't expected much, btw I'm not a great fan of Latakia but......... The flake are almost perfect , not too moist, not too dry. Smell & taste surprisingly good. Latakia is just enough to give you a little spice and rum is there blended with VA. However you put in your bowl burns evenly and well with not much heat. I don't know , but for me, they almost chose the best Virginia for this one.

Pipe Used: always Peterson

Age When Smoked: 1-2 yrs

Purchased From: street corner shop

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-06-30		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

First time on this tobacco for me. 25g bought loose here in the UK. Very powerful nose on opening the pouch, very dark flakes and very moist. I've had some bad experiences with "Rum Flake" in the past and I thought "here we go again".

Not so! A wonderful tobacco. Needs a few repeat lights but so very full of flavour and a good nicotine hit for those who want it.

Burns well once lit and a great alternative to Condor Long Cut which taints my pipes with it's bizzare taste.

Try a pouch is my advice. Great stuff

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Persian Slipper (30)	2013-01-10		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

There is an expression in the United States where I live called "hem-haw". It means to be undecided about a subject. I'm hem-hawing about Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake. Not being much experienced in flakes I tried several different ways to smoke the blend. For me, they achieved the same results. For the positives on this blend, Navy Flake does smoke very slowly; much slower than I'm used to a pipe smoking, in fact. The Virginias are forefront in this blend, which is good if you're a Virginia lover. The blend burns even, with a nice white ash. It's pretty difficult to get it to bite. I've puffed it quickly in the past and it stayed pretty tame. The overall flavor is a medium to full taste, not recommended for the casual or new smoker, but for the dedicated smoker it will be a treat. Now we're going to get into the bads. The rum flavor that's touted on the tin is very rarely detected. That was one of my reasons for buying the blend, as I enjoy rum enhanced tobacco blends. The latakia is much muted, acting as a secondary element, not an equal one, to the Virginia. This is a problem to the latakia lover, as it isn't enough to satisfy. I'll give this blend a recommendation, as the elements of it come together quite well. Going into it for the right expectations, someone can get a nice smoke out of it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Philosopher (27)	2012-08-16		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

This one promised a lot - on opening the tin there was a blast of spice and rum. But on lighting it just didn't follow through. I'm not sure whether to say "bland" or "refined" - possibly the latter and my taste is too coarse. Doubt about that gives it a 3 rather than a 2 star rating.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	halpuff (11)	2012-07-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

If six stars were possible SG Navy Flake would receive six stars from me. This is the first Virginia/Latakia flake I have experienced. I received a tin of this yesterday and tried my first bowl this morning and all I can say is WOW! FANTASTIC!! I opened the tin last night and was greeted with that wonderful (my wife calls it rotten gym sock)aroma of toasty Latakia. The beautiful bacon strip like slices were neatly stacked and the tin aroma was fantastic. I think I had my nose in the tin for thirty minutes just taking in the musty nuances of this great blend. Knowing I was going to try my first bowl the next morning I pulled a couple of slices from the stack and gently broke them up into rough and still fairly large chunks and laid them out on a piece of copy paper to dry overnight. Next morning I drove to a nearby state park and found my favorite bench and sat down with anticipation of my first bowl of flake tobacco. I took with me my medium size GBD sandblast billiard which I reserve only for English blends and proceeded to carefully load the broken chunks of slice into the bowl. With a gentle tamp to seat the load into place and a check for draft I proceeded to the charring light. I found it took two wooden kitchen matches to create a good char and then after allowing the burn to go out I followed up with a light tamp and a final third match that burned to the bottom. I found the tobacco to burn slow and cool and for nearly a full hour. I experienced no bite at all found the aroma and taste to be heavenly all the way to the bottom of the bowl. I could sense no topping of rum at all, but then again I am not a drinker so I really would not know what to look for. I found this to be a complex and interesting smoke with many subtle and creamy flavors. The flavor and aroma I experienced the most I would compare to the aroma and taste of warm chocolate milk on a winter morning. The aftertaste was nearly non-existent and smooth leaving my mouth feeling clean and light. Great tobacco!!

Harkpuff

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Blue Bayou (60)	2012-04-13		Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Too heavy on the Latakia for my taste. I prefer MacBaren Plumcake.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-02-26		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This tobacco is one of my preferred flakes. It's smoky, full of the typical Balkan flavours and the hints of rum really bring it all together.

A stand up tobacco that lights, smokes and tastes great as well as being flavoured with my all time favourite spirit. My perfect partner to a good rum on the rocks

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pipey duck (49)	2012-01-07		Very Mild	Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

another really good blend with just the punch of rum to make this baccy different to other VA/LATAKIA flakes. Only the nic is here,and many other blends to less. But i like the taste and smell of it .Another thing are the slices which are very thick and wet ,though you have to rub it out and give it a hour to dry,otherwise you need lots of relights. wen it quite lit it smokes cool and with no bites. 3stars for being sweetAND english

update 27/04/12 I stored it for a while to see how it progress. I am sorry to confirm most of my review. 1 MUCH to thick slices 2 Very WET But 3 MUCH MUCH to light in NIC!!!!! I smoked so much blends and get from almost every blend a decent voooom but not from this. Taste is good. strengh for aromatics

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	elelion (25)	2011-12-12		Medium to Strong	Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I ordered this tin because the blend is considered as the "legendary" "navy" flake. Maybe I gave it too much expectation, only to find it not so legendary. Good tobacco indeed but considering limited time frame for daily smoke and seemingly unlimited alternatives out there, I would only finish the tin on hand without further purchases.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-10-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Balkan flake with a splash of rum. I wasn't keen on Balkan flake and the rum didn't fix it.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipepundit (168)	2011-10-07		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I must confess that I do not know what is meant by Navy Flake or Navy Cut. Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake is a blend of virginia and perique, as is Dunhill's Deluxe Navy Rolls. Mac Baren's Navy Flake is a mixture of virginia and burley. Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake is a concoction of virginia, latakia and rum. This exuberance in nomenclature makes it difficult to make comparisons.

The pouch (Synjeco supplied my order in rather well designed pouches) aroma is clearly virginia and latakia, with the hint of rum. If you rub out the flakes between your palms and then put your nose to your palms, the rum aroma comes through very clearly. All three components merge together nicely into an inviting redolence. The taste is what the pouch aroma would lead you to expect. I did not find the blend to be particularly sweet; perhaps the proportion of latakia has been adjusted to prevent any cloying sweetness. Certainly, the proportion of latakia is far higher in this blend than in Chocolate Flake. The tobacco burns well once it has taken light, but stays cool. The `heaviness' of Samuel Gawith flakes generally results in slow and cool smokes - it is practically impossible to get them to burn hot unless they are severely maltreated.

I think an apt comparison would be with Esoterica's Pembroke. Pembroke, with no virginias and a sophisticated application of cognac, is like a wildly exciting can-can: alright for an occasional treat, but you can not make it your staple entertainment. Navy Flake is more like a homely amusement that you can live with every day without getting exhausted.

I only wish I could discover the marine commonalty between the various Navy blends.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	meerkat (64)	2011-05-20		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A good, savoury tasting flake with a subtle latakia presence and an added tang from the rum.

I've never had a navy flake with latakia before and I can't think why no other manufacturer has thought of it. It just seems right to me. It fits.

The usual SG flake attributes of overmoistness and inconsistency of cut apply as does a slight reluctance to take light and a mild desire to bite (easily avoided with a little attention). It reminds me alot of SG's Kendal Mayors Collection Chocolate Flake but with a rum topping insead of a cocoa one, which I think works slightly better with the base tobaccos. Although, like Chocolate Flake, the taste doesn't vary much throughout the smoke and is ever-so-slightly dull.

Overall a good, interestingly differnt tasting, tobacco which is slightly 2 dimensional but worth a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	derlict311 (71)	2011-04-16		Medium to Strong	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Upon opening it, the rum smell takes over your senses. Wow! It smokes with the same definitive character. This is a unique blend. The flakes are dark, but not as dark as 1792. Dry em' out for the full experience, but not too dry, you'll miss out on some of the beauty.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Tee-dub (48)	2011-03-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Sweet, smoky, and delicious. Like all Gawith flakes, this is top drawer tobacco, nicely prepared, with flakes of varying thickness.

I'd say this is on the milder side of medium, sweetened only slightly by the almost unnoticeable addition of rum. The rum is unobtrusive and somehow melds nicely with the Latakia, added with a gentle touch.

Too mild for an evening smoke, it is nevertheless an agreeable companion during the day. Three and a half stars. A little more heft and body and I'd rate it four stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-01-22		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Almost the perfect baccy. I love everything about it. It can be smoked cool or hot (but not too hot) and one can have a wide range of sensations from it. The smell is what I love the most - both, when fresh or when smoked. I hoped would like to make this my all day smoke but it's probably little too strong for that. If you looked up this tobacco you're interested and there should be no reason to buy just a sample, you'd be going back soon for more anyway!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-05-31		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I like Virginias, I like Latakia, I like Rum. So why is this tobacco so underwhelming? It is a bit of an odd mix and certainly isn't that arresting; there's nothing here that screams Classic to me.

I'm beginning to appreciate, though, how trying to communicate taste, and even judgements of taste, to other humans requires one to go deeper into one's own experience, and writing this now I am searching for what's going on here and it's proving an enjoyable hunt. So there's something to be considered here.

Now, my opinion of SG's tobaccos is that they are Premium Grade. Some of the best. I realise there is an obvious bias; my consciousness was forged under the same hills that have watched over the pretty town of Kendal long before tobacco became a commodity and I can't help but lean towards a view that there is an aesthetic appreciation informed by that landscape and running through the natives from thereabouts. One that set sail on the high seas at some point. I'm not too sure how much maritime history has any bearing on the choice of this blend of tobaccos that warrants the title Navy Flake but the description from SG for this one is probably its most florid and as such quite possibly raises undue expectation for those who mistake regional humour and cultural heritage for sales pitch. And maybe even the folks at SG can't tell the difference. Who knows?

But the sheer poetry of the words Navy Flake tend to infer I think a transporting experience and anything short of that is likely to disappoint.

Well, what of the tobacco? One thing to be said of it is that as far as the quality of the raw ingredients goes I don't detect anything less than the excellence of the same calibre as FVF. The rum is real.

So what must disappoint is the balance and treatment of the materials at hand.

Nothing in this flake jumps out and grabs you. The rum is ephemeral, the Latakia a light touch and the Virginias subsumed. So initially it comes across as rather bland and if you couple that with the most predominant complaints of SG's tobaccos, that they come too moist and are thus also scant portions, it is inclined to not register much for those on a Search for (affordable) Excellence.

However there really isn't much wrong with SG's Navy Flake. It burns well, it has a fairly pleasant room note, there are no artificial flavours to obstruct the natural ones and the flakes are solid and well prepared. It delivers the hallowed Vitamin N in a comfortable quantity, there's no bite to speak of and the after-taste is very satisfactory.

I suspect that ET's Penzance might actually be stealing this fellows wind, assuming that that blend has some direct inspiration from its namesake, but I haven't tried that one so I couldn't say for sure.

I agree with Hemlock - this is a companion smoke, and a very steady one at that. The other day I was walking to Hemel Hempsted from Berkhamsted in High Wind and this smoked really nicely whilst walking with my pipe girt between my teeth.

So there's something in the description. Perhaps the set and setting has more of a bearing than is given credit. You certainly have to take it into account with the ritual ingestion of psychotropic substances so this tobaccos je ne sais quoi could be its steady quality. It delivers, not excessively, on all important counts. Steady as she goes!!

I would definitely buy this again but on such a short voyage with this one I am reluctant to give it 4 stars. Time will tell, and also future voyages in the company of this somewhat inestimable flake.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smokily Dokily (12)	2023-02-23		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Flake, cake, rolls, plugs, coins...no matter how you cut it, "Navy" is probably the most enigmatically vague term thrown around in the pipe smoker's vernacular second only to "English." This category's definition seems to defy consensus. Some say it's just an antiquated term for flake tobacco. Others still think "Navy" is only specific to flake tobaccos packed with rum. There's even a school of thought that claims "Navy" tobacco is all but extinct in the wild-as the British Royal Navy, after literal centuries of doing so, ceased production and distribution of tobacco bearing her majesty's Royal Crest to its sailors in 1975.

For me, I had always figured it was a particular blending bill of English traditional flake specifically geared toward high nicotine content, but, after researching a plethora of inconclusive categorical definitions, I guess I'll never know for sure. Ambiguity aside, I'm DEFINITELY here for whatever the folks at Sam Gawith have cooked up here. If this is "Navy" tobacco, then I'm 100% on board. Anchors aweigh!

This stuff is, simply put, sublime. The flakes are dark, slightly moist, with a familiar sweet aroma, akin to raisins, with a woody, musty character. Like the inside if a whiskey barrel but not quite as sour. No cloying casing or artificial chemicals lingering in the nose...just good tobacco. The flake rubs out easily enough, and doesn't really require drying, although you will want to pack this stuff looser than you think you should, as it tends to be stubborn to light if you overpack a bowl. Once it gets going though, it burns evenly and cool, and lasts forever, even in a smaller bowl. The smoke is creamy, rich, and consistent without too much evolution throughout the bowl. It's got the subtle, straightforward, caramel sweetness of good Virginia flakes, and a slight astringent smokiness that I can only ascribe to a condimental application of Latakia...just enough to tone down the peppery bite characteristic of Virginia tobaccos. This is rounded out pleasantly with a tactful yet subtle application of rum, which it makes for a full harmonious flavor not unlike a good cup of strong, Russian black tea, with just the right amount of sugar.

All in all, a quite pleasurable, old school, no-nonsense tobacco that I could see myself smoking fairly regularly. It's not too hefty in nicotine, and I couldn't get this to bite if I tried, though it required a fair number of relights, but that is likely a function of my inexperience with flakes in general, and my consequent lack of ability in packing them skillfully. I'm only hesitant to say that this is an all day smoker because it does coat the mouth quite noticably, but even that doesn't detract from its enjoyability in the slightest. I suppose that's just as well-with all good things, overindulgence can always be the enjoyer's undoing. Regardless, you should try some SG Navy Flake if it is available to you. You'll surely enjoy the simple satisfaction that pipe smoking is all about.

Pipe Used: Various Briar

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Jon's Pipe Shop (Champaign, IL)

Similar Blends: Sillem's-Commodore Flake, Samuel Gawith-Balkan Flake.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	claudiobande (31)	2023-01-02		Medium	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

A virginia latakia, but with a little rum. At the beginning of the smoke it is a tobacco that does not finish convincing. As the smoke progresses, it becomes more intense and notes of rum appear, becoming a very delicious tobacco. It is not a tobacco that you smoke every day, perhaps because the combustion is not good, and you need to be patient, but it is a great tobacco

Pipe Used: Dunhill - Castello

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nuvoleazzurre (36)	2020-12-08		Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Scheda tecnica: ​Composizione: Virginia e Latakia, Taglio: Flake, Forza: Medio-Pieno, Aromatizzato: Rum

Tabacco particolare, molto virginioso, non troppo latakioso. All’apertura colpiscono i falkes, ben pressati, molto scuri, alcuni con qualche cristallo di zucchero.

L’aroma a crudo è particolare, sono sapientemente mescolati Virginia e Latakia, uno accompagna l’altro anche se chi prende la mano è ovviamente l’affumicato del Latakia.

Per caricarlo, ognuno usi il metodo che preferisce, io arrotolo.

Accenderlo, merita il giusto tempo, ma poi dai primi puff sia il latakia che il rum vengono usati come vero e proprio condimento, lasciando visibilissima e intatta la base di ottimo Virginia che è sempre dolce e levigato. Proseguendo con la fumata il tabacco cambia registro e alla dolcezza e pizzicore del Virginia si associano i sentori di cuoio e stallatico del latakia (quasi fosse un Kentuky) e quella componete dolce del Rum svanisce.

Insomma un tabacco molto buono di buona persistenza, molto piacevole tra il dolce/liquoroso e l’affumicato.

La forza da me percepita è media.

Giudizio complessivo 4,5/5

Pipe Used: DonFlorian Savinelli Brebbia

Age When Smoked: 2

Purchased From: Tabaccheria Solari, Genova, Italy

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Megalo Al (38)	2020-11-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Buonissimi tabacchi per una mistura di livello. Come quasi sempre (Celtic Talisman escluso) Samuel Gawith non sbaglia. E poi con un veliero in etichetta hai già vinto :). Consigliatissimo!

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Bothy Flake (Kearvaig Pipe Club).

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Megalo Al (38)	2020-11-19		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Buonissimi tabacchi per una mistura di livello. Come quasi sempre (Celtic Talisman escluso) Samuel Gawith non sbaglia. E poi con un veliero in etichetta hai già vinto :). Consigliatissimo!

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Bothy Flake (Kearvaig Pipe Club).

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BriarBriarPantsOnFire (1)	2020-10-05		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is the premier Navy Flake to which I compare all others. I purchase this in both the 50 gram tins and 250 gram boxes. I note that because the 250g boxes contain longer flakes while the 50 gram tins have flakes that are sized perfectly for the fold and stuff method if that's how you like to prepare your flakes. The 250 gram boxes obviously offer the more economical choice and the extra preparation required is of minimal concern to most of us, I'm sure.

As with many blends, this one benefits greatly from drying prior to smoking. I try to give myself at least 15-20 minutes of drying time before lighting (and often up to an hour). Failure to do so typically means I struggle to get the blend lit. Adding some rubbed out "kindling" on top can help with that though. Once lit, however, it's very easy to keep lit and burns cool so long as you don't puff like a freight train.

It doesn't happen every time, but I've had several of those "nirvana" smokes with this blend. Highly recommended if you can find it on the internet shelves.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gchiaram (12)	2020-06-08		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

Update: I bought back an envelope packaged in Argentina. When fresh, citrus aromas and just a leather background predominate, with the sweetness of rum just playing at the bottom of the nose. Once lit, the flavors of mature Va are present with just the right latakia to round off a barely sweet smoke, but where Va plays the main role, from start to finish. A good combination to get away from Va / Pe, but ultimately staying in the spheres of Va, ideal for the lovers of Va. Step to 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Savinelli common billiard

Age When Smoked: Fresh, from a newly purchased envelope.

Purchased From: https://www.patagoniapipes.com/tabaco-en-sobre

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pikey Mick (48)	2020-06-07		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Jar note is smoky with a barely detectable rum note. I rubbed it out lightly and it took a few lights to get it going. It reminds me of Army and Navy sweets with a smoky undertone, but I'm failing to taste any rum topping. Burns nicely with no tongue bite whatsoever. Smooth, dark Virginia's are present from the first light throughout the bowl with the hint of Latakia giving it a mild creamy edge. I find that the room note is quite ashy like cigarette smell. Smoking this makes me zone out quite a lot because the whole experience is bewitching. A great fishing tobacco I would say IMHO. I think it could be improved if the rum was a bit more apparent. Nearing the last half of the bowl the flavour deepens considerably but in a good way. For me this is better smoked outdoors where you can chill and watch the world go by. The aftertaste in my mouth is still those Army and Navy sweets.

I couldn't smoke this all day but I will certainly keep it in rotation.

Damn, the aftertaste is soo good!

Pipe Used: Mr Brog churchwarden

Purchased From: GQ

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