Tobaccos Samuel Gawith - Golden Glow

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3046)	2014-05-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A mild to medium tasting Virginia with a fair amount of tart and tangy citrus, hay/straw and grass, a little tangy dark fruit, some earth, bread, and wood along with mild floralness, vegetation, sugar, and a pinch of spice. Won't bite or get harsh even if pushed. Has a few small rough edges. The strength is in the center of mild to medium, while the taste is a step past that threshold. The nic-hit is a rung below the strength level. It's easy to break up the flakes or fold and stuff as your preference allows. It burns slow and easy with a cool, clean, relatively smooth, very consistent flavor. Requires a few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a very pleasant, lightly lingering after taste and room note. An all day naturally sweet straight, uncomplicated Virginia smoke.

-JimInks

32 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2011-12-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Good name for this one! When I opened the tin, the tobacco color was indeed golden and it did seem to glow. Really bright colored blend of broken flakes. Easily rubbed out, which is how I smoked it most of the time and how it seemed to work its best magic.

Tin aroma was really nasty for a virginia, which took me by surprise. It did not make that first load very appealing, but the taste made up for it. A highly and naturally sweet blend, this one showed its Citrus Spunk with the lemon virginia but the citrus didn't overpower me as it does with some VA's. Mostly high note oriented, this one still satisfied with some midrange depth. A reasonably complex blend, the flavor ran the gamut of citrus, hay and tang. This would be a good all-day blend for smokers who run that way but I found it kind of lacking in the evenings. A little brother to FVF? Perhaps. Not nearly as seasoned as FVF and a lot more playful. I prefer the zest of FVF over this but this was a very worthwhile journey. Try this one if the various brown flakes are too much for you and blends like OGS and Dunhill Flake are a little too "fruity".

27 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2080)	2014-02-20		Medium	None Detected	Full	Pleasant

Sam Gawith - Golden Glow.

This one seems to get a mixed reaction, but at the end of the day our tastes are subjective! I personally find this enchanting.

The blend can be identified as an ex-flake but isn't smashed to smithereens. Unlit it gives a very orthodox Virginia aroma. It's unproblematic to light and burns very evenly. The smoke is of a flawless formation. Also I get no bite from it. The smoke isn't too hot and it has a pleasing nicotine content. Would make a great summertime smoke, I really enjoy this one!

The only negative point is sometimes a tin requires a little extra airing time.

Highly recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pseudo Nim (129)	2008-08-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Unnoticeable

After having smoked this for over two years on a daily basis, I wanted to completely rewrite this review. I will keep it short and simple, it comes as a broken flake, dried for a little, I am guaranteed a bite free, smooth, sweet, creamy, rich almost salty at times smoke.

Not exactly compex, but by no means monochromatic, IMHO, far superior to FVF (FVF is for Gentlemen, something even my friends could never accuse me of), this simply put, is just far more tasty and a bench mark for virginia's of quality.

An excellent introduction to Virginia for the novice and a very pleasant companion for the more experienced Virginia lover.

This has been my "Mainstay" tobacco throughout the day for quite sometime now, only changing tobacco's in the evening, sometimes with great reluctance.

For viginia lovers and even new pipe smokers, this is one to try.

.It has been said that this smokes best in a tall thin pipe, IMHO, a medium sized billiard works just fine.

Addendum :- I've now been smoking this on a daily basis for over 12 years and it's still the first tobacco I reach for. This must be one of the most underrated Virginias out there.

Pipe Used: Medium straight billiard

Age When Smoked: New

24 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PeterD (91)	2008-05-29		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I like this tobacco...In fact, I think it's underrated. I enjoy a top notch plain Virginia tobacco and this one "fits the bill".

The tins I have smoked have not been what I consider "broken flake" type tobacco, and as a Virginia Plug smoker for 45 years, its no where close to that...but, it is a tobacco that I can enjoy anywhere and anytime. This is an exceptional morning smoke as well.

It is not a "rich" Virginia tobacco yet it has an enduring quality that I have come to appreciate. It does remind me of some of the Virginia types that were available back in the late 50's and early 60's and perhaps that's why I am drawn to this. I like the fact that the tobacco is straight forward, easy to light and pack, and leaves a pleasant enough room note.

Sometimes its nice to enjoy a simple approach to pleasure. The quality is certainly there and consistency from tin-to-tin is well above average. I highly recommend Golden Glow to anyone.

Smoked in mostly group 5 straight billiards.

...a pipe is to be savored.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2017-01-24		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Golden Glow is one of those Virginia's that offers plenty of flavor, yet, is mild. Not even close to FVF in the strength department, but every bit as flavorful in a lighter sort of way. Gawith, I think, took the pedal off the metal and made a lighter version of an old classic.

14 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2012-07-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A fresh, bright, friendly VA broken flake with a very light citrus zest unlike OGS or Dunhill Flake. It indeed needs drying. I use it as VA base (also to help slow down the burning process) when I blend my 'house mixture' because it doesn't affect the overall taste. On its own it might be too bland or boring for some smokers (especially those who like English mixtures or heavily cased ones), but let's not forget that this is a pure VA, so WYSIWYG. Still, a Top 30 tobacco which I will be happy to revisit. 4 of 5 stars.

Update February 2013: Finished several tins of this and found that it ages perfectly if you're lucky (depends on humidity and temperature). IMO the best pure VA I have ever smoked, even better (brighter) than FVF and completely pure. Will definitely stay in rotation. Golden Glow is the tinned version of MVF, though the curing method is different (at least the description here on TRs.com says so). So, congratulations Sam: 5 of 5!

12 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	balkan_boy (49)	2015-09-17		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This has now became my favorite bright Virginia.

Very suitable for an all day smoke for the VA lovers. A summer all day smoke.

Tin note: Fresh, and something between hey and honey. Very appealing.

The smoke: It's best if you smoke it a little bit on the wet side if you want fresh citrus-hey aroma, and dried if you want cool and sweet smoke. And it's good anywhere in the middle. Doesn't bite, which is a great plus for VA, has that familiar Lakeland taste we find in the FVF but no Lakeland floral nonsense. I think that is what makes it so appealing. It resembles a bit to the Dunhill Flake, but more "heyish" and without that Danish casing note that ruins the party.

Some people say that all SG tobaccos are alike, they all have some specific distinctive note that is present in every blend. That may be true, and the distinctive note of the SG Virginias, happen to be awesome. There aren't many bright VAs out there that are sweet and mellow enough without being ridiculously cased with some sort of "flavor enhancer". (here you get that too, but in the good "SG" way) I'm glad I discovered this one, it will be in my rotation a lot during the warmer part of the year.

As with other SG VAs, this too tastes different in different pipes and in different level of moisture. I found that for me it works best in pipes dedicated to VAs and in cobs.

Pipe Used: various

Similar Blends: Dunhill Flake, FVF.

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2015-08-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A little citrus, a touch of honey-like sweetness, and a bit of hay. Not very complex, but a very pleasant smoke. I like this both alone and as a blender. A pinch of Latakia or Burley added and you get a really great smoke. Goes especially well with Syrian Latakia. 3 stars by itself. 4 as a blender.

Mild to medium in body and taste. Burns very well.

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

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bonneville (52)	2014-08-12		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Samuel Gawith knows how to do Virginia tobacco right. And this one is no exception. The tobacco is a medium golden brown color and the tin note has a nice hay-like sweetness and a completely natural bouquet of rich tobacco.

Age it at least 6 months. Then pull enough out for a bowl and let it sit for about a half hour. Rub it out and pack it in your pipe. You'll be in Virginia heaven for the next hour. Don't puff too fast, however, as this one is more prone to biting if you aren't careful.

Take your time with this and enjoy the rich and bright sweetness with a nice creamy texture and superb aroma. And for those who are put off by the typical Lakeland soapiness, never fear. None of that here. Very delicious. And for a special treat, blend this 50/50 with Full Virginia Flake. It's like they were meant to be together.

Pipe Used: 4th Generation

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Beehive Cigars, Salt Lake CIty, UT

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wibblefishofdoom (139)	2013-02-14		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

It's been a while since I had an SG tobacco that I've haven't tried yet, or tried not to get my hopes up with. So I approached Golden Glow with a little trepidation, doing what I could not to be as much of an SG fanboy as I know I am. So here goes.

Opening the tin to be greeted by a slightly weird smell of hay, I got flashbacks to my youth, wandering through those farmers fields under a baking sun. The yellowish colour too added in the reminiscence. Not sure I'm completely happy with the whole broken flake idea though, this almost had the look of a sorry mixture of hay and cowpat, as I tried to fish out something to smoke I felt like I was sifting a bull turd for a wedding ring. Still, I've paid for it so I'm going darn well smoke it! The packing was fairly easy, the lighting, not so - it does need a little drying. As for the smoke itself, it's a little queer, a little citrus and a touch of hay pop in and out of a generally nondescript puff of the old leaf, and yet it somehow manages to please. It's inoffensive, doesn't hit the back of the throat or hammer you with any tonguebite, in fact it's incredibly smooth. Like a previous reviewer, I do wonder if it's been spliced with something else, though I picked up a hint of boot polish, aka black cavendish. Might be wrong but there goes.

So, what to make of this little summer frock? Maybe that's exactly what it is, it's like seeing the rather plain girl next door day in day out and then one summer, seeing her step out of the door with a pleasant summer frock and a little slap on her. It just nicely spices her up, makes you look twice and think "Maybe I'm missing something there.". Like her, this tobacco isn't a stunner, but there's a certain pleasantness to it. I've been humming and harring over whether to give this a two or a three star review, now I think that analogy has put it into perspective. Pleasant if not astounding.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr. Scott (82)	2012-05-04		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is one for the Virginia lovers: beautiful golden color, perfect level of moisture, heavenly scent in the tin, no tongue bite, great Virginia flavor. Great when fresh from a four-months-old tin, I plan to put a half dozen tins in the cellar to age for a few years while I enjoy the fresh stuff.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ynrozturk (62)	2012-05-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Another Samuel Gawith blend to review, awesome!

To this day, I've only had good experiences with SG tobaccos, and this one is not any different. Extremely high quality tobacco as always, and yes, it's quite moist out of the tin. I found that like with most SG tobaccos, letting it air for a few hours does the job nicely.

This one packs easily, burns cool, and does in no way make a mess in your pipe. It's a very well behaved leaf which burns all the way to the end with no problems and no relights. Flavor wise it's fresh, tangy and simply delightful. For me the strength is ideal as an every day smoke, and it's perfect for the spring/summer. But I could seriously smoke this all day as the flavor is consistent throughout the bowl, and because it's so easy to manage and maintain. Absolutely no tongue bite or harshness, even when you puff hard.

Absolutely fantastic smoke.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2017-05-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

A vey decent and simple blend.once you crack the tin a grassy smell comes out.bright virginias come out in broken and semi broken flakes.the moisture level is a bit high.my advise is to let them dry 30 minutes.packs ok as it is and also you can rub it if you want and easier lighting.lights with some effort and several relights are needed.while burning the flavours are simple and very natural.the grass flavour is the main one,combining with hay ,some sweet citruses and rarelly some pepper notes.burns slow and cool.the nicotine level is low to medium.burns to total ash leaving some moisture at the end of the bowl.the room note is pleasant.no tongue bite for me.i can say this blend is ideal to burn a new pipe.definitelly an all day blend.all virginia lovers should try this in my opinion.definitelly recommended!

Age When Smoked: Dried out for 30 mins.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TallPuffO'Burley (633)	2015-04-09		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I just finished a tin of this and was, overall, happy with it. It wasn't the best Virginia made by SG by any means, but it is still a great tasting Virginia. This one is lighter than FVF to be certain, but has all the sweet hay and citrus you would expect to come with a Virginia of this complexion. The color is as golden as you would expect from both the name and the look of the tin.

If you find FVF or BBF to be a little too bold, this would be a good alternative. I, personally would rather smoke FVF or BBF. Overall, a good leaf.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	L'Italiano (233)	2014-10-11		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This straight Virginia is very good, but too much moist. The raw tobacco has a very pleasant smell, sweet and fruity. Of course there is top dressing but I think there is also a little bit of casing. It is difficult to understand which kind of flavoring is used because the fruity smell is peculiar and not comparable to any single fruit. Anyway this is a very good tobacco and the flavoring agents are almost certainly natural ingredients. In my personal rating (from 1 to 10) my score is 8 and three stars.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Big (321)	2012-09-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A nice Virginia blend , but I can't help thinking there is some Perique in here. It does have a spice and some strength and it does come too moist to smoke. As I got down to the last 1/3 of the tin, the tobacco improved ( dried some).

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2012-04-27		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This review will read as a chronicle of my stupidity. You see, I really killed this tobacco. It began with the arrival of a Virginia heavy order. Upon opening about four square Gawith tins (and a couple other brands with similar designs) to sample the contents, I promptly returned the lids to their containers. I'm not sure why I did this, knowing they're prone to air leakage. It's just...I become impetuous when I smoke, like a little kid playing with his new toys under the Christmas tree. Two weeks later all blends were bone dry, and I went about the task of radical rehydration. For each tin, I took a wet paper towel, folded up, stuck one in every receptacle and then wrapped the tins individually in plastic wrap. I returned in two weeks to revel in my industriousness.

The tobacco in every tin was sopping wet, and most were covered in mold. I cursed loudly. An entire tin of Scottish Flake was destroyed, with barely a couple flakes removed. I thought I could salvage Golden Glow, so I set the tobacco atop a sheet of paper, picking out every instance of mold I could see. I claimed victory, and left the tin open to dry a bit before transferring the contents to a mason jar. I returned in another week. To more mold. Well, I repeated the experiment and came again. To more mold. Having picked apart the spore laden leaf this time around, I decided to smoke a bowlful of the affected weed.

Noo, what about highly toxic, virulent mold spores?!! I just didn't care. It had to be done, for science. Relax, whatever brain damage I have was likely the cause of this incident, and not the result. The tobacco tasted like its unaffected half...

Pure, unadulterated, the scent and flavor characteristic of hay, of medium body and nicotine. Golden Glow has a natural disposition, far removed from Full Virginia Flake, with its dark press and molasses-like flavor. What you have here are the high notes, a huge change of pace from Golden Glow's more popular cousin. And the smoke is consistent, it doesn't waver or modulate from top to bottom of the bowl. You expect a bright Virginia would be sugary and bitey, both of which remain foreign to Golden Glow. And though I perceived a lacking of complexity, there is a richness that pervades the experience, particularly when paired with a high percentage of Perique. At 30%, Golden Glow really shines. It's a testament to Sam Gawith that the blending house can offer two radically different extremes of Virginia in the same line of tobaccos.

Because of my poor judgment, I've been paranoid about my remaining bits and ends of that dwindling, tragic sample of Golden Glow--checking it daily for new growth and consuming frantically what might soon spoil for good. Now here's some advice...once that tobacco gets a taste of mold, it won't disappear--even with great care taken to eradicate any sign of blight. It's like cancer. Delicious, tasty cancer.

5 people found this review helpful.

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

I love this fruity and sweet va. Even more than fvf. Milder but do golden sweet. It's also the most moist blend I,ve ever smoked. Top va.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrDyson (148)	2009-11-26		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

This isn't really a review, but a point of information for other readers. I heard from Samuel Gawith this morning (in answer to my enquiry) that this tobacco is exactly the same as their Medium Virginia Flake. The only difference is that this comes in a tin and MVF is sold loose. Perhaps people know this already?

All reviews of Golden Glow therefore apply to Medium Virginia Flake, and vice versa: unless, of course, people think that the tin makes a significant difference to the quality of the tobacco. The only difference that I can detect is that the tinned version is a bit more moist.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipesolitude (23)	2022-08-16		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

First thing first, an interesting tin note indeed: It actually smells of cinnamon and sweet, blended with some citrus and hint of bright grass. Smells almost like a cinnamon roll with citrus glaze. On a blind test, it would almost be hard to know it was tobacco. Can straight virgina leafs really have a scent like this?

Taste: This is a sweet tobacco, yet with complexity, but almost all nuances comes through as sweet but yet with a bright zestiness; sweet licorice, sweet bread, sweet cinnamon spice, a very mild vinegar in the background that deepens into a dry piquant spice as the bowl progresses. The virginias are a bit more bright than earthy, but closer to a middle virginia with brighter notes (not grassy). It is perhaps fair to describe GG as a bright virginia with a lot of deapth. Because this is definitely a complex virginia, nothing boring about it, and it develops different nuances depending on how it is smoked. A little sibling, to the Full Virginia Flake, but it stands on its own, no question about it. Imagine, if you can, the spicy aspect of cinnamon with a subtle hint of sour citrus and vinegar, together with sweet bread and licorice, and very subtle notes of rubber, car oil and soap (but all in a strangely good way)… That’s how Golden Glow tastes to me.

The smoke is smooth, nothing tart or harsh, no rough edges (only the flavour of dry spicyness), needs some puffs to get going, but weill suited for sipping, but bigger retrohale puffing will increase the spicy character and the complexity. The broken flake is easy to work with, and it was actually not very moist from the tin (unusual for a SG tobacco), but still in need of proper drying time, otherwise a bit hard to smoke. But dry it and puff a bit controlled and it wont bite. Smokes dry with consistency all the way down. Pleasent aftertaste too. Room note is great, of sweet and bright tobacco, and I find myself inhaling some smoke through the nose while sipping on the pipe because I just love the scent.

Perhaps I could have written this review in a more excited style, but I wanted to try to describe this tobacco as well as I can. But honestly, I currently think this is one of the tastiest virginias I have ever smoked! Can virginias get tastier than this??? And I have yet not tried this one with a bit of age. I agree with Psudo Nim, this could be one of the most underrated virginias out there, a bit forgotten perhaps in the shadow of Full Virginia Flake.

Update: I still love it, but some time has proven that it is not my go to virginia, simply because it has such a distinct flavour profile, with a lot of zest, not something I'm necessarily in the mood for all the time (just like cinnamon roll is not something I want to eat every day). But nevertheless worth dedicating a pipe to.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Antonius Blok (192)	2022-01-14		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

If you want to freak out, read all the reviews here on this tobacco. You will see that they do not match in taste, color, cut or degree of humidity. I'm going to add to that confusion my own review.

The tobacco comes very pressed and the type of cut that I got is a mix between ribbon and shag, not a broken flake. Perhaps the tin has suffered a lot, (but a lot!), With the transports, helped by a possible defect in the closure given that the degree of humidity that it has is pulling down, something that always surprises when this happens with a tobacco of SG, with some exceptions… The color of the virginias is really brilliant and the very fresh and herbal smell typical of the light virginias, already foreshadows what he is going to offer after lighting the pipe. Taste of slightly sweet and citric hay, straw, bread, grass ... very fresh, very smooth and very light. It burns well without leaving moisture and the room note is pleasant.

As some other reviewer says, a good summer smoke. Of course, if you like virginias with more intensity of flavor, this may not be your cup of tea.

Age When Smoked: 3 years

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TattooGuy (9)	2014-06-14		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have introduced myself in the Virginia's world with this one. I've smoked a few aros, some was not bad. I have tried one or two english blends, maybe too much complexity for me to appreciate as a novice pipe smoker. Then my tobacconist recommanded me this particular tobacco. The first time I've smoked SGGG I've said to myself; '' That's it, it will surely never become better than this''... Now I know I was far from the truth but it's still a very good blend. When opening, the tin aromas are really amazing; fresh cut hay, raisins and figs, almost like a good white wine aromas. The smoke do not give the same complexity and stays about the same all the way down but it is a very good easy to smoke bright VA. Very good quality. One I like to have in my rotation. I give it 3 stars.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mo (81)	2012-07-25		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

This is a Virginia Flake along the lines of the Rattray trio, F&T CVP, Escudo, etc etc.... in other words, my kind of tobacco blend.

Upon opening the tin, i was greeted with that creamy, rich, sour note of my favourite kind of smoke. This tobacco comes VERY wet so it has to be aired out to your personal tastes.

Upon lighting, i experienced a flavourfull, tasty smoke that i found really impressive to say the least. Creamy, oatsy, malty delicious.

For South African Pipesters, Samuel Gawith blends are available at Sturks in Cape Town.

Mo, South Africa

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Virginia lover (218)	2010-02-11		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Quality Golden Virginia, smokes flawlessly, no tongue bite with fast puffing. Sweet and tasty, I always go back for more it's all day smoke for the casual Virginia smoker.

There some citrus and sweet hay flavor, mellow and smooth. After smoking it for a while, I realized that there's an citrus/fruit topping like the one in Germain's Medium Flake but extremely mild. This tobacco could also be a good mixer, I'll try it next with Perique and Kentucky and then Latakia.

Virginia lover

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Schatz (6)	2019-11-26		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I discovered this one during a hot summer, when no FVF was available, I turned to this one because the tin art seemed appropriate. As some reviewers have experienced, this is a tobacco that one can easily appreciate when the weather is hot, but it's also delicious in winter.

The tobacco comes rather moist in the tin, a bit too much, so I usually put it in a jar and leave the lid open until the broken flakes have dried to an acceptable level. Tin content is pure bright virginia, I don't detect any topping, and though not a complex smoke, I find very pleasant aromas of dark fruits, while taste remains on the bright side. This is one of my favorite straight virginia, a nice change from FVF or other flakes, and as usual Samuel Gawith provides excellent quality leaves. Burns cool and does not bite once dried to your favorite moisture, provide a rich and creamy smoke.

This one reminds me of Capstan Gold Navy Cut. Strength is medium and so is the nicotine content, making it an all day natural smoke for those who want real, unflavoured, pure tobacco taste. Could also be a nice exercice for beginners who want to step in the virgina world.

Age When Smoked: 0 to 10 years

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SunriseBoy (21)	2017-04-06		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

The citrus and the grassy notes (as JimInks would say) are very pleasant. Good amount of blue smoke. Good taste. Pleasant room note and nice after taste. The only thing I found a bit awkward was that it had a bit of a sharp note on the sides of my tongue and palate. But I've found, like a lot of other products, is that after a couple of smokes that diminishes a lot. Good all day smoke. Highly recommended for Va. fans.

Pipe Used: Cobs

Age When Smoked: New

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incendio (45)	2016-06-30		Extremely Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

I purchased the 250g package, the contents of which require considerable drying before smoking. The rest, well.. It's something of a circular review for those who aren't familiar with Samuel Gawith's tobaccos, but imagine the bright Virginias from Grousemoor or Westmoreland, without the addition of anything further. If you have a "taste" for S. Gawth's blends, as I do, you really appreciate this fine, bright Virginia. There are other houses that offer similar products, but their trademark characteristic just doesn't appeal to me as much. It's perfect and balanced in every way, with a slight intensification of sweetness and hay aroma as it smokes down. Not a blend that has overstated or exaggerated qualities.

I hadn't ordered it with this purpose in mind, but this blend is quite suited to activity in the unbearable heat of the summers around here: sunny sandy beaches, boating, and that sort of thing.

In fact, I'm constantly staring at the stuff, digging my nose into it at work while I dry it. I think I'll go out back now and have some!

Pipe Used: chimney-type billiards

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: smokingpipes

Similar Blends: grousemoor without the casing/flavorings.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gladi8tor96 (143)	2016-05-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Golden to light brown shag in the tin. Smells like hay and tobacco. Loads easy and lights easy enough.

Smoke is very much a higher tones of va. I would say it's hay, citrus, tangy, slightly sweet, and not very deep or rich. It's a good flavor but a bit monochromatic and can bite. I might have to try this again another time in a different setting and pipe just to give it another shot. For now, probably wouldn't purchase for my cellar.

Pipe Used: Billard

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: Gifted

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2015-02-15		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

As you open the tin your nose is invase by a perfume of fresh green tea, honey and freshenes. As for every gawith, you should wait ten minutes before smoke it, just to let the tobacco dry up. After that simple operation, the tobacco gives you every sensation you'd expected. It's fresh and teaish, it's very pleasant to smoke in the summer and autumn. I basically devour the tin in two weeks. There's no big nicotine kick and it remains moist for a long time. One of my favorites.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steden (100)	2014-12-11		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Golden indeed, it is deeply yellow in hue almost turmeric-tinted! The smell in the tin is fruity and reminds me of ripened muscat grape but subtle. Compared to others flakes of the house, GG is softly pressed and not so wet, much easier to put in the pipe rubbed out or not, still I suggest to dry it for a while: it’s a Gawith after all. At first char there's more than a hint of bright grassiness but then it (partially) fades away and leaves room to a honey or nectar-like sweetness, it’s subtle but pleasantly lasts till the end of the bowl. Indeed there are not much variations on the theme from the top to the bottom, this tobacco has a brilliant flavor profile though a bit too monodimensional and that’s why I suggest a mid-small pipe, or simply fill a large/tall one very loosely in order to avoid boringness. GG is lightweighted in every department if compared to FVF or even BBF, none the less it is equally surprising for the quality of the leaves as usual with Gawith.

Pipe Used: MdP billiard, Peterson bent

Age When Smoked: fresh

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	artielon (6)	2014-05-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Honest "everyplace" round smoot taste, cool and well burning smoke. I could quite well live smoking only this. I took up pipe smoking after a 20 year break and admittedly still have a lot to discover.

Pipe Used: Falcon Coolway with filter

Age When Smoked: fresh from tin

Purchased From: Töölön Sikarikauppa Helsinki

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CoolPilot (69)	2014-04-17		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is the fourth or fifth tin in some years, and while I perfectly remember the ribbons in the past, this one has got real broken flakes. And it is also quite smokable without drying. Much better. Taste and strength have both increased in these last years, in my opinion, and the blend is now quite different and better for those who love straight virginia. An interesting smoke, giving its best at the middle of the bow. Quite sweet room notes, and a powerful quantity of nicotine. It used to be a mild to medium strength, but now it is certainly a medium, or more. Overall, excellent for VA lovers, and 3 solid stars also for the fact it does not need drying anymore, and it can be smoked right out of the box.

Pipe Used: lubinsky

Similar Blends: Full Virginia Flake.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Peter Piper (41)	2013-10-23		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

"Broken Virginia Flakes" the tin label proclaims. Hmm. I don't know about that, more a chunky ribbon cut to my mind. That somewhat misleading description aside, the consistency and cut is first class and the overall brightness presents itself in a most attractive manner to my eye.

The moisture level is fairly high as one might expect from this top curator of fine tobacco. I actually like to snip it with scissors across the grain, unorthodox I know, but this then releases it into small chunks which soon dry to a nicely usable texture.

Pack it lightly, tamp it gently and fire it up. Oh my. Top quality Va personified. Sweet, yet tangy. Grassy and fresh. And yet somehow mature, with a little yeastiness, of the kind you might taste in sour-dough bread. It unravels with a marvellous forgiveness with even greedy puffing, which is frankly hard to resist, you just keep wanting that taste and savour.

Superb. I mean it. Big time.

Highly recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-08-29		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

It may be a bit tiresome if you don't have anything else to smoke, but it is a pleasant smoke every now and then -as every other virginias for me. It burns better than other Gawith's tobaccos I've tried, and it's tasty, but it might lack strenght, at least for me.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	krg1000 (183)	2011-11-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I find this to be another fine tobacco from SG. It really would be a good all day smoke for many. It lights and stays lit well, burns down to a nice ash at the bottom of the bowl. Very little prep for this basically stuff and puff with this fine blend from SG. Highly recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	p4p4 (59)	2011-03-27		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A great all-day virginia. High quality leafs. Cool, delightful, ambrosial aroma: grass, citrus, light honey. Medium strenght. Easy to burn. Perfect in the summer.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	KahveDelisi (73)	2010-09-05		Mild	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Obviously many will find this one mild in every way compared to similar products but I don't. Infact I like this one much better. For now it meets all my expectations from a VA. Highly recommended if you're not a "strong" pal who seeks "strength" in everything.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fubber (14)	2010-05-01		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A fine virginia flake. Mild but very nice to smoke. My 'everyday out-and-about' tobacco.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipesterJim (47)	2010-03-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first experience with this tobacco was not a positive one. It burned like a furnace and left me with a smarting tongue and sore mouth with little reward in terms of flavour. No matter how I prepared the weed the results were the same. Not good.

A year later and I decided to give it another try, but this time prior to opening my new tin I baked it in the oven for 5 hours at 90 degrees celsius. Now we're talking.

The harsh edges have been smoothed out and I am left with an absolutely delicious tobacco. Tasty and complex. The bowl begins with oodles of sweet, tangy Virginia goodness and becomes toastier and fuller as one progresses. Things really hit their stride at the halfway mark and by the time I reach the bottom nicotine levels have become sufficient to put a smile on my face. True, the flavour is not as forthright as Full Virginia Flake (less 'bass') but it is certainly not lacking. I have a well aged tin of FVF on the go at the moment and I find this blend equally satisfying, just slightly less upfront about things.

It benefits from some drying time and requires (and deserves) to be smoked slowly and delicately to reveal what it has to offer.

A definite winner for me in its baked form and I'm very glad I decided to give it another chance. Two thumbs up!

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	onehitter (16)	2009-12-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Full	Overwhelming

I will tell you now the room note is ugly but taste is great. I like to puff and this will burn your pipe before it burns you so watch out. This is what it is, broken Vrigina flake no more no less blond in nature. A little wet in the tin a little hot in the pipe even when dry so watch out,other than that it's great.Yes theres a hay smell but not in taste. Its one dimensional in taste but complex. I will add that the new tin I have smells like tea.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kilmarnock Piper (251)	2009-10-04		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Not the usual Gawith. It's pleasantly mild, but I'm going low on the rating because it's just a wee bit boring. I puffed and puffed trying to get more flavor. There are some milder Virginias I do like, but they have delicate, subtle flavors rather than...I almost said no flavor, but that's not true. It's nice, but one could do better.

2-7-11 Upgrading. Not sure why I was so hard on this. Finally got some more, and it's very nice. When I reviewed it before, I was smoking a lot of SG, and it was cheap and readily availiable, and this may have seemed the weakest of the ones I tried back then, but even if it still comes across fairly mild to me, I like it.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	catdaddy (18)	2009-03-16		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

To me, this is the ultimate morning smoke. It's not quite a middleweight but it's no lightweight either - something closer to a welterweight. Beautiful tobacco. Like the guy below said "toasty" and with a natural sweetness that is sure to put a smile on your face. Samuel Gawith hit a homer with this one and I'm buying pounds in preparation for Obama's SCHIP tax. Can anyone see the sense in trying to stimulate spending while raising taxes at the same time?

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2009-01-28		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Aptly named, the bright VAs in the tin are reminiscent of a gorgeous, morning sunrise. GG is a delightful, smooth, toasty and subtly sweet smoke. On the lighter side, it is a great morning smoke or before retiring in the evening. Relights are infrequent as GG has excellent burning qualities. This could now be my favorite lighter VA blend. This is a must try smoke for all pipesters!

A cigarette is to be smoked. A cigar is to be enjoyed. A pipe is to be savored.

I rate this blend 9.98 out of 10.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-12-25		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

If you are a Virginia lover, like me, this is a must.

I use in rotation with Marlin Flake and the two go together like strawberries and cream, albeit one at a time.

The tobacco is on the moist side and can bite if not dried out. I haven't aged this but I am sure it would age very well indeed.

If properly dried this is a nicely balanced tobacco that all VA lovers should try.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipe4ever (204)	2008-12-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Golden Glow (in tin) is the same tobacco as Medium Virginia Flakes (bulk).

This is a good Virginia tobacco in bright golden broken flake cut, naturally sweet, mild with some floral note, easy to pack and smoke, bite is minimal for a Virginia tobacco, inexpensive and can improve with age. (I keep 2 pounds in sealed jar for aging). Compare it to Mac Baren Virginia No.1, MVF is less sweet, less fruity in aroma and flavor, burn cooler with less bite.

I like Medium Virginia Flake but I largely prefer Mac Baren Virginia No.1.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	bent-1 (39)	2008-07-31		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is Medium VA Flake in tinned form, confirmed from the Samuel Gawith folks at the Chicago 2008 show.

Background: I'm mostly a VA smoker, prefer flakes & straight pipes with VA's.

It's described as a FVF lite & most likely won't be a favorite of those who like stronger blends. But what it may lack in strength, it more than makes up for in flavor. This is one of my favorite VA blends, a light smoke, especially in the nicotine department.

The flakes are the thickness of a standard flake, but cut into 4" long, 1/8" square strings that are flexible and soft. Upon inspection, the medium to light brown tobacco looks to have been stripped of stems. The sample I bought was moist, but not sopping or oily. Just enough to be flexible, supple.

Preparing to fill, I dry it using the oven method (60 seconds in a pre-heated oven, 200 degrees). I then bag it up & let it cool in a Ziplock bag. Then I break the strands into 1/2" strips & fill the pipe. Normal packing works well for me.

Upon light up, the pleasant oats waft is apparent & welcome. The light semi sweet taste is so nice with a cup of sweetened Joe in the morning. The blend remains constant down to the last crumb and leaves a white fluffy ash. Only clue it's the end of the bowl is when it's hard to relight. Speaking of which, I required a couple re-lights mainly due to a lack of attention to tamping (requires a little more so than most). I've yet to get any bite from this blend, even when puffing like a loaded freight train.

5-15-08 update

Still the same fine smoke as when first reviewed. KEY: Dry it just shy of crispy, I use the microwave for small batches (20 seconds on high spread on a paper towel).

VA's are like a Colibri butane lighter, persnickety to say the least. They favor certain pipes, require the right humidity, and can burn when worked too hard. I find Medium VA Flake to be like an Old Boy, a reliable performer, consistently good flavor. Many VA's are in my cupboard, this one gets the most attention.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2008-07-07		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

These are nicely prepared flakes but as advertised, most in my tin had been separated which I don't prefer. The golden VAs were also moister than I like from the tin and I had to adjust my packing technique on subsequent bowls. Even with drying numerous relights were needed. I didn't sense the Lakeland influence; a big +. The taste was creamy and sweet and a cool, dry smoke without any bite resulted. I found this too mild for my normal tastes although the strength might be OK as the hot weather arrives.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	claudiobande (31)	2023-01-02		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

One of my everyday tobacco. Very enjoyable. A simple tobacco, and with fewer notes than Samuel Gawith's full virginia. It is composed of citrus and sweet golden virginias.

Pipe Used: Dunhill - Castello

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SirBallihodyn (1)	2021-07-16		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Broken flakes were slightly dry in the hands. Smelled fresh with a hint of floral sweetness. When smoking it had a mild to moderate grassy sweetness with a hint of floral note. It burned very cool and was not harsh at all, even when puffing quickly it didn't burn or bite. The nicotine hit was moderate but not overbearing, but noticeable. The aftertaste was slightly sweet and almost citrusy. The room note was pleasantly mild and not very earthy. It was delicious mild virginia that didn't taste earthy or chemically. It didn't burn hot and left the bowl dry at the bottom.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Flyingdutchman (20)	2020-08-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Among the best tobaccos I ever smoked. It is hard to add some review, to write something it hasn't been written yet. If you are into plain virginias, this will be YOUR tobacco

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	TobaccoGonSPM (9)	2019-11-02		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A beautiful golden broken flake, thick pieces very easy to rub out if you want, and very appealing. Tin note it´s not bad, some of the best Virginias I had doesn´t smell so good, this one is ok. I get from the tobacco in the tin hay notes, sweet citrus fruity notes, brown sugar, and some earthiness.

Once lit I get the typical flavors of a bright Virginia, but for sure a very natural tobacco. The flavors I can detect are hay, earthiness, slight fruitiness (raisings and prune), citric lemony but not in excess. It produces a thick velvety smoke with constant consistent flavor, not very complex but with little variations. For example reaching the half of the bowl I detect fresh warm bread flavor, and some light piquancy. No chance of tongue bite, it´s and excellent natural pure bright Virginia, and it can be an all day smoke. It´s not a light smoke, medium flavor, and has some nicotine, light to medium level. The room note is typical of Virginias, tolerable, but I love the beard note. Excellent natural Virginia! I got the best experiences smoking it in corn Cobs.

Pipe Used: MM Dipplomat 5th Av., Briars

Age When Smoked: 4 years

Purchased From: Local Tobacconist

Similar Blends: Some similarities with GL Pease Union Square, to one of the virginias in it..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	drewsmokes (4)	2019-10-06		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I'm a big straight virginia smoker and one of the reasons for that is Golden Glow. A beautiful golden virginia blend, the packing is easy, it stays lit without too much hustle. It's a SG so it needs some proper drying time, I would give it an hour or so. If you do that however (and dont smoke it fast) it won't bite you. The notes are more on the honey, white bread, sweet side, and less from the fruity notes of Full Virginia Flake like tobaccos. When paired with some mellow coffee or white wine, it is one of the greatest straight virginias out there in my opinion.

My video review on it:

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320 Marron Glacé

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Tobacco shop in Brugge

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PipeDragon (44)	2019-04-14		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

While I very much liked Full Virginia Flake, I took into consideration the possibility that I may not find it in stock once I'm out, so I started to look for an alternative in such an event. I didn't have to look outside the SG range and came across Golden Glow.

As usual with a Gawith blend, it comes very moist in the tin. For the first smoke, it required about one hour of drying time before starting to pack. As the name suggests, the Virginias inside the tin are bright and golden, unlike the darker, brown colors prevalent in FVF. The cut is almost a mix between broken flake and ribbon. The tin note has that unmistakable Virginia smell: grassy, hay-like, a bit stronger and a bit fresher than FVF.

Mechanically, there are no problems with this one once it's at the proper moisture content. Packs nicely, may take a while to get it lit and under control. Once that's done, it smokes very well all the way to the bottom, with no bite, heat or moisture.

When discussing the actual smoke, it's almost impossible not to compare GG to FVF. However, there are a few notable differences. Since the tobacco is flue cured, it's milder in strength, but not too diminished in the flavor. It's sweeter, fruitier on the citrus side and that grassy flavor is more of a freshly mowed grass than the decaying, fermenting grass that you get from FVF. When you have a milder straight Virginia, the blender may be tempted to add a bit of casing or topping, but SG knows what it's doing and didn't think of tampering the true taste, which is commendable. In the big picture, this one is more fruitier than grassier and also sweeter. It's also very even; the taste is maintained from start to finish.

I have no qualms in calling GG the little brother of FVF but, in certain aspects, I like this one better than FVF. The fact that it can be an all-day smoke gets a big vote from me. Even though it's milder, it can still bring quite a tasty, savory experience to the table and that's more than I require from this blend. If I ever come to the situation in which I'm unable to find FVF, then I would certainly and gladly choose this one as a fitting replacement.

Pipe Used: Angelo

Age When Smoked: Few days

Purchased From: Online tobacco shop

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	3000DK (7)	2019-01-27		Mild	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Been a pipe smoker for more than 50 years, but this blend has got to be one of my worst experiences to date. Typical SG water content (a 50 grammes tin will contain 30 gr tobacco/20 gr water) The smell out of tin is not a smell - it is a stench! The good news: there are still plenty of very good virginia blends on the market, so a revisit is out of the question. Save your money, folks

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Berzerker (28)	2018-12-10		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Probably one of the finest straight virginias out there. Superb. No bite and just tasty and absolutely excellent. Grassy, natural and sweet. Not as much depth as best brown but good in a different no nonsense tobacco type way. Bit on the milder side but no a worry for me. I love it. Highly recommended.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (218)	2018-10-08		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

This is all bright leaf in the tin. It rubbed out easily and took a little while to dry out enough to load. I get very mild flavor here. Notes of hay/straw, dusty earthiness, some citrus and it has a little zest to it. Nothing to get overly excited about and not complex. What you get with the first few puffs is all you get. To be honest, I grew bored with it by mid bowl and found myself wishing I had loaded something else. On the plus side it did not get harsh, bitter, or cigarette like although the room note was rather similar to that. I do wonder if it would make for a good roll your own but I did not try that. I can see no reason to repeat this one. Nothing bad about it just not as complex as I like and the nic is very very mild in this one. There are better bright VA options out there IMO. For example, GH&Co.'s Bright CR Flake, or their Broken Scotch Cake or Dan's HV all are better examples of mild bright VA for me.

Age When Smoked: 1 yr.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2017-10-05		Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I'm a big straight virginia smoker and one of the reasons for that is Golden Glow. A beautiful golden virginia blend, the packing is easy, it stays lit without too much hustle. It's a SG so it needs some proper drying time, I would give it an hour or so. If you do that however (and dont smoke it fast) it won't bite you. The notes are more on the honey, white bread, sweet side, and less from the fruity notes of Full Virginia Flake like tobaccos. When paired with some mellow coffee or white wine, it is one of the greatest straight virginias out there in my opinion.

My video review on it:

Pipe Used: Savinelli 320 Marron Glacé

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Tobacco shop in Brugge

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	steppx (186)	2017-07-01		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

3 and a half stars. It is broken flake, but close to ribbon to be honest. A bright Virginia ...unadorned and simple. An all day smoke of the highest quality. Don't look for complexity here, for that is not its goal. It is meant to be a quality simple Virginia for those who want that. I smoke it a lot, actually. Its a good morning smoke, clean with a natural sweetness and even a tad of spice. Comparisons to macbaren Virginia flake are warranted, and to F&Ts Golden Mixture. All of these tobaccos use bright or lemon virginia I believe. Are not stoved or pressed. Or very little anyway. All pipe tobacco gets some pressing. Anyway....an old classic in its field.

Let it air out and dry for ten to fifteen minutes for best results.

Purchased From: 4noggins

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stefanos (222)	2017-02-09		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

It came moist even in the 250g pack which is not vacuum sealed. So it needs drying. How much depends on your taste and you can only learn from experience… Many times even when I thought I got it right with drying, it was actually not enough and it often needed relighting and smoked a little wet. Moreover when not dried properly it did not smoke evenly, so draw was not consistent. With one draw I got plumes of smoke and with another just a smallish volume. I found this to be a hindrance to my enjoying Golden Glow. So be forewarned, as with most Samuel Gawith tobaccos, it needs some preparation. Smell out of the pouch is grassy and citrucy with some hay-like earthy tones.

It has a green grassy taste with hay-like tones enveloped in a mild honeyed Virginia sweetness but sometimes it tastes a little raw though never sharp. It is a smooth smoke and tastes very natural! So natural that I think I can taste the chlorophyll. The intensity of the flavor is mild to medium and in some puffs you might be wondering where the flavor is but towards the end it does taste better with some earthy nuances complementing or even taking the place of grassiness.

It leaves a mild astringency to the gums like a cup of tea does.

Mild to medium in strength but it does have a nicotine level which is above its strength, at least medium I would say.

Do not expect a cornucopia of flavors, this is a mild tobacco with a very natural but rather straightforward and uncomplicated taste. It can have its moments, maybe under sunny weather with a glass of iced tea, as others have suggested, when something light and unobtrusive is needed. And what’s more can be a very versatile base for blending.

P.S. the more I smoke it the more it grows on me and maybe it's the power of suggestion but I do find it tastes better in the summer. Dry it sufficiently and it becomes an intoxicating sweet Virginia. Surely I have to upgrade to four stars.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Swiss-smoker (87)	2016-12-01		Medium to Strong	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Nose in tin is ample bread, yeast, sweetness and a hint of gingerbread. As always with Samuel Gawith, the tobacco in tin is soaking wet and needs a considerable drying time. The cut is a loose, fluffy Broken Flake, not necessary to rub out. GOLDEN GLOW is a straight Virginia, a blend of medium-bright brown (golden?) Virginias.

After lighting this tobacco it seems light, mellow, soft and creamy. The further you smoke, the stronger this blend becomes and a spicy flavour shows up, never causing a Virginia-bite, though. I can pick up aromas of straw, hay, earth, some traces of honey and toffee. No complexity. And there is some (unnecessary) casing that I cannot specify; might be something fruity among others. There is also a generous sweetness around. I guess it’s not only natural Virginia sweetness, there is some artificial sweet topping. Nicotine level is medium. GG is a 2 ½ star for me.

Age When Smoked: New, out of tin.

Purchased From: Internetshop of “Synjeco’s Pipe Smoker’s Haven”, Brissago, Switzerland.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Nicotiana_rustica (23)	2014-03-03		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Very Pleasant

and again pleasantly surprised by this Samuel Gawith product. I had tried BBF, FVF, navy flake, chocolate flake, grousemoor, Balkan flake, SKIFF and st. James flake. Skiff mixture, BBF and Navy flake are the my best SG tobaccos. Now to GG; the tobacco has wonderful undertones, is relatively meaty for such a golden VA, and is wholly satisfying. I have had little trouble keeping it lit and I also don't mind the seemingly extra moistness of the flake. I can leave it out a little while before I smoke it, so it doesn't bother me. A nice, uncomplicated..slightly sweet VA!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-06-28		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

My first review, so be gentle with me! I usually love SG tobaccos, especially their loose English flakes. SGs Full Virginia Flake is also excellent so I thought I'd try a tin of GG.

I have to say it is probably the worst tobacco I have smoked in nearly 40 years of pipe smoking. I found the aroma from the tin to be horrible and it was hard to keep lit. I'm too old in the tooth to experience tongue bite but I certainly got it with this monster.

I much prefer other pure bright virginias, including those from SG. (Bright CR?)

Does it remind anyone of the worst aspects of Gold Block?

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2013-06-11		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I must say that I'm simply not a fan of this cased, aromatic, broken flake. It has some very thick pieces that are quite difficult to break up and hard to keep lit; a common problem with SG. Not my cup of tea.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	22yrsonthepipe (22)	2013-04-04		Medium	None Detected	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Very Strong

After hearing so many rave reviews of Samuel Gawith tobacco, I decided to import some from merry old England. I had high hopes at 15 pounds ($30) for a 25g pouch (thanks to draconian NZ tobacco laws).

The tobacco arrived so wet that by the time it dries Im looking at 15 pounds for a 10g pouch.

Upon opening the pouch I was reminded of the hay my goat sleeps on - not fresh hay, I mean hay that needs changing.

Upon lighting the pipe the first thing I noticed was an extreme cotton mouth and cotton throat, like one gets on a 3 day booze bender without brushing teeth. Never before has a pipe tobacco done this to me.

Another first - I always used to wonder what people meant when they talked about 'tongue bite'. Now I know. This is the first tobacco that has ever done it to me, even when smoked slowly. It only gets worse towards the bottom of the bowl.

Overall the golden glow experience was like filling a pub ashtray with water, then putting the contents, filters and all into the pipe, still wet, then stuffing a hedgehog on top and smoking it. Ghastly stuff.

When I walked into the room while my wife was smoking it, It was so strong I couldnt breathe. Like 10 people smoking roll your owns in an area the size of a toilet cubicle.

I grow my own tobacco and my bog standard air dried, uncured virginia is 10x nicer than this junk. This one is in my top two most foul tobaccos along with borkum whiskey.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2012-06-22		Medium	None Detected	Mild	Tolerable

This is an interesting blend. It smokes wonderfully after drying down to 65%RH and I love the cut. The tin scent is not sweet, raisin-y, or vinegar-y as the typical medium virginias I enjoy; it is more plum-y. The smoke can be a bit acrid and sharp but not every bowl, and not all the way through a bowl typically so it was not bothersome to me. What was most bothersome to me was that it is a little on the bland side, and a little too hay-ish for my taste. In the nose it is much less bland, I sense a decent amount of nicotine and a bit of plum and very little sweetness. Once you get this baby smoking cool you can taste a hint of sweetness, but just a hint. This tobacco is not too sweet by anyone's standards. Overall I prefer my medium virginias to be a bit sweeter and fruitier, and if I want a similar experience I would prefer smoke dorchester, which I personally prefer to this blend by a good margin. Nonetheless this is good tobacco, and I would certainly be very happy with it if I didn't have so very many other medium virginia blends that I personally prefer at my disposal.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Caripu (11)	2011-05-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

As other SG's Golden Glow needs to be dried 4-6 hours prior to smoke as is packed very wet.

The broke flake packs and lights right, with a regular burning pace. For me this blend is too bland and too flat in taste with a total lack of the nuances that the opening of the tin seems to promise to my nose. Unbalanced in the strength/taste ratio, I'd not recommend this stuff for smokers, like me, who likes fuller and stronger virginias (Full Virginia Flake is one of my top 5 in rotations). And for those on mild smokes or looking for milder smokes in summer time, I think there are better options out there.

As Sir Walter Smiley said below, maybe it could be a good blending stuff, mixing with other blends tha give it the taste it lacks.

For my personal taste GG is a 1 star blend, but as its packing, lighting, burning performances are ok and its room note is good, I give it 2 thinking on social smokers.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wellpipe (66)	2011-01-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

If FVF has a little brother, I think this may be him. Side by side there is definitely a family resemblance in aroma - that distinct fragrance that reminds me of bananas - just more subtle in this one. Upon opening mine was a tad on the moist side but not terribly so. A couple of twists in the grinder (my usual treatment for flake) and then set out on paper for a few minutes and it was just about right. In a big Wellington the delicious soft smoke nicely accompanied two mugs of afternoon coffee. The flavor is not as strong and mighty as FVF, but is a fine and enjoyable Virginia in its own right with a refined silky sweetness.

I keep my baccy in glass jars on a shelf in my study and this one has an added benefit: the color of the twisty flakes is bright gold and contrasts nicely with the other, darker blends - so it is a treat for they eyes as well!

Update 6/7/2011: still a great baccy on my list but dropping to three stars because I am finding it a bit one-dimensional.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-10-13		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

During this past period it seems that I have started to become more and more interested on Virginia tobaccos. Of course, many of my friends and colleagues are not so thrilled about the idea, as they prefer aromatic tobaccos (I do everything so that I am allowed to smoke in the office). I want to thank, very much, Paris from Patra, for this deep blond, sweet Virginia, that is sliced into thick broken flakes, does not overheat nor causes any tongue bite, but is quite wet when you first open the tin, and needs to go by a drying process. However, I believe that if it was matured properly, this phenomenon would diminish, improving simultaneously its “performance”. The aroma of dried fruits and raisins is immediately evident once you crack the tin open and it remains there until the end of the bowl, not with the same intensity of course but definitely present. Mediocre nicotine content. I was thrilled by the color of the tin. Update: November 28th, 2009. This morning, I opened one of the tins “peter” brought me (and I thank him for that). EX-TRE-ME humidity. It is impossible for me to smoke it right away. It undoubtedly needs sufficient drying. Update: August 20th, 2010. A very important observation I made: it lights up very difficulty.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-09-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

I really like this. A gentle puff brings out the subtle flavors in the blend. I tried it out a while back, left it, and now I find myself reaching for it often. The room note is just great, and sometimes I leave the pipe burning, go outside and then return just to get that "Wow! That smells great!" feeling. Is that a bit sad? Ha! As if I care. Lovely! Update- I notice that I have started to compare other flakes to this one. I suspect that I'm going to settle on this as my staple smoke. I think that it must just suit my tastes.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-04-20		Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Golden Glow is a lighter clone of FVF. It is a pure, natural virginia of the highest quality. I prefer smoking it indoors where I can more enjoy its fine flavour. One could smoke golden glow over the weekdays while keeping FVF for Sundays. To my taste, however, it is a bit too gentle and will rather stick to the FVF even during the week.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Xeneize (275)	2010-03-26		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Quality tobacco, as every Samuel Gawith product. This pure Virginias blend is almost as good as FVF or Best Brown Flake, being more natural and brighter. In fact, it could easily get 4 stars if I didn't find it a bit unbalanced: the lemon leaf is sometimes too sharp and tangy for my palate, although I fully enjoy this smoke 90% of the times.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-02-12		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

See my review of Medium Virginia Flake, the same tobacco in bulk.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Pipesmith (6)	2010-02-10		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

A thoroughly enjoyable Virginia tobacco with very clean taste and nose. Tin note is fabulous but the tobacco needs some significant drying until its just pliable. I find it really does smoke coolest of you just role up some of the broken sheets and just stuff the role into your pipe. Break up the tobacco on top or add some finer pieces and light away. It does seem to need a few more relights initially this way, but the coolness is worth it. If you let it dry till brittle and rub it out real fine, it burns without so many relights and stays reasonably cool.

Smoked cool by sipping - and bearing with the occasional relight - the flavors and nose are absolutely captivating albeit a bit light. Bite is not a problem this way either. I prefer the last half of the bowl when my pipe has really found its groove and the flavor and nose have deepened a bit more. By the time I finished the tin, I did notice a floral or soapy scent which I hadn't noticed before. Not too wild about that.

An excellent, high quality tobacco that I enjoyed trying. I'll probably get this again sometime, but its not high up on my must have list at this time.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-05		Mild	Extremely Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

I am pretty much a fan of all SG blends, this one included. Yet, I was disappointed when I finally got a tin of Golden Glow. I found it a bit too bland compared to BBF and 1792. In fact, it improves when a bit of 1792 is added.

Still, very high quality, and worth a try. Just don't smoke it after 1792 or FVF.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-22		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

What comes to mind is the words of General George Washington in his letter to the Continental Congress of 1776: "If you can't send money, send tobacco"; the man clearly understood the reward value that tobacco offers as an incentive - in the absence of hard cash!

He was surely thinking of SGs Golden Glow (although, we know SGs only started blending during his first term as President).

This is a light, delicate, un-complicated smoke of pure virginia (no casing) that is moderately sweet and offers aromas of grass/hay with a hint of citrus in the background - a delightful adventure for those advocates of light virginias.

As always, it's an SG tobacco - so moisture is high and the smoke benefits from some advanced drying. SGs don't stock-pile tobaccos at Canal Head, they blend and manufacture day-in, day-out, and usually to precise export order demands. Hence, the product will always be fresh and moist as a consequence.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-05-21		Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This came a little too moist in the tin, but a day of drying fixed it up. I like to pull good sized pieces off of the broken flakes, fold them over and just stuff them. First few lights are tough, but once it's lit, it stays lit for most of the bowl. In the tin, it looks beautiful. First impression is that it smells a lot like raisins. Thankfully, that doesn't translate into the smoke. This is one I puff sloooooowly. Barely a wisp of smoke escapes my lips with each puff, but I find I get the most flavor that way. It is a delicate taste; grassy and citrusy at the same time. Not complex in any way. Consistent throughout the bowl. Coffee is too much for it. Red wine - forget it. Bourbon killed it completely. Only thing I can drink with this is tea with honey or lemon. My wife says this one smells "OK".

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-03-24		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

this is a good tobacco!the only think that i didnt like is that the grass flavore and taste is a bit too strong in this flavore.but some people might like it.apart from that no problems what so ever.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	eamonclever (48)	2009-03-23		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I heard and read much about this tobacco, finally I bought a tin of it. Never smoked this kind of cut, it is unusual for the continent, especially for Austria where I live. Smells good, tin is full of pleasant flavour, rub it a bit, smell is as good as before, maybe a little too wet, but will see. My good old bulldog will do - nice stuffing, nice start, some relights but no problems so far. Smell like expected, bit grassy flavour but okay. As said by others a good morning pipe or maybe during the day without any hammer nicotine. No big difference in taste although I took quite a bunch of GG. Like it looking forward to some more. Won´t take it in my rotation, but nice to have this stuff in my cabinet as I only store wine in my cellar ;-) Highly recommended for starters, multitobaccosmokers, experienced smokers, who want to taste different ways of taste, this is pure va unless I prefer the rattray line.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-24		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

Yum, Yum, Yum !! Another excellent tobacco from SG. The tin note is of white raisins. You want to eat this stuff, the tin note is that good. The taste is similar to Best Brown Flake.... lighter with a tiny bit of citrus. The room note is pleasant for a non-aromatic. A truly delightful smoke.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-15		Very Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

"Virginia is for Lovers" the State Motto does not apply to pipe tobacco. Virginia tobacco's by all who smoke needs to be puffed lightly, and slowly. I normally smoke all my tobacco's lightly and slowly and still have had no luck with Virginia's, until Sam Gawith's Golden Glow. It is a mild and flavorful Virginia. So, after a year and half of smoking a pipe I now have a Virginia that is truly a marvelous tobacco to smoke. I am not sure why the other reviewers say it is too mild???? I guess I am just a wimp because I don't enjoy tongue bit or heavy nicotine blasts. I am looking for something I enjoy that's flavorful and still mild in a "Virginia" and Golden Glow certainly fills the bill. The only other Virginia that I tried and enjoyed was Dan's Hamborer Veermaster which is a little sweeter and possibly a little stronger. Both however are enjoyable and still straight Virginia's. If you are having difficulty getting into Virginia's try Golden Glow it will be a pleasant enjoyable experience and smoke. Highly recommended!

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	lvpipe (13)	2008-10-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

To me this tobacco is a well mannered broken flake with no bite and no detected flavoring. I am a fan of SG-FVF,BBF,MVF and Rattray's-OG,HOW,MF and BC.

Golden Glow fits in there somewhere, slightly different than BBF and MVF. It is tasty in its own right but I mixed it 50-50 with GLP Filmore and discovered a very interesting smoke with a little added zest.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-09-02		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is high quality stuff from S. G. A typical English natural virginia blend. The tobacco has little fine sugarcristals on it. A very good natural tobacco taste. The tobacco is a little moist. This tobacco will improve with aging.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sylvian (28)	2008-07-28		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The first time i lit it up, I thought it was flavored with tomatoes. A weird feeling, but it was really interesting. This tomato flavor faded in a couple of weeks, leaving just the natural, grassy VA smell and taste. A simple tobacco, rather mild and very easy going. Nice room note, easy to pack, stays lit perfectly. Seemed a little bit boring to me, though.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-02-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

really, it's a wonderful tobacco, but i can't distinguish it from gawith's medium flake which i've already reviewed. smoking the two side by side reveals no difference to me. strange!

i'd really, really like to see how sam gawith would do red virginia.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2008-02-17		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I find Golden Glow to be quite similar to SG's Medium Virginia Flake only in tinned form. It may be a bit lighter but they areat least fraternal twins. It comes as broken flakes with parts fully rubbed. Light in color it is a medium bodied blend that exhibits grassy/hay notes. I found little , or no topping and for me, it's a natural virginia deserving of it's moniker. Light in nicotine this blend will find it's place in my regimen early in the morning and also throughout the day in hotter weather. Golden Glow is a good representative of the light Virginia genre.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Glorfindel (86)	2008-02-15		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I had high expectations when I ordered this mixture in hopes that it would not be flavored like Grousemoor. Now, I like Grousemoor and have a glowing review posted for it. However, it is such a distinct and powerful blend that anything remotely flavored like it will end up having the smoker (me) thinking - "Yeah, more re-packaged Grousemoor,,,,, Sighhhhhhh"

Well this VA flake does have just a hint of the Lakeland floral essence the first few puffs but does come into its own about mid-bowl. At that point, the classic creamy VA tang comes to the front with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and honey. Toppings perhaps? Perhaps not - and that is what I consider the mark of a well done VA. Kendal Cream Flake would love to be this blend, but it isn't, being too wet, strong and hard to keep lit.

The tobacco taste and aromas of classic creamy VAs dominate eventually and even remind me vaguely of Christmas Cheer once in a puff - the standard by which I hold all VA flakes.

Tin aroma? A light VA classic smell with the faint hallmark of the lakeland tobaccos which I have grown to love - newbies - don't run from the lakeland taste, keep at it and you'll be rewarded.

This blend still says "broken flake" but my tin was completely ready-rubbed which I now prefer in this particular blend, it work better here than a flake or broken flake which my last tin of this was. No I do love many VA flakes but Golden Glow would do well to stay with the ready rubbed effect. It smokes great!!

I love the blond appearance of this VA proving it is not overly stoved (cooked).

All in all, this blend is just fine with the very very faint Grousemoor essence, apparently used to endorse this as a signature Lakeland mix. VA flakes are common. However, there are many of those on the market already and Sam Gawith chose to capitalize (I think) on their uniqueness rather than follow the crowd.

Given that very observation, I must forego the 2 star rating I was going to give and give it 4 stars, as I am a fan of some SG offerings - for what they are. A dependable flavorful smoke that doesn't bite and is daring enough to follow it's own flavor ideas. Perfect dryness right out of the tin and rubbed perfectly for smoking - no tedious prep time like some of my other favorite flake VAs,

VA, SG, and mild aromatic fans who appreciate natural toppings that are neither goopy nor sweet, here's another one to try. Or those who like unflavored VAs,, the essence is so faint you may not detect it in your tin and can treat this as an unflavored VA. Either way it's a winner. Give Golden Glow a try. It's worth the time and $$.

Good Draw to You,,,

Glorfindel

Pipe Used: Peterson Rhodesian

Age When Smoked: New Tin

Purchased From: Pipesandcigars.com

Similar Blends: VA ready rubbed blends.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ingz (8)	2023-03-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This stuff is growing on me. Initially I found it rather one-dimensional. But after a couple of bowls it obv did something to me as I feel compelled to post my thoughts on it. Beautifully composed with natural sweetness and a hint of spice that reminds me of lovage maybe? Can be an allday smoke.

Pipe Used: Doesnt matter imo

Age When Smoked: New

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Burleybill (2)	2022-12-22		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

First off received my tin online , it was sealed with cellophane around the edge undid this and pulled the lid of , obviously not vacuum sealed , no problem for me as I have jars , still needed a bit of drying. A very impressive baccy liked it from first try , very flavourful , nicotine is lower than expected , a bonus for some pipers. Will be buying more but may not be suitable for aging in tin

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh , but dried a bit

Purchased From: Online

Similar Blends: Many bright va s but this is the best one I've tried..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Boatdock (38)	2022-12-06		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A very smooth Virginia. No bite and excellent flavor. I don't know if any other way to describe it. It provides a naturally sweet Virginia flavor without any harshness. Milder than Sutliff Virginia Slices 507-C and not quite as flavorful.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: Unknown

Purchased From: Albatross

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	b7q (54)	2022-11-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

In Yunnan Province of China, there is a kind of tea, and they have a way to accelerate the aging of it. Fresh tea has a very different taste from the aging tea. If you let the fresh tea age naturally, it takes a long time. This is what Full Virginia Flake looked like before it aged.Great stuff. A whole day's worth of tobacco！

Pipe Used: Briar

Age When Smoked: new

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ocelot79 (32)	2021-05-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

Practicalities here not taste notes. Like many others, this comes far too moist in the tin, and only a very experienced and very slow smoker would even use it that way. IMO this needs plenty of drying out to give of its best; there needs to be some degree of 'crunch' noticeable when you press it between finger and thumb, or you will have a hotter smoke with unsmokeable wet dottle for the last half inch. For all that, this is excellent stuff! A very high quality broken flake with some ribbon present, which for me needs no more rubbing out at all. Lights very easily and stays lit - a very user-friendly tobacco. Firmly medium plus in strength.

Pipe Used: Good English briars

Age When Smoked: 3 yrs cellared

Purchased From: smokingpipes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gchiaram (12)	2020-05-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Soft aroma of TOBACCO when opening the can, and when taking a few flake cut, it makes you want to eat them. I am not very proficient in finding those wood grains, fruits and other notes that other users report here. My quest since I can't get Capstan Navy Cut is geared towards VAs and this is the best I've ever tried to smoke more than once a day and not feel beaten by nicotine. Burns very well without the need to dry, without overheating the bowl and slowly, keeping the same smooth flavor throughout the entire smoke. Although Full Virginia is a more complex and tasteful tobacco man, Golden Glow resembles what one is looking for to smoke without thinking about smoke, leaving it to surround us in a calm way and with a certain sweetness without cloying, noting that the VA is of very good quality. Highly recommended, especially when your wife works next to you and doesn't complain.

Updates: After a few weeks alternating this tobacco with several pipes of FVF, I have realised that this Va is considerably less complex than FVF, which leads to feeling a little tired and the need for subtleties while smoking which unfortunately are not here. So I move on to three stars.

Pipe Used: JARL CHIEFTAN

Age When Smoked: I brought it home and opened it immediately

Purchased From: https://www.franciscodemiranda.com/

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lingo (39)	2019-03-24		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

Opening a tin of GG is something that every smoker (pipe or cigarette or cigar) ought to do once in a life, to really get a final idea of what Virginia is. Once you open it you get smashed by a fresh cut grass and citrus smell, such a comfortable aroma that... I just can’t stop closing and opening it again to feel it again, and again, and again... Then you touch it and the comfort moves from your nose to your finger: soft, grassy, humid.. a time machine that drives you to those times when you played freely in the court, with your hands in the ground, dirty with grass, pollen, soil...

The cut is easy, just a few strands remind you it’s a broken flake. The load is quick and the hardness of packing is up to you, it will smoke fine in any way.

Now the smoke: cool, dense, respectful of the tin aroma. Yes it’s a strict relative of FVF, but (here comes the reason for my three stars) do not expect the depth, the complexity and the evolution of FVF. Just straight Virginia, nothing more and nothing less. Still, for FVF and matured VA lovers, this baccy is an essential step -as I said at the beginning- to understand and explore what are the sources and the origins of the more complex, more packed, stoved, aged, pressed VAs on the market.

A special note goes for a three years matured tin I just finished: the colour becomes super dark, the aromas are still there but less zesty and sparkling, the smoke is a few points better than the fresh tin, the resemblance with FVF is more evident, a subdued toasted note seems to arise, but still (as the home-aging is not comparable to a proper professional process) the smoking is tuned on a single note that I love but.. it’s one note ;) Sorry, it was not enough for my fourth star.

Age When Smoked: Fresh and three-years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	John_B (35)	2018-12-19		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I have been looking at blends containing the brighter flue cured Virginia tobacco since suffering a bout of sensitivity to Red Virginias. I end up with a very sore mouth from smoking them and I was looking at a way of getting my sweet tooth satisfied and avoiding this discomfort. In my quest I have found some fine smoking leaf from the venerable house of Sam Gawith in the shape of Golden Glow. It seems to avoid some of the well known idiosyncracies of the Gawith style, namely very moist tobacco laced with the Lakeland essence. It is a ribbon cut in my sample rather than its tin description of broken flake. Moisture is pretty much perfect but I have been giving 10 mins drying time just to be sure. It is a very attractive mixture of bright and golden leaf with a clear citrus tin note and a healthy dose of the scent of a hay barn. For a straight Virginia, it is really well behaved and lights easily, burning really cool with no hint of harshness or bite. The taste is of course heavily biassed towards citrus notes and dried fruit sweetness. It maintains this stunning flavour all the way down and only needs relighting if you get distracted, burning away to a fine white ash with no dottle. In many ways, it reminds me of the version of Gold Block that was made by Ogdens in their hayday. Very sweet if smoked gently and capable of a very rewarding smoke. The room note is inoffensive and sweet without being overly aromatic. This is a shining example of what is possible with pure golden Virginias skillfully blended. A straight Virginia that doesn't bite, looks the part and smokes easily without temperment or difficulty. If you like that sort of tobacco then it is a winner. 4 stars from me without hesitation. I will be buying more.

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: GQ Tobaccos

Similar Blends: The original Gold Block as produced by Ogdens of Liverpool..

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.Jones (9)	2017-12-12		Very Mild	None Detected	Very Mild	Pleasant

Smoked out of a tin that was cellared for about 6 years. The tobacco looks nice, light and dark browns. The cut is a bit rough, like most Samuel Gawith tobaccos, which may difficult the packing a bit. Some people will need to rub it a bit, but you can also pack the pipe as is without much trouble. When you smell it you get the typical in virginia tobaccos: grass, fig and an overall sweetness; very pleasant. It may take one or two relights before you get it going, specially out of the tin. After it's lit it burns well to the end, but it may get a bit too hot if you smoke too fast. The taste is extremely mild, I wouldn't say flat, but it's close. You get some hints of grass and a bit of the citruss-y taste that is often described in virginias, but not much. The tast is better when you reach the second half of the bowl, a bit more intense, but don't expect a miracle. The nicotine content is also very low. The room note is pleasant, light.

It is not a bad tobacco in any way, but if you're into full virginia blends there are other mixtures with more taste, more rich. This one will have its fans, I'm sure of it, and it's a nice tobacco as an all day smoke or to smoke when you're working or doing things that require your focus, you can have it going without the need to fully relax to enjoy it.

Age When Smoked: Close to 6 years in the tin

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Kunsan (76)	2016-11-11		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Strong

Tried one tin of this blend as an experiment. Didn't really know what to expect. Rather surprised to see the bright yellow broken flakes in the tin. Tried smoking it fast and slow, different packing etc, but all I got was a difficult smoke with not much smoke actually produced, and a tasteless experience, rather like smoking damp cardboard. Leaves a taste of old cigarettes in the mouth. Not pleasant. Perhaps other smokers can get a better experience with this one, but for me this was disappointing and I certainly won't ever buy it again.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	denholrl (22)	2016-11-08		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Extremely broad "cut," actually appears torn (similar to some bulk Grousemoor I had a few years ago). Because of broad leaf "cut" I had difficulty getting this going. Required several lights at first, then several more as I smoked down the bowl. I would have done better to have diced the leaf before packing. Taste was lovely . . . sweet and grassy . . . I'm glad to have had a chance to try it . . . liked it but won't go out of my way to get more. Smoked it outside; wind was calm.

Pipe Used: Rolando tulip bud

Age When Smoked: recent

Purchased From: received sample from friend

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Calamiti (86)	2016-06-07		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Very Mild	Unnoticeable

This tobacco reminds me of a white dry wine. Its flavours and aromas are disappearingly subtle but nice, fragrant and of a very high quality.

The strongest impressions I got from this blend were not gustatory or olfactory but visual. What a rich bright golden colour it was upon opening the tin! It was almost glowing, just like the name suggests! After two or three months in the unsealed box the colour has faded significantly and looks quite dull now.

No doubts the Pure Virginia admirers will love this delicate non-cased blend made of straight natural tobaccos. And for me, I'm after some bolder and more potent stuff. Anyway, you need to try this one if you want to explore SG Virginias, which are all very good.

Pipe Used: Parker 42 Zulu

Age When Smoked: 1

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir Walter Smiley (24)	2010-11-02		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I am a fan of many Samuel Gawith blends and flakes, this one is no exception. Yet: though this blend has a quality, natural virginia flavor; it is way too boring after the first bowl or two. As a blender, this is where this tobacco excels. I love this mixed with McClellands "Dark Star" or Cornell & Diehl's "Old Joe Krantz", with the latter mixture tasting very similiar to C&D's "Three Friars". It makes a better "Vaper", with some perique added, than Gawith's "St. James Flake". It should work in just about any blend you could try, as a background (rounding) flavor. As a "stand alone" tobacco, ahhhh...two stars. As a blender, it could save a blend that is too harsh, strong, dry or "over the top" with casings.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2010-11-01		Very Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

I suppose because SG baccy's have to cross the pond they are deliberately packed extra moist. Golden Glow has to be allowed to air out for a considerable amount of time. The long, rather wide ribbon negates a small bowl pipe otherwise it is all too easy to overpack the pipe.

The tin aroma is damp natural virginia tobacco scent with a hint of citrus. As a matter of fact I could have sworn I was smelling a virginia cigarette had I been blind folded.

Careful loading is necessary. I found it hard to light and keep lit as it really needed more time to air. The room note is quite simply tobacco cigarette, and so is the tastes except for a hint of lemon on the tongue. On it's own, it would make a very mild all-day smoke for someone content to smoke a very monotone baccy.

Too boring for me on it's own so I cut the ribbon shorter and added a bunch of latakia to what I had left. Once I did this, I could swear I was smoking Frog Morton.

No bite, smokes clean down to ash if allowed to thoroughly dry before lighting. I consider this a good "beginner's" blend. I won't buy it again simply because it is just too bland for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2010-02-18		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Unnoticeable

Having run the full circuit of aromatics decided to try a straight blend of virginia. Was worried it might taste like a cigarette, but it didn't.

Actually it didn't taste of anything very come to think of it. It's not nasty, definitely not a biter and I found it a bit of a bugger to keep alight. Probably something to do with the idiot that rubbed it out.

Very moist, scrummy looking broken flakes to die for in this tin of mine. Pity it doesn't actually taste of anything. Mrs RW comes home tomorrow and so that will be a test of the room note. A note I cannot detect at all.

Still, I can see me reaching for this one time and again despite my grumbles. Just sniff that old tin and get that bouquet is enough to make you fill up a big juicy bowl.

N-i-c-e.

Pipe Used: Briars

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Cgars.com

Similar Blends: SG's FVF, BB.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-07-31		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I would rate it with 3 stars but I think I could spend the time with a much more satisfying tobacco, like FVF for example. A high quality and easy to smoke tobacco. Can be smoked at any time of the day. But not enough to satisfy my taste buds. It is too delicate. After finishing each bowl I wanted to smoke something else.

Anyway, a good tobacco and worth a try.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30167)	2009-01-07		Mild	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

To start, I consider myself mainly a VA/Per and VA Flake smoker (i always chuckle when someone who obviously disdains VAs writes up a review for one and gives it a bad ranking).

Out of the tin, looks like a standard top grade SG Flake, only THICKER. a LOT thicker.

Rubs out just as easy as all the other SG Flakes, packs almost as easy, burns the same. quality work, as always.

Flavor was lighter than i'd like, almost too light. There was some nice VA sweetness and soft tobacco flavors in the background to give it something. I will have to revisit this later, maybe the flavors have developed after airing out a couple more months.

I had to drink this with water or a weak tea, otherwise the drink would've overpowered the flavor of the tobacco.

*updated - not enough flavor for me. i'm not an "english smoker" writing a bad review of a light VA, it is simply the lightest VA i've ever smoked.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	MeNoVa (8)	2023-01-08		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

It tasted bad and I will never try it again. It smells like dead saliva. It has a sour taste and a bite in the mouth

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Great Mungulor (8)	2021-07-13		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild	Pleasant

A very standard straight virginia. Out of the tin it is golden coloured (hence the name) and has a delightful whiff of fresh hay and grass. The cut was fairly thick and easy to pack. This had the tendency to burn slightly hot so some careful cadence was required. A pretty tasty offering, with notes of grass and hay with a little added sweetness. It is a fairly medium strength tobacco and pretty straight down the middle as a virginia. Not as flavoursome as FVF, but not bad at all. I wasn't blown away by it, nor was I disappointed - it is a very standard, very high quality straight viginia from SG. I'll probably stick to FVF however.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dr.James (39)	2021-07-04		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Samuel Gawith Golden glow is presented in a somewhat coarse broken flake and is comprised of bright and stoved Virginas. The blend is easy to pack but requires some time to dry; it is smooth, flavorful and pleasantly satisfying for a straight Virginia. The bright Virginias are zesty and sweet, the stoved Virginias are spicy, toasty and robust. Golden Glow is best smoked at a slow cadence and it may need a couple relights as smolders away to a grey ash. Jared away in the cellar, Golden Glow improves with time and is sublime after a few years.

Age When Smoked: Various

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Megalo Al (38)	2020-12-12		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Ottimo Virginia, cone sempre in SG...meno complesso del FVF, meno dolce del Capstan, ha comunque un gran bel carattere. Spettacolare se, come me, siete amanti degli straight Virginia.

Similar Blends: Samuel Gawith - Full Virginia Flake, Samuel Gawith - Best Brown Flake, Mac Baren - Capstan Original Navy Cut.

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