Lakeland Tobacco and Gawith Hoggarth are pretty much one and the same. No other manufacture comes close to the variety and quality, than this Cumbrian factory produces. Even the styles name comes from the location of the factory, which sits on the edge of the spectacular Lake District. This tobacco is somewhat new to us, it’s been around for over a century and we had never tried it before. The reviews reminded us of Grasmere Flake, a medium Virginia flake with a rose & germanium topping. However after a little persuasion from a regular customer we finally got some in and our assumption of it being like Grasmere was forgotten as soon as we opened the bag.
You are greeted with a beautiful looking flake and the aroma of Turkish delight and chocolate (think of a Fry’s Turkish Delight bar), sweet and with rose aroma. Much more powerful than Grasmere, but distinctly different at the same time, the descriptions put the flavourings down as Figs, Tonquin and Citrus. We however can’t get past the Turkish delight aspect and it’s the same when you smoke it. Comprised of mainly Virginia’s with the addition of Burley, this not only helps keep the smoke cooler, it also absorbs the top dressings very well. The flake breaks down easily, but due to its high Virginia content does burn freely. So we found it best to twist the flake into the bowl, for a cooler and slower smoke. Once it is lit you are greeted with the pungent, perfumes flavour and luckily its not as cloying and soapy like Conniston, Bosun and Ennerdale can be. The rich and sweet top dressings are the most common aspect of the flavour in the first half. The sweet Virginia takes over towards the end of the bowl and makes for a dynamic smoke. If smoked with respect and supped slowly, this is smooth and reasonable cool smoke. Go at it a little hard and she will bite, but with a tobacco of this quality, why would you want to rush.
Composition
Blend - Virginia & Burley
Casings - Vanilla, Citrus & Tonquin
Cut - Flake
Origin - England (Kendal)
Ratings from TobaccoReviews.com
Strength - Medium
Added Flavours - Medium
Taste - Medium
Overall - 2.7
