I just tried Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake

[Kyle Weiss]

Dave (in Philly, no less) sent me a dry sample of this stuff in a tin (which I thank ye, sir).

My reconstitution/remoisturization of this stuff was a huge success, giving a "tobacco sauna" of boiling water in a larger bowl, tobacco in a smaller bowl, and a plastic bag to seal in the moisture. I even left it overnight to give it some extra time--I couldn't tell the stuff had ever been dry! Woot!

Medium to dark in nature, it rubbed out a little chunky rather than "ribbon like," and smelled oh-so tempting. Mostly Latakia whiffs, and none of the rum that claims to be in the mixture. I chose my morta poker for such an occasion. It stayed lit beautifully, and had a nice buttery and very savory nature to it. Again though--rum? What rum? I didn't detect any. Sweetness was at a minimum, and I mean, bare minimum--which was good. Halfway to the bottom of the bowl, an almost pesto-like flavor came through, earthy and obviously smokey (but very balanced).

What a wonderful mix! The matured Virginias that I believe make up a lot of this blend has (I assume) some unsweetened cavendish in there, really adding to the mellow body of the smoke. Cool, easy burning and tempting, it's in a class like Penzance, but not like Penzance. Just a similar genre, I think--at least from my vantage point. It's another one that's not as easy to get, which sucks, but it's worth getting a tin to try for those wanting a rich, mellow and not-too-Latakia-heavy bacca to throw in the pipe!

8)

 

[Harlock999]

Good one K-dub, and timely too!
I've been itching to open a tin of this. Now, I itch even more... :scratch:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Good one K-dub, and timely too!
I've been itching to open a tin of this. Now, I itch even more... :scratch:

Watch out, we're the "Latakia majority."

:roll: :lol:

...but yes, go crack a tin, sir, I think you'll like it. 8)

 

[Harlock999]

Good one K-dub, and timely too!
I've been itching to open a tin of this. Now, I itch even more... :scratch:

Watch out, we're the "Latakia majority."

:roll: :lol:

We should wear hoodies to show our solidarity. That would be really symbolic and meaningful.
Or maybe just wear a big "L" on our foreheads...
No, no, that wouldn't be good at all...

 

[s.ireland]

Navy flake is a very good blend. At, I believe, 30% Latakia it's about the most Lat I would want in a blend. I'm sure since it was dry and then re-hydrated you wouldn't detect any rum but trust me, a fresh tin that's not bone dry/reanimated with h2O... You'll taste the rum irat:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Yeah, the "L" word... er wait, that's not quite right, either. :lol:

Anyhow, yeah I thought the same thing, Shane, the rum probably just dissipated. Though there's some essence probably left over, a fresh batch might yield more rum flavor. I don't care either way about the rum, the tobacco holds up well as-is, rehydrated and all. 8)

 

[Brewdude]

Sammy G's Navy is one of my all time fave Navy flakes. Can't say I've tasted rum in it, but it never fails to satisfy.

In fact I think I'll rub some out for later tonight after supper. Thanks for the reminder Kyle!

:sunny:


Cheers,

RR

 

[Dave_In_Philly]

I'm glad you liked it, this is truly one of my favorites. I never picked up on the rum either. But then again I didn't realize its 30% Latakia. I always found the lat to play more of a supporting role. Shows what I know.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Dave, I can see why this one's special: it's very, very good. 8)

Sounds like there's a little Sammy Navy Flake revival goin' on suddenly--I'm okay with this! :cheers: Pop'n'stuff if if ya got it!

 

[s.ireland]

I'm glad you liked it, this is truly one of my favorites. I never picked up on the rum either. But then again I didn't realize its 30% Latakia. I always found the lat to play more of a supporting role. Shows what I know.

Well I probably should have said "you'll taste what the rum does to the blend"

I think a while back there was a thread about "rum" blends and I said (and a few agreed) that it's not so much the blend tasting like rum, as it's a common taste blends with rum share. To me it's usually more wine-like but nonetheless it's the same thing going on with all the "rum" blends I've tried thus far

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Then there is G&H "Rum Flake," which made me about throw my pipe. Gross. :lol:

Needless to say, because of that, SG's Navy Flake got an unfair association, due to fear of Lakeland-area made tobacco. 8) I'm glad I braved into trying it.

 

[s.ireland]

Then there is G&H "Rum Flake," which made me about throw my pipe. Gross. :lol:

Needless to say, because of that, SG's Navy Flake got an unfair association, due to fear of Lakeland-area made tobacco. 8) I'm glad I braved into trying it.

Really? G&H Rum flake was that bad? I haven't tried it but I am planing on trying pretty much all the G&H blends that I haven't tried already. And maybe revisiting some...

I like Lakeland :tongue:

 

[Harlock999]

Then there is G&H "Rum Flake," which made me about throw my pipe. Gross. :lol:

Needless to say, because of that, SG's Navy Flake got an unfair association, due to fear of Lakeland-area made tobacco. 8) I'm glad I braved into trying it.

Spot on Kyle.
GH Rum Flake is one I actually gave up on, completely. Heavy Nic content plus Lakeland essence was too much for me.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

This is why I'm thankful there's a tobacco for everyone. :flower:

What I find interesting is the name: there's quite a few "Navy Flakes" out there--I own varying amounts of three. McClelland's 2035, Mac Baren's, and now SG's. All three of them couldn't be any more different. Except the cut.

 

[monbla256]

This is why I'm thankful there's a tobacco for everyone. :flower:

What I find interesting is the name: there's quite a few "Navy Flakes" out there--I own varying amounts of three. McClelland's 2035, Mac Baren's, and now SG's. All three of them couldn't be any more different. Except the cut.

I see you tried one of McC's 'bacs, but I've never seen 2035 refered to as a "navy" type blend/mixture. Have you not tried their Navy Cavendish which IS a "navy" style of 'bac and you can get a sense of the rum in it? Try it as i think you will like it, easy to rub out, lights well and smokes nice and even all the way to the end.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

So I'm out here with a li'l spot of the SGNF again...and it just occurred to me:

I think I like GLP's "Sextant" a little more. Granted, they're not an exact match for one another, but they are more similar than dissimilar. I'll see if I can compare:

SGNF: Latakia & Virginia
GLPSXT: Cyp. Lat, VA, Kentucky, Oriental
Result: Pease uses more Latakia and in a more balanced way to get some more "oomph" out of the mix. While I like the Latakia SG uses in many mixtures, this is one where the Virginia gets a little edgy and the Latakia kind of shrinks a tad.

SGNF: Rum
GLPSXT: Rum
Result: Neither made me think I was being swamped with flavor or casing. Or it meshes well with my tongue.

SGNF: Spiciness from mixes of VA
GLPSXT: Spiciness from Oriental and Kentucky
Result: This is where Pease really shines--SGNF has a very good habit if keeping mixtures and blends relatively simple, while holding on to depth and complexity--think string quartet. Sextant is the full-blown orchestra, lots of things going on, but no harmony has been broken. Both have their applications and qualities. The spice from SGNF is a little sweeter, a little more "nutmeg" like, and GLPSXT is herb-like leaning toward an allspice/pepper.

SGNF: Bowl interaction direct
GLPSXT: Bowl interaction casual
Result: What do I mean? Well, how much did I have to babysit the bowl, my tongue, the flavor I was getting and how "lost" or "meditative" did I get? SGNF seems to have one "speed" it likes to linger, which when it achieves this equilibrium, is awesome--DGT is amazing, and this is good, since sometimes I find myself needing to put it down and give my tongue a break. GLPSXT is much more forgiving...typing, reading, talking, it stays lit, flavor is true, yet DGT, while not bad, didn't do something for it one way or the other. Both can be smoked for a good hour-plus nicely.

Just my take, as usual, YMMV. 8)

 

[Dutch]

Another superb review Kyle, thank you sir! 8)

 

[williamcharles]

I can find nothing about the percentage of latakia in SG Navy Flake except "a small amount of latakia". 30% would make it pretty strong on the lat and I just don't taste it that much. I've read 7% and I've read also 15% but can't relocate the sources. I've checked the SG web site and every place that I can think of and still don't find anything regarding the percentage of latakia. Anyone know of a source of that info? I like to know so that I can relate that info to other blends. Thirty seems far too high a percentage.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

As an educated guess, I might say 15% Latakia seems about right to my tongue... *shrug*

8)

 

[williamcharles]

Found one of the links that says 15% latakia in Navy Flake.
https://www.iwanries.com/samuel-gawith-navy-flake-50g-P2555C319.cfm