I just tried Samuel Gawith's Navy Flake

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Now go look and you can likely find another vendor that says 7%. I never trust vendors descriptions. They might be right 'most' of the time, but I've found all kinds of contradictory information in the past.

BTW: I don't smoke SGNF due to the 'pronounced' latakia content. Pronounced? Consider: There are essentially two component tobaccos in it...VA and Lat. That doesn't make it sophisticated, subtle or complex...and since it's simple, the Lat isn't condimental, it stands out. In other words, it's the 'flavor focus' of it's 'Latakia forward'...but whatever you want to call it, as a detester of latakia, I can't abide it, and won't.

Blech! :scratch:
 
Well, I love Latakia, and I also love a well-balanced mixture. Greg says it best, and I'll paraphrase his sentiments a little by understanding that tobacco isn't simply about adding things, it's about ratios and how they relate to one another. You have to "build" it right, or it won't go together correctly--because if you add too much of one thing, you can't take it away, and if the balance is screwy, so will be the tobacco.

Okay, nothing new here, we all know this. That said, this is why I think I liked Sextant a little more than SGNF...and with my Latakia love, one might think, "Gee, Virginia with a nice portion of Latakia, you must be in heaven with SG Navy Flake!" Au contraire. The additional tobaccos in Sextant take up space that would otherwise be taken up by a focus of Virginia on the Latakia in SGNF. This creates a balance, albeit a more complex one. He has said before, something to the order of work well with what you have. He succeeds.

I still really like SGNF, but it's pretty meat-and-potatoes done extremely well. Simple is divine. Sextant is a dynamic, contemporary, well-plated multi-Michelin-star main course. There's a lot of love and creativity in there. I have space on my shelf for both.

 
Funny to see this thread bumped. I just dug into a new shipment of bulk SGNF and I found that the latakia was far more pronounced than usual. I could smell the VA in the blend, but I really didn't taste it. I don't know if this is due more to the young age not allowing the VA to mature and show through, or if the formula has changed slightly. Earlier when I read that there may be as much as 30% latakia in it I was surprised. 10% would have been my guess. Now I'm not so sure. The jar has been sealed and I'll revist again in a little while, hoping the VA starts to come into its own. It would be sad if they just turned this into a lat bomb.
 
Blackhorse":i2p03iag said:
If one would believe Gawith, this blend has been the same since before the Battle of Hastings in 1066 A.D.
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EVERYTHING the Brits do happened before 1066 A.D. :p
 
I can hardly taste the latakia in SGNF. I wish I could taste it. Thirty percent would be much better!
 
Dave_In_Philly":q76lrwlp said:
Funny to see this thread bumped. I just dug into a new shipment of bulk SGNF and I found that the latakia was far more pronounced than usual. I could smell the VA in the blend, but I really didn't taste it. I don't know if this is due more to the young age not allowing the VA to mature and show through, or if the formula has changed slightly. Earlier when I read that there may be as much as 30% latakia in it I was surprised. 10% would have been my guess. Now I'm not so sure. The jar has been sealed and I'll revist again in a little while, hoping the VA starts to come into its own. It would be sad if they just turned this into a lat bomb.
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It's really amazing what six months does. The Jar is labeled April 2012 - which means it has been in my possession for about six months now. Unfortunately SG doesn't date their boxes or tins so there is no way of knowing exactly how old this stuff really is.

In any event, I cracked the tin last night. The heavy latakia presence that was somewhat off-putting when this stuff was fresh, is happily gone. This is how I remember Navy Flake to be. A sweet, robust Virgina flavor with a subtle seasoning of latakia. Earlier in this thread I expressed surprise that this blend consisted of 30% latakia. When the stuff is fresh, you can certainly believe that, but after only six months in a mason jar it again seems that the latakia is merely a condiment.

I also see Shane's point. I cannot taste the rum, no matter how hard I try. However, the Virginia in this blend has a sweetness different from other SG Virgina blends like FVF or BBF. I can only assume it comes from the addition of the rum.
 
Actually, Dave, I found a dessicated bit of the stuff you sent to me some time ago...I smoked it recently, and it was great. :lol: I have a few other tins I bought and am sitting on...happily waiting for the day. :)

8)
 
OOoh, I've got a sample of this from a kind Brother sitting in the cellar. I haven't given it the go, yet, but sounds like I ought to. I'm interested to compare to some of the other "Navy" tobacs I enjoy...
 
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