Rum Flake Made Me a G&H Beliver: What Next?

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Like many a puffer, my initial experiences with the Lakelands, especially G&H's offerings, were not exactly satisfying. I could recognize the quality of the leaf and the skill in the blending, but that infernal essence sizzled my nosehairs, made me speak in tongues, posioned my piperack, caused prehistoric brassieres and knickers to materialize in my tobacco drawer, etc, etc. All the usual symptoms, in other words. Thanks to the generosity of some fine brothers on here I was able to sample a wide swath of blends, too, and subjected myself to a bowl of each before finally writing off the  soapy school altogether...but flash forward a few years, to a tin of G&H Rum Flake that mysteriously called to me from the shelves of Iwan Ries, and lo, brothers and sisters, I have seen the light! Or if not the light at least a light...

Of note: sometime ago I completely lost my sense of smell, which has greatly diminished my ability to appreciate most of my old favorite blends, and which led me to give Old Lady Lakeland another chance--if the rich flavors of straight tobacco now seemed faint or even entirely absent to my compromised palate and defective snout perhaps her pungent kiss could provide me with something more tangible. Now, I gather Rum Flake is fairly mild compared to many if not most of G&H's offerings, but it was the first blend in a very long time that I was able to really get a lot of nuance from. I couldn't smell a thing, of course, but the flavors, while not quite as strong as I might have hoped, were both present and pleasant. I am thus eager to further broaden my horizons to encompass that vast and verdant countyside. To that end I did some homework on other threads around here and narrowed down my next-up list to include Bob's Chocolate Flake, Ennerdale Flake, Glengarry Flake, and Top Black Cherry. This last is especially daunting, as I never cared for aromatics at all in my past life, but the reviews sound promising...

So my question for the many mistresses and gentlemen callers of the Merry Widow of Lakeland is where do you suggest I go from here, assuming these blends don't melt my face, ruin my pipes, bring about the end of days, etc. etc? The obvious caveat being that while I may be able taste them I won't be able to stop and smell a single funky flower...but for some blends might this be a blessing in disguise?

TL;DR: is the secret to enjoying Lakelands not being able to actually smell them?
 
Good to know you've found a genre that pleases you with your present issue Jesse. Hope you can go on and derive more pleasure from puffing than has been in the recent past.

Alas, I'm one of those who believes anything with the big "L" on it is anathema! :silent:


Cheers,

RR
 
Brewdude":agyc2asl said:
Good to know you've found a genre that pleases you with your present issue Jesse. Hope you can go on and derive more pleasure from puffing than has been in the recent past.

Alas, I'm one of those who believes anything with the big "L" on it is anathema! :silent:


Cheers,

RR
Thanks, Rande, I appreciate it! Definitely hoping I like at least one of these as much as Rum Flake, which was an unexpected treat. I also dig Firedane quite deeply but never really considered that a Lakeland.
 
GrampaGrossbart":23btix4d said:
Brewdude":23btix4d said:
Good to know you've found a genre that pleases you with your present issue Jesse. Hope you can go on and derive more pleasure from puffing than has been in the recent past.

Alas, I'm one of those who believes anything with the big "L" on it is anathema! :silent:


Cheers,

RR
Thanks, Rande, I appreciate it! Definitely hoping I like at least one of these as much as Rum Flake, which was an unexpected treat. I also dig Firedane quite deeply but never really considered that a Lakeland.
 If you want to avoid the florals, Louisiana Flake is a VA with some Perique and a hint of chocolate; Scotch Flake is a straight VA with a bit stronger chocolate and a hint of vanilla; Glengarry Flake is a VA flake with various light sweet toppings (none of the three are anywhere near as sweet or flavorful as Firedance or Rum Flake though).  Of course, there are also all the flavored ropes/twists :affraid:

Of the florals, Grasmere is probably the strongest flake with the (comparatively) lightest florals, but the Rose/Geranium is pretty distinctive!  Probably the most generic but still pleasing is #7 Broken Flake. Ennerdale Flake is likely the most popular, and is a milder flake with stronger florals than either of the above, but the strongest of those flavors (to me at least) is almond -- perhaps that is more popular than the other flavors?
 
Sam Gawith's Grousemoor, and Lakeland Dark you might notice. Mac Baren's Bold Kentucky has plenty going on as well, though definitely not Lakeland!
 
Dr. T's information is spot-on.

Depending on your tolerance for nicotine you could also go the Coniston Cut Plug, Dark Flake, Bosun Cut Plug route. All three have big flavor and a top scenting that's done to balance with the tobacco used. You might also want to give 1792 Flake a shot.

As the good doctor mentioned, there's also the ropes. In one of my favorite reviews from TR.com, Blackhorse accurately refers to Sam Gawith Brown Rope #4 as an "end of the line" tobacco. I agree. Ever had a bit of nicotine and can't fall asleep? Brown #4 has so much nicotine that it blows past insomnia, past Go without collecting $200.00 and straight to coma. :sleep: However, it does have loads of rich flavor though. It blows my mind that some smoke it straight.
 
DrT999":gtphsu4t said:
GrampaGrossbart":gtphsu4t said:
Brewdude":gtphsu4t said:
Good to know you've found a genre that pleases you with your present issue Jesse. Hope you can go on and derive more pleasure from puffing than has been in the recent past.

Alas, I'm one of those who believes anything with the big "L" on it is anathema! :silent:


Cheers,

RR
Thanks, Rande, I appreciate it! Definitely hoping I like at least one of these as much as Rum Flake, which was an unexpected treat. I also dig Firedane quite deeply but never really considered that a Lakeland.
 If you want to avoid the florals, Louisiana Flake is a VA with some Perique and a hint of chocolate; Scotch Flake is a straight VA with a bit stronger chocolate and a hint of vanilla; Glengarry Flake is a VA flake with various light sweet toppings (none of the three are anywhere near as sweet or flavorful as Firedance or Rum Flake though).  Of course, there are also all the flavored ropes/twists :affraid:

Of the florals, Grasmere is probably the strongest flake with the (comparatively) lightest florals, but the Rose/Geranium is pretty distinctive!  Probably the most generic but still pleasing is #7 Broken Flake. Ennerdale Flake is likely the most popular, and is a milder flake with stronger florals than either of the above, but the strongest of those flavors (to me at least) is almond -- perhaps that is more popular than the other flavors?
Thanks, Doc, I know you're a fan of the style from earlier threads I found on the subject--it's a brave new world for me and I'm stoked to explore it further! Alas, due to circumstances beyond my control I'm a pretty infrequent puffer these days, so it'll take me a while to explore them all, but then that gives me a lot to look forward to! Those ropes in particular need to wait until I'm able to build up my tolerance to Lady N...

Oh, and I almost grabbed the Louisiana Flake but opted to try Stonehenge Flake instead, which is basically GLP's production of it if I understand correctly. I'm sure there are differences since his stuff isn't being made on the same equipment, among other factors, but they're probably too subtle for me to notice! Will report back on all matters as they come together...
 
Ozark Wizard":20rr3mx9 said:
Sam Gawith's Grousemoor, and  Lakeland Dark you might notice. Mac Baren's Bold Kentucky has plenty going on as well, though definitely not Lakeland!
Thanks, OW, Grousemoor is one I've been curious about ever since I was pleasantly surprised by Firedance a few years back--the first sign that I might one day come into the fold! Plus I know SG does a Grousemoor plug, so if I like the tin maybe I'll try to track one down--I love plugs in general, and the plug iterations of FVF and SJF are even tastier than their usual flake format, IMO. Extra fermentation of flavors or something?

Lakeland Dark I'm curious about for sure, since I've seen it compared to Old Dark Fired, which I love (though it's been a while and I suspect it would kick my butt these days)...and Bold Kentucky sounds great, too, thanks for the recommendations!
 
DrumsAndBeer":pya8uvxm said:
Dr. T's information is spot-on.

Depending on your tolerance for nicotine you could also go the Coniston Cut Plug, Dark Flake, Bosun Cut Plug route. All three have big flavor and a top scenting that's done to balance with the tobacco used. You might also want to give 1792 Flake a shot.

As the good doctor mentioned, there's also the ropes. In one of my favorite reviews from TR.com, Blackhorse accurately refers to Sam Gawith Brown Rope #4 as an "end of the line" tobacco. I agree. Ever had a bit of nicotine and can't fall asleep? Brown #4 has so much nicotine that it blows past insomnia, past Go without collecting $200.00 and straight to coma. :sleep: However, it does have loads of rich flavor though. It blows my mind that some smoke it straight.
Thanks, Chris, the research I did into what to start with was basically finding threads where you and Dr. T extolled the virtues of Lakeland so I appreciate your two cents! Dug your reviews on TR, too. Since I'm only an occasional puffer these days the HO blends make me wary, but then I'll be trying all of these in a cob anyway...I tried both Dark Flake and 1792 back in the dark ages and definitely agree they have big flavor, though at the time it wasn't a flavor I wanted! Now, though, I'm hoping I can appreciate them better.

And man, yeah, I love ropes every bit as much as plugs, maybe even more so, but most have proven way too rich in Lady N for my blood! The exception are the ropes SG (or G&H?) makes for Synjeco, which are as delightful as they are hard to find on these shores.

And speaking of strong toby, back in the day when I was a regular puffer I tried Tambolaka a few times, which is every bit as evil as its reputation. Don't think I'll be going back down that road anytime soon!
 
Oh, and while obviously outside the Lakelands, have y'all tried either Solani's Tropical Mango Flake or Rattray's Exotic Orange? I have the former on deck but held off on the latter for now.
 
I have enjoyed the Exotic Orange. Much like a nice Orange Peko tea. Great stuff!

If you want to try the Grousemoor, let me know and I can shoot you a sample:D
 
Ozark Wizard":god5hoa6 said:
I have enjoyed the Exotic Orange. Much like a nice Orange Peko tea. Great stuff!

If you want to try the Grousemoor, let me know and I can shoot you a sample:D  
Certainly an acquired taste. 8) Still, those who smoke flavored blends should try it for the unique experience at least once. :affraid:
 
Ozark Wizard":m02vbqtj said:
I have enjoyed the Exotic Orange. Much like a nice Orange Peko tea. Great stuff!

If you want to try the Grousemoor, let me know and I can shoot you a sample:D  
That's mighty kind of you, OW, but I've got a tin on hand, just haven't cracked it yet! Will report back once I've had the pleasure...
 
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