Gawith & Hoggarth
Kendal Flake

Sometimes it makes me laugh to see myself change over time. Six years ago, I tried this tobacco and thought I'd never bother with it again (see below). Of course, one never knows for sure what the future might bring... Around the same time that Mark e-mailed me and asked if I had an opinion on this tobacco, I ran across a jar of it at a local shop that recently started carrying Gawith Hoggarth tobaccos (Smoker's Paradise). I was curious again. The contents of that jar smelled intriguing. Certainly, the heavy rose flavouring in this rich flake tobacco is foreign to the North American palate, but I have come to find such flavours quite compelling (there's an Iranian rice dessert that is perfumed with rose water which I really like). Descriptions of Kendal Flake mention that it is scented with musk, vanilla, and almond, in addition to rose. In food, when flavourings like these are used, the amount used reaches a threshold beyond which they add bitterness rather than more flavour— furthermore, who ever uses musk as a flavouring? As such, when these liberally applied essences mix with the strong, smooth flake-tobacco base, a perfumy bitterness is the result. There is definitely an implied sweetness to the smoke, but it's overwhelmed by the top flavouring and the strength of the tobacco itself. Each puff is a burst of flavour and body (could there possibly be more?), and there's hardly any bite to this (because its strength discourages any kind of heavy puffing?) It also supplies a big nicotine punch. I love this as a late-night smoke and find that its full flavour marries very nicely with a bottle of stout. I wish I could more highly recommend this tobacco, but I know that its iconoclastic bitterness just won't suit all pipe smokers. Trennel remarked that its heavy room aroma was quite flowery. Lo stesso autore nel 1996 di questo tabacco aveva scritto: This is a Virginia flake in the English tradition, fairly strong—of a similar strength of flavour as Saint Bruno, but a bit heavier in body and nicotine content. Dark reddish brown in colour with a few blondish stem spots, this flake has some of that "cosmetic" pouch aroma that some folks dislike and less of that wine-like aroma that I associate with Saint Bruno. It crumbles slowly and burns nice and slowly. It's supposed to be almond-flavoured, which is something that my taste buds really have to try hard to pick up on. I guess this is because the flavouring competes with that odd, medicinal taste underneath that is so present in the Kendal Mixed and Dark Mixtures. The flavouring obviously works though since I don't find the slightly sour undertaste to be unpleasant in this flake, which I can't say in the case of the Kendal Dark and Mixed Mixtures. Overall, it's not as sweet or aromatic a smoke as Condor or Saint Bruno, probably because of that Kendal undertaste, which becomes more pronounced during the last quarter of the bowl. A smooth, relaxing smoke with a dry taste that burns to a perfect, grey ash and leaves behind a heavy, musty and slightly sweet room aroma. I can see this appealing to a lot of folks, but, personally, I'm a bit put off by that classic Kendal flavour and won't be ordering it again.