This flavour quickly intensifies to include the usual raisin and plum from the Perique and some brown sugar and bread from the stoved Virginias and settles to a very consistent flavour to the end of the bowl. Initial flavour is mild and sweet with a good Perique hit, espescially on the retrohale. The natural comparison to be made would be with Samuel Gawith St James Flake/Plug, which is more peppery and less bready and # 27 lights much easier, but has a tendency to rise up in the bowl to a larger degree, so a loose pack is advised to allow room for expansion. I packed the bowl and settled down for what turned out to be a 50 minute smoke. I am not a fold and stuffer, so I rubbed one of these shorter flakes out and left it to dry for 2 hours, (Gawith blends come very moist ). A luscious mix of sweet fruity Virginia and a savory malty scent from the Perique and more than a passing hint of dark chocolate. I cut them in half to make handling easier and it was obvious that there is some ageing happening here, with micro crystals of sugar sparkling in the layers of the flake. It came as a 50gm pouch of beautifully cut dark 6" flakes, (double the normal length of tinned tobacco). Like many traditional flakes, it derives its character solely from the tobaccos used, and the process, and has not been subjected to any flavourings or toppings or other fannying about. It is not every day that you get to try a brand new blend from the renowned house of Gawith Hoggarth, and as soon as I saw that this new Va/Per flake had been released for public sale after the initial trials, I was very eager to try it. I only hope it creates enough interest to mass produce it. I understand this is to cater for that fraction of the market not so keen on Lakeland type tobaccos, which is something I have a soft spot for, but I am rather pleased with this presentation. I think it is important to mention Gawith Hogarth has already got a similar perique flake (Louisiana Perique Flake) in the market, but this one has got no casing in it. Not a nicotine bomb by any stretch of the imagination, but its flake form and slow burning properties means it will leave you satisfied in the long run. The taste profile got a nice tang to it that has been nicely paired with the spicy notes coming from the perique. He would not share any info on what type of Virginia leaf or what ratios, I must say, but my guess is it contains a fair amount of bright virginia and about 10/15% perique. I had my sample from Gawith Hoggarth's sales representative Iain Hurst himself at the Nottingham Pipe Show celebrated in the Canal House this year. Unless new information is available, so far as I know, this tobacco is yet to be produced on a market scale.
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