Samuel Gawith: Chocolate Flake 8oz Pipe Tobacco

Samuel Gawith was the son-in-law of Thomas Harrison, a snuff manufacturer who moved his trade and equipment to Kendal, Cumbria, England from Scotland in 1792. Gawith inherited this equipment from Harrison, and the company has been crafting premium tobacco since, with one of Samuel's two sons continuing the brand while the other joined with Henry Hoggarth to establish Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Though offering separate blends, both brands remain forever linked and still share the same manufacturing facility in England's Lake District, utilizing processes and techniques that date to the brands' 1792 roots. In many of their mixtures, Samuel Gawith maintains the standards enforced by the United Kingdom's strict purity laws of the 19th and 20th centuries — such laws dictating how much and what type of flavorings could be added to pipe tobacco and ensuring that sub-quality leaf wasn't hidden under the veil of exorbitant toppings.

The Kendal Mayor's Collection of pipe tobaccos honors Samuel Gawith as the former mayor of Kendal, and Chocolate Flake is a unique blend of Virginias, Burley, and a touch of Latakia. While many mixtures comprising Latakia are classified as English blends, Chocolate Flake is much more Virginia-forward, the smokiness of the Latakia considerably subdued and further balanced by a slight topping of dark chocolate.