Summer is more or less upon us, and you know what that means — it's that magical time of year when most pipe smokers start to put the Latakia blends away, and bystanders breath a sigh of relief. So for this Mystery Review I've chosen a Latakia blend, figuring it might be interesting to see what our subjects' reactions would be when the heavy, smoky leaf is combined with much, much warmer weather and climbing humidity. Despite some initial hesitation, Andrew, Shane, and Adam went along with it like the good sports they are, and also because I didn't really give them a choice.

The Reviews and Guesses

Andy

Let's start with the tin note and cut. Upon opening the baggie, I immediately knew we were dealing with an English blend. The dark flakes smelled of campfire and peat, that delightful smokiness that has attracted pipe smokers novice and veteran alike to the genre for ages. Yet it must be a moderate English, as the lighter Virginias did seem to make up at least an even proportion. The flakes themselves unquestionably pointed to Samuel Gawith, in both thickness, moisture, and appearance.

Upon initial light, the smokiness of the Latakia took center stage, yet without that sort of spiciness you would expect from a traditional Balkan blend. A few puffs in, I began to notice the Virginias. They didn't exactly add any sweetness the way they would in SG's Navy Flake, for example, but instead provided a subtle richness and filler for the bold, smoky Latakia.

That same flavor profile continues throughout the smoke — the Virginias acting as the bread (wheat bread, not the sweet white kind) to the smoky Latakia salami. I didn't detect any topping or casing here, just good ole fashioned tobacco done the old way. If I had to wager a guess, I'd probably point to SG's Balkan Flake. Wintertime could also be an option, but, to me at least, it wasn't nearly as spicy or sweet as I remember it being.

All in all, if you're looking for a not-so-sweet, not-so-spicy English blend, this smoky mystery tobacco would probably be right up your alley.

Shane

Based on appearance and aroma in the bag, I suspect that this is one of Gawith's flakes that contains Latakia. I've smoked quite a bit of the Gawith line over the years (and still do) but my personal tastes gravitate towards the Virginia flakes produced in Kendal, so I'm less familiar with their English offerings.

At the charring light my suspicions appear to be legitimate as I'm met with a creamy smokiness from what feels like a decent portion of the dark leaf. No discernible topping is detected by the half-way mark — only a medicinal smoky quality, and plenty of Virginia tang. There are bread and malt notes, especially in the retrohale, and I do get wisps of sweetness every now and then.

At first I thought Eric was being cheeky since we just released Bothy Flake, but this mystery blend has much more Latakia than Bothy (which contains just a pinch), and lacks the lovely "scotch-and-something-else" topping. Whatever this is, smokers who have been looking for an acceptable substitute for those impossible-to-find English mixtures will be pleasantly surprised.

This is an enjoyable blend for the occasional English smoker like myself, and probably an all-day, staple of the cellar for the die-hard Latakia lover. By the end of the bowl I found myself very much looking forward to the winter months.

Adam

The cut is pretty neat, but I'm fairly sure this is an SG flake. The width, length and thickness are about right anyway, as is the moisture level. The smell is overpoweringly of Latakia, but the flake itself seems to consist of quite a bit of Virginia, both dark and light. The initial light was spicy, with a little bite, but soon settled into a smooth smoke. Once I had the bowl going it was clear that while there was a touch of bready/hay-like sweetness, that the star of this show was the Latakia. Overall I enjoyed it, though not so much in May (thanks Eric) as I may have in the cooler months. Whatever this is, and my guess would be Samuel Gawith's Wintertime Flake, I'll definitely be coming back to it. In November or so anyway.

The Answer

As Shane hinted at in his review, this was indeed a flake that has been named in independent reviews as a decent place-holder for a certain other, far more difficult to obtain English blend. Said blend is not Wintertime Flake — that, I suspect, was simply Adam and Andy's making guesses subconsciously influenced by their desire to have smoked this Latakia mixture at a time of the year when it wouldn't make them break out in a sweat at first puff.

The good news is that having put this blend to trial under less than ideal conditions, if it still sounds good to you, you can expect it to be even better when the season is actually right for some Latakia. In that case, mark your calenders: Buy Brebbia Latakia Flake No. 9. Some time in late autumn should do nicely.