Welcome to another episode of Tasting Notes. I wanted to do something a little bit different today: It's time for me to revisit some of my old favorites. I thought that I would begin with smoking through all of the flakes produced by both of the Gawith houses, Samuel Gawith and Gawith Hoggarth. So if you've been keeping up with Tasting Notes for a while, you may remember me talking about some of these Lakeland-style tobaccos in the past. And I used to smoke a ton of this stuff really regularly and I think over the years I narrowed down to one or two that I return to the most often. Today I'm starting with Gawith & Hoggarth's Ennerdale Flake.

Ennerdale: Polarizing Blend From GH&Co.

Ennerdale is one of the most ubiquitous Lakeland-style flakes, and as far as I know, still the top seller from the Gawith Hoggarth line of flakes. It's an English/Aromatic flake and it is comprised predominantly of Virginia leaf from Brazil and from Africa with a touch of African Burley. To that, a whole host of Lakeland essences are added, most notably almond, vanilla, and fruit flavorings that are undisclosed. It is an extremely unique recipe for a topping of tobacco.

It's been one of the most polarizing blends in terms of the pipe world in general. You either love it or it doesn't really vibe with you because of the strong Lakeland essence. I think that the folks who love those flavors are going to find something that they can smoke all day, every day here. In my opinion, it's actually a really good place to start as an introduction to Lakeland-style tobaccos. And honestly, I think it's one of the most unique tobacco experiences you can have.

Lakeland-Style Flakes

Before I get into the tin note, which is very complex, as you might imagine, I wanted to talk a little bit about the flakes. They're really beautiful, pressed flakes, like all the flakes that we see coming out of the Gawith houses. There's a good mix between lighter, medium-to-chestnut brown and a couple of darker strips there. They are cut thin and are a little bit on the moist side. I would say that depending on your preferences and the relative humidity in your area, you may want to give this a little bit more air time than you typically give a Straight Virginia tobacco, straight out of the tin.

I don't recommend waiting much more than 10 to 15 minutes. The flakes do perform really well once you get them going in the pipe, and they pack really well. So even if it still feels slightly on the moist side, I would say go ahead and smoke it because you're going to get the full array of flavors and complexity that a tobacco like this offers. The more you dry it down, the less of that lovely character that comes from the Lakeland-style topping you're going to get. And that's what you want when you're smoking something like this.

Vibrant Tin Note & Pleasant Room Note

As one would imagine, the tin note is luscious. It's vibrant and quite pungent. It has what a lot of people refer to as perfumey or soapy-type aromas. I personally love that aroma and even that flavor. There's also a good bit of natural tobacco quality coming through. I can smell the grassiness and the citrusy notes from the Virginias. The quality of the tobacco and the pressing is also apparent. It's really rich underneath all of those top notes. I would say that maybe I get a little bit of the nuttiness in the almond aroma, like Amaretto.

The rest of it to me is on the fruity side and the floral side. And it's really a potpourri of those types of flavors. It's really not so easy to pick out individual notes here because again, this flavoring is so distinct and so complex that it has its own character, more so than any of the individual components that it's comprised of. It's a really interesting tin note and honestly, I could smell it all day and be pretty stoked about that. I mean, I do like smoking it. I would wear that as a cologne in the summer. I would also absolutely buy that candle and burn it all the time.

Even in the room note, I think a lot of that comes across. It smells incredible. Everybody that I've smoked this type of tobacco around has reported that the room note is really pleasing. So I also think that for those of you who smoke indoors in mixed company, this is something that you're going to get away with and you probably will get complimented on, truthfully.

Complexity of Virginias and Burleys Shine Through

Let's get into the smoke itself. Like I said, with a few minutes of drying time and rubbing it out from the full flakes, I find that it takes to the flame really well and burns coolly and slowly. I think a lot of the burn and the behavior of this tobacco in the pipe relates to the way that it's pressed, and you really do end up with, even if you rub it out fully, a super slow burning and cool smoking tobacco.

One thing that really surprised me upon revisiting Ennerdale is just how much more the quality of Virginias and Burleys come through in the smoke, even on the initial light. Years and years ago when I first tried this tobacco, I would've considered it maybe one of the more strongly flavored Lakeland flakes. And while the flavoring definitely comes through in the smoke, I think it also contributes to a really interesting retrohale. It contributes to the complexity and it contributes to the really pleasing room note. I think that I'm tasting much more of the actual tobaccos themselves than I thought I was all those years ago.

Medium Strength and Body

People who are used to the Lakeland essences and smoking the Lakeland tobaccos, they're going to find this one to be pretty much medium across the spectrum, in strength, flavor, and body, and the strength of the actual Lakeland essence themselves in the smoke. Somebody that's not used to it might find this a little bit strong and perfumey, but I think that if you really slow down, if you retrohale pretty often, you're going to get the lovely quality of these Brazilian and African-grown Virginias and a little bit of that African Burley just as much as you get the Lakeland essence.

It does have that Lakeland essence and that soapy quality on the back of my palate through the retrohale, but it's on a base of tobaccos that are really grassy, bright, zesty, and citrusy, and these flavors play really well with one another. I think that I do pick up more of the vanilla and the almond than the fruity flavors on the palate, and they lend these Virginias a really significant creaminess, and I think that's both the weight and the density of the smoke on the palate, and the actual flavors. The flavors are reminiscent of an almond croissant, or a coffee with milk in it. It's kind of hard to explain.

But I also get these cereal-like and malty notes, essentially a lot of what I expect from a great straight Virginia. The lovely floral aromas are more prevalent on the retrohale on the back of the palate. There's a woodiness with some depth, which I would attribute to the African Virginias and the Burley, but also a little bit of earthiness that's balanced really well by the vanilla notes, the nuttiness, and some of that fruit and floral interplay that comes through mostly on the retrohale for me.

Gawith Flakes, Smoked with Clarin Clay

I should have mentioned earlier that for my journey back through all of the Gawith flakes, I'm going to be relying heavily on my Clarin Clay pipes. They have a very modern design and utilize high-quality clay. I really love these for tasting purposes. You're not going to really end up with a ton of residual flavors if you're switching back and forth from tobaccos that are very different from one another. And also I find that I get a dry and consistent smoke when using a clay pipe. Despite the practicality of a briar and the bonding that I get from my briar pipes, I do think that my clays are my go-to pipes for tasting.

Creaminess and Flavors Intensified

The further I get down the bowl, both the creaminess and the floral notes that I was experiencing on the palate are intensified. The vanilla, specifically, is amplified and more prevalent. The citrusy interplay, the vanilla notes, and the nuttiness from both the almond and the Burley result in something that reminds me a little bit of an orange creamsicle flavor, which is super awesome. I love that flavor. And then on top of that, like I said, I am getting more and more of a floral quality, with an incense-like and perfumey quality through the retrohale, which I think is what lovers of the Lakeland-style flakes really love. And I do enjoy it so much.

Ennerdale: Ideal For Any Palate

Ennerdale is a good change of pace, whether you're an English smoker, an American or Danish-style Aromatic smoker, or a straight Virginia guy, smoking something like Ennerdale is going to reset your palate. It's going to give you a break from the usual and get your receptors and olfactory senses thrown for a loop. While I do think that fans of this style of tobacco could smoke Ennerdale all day long, for me, it's more of a change-of-pace tobacco that I really enjoy a handful of times, particularly in the spring.

I highly recommend anyone who has never tried it or hasn't revisited it to go back to Ennerdale, give it a shot, and let us know what you think. Once you have enough experience, enough practice, and the proper technique as a pipe smoker, coming back to these English-style Aromatic flakes is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can have. The complexity is through the roof. There's a clear reason why this style of tobacco has been so popular for so long.