Branzig Reviews: Ennerdale Flake

Tobacco: Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Ennerdale Flake

Pipe: MM Country Gentleman

Prequel: As I write this, I am just finishing up my first 2oz of Ennerdale Flake. After smoking through all my Kendal Flake, I decided this had to be the next logical choice in my "Lakeland" adventure. I have Nick Drake playing in the background, my cob loaded, and am prepared to drift off.

Tin Note: The lavender scent is extremely obvious from the outside of the bag. Upon opening it, I was hit by what reminded me of a fine quality lavender candle or fancy bath soap. The tobacco note was completely masked by the topping. No doubt, this is a big boy's aromatic here folks.

The Smoke: This flake came ready to smoke. I tried both the fold and the roll method of packing this flake, and I found that I preferred the roll. Makes for a long and relaxing smoke. The char light took immediately and I had zero trouble maintaining a solid burn all the way down to a light white ash. No tongue bite that I could notice. Very smooth and light puffs of smoke, like a mouth-full of cloud.

Flavors: The lavender topping made it's presence known right as the match hit the tobacco. No doubt about it, from the charring light on through the first quarter of the bowl, the topping dominated the flavor. All I could taste is lavender, but no bitter soap that some people mention. Moving on to the half way point, the Virginia's started to poke through a little bit, but overall I found them quite light in flavor when compared to the topping. The lavender had somewhat pulled back a little bit now and some nice citrus notes started to shine through. Moving into the last 4th of the bowl, much of the same lavender and citrus notes, and well over 40 mins into the smoke, I found the blend getting very sweet. Not like sugar is sweet, more like how a light herbal tea is naturally sweet. The tobacco smoked cool all the way down to the bottom no problem. As far as nicotine is concerned, I found it quite mild.

Conclusion: To be honest, I am shocked at how light this blend of tobacco is. The toppings are dominant and strong, but I found the Virginia very lacking. Especially if you compare it to the stout dark and fire cured Virginia found in Kendal Flake. However; I still found Ennerdale to be quite pleasant in its own way. Where Kendal Flake is more of a warm, delicious charred flavor, Ennerdale is a sweet dessert. As spring rises and summer sets in, I can see smoking Ennerdale on a nice warm July night, mint julep in hand.