In terms of beef, Burnt Ends are the result of taking the more fatty point section of a brisket, cutting the meat into bite sized cubes and cooking those cubes in barbeque sauce for hours, until the extra fat has rendered. They are intense in flavor and are often consumed by the pitmaster and crew long before you receive your serving from the flat.
In terms of Samuel Gawith pipe tobacco, Burnt Ends represent the part of a compressed slab of pressure / heat / steam treated tobacco that are closest to the heat source. Until recently, the “well done” portions of each slab of tobacco were just thrown away. Then, one day, someone had a blinding flash of the obvious and decided to smoke a little bit of what was treated as waste. Like the meat version, the tobacco that comprises what will become Burnt Ends isn’t actually burnt.
What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged blend without the need of any further aging.
Samuel Gawith has expanded their Burnt Ends offerings to the following:
- 1792 Flake: 1792 Flake Burnt Ends are literally the burnt ends of the brand’s famed 1972 Flake: a blend that marries together Dark-Fired Tanzanian leaf and Virginias via heat compression. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged Burley mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers rich tasting notes with plenty of body and complexity to appreciate.
- Balkan Flake: a blend that marries together rich Virginias and tangy Latakia tobaccos via heat compression. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged Balkan mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers a complex array of tasting notes that enhance the Latakia’s smoky, campfire-like essence.
- Full Virginia Flake: Full Virginia Flake Burnt Ends are literally the burnt ends of the brand’s famed Full Virginia Flake: a blend that marries together a variety of Virginia tobaccos via heat compression. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged Full Virginia mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers tasting notes of tangy caramelized citrus, earthy, hay, and a touch of spice.
- Navy Flake: Navy Flake Burnt Ends are literally the burnt ends of the brand’s famed Navy Flake: a blend that marries together Virginia and Latakia leaf via heat compression, flavored with a dash of rum. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged English mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers rich tasting notes of piquant spice, with plenty of smoky Latakia to appreciate.
- Sam’s Flake: Sam’s Flake Burnt Ends are literally the burnt ends of the brand’s famed Sam’s Flake: a blend that marries together flue-cured Virginias and Orientals via heat compression, all flavored with the essence of the tonquin bean. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged Virginia mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers rich tasting notes that embody the essence of a Lakeland blend.
- St. James Flake: St. James Flake Burnt Ends are literally the burnt ends of the brand’s famed St. James Flake: a blend that marries together Bright Virginias with Perique from St. James Parish in Louisiana via heat compression. What results is a dense and thoroughly caramelized flake that captures the deeper, richer notes of an aged Virginia/Perique mixture without needing to be aged, and it offers rich tasting notes that include piquant spice and caramelized sweetness.
Naturally, the availability of Samuel Gawith’s Burnt Ends depends of the production of the the regular flake, so availability is pretty restricted. Each blend comes packaged in 8 ounce trays and, as inventory allows, we will make it available by the ounce.
A little bit of additional trivia is that the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as we know them today are the product of a single batch of a peanut butter filling that was overcooked. That well done peanut butter really tied the whole cup together.
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