Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Dark Thick Cut

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Kendal Dark Thick Cut.

I'll echo what a few other reviewers say, it doesn't warrant the name Thick Cut. Mine could still pass as a shag. The 'ribbons' are of a good hydration and have bit of a fire-cured aroma. I wasn't a fan of its sibling Kendal Dark, but am slightly more content with this.

The lighting of it's simple enough, and then the smoke has just enough weight to satisfy, yet isn't overbearing. The leading flavour comes from the Malawi dark fired, however it isn't acrid. The air-cured Virginias give the smoke a sweetness, slight lift, and they calm the often irrepressible nature of the fire-cured tobacco. The temperature's cool, but although the name Thick Cut had me anticipating a slow burning tobacco it can be over fast if not savoured.

Nicotine: quite strong. Room-note: quite heavy.

Kendal Dark Thick Cut: it's a decent enough smoke but I'll rate it with two stars as there's no way I could smoke more than one bowl of it per day!

Somewhat recommended.

I like this a bit more than the highly touted Kendal Dark as it has a burn that tends to be a bit slower. I think this let’s more of the deep dark flavors through. And the flavors are truly great. Many descriptive terms have been applied to the Kendal Dark (the same blend just cut into a shag instead of this ribbon). Go through the reviews over there to get a feel for this one. One guy said he didn’t prefer this cause it doesn’t have enough N. Wow! I usually smoke this in a small Cob or my little Parker full bent and find a small bowl to be plenty. I’ve not tried the DGT with this one, but bet it would do well upon a relight. So...quality - check...strength - check...deep dark and often subtle flavors - check...friendly to both cobs and Briars - check...easy to work with - check...wonderful room note that appeals to all - um, well, you can’t have everything.

I am a big fan of GH’s Dark Flake so I had to give this a go. The name “Thick Cut” in GH’s Dark Thick Cut is a bit misleading as this is a very thin cut, just above a shag in width with some long stringy pieces. The pouch scent has that somewhat medicinal smell that I associate with unflavored/unscented Gawith Hoggarth blends. Out of the bag it’s too moist for me to smoke without some dry time, but it dries very quickly. As with the flake, it has that typical Lake District flavor but in this case I think it comes from the processing and not a topping. But that’s a guess. For whatever reason, I don’t find this quite as strong as the flake in Lady N, especially when packed a little lightly. With that said, I find it smokes better and cooler with a firmer pack. Unlike the flake, I prefer this in a wider bowl, and it’s especially good in a cob. The dark fired leads the way with an earthy flavor and slightly herbal flavor. There is a very small amount of sweetness from the Virginia. While not very complex, there is more complexity than anticipated. In the end, I don’t find this quite as satisfying as the flake, but still a very good blend for lovers of stronger pure tobacco flavor. I will definitely buy more.

I agree with SteelCowboy that thick cut may be a misnomer. I compared this side-by-side to Kendal Dark and to me they look the same. If this is thicker it would take CSI to reveal it. It's a great tobacco anyway, as is the regular shag cut. I detect no difference in taste. I am largely a burley aficionado and this fills the bill. Not an untoward amount of nicotine to me: much like Dark Flake, various ropes, 1792, Irish Flake, etc. The only thing that ever gave me sweats was the original Peterson University Flake made for them by Murray in Belfast. And that was in 2002. Maybe I need to get my nervous system checked. Probably too late. Anyway, this is an easy tobacco to pack and to keep lit. Burns dry and doesn't bite. Not overly complex, but a good solid smoke. These comments apply to the Kendal Kentucky and Dark Birdseye as well. I'm not sure if there is a flavoring--maybe just something picked up from proximity to other tobaccos at the factory. Highly recommended.

This is a non sense tobacco earthy burleys that remind me somewhat of C&D the virginias do bring sweetness to the mix but it weaves in and out, smoking this in a small bowl it’s a waste this blend is a group 4 and above do dry it to get the most out of it, I don’t think there is a topping but the flavoring that you get probably comes from the machines they use to blend it I doubt they are using a blending station dedicated to this blend specifically. Nicotine is a tad on the high side but not overpowering. Would I buy it again…absolutely.