Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Mixture

Not as deep in flavor as the flake version but still a terrific change of pace smoke for me, Kendal Cream Mixture does fill the bill for those who enjoy Lakeland style tobaccos but have trouble handling the stronger blends.

If a true aromatic presentation is what you are looking for then this will not fill the bill. The Chocolate/Cocoa notes are deep in the background and disappear once the first half bowl is consumed. The strength picks up at mid-bowl and the sweetness also fades a bit. Truly a nice, light Lakeland.

As this is a ready rubbed version of Kendall Cream Deluxe Flake, much of this review is the same, though I note a few differences, particularly that the Flake is stronger in flavor and strength than this smoother version. The boldly earthy, tangy dark fruity, tart and tangy citrusy, woody, bready Virginias also sport a touch of fermentation, spice and floralness. The very nutty, earthy, toasty, woody, lightly molasses sweet burley plays a support role. There is a very mild essence of Lakeland and geranium as well, which add a floral, almost perfume quality. I’m not sure about the other toppings, but one appears to be tonquin, and something with an alcohol base (whisky?). The toppings tone down the tobaccos without drowning out their inherent strength, though slightly less so in this production. The strength is mild to medium while the taste level borders on medium.The nic-hit is about the same as it is in the Flake version. Won’t bite or get harsh, but it does have hint of a rough edge here and there. Burns cool, clean at slightly less than a moderate pace with a fairly creamy smooth, very consistent flavor all the way to the finish. Leaves just a little moisture in the bowl, and requires some relights. Has a pleasant, lingering after taste, and lightly stronger room note. Not an all day smoke, but it’s closer to it than the Flake version.

-JimInks

Lakeland Tour Stop 8

This is pretty good. Unfortunately, it seems to be no longer available, at least in the States. I could see going to this on occasion. But really, it's not remarkable enough to be mourned too much.

Since I've been smoking Kendal Cream Flake as well lately, some comparisons won't go amiss. Besides the same basic tobaccos, virginias and burleys, and the same kind of berry-like topping which mostly makes its presence known in the tin rather than the smoke, these are not really much alike. The flake is flavored a lot more, including the typical Lakeland "soapiness," which I could not detect at all in the Mixture. The mixture is the same in every pipe I smoked it in, whereas the flake varied widely depending on size of pipe and whether its bowl was tapered or straight. Also, I found the flake to be stronger in the nicotene department.

Speaking of which: I don't think I'm a nico-wimp. I can handle 1792 and BXX in moderate quantities, after a meal. And of course, the "strength" category is ambiguous...what is "tobacco strength" anyway? After all, the taste category seems to be about the flavor strength (mild, medium, etc.). So why not just treat "strength" as nicotene? But anyway, I found this to be just a tad stronger than FVF and BBF in nicotene, thus "medium to strong" over their "medium," with all due respect to the other reviewers who uniformally rate this mild.

This performed best when packed tightly, as in the Frank Method or, in my case, a reasonable approximation thereof. Otherwise it was very difficult to keep lit. But when packed right, it smoked pretty steadily all the way down. The flavors were simple and light, a smooth subdued sweetness with a bit of burley nuttiness or bitterness. Very cigarette-ish, in the best possible meaning of the term.

A good value, too. I got 25 smokes out of it, whereas the flakes usually give me only 15. Well worth a try if you can still get it, if you want a basic burley and virginia mix with a nice nic. hit.

phenomenal; sg flakes pack superbly; the quality is undeniable and the delicate and nuanced texture of this cream is just great; what an aromatic should be - not oppressively aromatic however living up to its name

After reading much about GH blends I stumbled upon the Sam G, Kendal Cream tin. The tin aroma was not real exciting and 2/3'rds of the way through the first bowl I must say that its not as bad as I thought it would be. Thick taste, nice smoke and just a bit of a bite to the tongue. May let the next bowl air a while before smoking. No real specific's to this one for me. Just a good solid medium bodied smoke. I will say that when I set my pipe down for a bit of a break, I just wanted to pick it up again... Cant wait to smoke another bowl later tonight.

EDIT: half way through the tin and its turned into a full body great smoke. This is a blend that I look forward to smoking after dinner most days. Slow to burn and heavy near the end. What a great no frills smoke.

As much as I dislike to disparage a leaf of good quality, this blend commits the only real sin of any pipe tobacco - it's boring. I'll leave it at that.

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Being a fan of Lakeland blends I?m surprised it took me so long to try this blend. I thought I picked up KCF and when I opened the tin there was some disappointment until the first bowl was light. The smoke was rich and creamy with a definite tonquin flavor but not near the level of 1792. A very cool and slow burning blend with a very pleasant room note. Don?t be put off by the fear of trying a Lakeland blend; this one just might surprise you.

Although this belnd comes from the dreaded Lakeland district, it is in now way the flowery urinal cake flavored blend that one might expect. To the contrary, it is a very good flake which is not overly moist and tastes very good. The flavor is hard to describe but one thing is certain, the tobacco flavor does shine through.

Give this blend a try and you'll see what I mean.

I have been quite curious about the so called Lakeland tobaccos offered by Samuel Gawith, and read on numerous interweb pipe forums that Kendall Cream Flake was amongst the best of the lot. I wound up accidentally picking up Kendall Cream Mixture and while I was initially a little bit disappointed in the mistake, once I popped open the tin and saw & smelled this tobacco, I changed my mind almost instantaneously.

Being a lover of Balkan/English and VA/Perique blends and, in general, a loather of aromatics I was a little anxious about the blend. My experiences with aromatics has generally been not so great (that is, if I'm smkoing them, but I do LOVE to be around others smoking them). I selected a tiny Peterson 317 System pipe from which I often smoke Lane's HGL, which is one of the few aromatics I can tolerate.

It took me a few puffs to really form an opinion and after finishing the tin, I found myself with a desire for more. Perhaps I will try the flake version eventually, but the ready rubbed mixture is excellent in & of itself.

Though I am not regularly a cigar smoker -- one or two a year at best -- there's something in the flavor, tin aroma, room note and texture of the smoke, if you will, that reminds me of a good mild cigar. This is perhaps the only blend where I truly sensed the nutty burley coming through -- mostly near the bottom of the bowl.

This one burns cool and clean. Perfect with a good beer and a game of backgammon with the Mrs..

On first opening the tin, I found this tobacco to be a medium browm, with a few flecks of darker color, and a sweet aroma, perhaps like cherry, but very nice. The cut was ribbon with a few bigger bits here and there.I don't smoke many aromatics, not because I don't enjoy them, but because most aromatics use Propylene Glycol to keep them moist, and tastes bad to me. This tobacco doesn't have any PG. It smokes very cleanly and tastes consistent all the way through, with the Burley asserting itself a bit more toward the end. It could bite your tonue a bit if puffed too hard, but was overall a cool smoke. This is not a tobacco to be compared to the flake version, as it simply doesn't have the depth of a flake. I would highly recommend this to an aromatic smoker who wants to try something of a bit better quality, or wants to try an English style aromatic without a tremoundous amount of floral flavor.