Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Bosun Cut Plug Unscented

I just took some 12-year old Bosun Plug out of my cellar and went to work on it. With a tobacco this strong, it is best to leave it in broken chunk form without further rubbing out. That allows for a slower burn rate and lets the powerful, naturally sweet Lakeland flavor really shine. And, typical of the G&H Lakeland tobaccos, the long stoving process leaves the blend virtually biteless. You can puff on it like a freight train and your tongue won't get nipped... You may pass out due to the strength though.

The nose tingling "extra" provided by the natural clove is a real plus as it intertwines nicely with the strong Lakeland style Virginia leaf. The tobacco, dry to begin with, can be loaded up right from the pouch and burns dry all the way to the bottom. Too stout in both strength and flavor to be considered an all-day smoke, this tobacco is absolutely terrific as an early evening accompaniment to a stout beer while sitting on the back patio and looking out over the back forty.

Highly recommended stuff!

The various Virginia tobaccos are very earthy, slightly spicy and grassy, mildly floral, herbal and woody with a light smokiness, a bit of fermented ripe dark fruit and some citrus. The Malawi burley provides earth, wood, and some nuttiness as a supporting player. The noticeable cigar notes underscore the experience. The oil of cloves is lightly added with the rose geranium being the more prominent topping, both of which sublimate the varietals a bit less than the other versions of Bosun. You will obviously notice the tobaccos more here. The strength almost reaches the center of medium the strong, while the taste is in the center of medium to full. The nic-hit is a slot past the medium threshold. Somehow, the strength, nic-hit and taste levels are almost the same as the other productions. No chance of bite, and has no harsh or dull moments. Burns a little slow, cool and clean with a fairly smooth and creamy, very consistent richly sweet and floral flavor from start to finish. Needs some relights, but leaves very little moisture in the bowl. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste and a stronger room note (more so than the other manufactures), which lingers a little, too. For those experienced in Lakelands, this could almost be an all day smoke in small bowls.

-JimInks

Bosun Cut Plug Unscented is…well…scented. But nowhere near the amount of others in the Lakeland group of tobaccos. The pouch scent is more floral than soapy. The long flakes dry fairly easily and I prefer to cut them into small pieces. Like all the GH tobaccos I have tried, the tobacco appears to be of very high quality. It burns with a little bit of sweetness and I like the flavor of the dark fired as it comes through nicely. It also has a pretty good nic hit too. But with that said, even if the underlying tobacco is of great quality, if you don’t like the scent, the quality of the tobacco is kind of meaningless. I enjoy a lot of Lakeland style blends, but this particular scent is off-putting to me. I don’t like clove. I don’t like it in ham, let alone in tobacco. Like most of the tobaccos from the Lake District, it should be smoked in a pipe dedicated to blends of that style. I do think that this is a very good tobacco for lovers of Lakeland style blends that don’t mind this particular topping. I also think that this will cellar very well.

The word "unscented" in the title is a bit misleading due to the clove essence added but it's hardly overpowering and not the least offputting. It reared its head from time to time in the smoke and added an additional dimension to the smoke. The scent was quite noticeable in the bag.

This had almost a burley body and character to it, due to the African variety of dark-fired VA's. Reminded me of a milder version of Dark Flake. The flavor was earthy moreso than sweet. I tested Pipestud's theory of no bite and he is correct. Even heavy puffing failed to elicit the slightest tingle. It did make the flavor overbearing, however. And if Pipestud says it's the stoving that keeps the bite away, I have to believe him!

I enjoyed this, although it's not something I'll probably smoke much of in the future. It failed to excite me as many of the other G&H blends do. But it's a nice, fairly robust blend that won't bully the smoker but will give him a nice clean natural smoke.

It starts with a medium strength combo of Lakeland floral and cloves. It's quite pleasant. This fades fairly quickly to extremely mild and reveals a very nice, somewhat stout, Virginia smoke. I can't really tell that there are bright Virginias in the mix. As usual with GH Virginias I get just a pleasing "generic" tobacco flavor. It's nothing terribly special, but it is rich and satisfying. All in all a pretty nice smoke.

Medium in body. Medium to full in taste. Flavoring starts medium and quickly fades to extremely mild. Burns very well.

As others have noted this "unscented" version is scented. The essence of clove oil makes for a spicy note that is found throughout the bowl. It will linger in the finish and stays with you for quite some time. That said, I would like to try the "scented" version of this as well. The tobacco comes through but is more earthy and mildly sweet with a slight floral note that African VA's have. A nice play with the spice. It's a nice smoke, the nic hit is okay and will satisfy. It does not bite, smokes a little wet at the very bottom. I don't get a lot of "Lakeland essence" in this one it was very light compared to the clove oil. I would place this at 2.5 stars. It is above average but misses for me.

Really top drawer stoved Virginia. Not highly scented like many GH offerings but still has the presences of Lakeland scent. The clove is there, although not overwhelming just pleasant as it combines with the sweetness of the Virginia weed. Excellent smoke for me, while it won't give you the spins it is still plenty strong and satisfying. Highly recommended for me

Gawith Hoggarth - Bosun Cut Plug Unscented.

A great smoke!

As you'd expect, the hydration's usually good as it can breath in the loose pouch. Some of the blend doesn't need rubbing, it can go straight in.

The flowers are in charge with a spicy note behind. These toppings beat the tobaccos for the lead spot. The natural flavours of the leaf is a slight freshness/grassiness, and a bit of caustic Burley, but these are WAY behind the toppings. It burns perfectly, without a bite to be had.

Nicotine: strong. Room-note: strong.

Bosun Cut Unscented? A true pleasure. Four stars:

Highly recommended.

I had no idea that soapy meant this soapy. It is literally like smoking flakes of a bar of fragranced hand soap. Not for me. I wouldnt mind something like this hiding in the background, but this stuff just makes me retch. Plus it ghosts up the pipe something terrible. You need to have a pipe dedicated to this stuff.

Maybe an amateur mistake but be warned this is no standard 'unscented' tobacco.

Unscented? Hardly. Good tobacco though. I am enjoying the sample I bought, but confining it to meers and cobs to avoid the ghost. The scent/flavor is odd, but not unpleasant. Not my thing though, so I won't buy again.