Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Plug

FVPlug is the plug version of Full Virgina Flake. It's basically the same tobacco, but there are significant differences.

First off, the plug is smoother and slightly sweeter than the flake, and if anything has more flavour. Just like PipesterJim says below.

Secondly, the flake is supplied very wet indeed requiring ages to dry out, and tends to be over-compressed and often cut too think. It has a tendency to be a bit leathery. The plug is supplied much drier, so you're paying for much less water and it needs much less drying, sometimes none at all. It's well compressed, but not remotely leathery. In the UK it's supplied bulk, not in tins and it's the only SG tobacco I've had had where I can open a fresh pack and immediately smoke without hours or days of drying it out first. I'd rather the slight extra hassle of having to take a knife to a plug than messing about with the over-wet soggy stuff any time.

Finally, even for people like me who love VA flakes but suffer very badly from tongue burn, FV plug burns smoothy, gently and without a trace of bite whether you cut it into flakes, rub it out, cube it or whatever (which makes me suspect excessive wetness in tobacco is a major cause of tonguebite).

A gentle, smooth, magnificent dark tobacco. Massively recommended.

Original review: 1-22-2013. Being a plug, it takes time to ready it for a smoke. I thought it slightly less fuller, a little sweeter, smoother and a tad more well rounded than FVF. It's just a little less earthy and floral, and the light spice note in FVF is not as noticeable here. The vegetative grassiness is mild and is about the same level as the flake. The tangy, sugary, bready, dark fruit, and tart and tangy citrus sweetness are a little more on the fermented side as often happens with plugs. There's more dark fruit than citrus, but the citrus seems to be upped a notch from the flake version. The woodiness is about the same. Hardly has any rough edges. The strength is just past the center of mild to medium (as is the flake). The taste is a touch less potent than the flake, barely missing the medium mark. The nic-hit is about the same; not quite hitting the center of mild to medium. It does require some relights, and the number of them depends on how you slice it. Regardless, it's a slow smoke. Buns cool and clean with a very consistent flavor from start to finish, and won't bite or get harsh at any time during the proceedings. Leaves little dampness in the bowl. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste. The room note is a tad stronger. Can be an all day smoke. Four stars.

Update: 1-13-2023. There is a change in this production. There are more varying layers of different colors ranging from black to gold. A fair amount of that is caused by the juices of the tobacco migrating toward the ends when pressing. Like the current FVF, the lighter Virginias take the top spot. Overall, the aspects resulting from this leads to a higher tart and tangy citrus, which now leads the tangy dark fruit, earth, and wood. This is a little more floral, less fermented, and a tad less sugary along with a mild spice note that is more obvious than before. The strength, nic-hit and taste levels are a notch higher. Otherwise, all my previous observations are the same. I give this version three and a half stars rounded up to four.

-JimInks

Full Virginia Flake is the most reviewed tobacco on this site. It is hardly necessary to describe the taste of FVF de novo. FV Plug is the plug form of FVF, but the smoking experience is not identical to smoking FVF. For one, the plug seems to be marginally lighter in nicotine than the flake - but only marginally. Depending on how you prepare the plug it can take two or three lights before the pipe gets going, but once started no further relights are needed. The Plug burns slower, cooler and sweeter than the flake. To use a culinary metaphor, the plug is to the flake as a reduction is to the sauce (or balsamic vinegar!), a slightly more intense taste.

Some drying time helps. Even so, a full pipe lasts a long time. Going out for the morning it is enough to carry a full pipe, and not a tin. By the same token, the plug disappears a little faster than a commensurate weight of flake.

If you like FVF and are prepared to put up with the additional labour of preparing the plug (quite enjoyable, in fact) it is more than likely that you will find yourself coming back to the plug again and again.

Kudos to Samuel Gawith!

I just finished up a pretty large chunk of this, I received a while ago. I don't think that I have the palate to differentiate the difference between a plug and a flake. My gut instinct is that there is no difference and it is wholly illusory and the difference one experiences is more akin to a placebo effect. The only difference between this and FVF is the latter is sliced into flakes that vary in size if you choose the tin or bulk versions of FVF.

Thus, FVP is the same as FVF, just more of a PITA for people like me who don't like to fuss with a plug. My problem is that no matter what knife I am using or how sharp said knife is, I end up with uneven sized flakes or shards.

There are only two people that I can see benefitting from FVP over FVF. The first would be anyone who does not like the way the bulk or tin offerings of FVF are sliced and think that they can do a better job. For this person, I highly recommend this blend as it gives them the opportunity to have one of the greatest Virginias exactly the way they like it.

The second group would be knife collectors. This plug will give them many opportunities to put their knives in pictures next to their pipes and the block of baccy. So for all you knife collectors out there, I also highly recommend this.

For everyone else, I highly recommend FVF, and contrary to traditional wisdom, I recommend the bulk flakes. I find Sam Gawith flakes to be much better in bulk than in the tins. The flakes are longer and thinner making them easier to rub out and light.

As for the tobacco, It is the benchmark Virginia. Just the right amount of all flavor traits a Virginia can have. Sweet, grass, hay, earth and sugar. It is all there and it is fantastic. As I had stated above it is the same tobacco whether in flake or plug, so I will give this 4 stars, but maintain that, because of difficulties in prep, this does rank below FVF to my tastes.

Sam Gawith - Full Virginia Plug.

Update: 08/01/20.

Firstly, as others state, this is an exorbitantly dense plug, so allow time for preparation! But, the prep' is worth it; MORE THAN worth it!

I cut the plug apart, then give it a blast in the coffee grinder. This makes for a rather 'fluffy' mixture. After this the moisture suits me; a touch damp, but not wet. It smells as expected, like a pure Virginia.

The ignition depends on the ruggedness of cutting/chopping/etc. Because mine goes through a grinder it takes to the flame easily, but has a predilection to 'swell' in the bowl. The flavour? Lovely! It isn't over-tart, too sweet, or even that grassy, but has a little of all the Va flavours; there's some arboraceous character, dark fruit, and a smattering of sweetness. It burns wonderfully, but again, this depends on how fine/coarse you make it! It burns at a medium temperature, giving quite a lightweight smoke.

Nicotine: medium at a push. Room-note: nice.

Full Virginia Plug? A steadfast four star smoke:

Highly recommended.

Medium brown plug with vivid yellow streaks of lighter tobacco. It is dense and oily and resists rubbing out. I cube cute this.

It has a pouch note that is caramel sweet. As with most unflavoured lakeland tobaccos there is some residual floral aroma.

Takes a light fairly well and burns well too. Despite its wet texture as a plug this burns consistently cool and dry for the entire bowl.

Not a lot of complexity here. It is a straightforward Va with a caramel/malty sweetness to the tongue. The room/bowl note is herbacious, even tea like.

I'm going to give this 3 stars, tho it probably sits between 2 and three. It has no obvious faults other than being boring.

FVF is my all time favorite tobacco. So naturally, I’ve been dying to get my hands on some of this plug. They don’t import in to the US, so recently while vacationing in the UK, I picked some up. Lucky for me they had 2 250g boxes left, and I bought them both. And damn. It’s got all the flavor I love from FVF, but the different preparation does impact the smoke somewhat, and gives it a slight edge. It’s rounder, fuller, sweeter, and just better overall. And that is a hard thing to achieve. Simply sublime. Sam Gawith, please start sending some of this across the pond!!!

If you're one of those fellas who struggles to smoke a straight VA without suffering tongue torture or palate scorching then you have my heartfelt sympathy. For myself, I can smoke straight VA blends without trouble when I concentrate on what I am doing, but if I allow my attention to wander too far from the task at hand then I am not beyond hurting myself. Fortunately, Samuel Gawith has the answer to our problems - FV Plug.

This is noticeably the same tobacco as the famous Full Virginia Flake. However, in plug form the smoking experience is smoother and less sharp, deeper and sweeter with reduced bright VA tang. Prepared as a chunky cube cut it also seems less prone to heating up.

Sure, it is more effort to prepare and get going, and it is also more prone to requiring relights. I couldn't care less - it's yet another great plug tobacco from the SG stable.

An improved FVF, the plug has more flavor and is more mellow and well rounded. Earthy, with a lot of figs and brioche flavors, I love it. Smooth, cool and no bite even if puffed fast, FVP is another must for the Virginia smoker.

Virginia lover

Full Virginia Flake,to me, is a little boring.Yes,it is a supremely pure and delicious tobacco,however,it lacks what I might call interest.Virginia,Virginia,the backbone of all smokers,I must admit,however like that same old Fulgers feeling that you Amercans must get every morning,there must be something beyond. I guess that's why perique and Latakia were discovered. To the tobacco. It comes in a block . It wants to be dissected,like that old biological frog. Wet it is and in great need of drying out,of which I gave it two days. As with the normal FVF,it delivers to perfection that smooth ,creamy Virginia taste.Yum Yum! ,but interesting it is not and so for me,I will give this a miss,in future,as I need to move on a bit.Steaks taste good,but they need nice sauce.All those who love this,I salute you .