Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug

I recently spent a week aboard a boat on the Norfolk Broads in East Anglia, fishing for Pike. These waters are at their most beautiful during the colder months of the year when the boat traffic is lessened and the wildlife comes out to play.

I took several blends with me on the trip, including a bag of Coniston Cut Plug. This one trumped all the others to become my chosen evening smoke, and the crisp autumn weather made it seem far more enticing than when I first tried it a couple of years ago.

The combination of different VA constituents is spot on to provide a hearty, medium-strong smoke with good body and superb balance, though the dark-fired leaf is very much to the forefront. The top dressing is assertive but works very well with the base tobaccos, weaving around them and combining nicely without over powering the tobacco flavours.

My palette isn't refined enough to deduce the exact florals in evidence. It is definitely one of the more complex takes on lakeland 'essence' and the level of application, whilst probably too heavy to appeal to those looking for a lighter lakeland experience, is just fine by me. A distinct plus is that it manages to maintain throughout the smoke, rather than burning off during the early stages as can happen with some flavoured tobaccos.

Superb smoking qualities as one would expect from Gawith & Hogwarts. The fineness of the ash is akin to a good cigar.

I have just ordered samples of some of the lesser known GH&Co blends including Grasmere, Glengarry and Kendal Flake. I look forward to sampling these and will review them when I do, but for the timebeing CCP is a something of a grail blend as far as stronger lakelands go. For me, it is infinitely preferable to 1792 and Bracken Flake (sorry, Samuel).

Blackhorse, a couple of reviews down, has it right on when he calls it a 'goldilocks' blend. Anything less than four stars would be an injustice.

The bold dark fired Virginia offer a bit of earth, smoke, wood, floralness, vegetation, spice, bread and plenty of fermented tangy dark fruit as the main player. The dark Virginia provides earth, wood, tangy ripe dark fruit, bread, sugar, and a little floral grass. In a support role, the Malawi burley is earthy, woody, very nutty with a little molasses, and a touch of cocoa. The Lakeland topping is obvious without totally drowning out the strong tobaccos. I’m not sure what the other toppings are besides some tonquin, but they are much more subtle. A very strong blend that's very full in taste. The nic-hit is quite potent. Won't bite or get harsh, but it does have a few rough edges. Well balanced, it burns cool, clean and slow with a very consistent flavor all the way through to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a fair number of relights. Has a pleasant, lingering smoky sweet after taste, and stronger room note. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Of all the blends that both sides of the Gawith clan puts out, this one gets my nod as the best in terms of what its like to work with and what it gives during the smoke. Not too shredded, not too firm...drys fast and easy to pack and ignite...fabulous flavors balancing richness, strength, sweetness and nuance development...sip it slowly and pay it no mind or worry over every little shred of goodness delivered to your tobacco pleasure center. To me this is all things, striking the perfect balance...not too smoky, not too strong, not too sweet...like those planets that are neither too close nor too far from the Sun to be likely to support life...this one inhabits the "Goldilocks" zone. It's just right!

A strange mish-mash of reviews here and in a way I'm not surprised. These so-called "Lakeland" blends seem to cause more mixed reactions than any other. Long may it continue!

Soap? No, not at all. Ennerdale this ain't.

Floral? Just a touch, but more on the packet note - which is very yummy on the nose - rather than on the smoke itself, where it acts like a leavener.

And there's the rub (pardon the pun). To my mind the key thing about this blend is that is really rather strong, in smell, taste and mouthfeel. I am not generally a fan of aromatics because I prefer the taste of tobacco. In that sense, Coniston Cut Plug delivers in spades, with the flavourings, such as they are, seasoning and tempering the tobacco essence, rather than overwhelming it. And for me that is just the way it should be.

If you like a strong smoke with just a little something to take the edge away, this is just the job.

By Gawith, Hoggarth & Co, of Kendal, Cumbria, England (should be easily obtainable by Americans)

A very traditional Lakeland flake (from The Lake District of Cumbria in the North West of England, famous for Wordsworth and its large lakes - not as large as the American Great Lakes, of course, but then they do actually look like lakes, rather than oceans).

It looks like a rich, dark, broken flake and smells of the cheap perfumes that old ladies in nursing homes wear to disguise the tangy aroma of piss. In other words, it smells like a good, proper, British pipe tobacco should.

It is mainly a dark, fire-cured Virginia leaf, with some Burley.

Throughout the smoke, there is a hint of a tonquin topping (tonquin is an essence, derived from the tonka bean in Guyana, which Britain used to own in the good old days, and is a fairly unique flavouring, but has a suggestion of vanilla about it. Incidentally, tonquin is banned as a food additive by the FDA in America, but then we're not going to eat the bloody stuff, are we?).

The perfumy aroma soon dissipates and the tonquin topping stays in the background to leave us with a glorious, cool, rich, powerful smoke - plenty of nicotine here - that will have even the least imaginative of us writing poetry halfway through the bowl.

In my book, it's just one stop short of, and an ideal preparation for, the mighty Condor.

PS - I have marked the 'room note' as 'pleasant', but it is appearing as 'mild' - not my intention, but hey-ho....

I bought this as a replacement for condor, as we all know since its move to Poland, condors quality has gone way down the pan.

So does coniston shape up? absolutely and then some, I dare say it is better than condor.

reviewing it on its own merits it is an exceptionally stout smoke, this is no way at all ideal for the complete novice, it would be like weaning a baby off milk and putting it straight onto port.

opening the bulk pouch, an aroma of Turkish delight hits the nose, along with a sweet very Smokey edge. very dark mottled only slightly with lighter tobaccos, did I mention this is powerful stuff?

packing is rather easy and lighting takes only a touch extra effort, although a slight drying time will alleviate this.

smoking, that slightly floral edge stays throughout the smoke, but the main flavour is that smokeyness and the strength quickly builds, this will knock you on your arse if you don't show it respect, and it will turn you green if you aren't used to nicotine. But if you like powerful blends this will satisfy the smoke is very thick, so thick in fact it is almost chewable and when I was finished it felt like I had had a good hearty meal.

all in all this is absolutely not recommended for the beginner, it would be foolish of you try and quite sadistic of you try and tempt a beginner with this. But once you feel you are ready this is another bucket list tobacco in my book, it leaves condor for dust and is much much superior to it.

room note won't win you any none smoking friends, the smoke, while not particularly potent like a heavy latakia mix it does produce lots of it and very dense as well. maybe one for the outdoors, unless you have a very understanding other half.

All in all a blend that is an acquired taste, but if you are like myself and have that acquired taste then this really is something very special, it's strength brings about a meditative feeling and you can't help but drift away, it is a fantastic smoke and one I look foreward to repeated bowls of. p.s will ghost a pipe so dedication of pipes or trying in a cob first is good practice.

4 stars effortlessly earned and one that's staying around with me.

It's a Lakeland, yes, but just barely. I think of Lakeland as being all Virginia with a strong, pungent, soap and floral note, which is a combo I've always loved and will continue to love. With Coniston Cut Plug that floral essence is slight almost to the point of seeming like an afterthought. What I taste is the coffee and wood notes from the strong, African burley and the raspy, metallic, bittersweet of the dark fired leaf. Anyone who likes the dark, strong flavored ropes and plugs that the Gawith contingency do so well will probably be satisfied with Coniston since I note many of the same dark, dank flavors.

The floral top dressing puts me in mind of rose, lavender, and a sort of baby powder essence, which is strange when paired with the leathery, dirty flavor of the underlying tobacco, but not so strange as to be unpleasant.

If you're one of those dark and broody types who like the dark and broody flavors of such tobaccos as Black XX Twist or Kendal Dark, this'll be an interesting little change of pace. Also, if you still think that any Lakeland blend equals "oil of old lady," and unworthy of a diehard tobaccophile, well, chances are Coniston has more than enough real tobacco strength and flavor to change your mind.

Like Marmite, either you love it or you hate it. Well, I love it. In true honesty, I am impressed. Not as full as Dark Flake, but pretty much in that line, this baccy is. For burley/dark fired lovers, this tobacco is a must. The Lakeland casing is somewhat different from what I know, but it plays an important role giving this blend a very noticeable zesty and licoriceish flavour. The ratios seem to lean towards the burley side of the argument giving this blend a dark and full-bodied character. The nutty dimension this tobacco drives you into is something to die for and it somewhat reminds me of 1792 Flake. I am not sure it contains any Tonquin beans, but I think I can detect it. As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if it didn't. This tobacco is performing quite well in many fronts and will get a solid 4 star rating.

Among a dozen or more blends I first sampled in 2017 this one was undoubtedly The Discovery Of The Year. What a gem is this! Why didn't I try Coniston long ago...

At the first puff it might look like a crossbreed between Ennerdale Flake and Dark Flake: it's both floral and smoky. Upon closer inspection I came to conclusion that Coniston is superior to both.

Comparing to Ennerdale, Coniston's floral tone is much more subdued while more sustainable. Where the Ennerdale's olfactory burst greatly subsides by the middle of the bowl, the faint flow of sweet floral juice in Coniston remains almost unchanged through the rest of the smoke. And it's completely different juice than in Ennerdale (more pleasant to my taste, I should say).

It's not a Dark Flake sprinkled with a floral essence, either. Coniston is made of the same Dark Fire Cured leaf as the Dark Flake and equals it in fullness and richness but is noticeably mellower in strength.

Coniston is a lucky combination of Lakeland Aromatics and Dark Superstrongs: it's floral and strong, though not cloying or overpowering.

From now, Coniston Cut Plug is a new entry to My Personal Hall of Fame.

Highly Recommended.

A bit stronger yet smoother than the Floral Bosun Cut Plug and quite subdued with the Tonquin scent/flavoring compared to Dark Flake Scented. Not quite the overall strength of DFS, but a strong, full bodied, rich flavored plug. While the dark fired leaf dominates, the Burley and Virginia do add to the overall natural flavors and full bodiedness. Mostly tobacco flavor for me in this one as the scenting is light, just enough to compliment the aroma, without interfering with the natural rich tobacco flavors. Another winner from G&H IMHO and happily in my weekly rotation year round.