Flavor did not resemble honeydew but it was pretty robust, whatever it was. The flavoring level was up there with Ennerdale but wasn't quite as over-the-top. It was quite nice. I cut the plug into small cubes for loading and had no problems getting it alight. Burned just fine, albeit with a few relights. Pretty good nic content but not overpowering. As with most G&H Lakelands, the flavor did not dissipate down the bowl. As I smoke meerschaums almost exclusively, the ghosting was minimal. I'm not good at naming flavorings, but this was flowery and fairly strong but not as much so as Ennerdale, which I love. The main difference between the two is that whatever they flavor Ennerdale with is the flavoring I prefer. Your mileage may vary. This is a great tasting tobacco, as I expect from G&H, and is definitely recommended.

PS: Whomever suggested this was a good DGT blend was right on. Plus...I don't think there's another blend in the whole wide world that give such impact per the cost. It's like getting the Acme Anvil of Lakeland flavors dropped on your little Wiley Coyote head...with each and every puff.

Where does this one fall in the overall scope of all things Gawith? Well, I characterized Coniston Cut Plug as the 'Goldilocks Blend' in that it fell into that perfect and ideal zone in which every aspect was, just right. Following on that kind of metaphore...this one is the 'Tinkerbell Blend'. It's a blend that'll bring a dead fairy back to life.

This tobacco starts out with the same base as Kendal Plug, of which Best Brown Flake is a sliced version. As such, many of you may have smoked this tobacco before and know the properties it brings (i.e. nicotine, strength). What you likely haven't sampled before is the unique topping.

I ordered a 2 oz plug of this from smokingpipes.com a while ago and was very impressed. It came in a ziploc bag and looked broken off a larger plug. I've since ordered two 1 lb plugs from tobacco supermarket for aging. As with other SG tobaccos, this has been hard to come by lately.

Honeydew best describes this, as it is sweet and slightly floral, without being overpowering. I usually don't go for aromatic type tobaccos, but this is making me rethink.

I usually find aromatics taste more of burnt sugar and/or chemicals than tobacco. This gives a fruit flavour on top of tobacco, but nothing offensive like you'd get from something labelled 'black cherry' or 'raspberry delight'. This tobacco suits me fine when I am in the mood for something sweet. With a cup of tea on a summer's day, it's a dream.

Like other plugs, I find that this does better in a medium-larger pipe.

Order 2 oz when you get a chance. The aroma of the plug is a little overwhelming, and so is the charring light. Take your time with it. Devote a clean pipe with a medium-large bowl and keep an open mind...it just may grow on you!

When I first got this plug, I was overwhelmed with the odor. I cut some off, rubbed and started to smoke, it was overpowering. I felt kind of dumb for getting a whole pound. The first bowl did not make me happy, and the room note was cloying.

I figured I would try making some snuff from it. Crazy? Maybe. I dried out a 1" cube and while reducing it in size, decided to set a bowl's worth aside for the pipe. The cube rubbed and cut out to quite a nice pile of tobacco. Beautiful golden virginia, how could this not be good?? The odor had lessened considerably after airing out overnight.

After it has some time to air out and dry, it changes dramatically. A bowl can last me days, it smokes so slow and steady, and the DGT is sublime, right off the match. It is a very, very nice blend after airing out a good while. No bite, burns clean and dry to a light gray ash. A nice semi-sweet flavor, with notes of vanilla, honey, and angel food cake. The wonderful tobacco does come through as well, gorgeous golden virginias. I love this as a dessert smoke, and it is no wimpy smoke either, very relaxing and delicious, makes my head warm. The room note is pleasant, and the wife does not complain. The snuff I made from it is very good as well. I adore this blend, and it scores an easy four or more stars from me.

Cannon Plug had a very rotted fruit smell from the moment I opened the package. I took a swak and shaved it. The smell is still on my fingers a week later. I was smart enough to grab an old pipe reserved for aromatics. Although not really aromatic in flavor, Cannon Plug does leave its taste and scent in your pipe long after the tobacco has been consumed. I will own up to the fact that only a quarter bowl was consumed before I decided I was no longer in a strange mood.

Somewhat recommended for those who go totally against the grain in all that they do.

I suspect smoking more than a few bowls would ghost a pipe, so consider yourself warned...

UPDATE I did a chunky cube cut, left it like that for a long time, and then recently hand crushed the cubes down into something that resembled fish food flakes. In this format, with lots of time to rest and good drying, the scent is no longer overwhelming, and is enjoyable to me. (Then again, my tastes are probably a bit broader now than when I last reviewed this.)

For my second bowl, I used a whole leaf that had fallen off the bulk plug, and wadded it up and simply inserted it into the bowl. It smoked just fine, and I got a mainline of that scent, which, if I do not tire of it, may well become a welcome companion to my smoking experience. I'm sure I will not want him (her?) around all the time-i.e. maybe I need to dedicate a pipe to this blend. I'm sure I will need pure unadulterated Virginia still, but I just might go on a kick with this weed!

The plug is a thing of beauty in the bag. The scent can be smelled easily through the plastic! I got it from a popular internet retailer named after a certain planet in the solar system, or Roman god. I ordered with it an equal 4 oz sample of the more natural Kendal Plug and some Turkish blending tobacco. The tobacconist sent me extra of each, and the plugs look more like 6 oz than 4. This supplier has done this for me before without provocation, and when this happens, it makes me want to reciprocate by giving them some free advertising, a free plug, so to speak.

Well, I will certainly have fun with this. I will update my review if I feel differently about the blend in any way, positive or negative, or just to relate how it changes with aging. One note: this plug is quite a bargain at about 10 or 11 dollars for 4 oz, so even if you hated it, it would make a great hockey puck or mantlepiece curio.

1-11-10 I will not smoke this all the time, but it is a great change of pace. For everyday, I recommend Kendal plug.

I smoked the cannon plug in a new corn cob pipe. I have found that a briar does not give the same characteristics as a corn cob. Additionally, I have found it is necessary to have a tobacco cutter to get a smokable flake. If you like plugs, it is well worth your time and money to pick one up off of eBay!

The flavors where incredible, very dessert like in nature; the aromatic nature of this tobacco does not posses an artificial chemical nature, as found in most aromatics. Some describe the smell to be of patchouli, I strongly disagree. It has its own essence. To describe it is like trying to describe what a banana taste like to someone who has never tried it. The smoke was pleasant, fruit and flower like, smooth, and non-biting. Albeit, it is is probably best to smoke this outside, because the smell will linger a while after wards.

The first pipe full was so pleasant, I had to grab another pipe and lit up again. I truly fell in love with this tobacco, and look forward to smoking it again soon.

One thing about this tobacco is that you can actually pull out individual tobacco leaves. They have all been coated in the topping and folded around in various ways and pressed into this plug. However, I noticed that when you pull the leaves apart, your fingertips become covered in a brownish oil, apparently the topping. However, the tobacco does not seem to have been packed wet. The only wetness I find is the oiliness of the topping. I also left this sealed in my car and the smell quickly spread around the car, but it didn't soak into the upholstry or ruin the smell of the car, despite what others have said.

The only way I've been able to pack this is seperate the leaves and drop them into the pipe. Lighting is extremely difficult; I had to light 3-4 times to get it going, and once I did, I tasted no difference than what I had smelled when I recieved it in the mail. It tastes and smells like patchouli. In fact, even though the topping doesn't seem to be sickeningly strong, it completely overtakes the tobacco taste; I taste no tobacco in this blend at all. After I smoked it, I was sure I would be on some kind of drug trip, it tastes and smells so much like a hookah shop. However, despite the strong flavor, it does not seem to have a noticible amount of chemicals that soak the cake in the pipe; it smoked dry and with a white ash.

One thing that I did not find in this blend was an extremely strong or sickening taste. I was even told by others around me that the aroma was pleasant. The tobacco seems to be relatively mild. The flavoring is not sickeningly strong either, but omnipresent. This blend is one-dimensional and tastes like patchouli. If you like patchouli, buy this. However, you will not find any natural or tobacco related taste here at all.

Dan

The plug aroma consists in something like honeydew melon, brown sugar, black coffee, and bread. In the bowl it tastes like the plug aroma suggests it will except the bread is more like toasted English muffins. Upon re-entering the man cave it smells like toasted muffins.

I do not find the plug difficult. I slice enough for one bowl. I tease it and gravity feed it. I do not dry it. It burns cool and dry for me. No bite, no gurgle. It is not harsh. I encounter more throat irritation with straight Virginias like Old Gowrie, FVF, Cut Va Plug, and the like. I love them, but I smoke them infrequently.

Cannon plug is strong and full tasting, but pleasant and refreshing. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys Kendal tobaccos.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing Cannon Plug to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.

I put the Plug out of the little Bag and let him drie 3-4 Days in my Livingroom. After 4 Days i cut the Plug into slices and then to cube cut. After that "work" i let the cube cuts again drie out for 1-2 hours.Then the little cube cuts are not sticky any longer.

I filled my Pipebowl without pressure! And then i had a not to Strong Flavor anymore! :-) the flavor is sweet,honeysweet with a light Parfume note from the beginning to the end.

This Tobacco need his own Pipe.(Crossover)

4 Stars!

How am I going to get the smell out of all those fish?

I get it. It's flavored with "Chevrolet" not "Cheviot". Or, it could be flavored with "Chevron"...about 90 Octane would be my best guess.

This is the Mother-in-law of tobaccos. At first there's no way to understand it, much less like it. You need to leave it outside for a while, until the perfume wears off a bit, and then bring it inside, when you have some free time and an open mind. That said, I'm talking about a tobacco here, not my mother-in-law. . . I tear the plug into half inch thick pieces length-wise and let it air out in the plastic bag. Then i cut slices, the thinner the better, and rub out roughly. Let it dry and fire up. The, uh, scenting on this is Strong. But it's really grown on me. Given a little air time, the tobacco taste will come through, and it is good tobacco. Dark and deep, the flavor will be hard to find in all the spice and perfume high notes, but it is there. I understand all the low ratings for this plug, but I like it quite a lot. It's scented, not aromatic. I.e. no goop or glop. (technical terms) Given a chance, well, many chances, this is good, if misunderstandable, smoke.

Here in the present, though, this is another fantastic blend of quality leaf that is overwhelmed by the topping.

Out of the bag (bulk purchase), the plug smells like Christmas: Cloves, oranges, spices, children being chased by giant living nutcracker soldiers, etc.

But after a few minutes, that happy troop of scents is replaced by an irritating and cloying smell that lingers and begins to saturate everything in the room. Keep this stuff in the mason jar that housed your stinkiest topped flakes, otherwise it will creep into everything. And test it out in a cob or something bought for abuse until you're sure you love this stuff.

The taste is just too much to bear for me, and the nicotine punch is also serious enough to put it in the rope-strength category.

Worth a try if only for the historical aspect, but it is not for the faint of heart---or nose.

UPDATE: When ground up and sprinkled around garden shed walls, this blend may actually be more useful as pest control for ants and mice.