Samuel Gawith - Commonwealth Mixture pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
Showing reviews 1 through 20 of 90 reviews of this tobacco NEXT >
pufdragn63	08/07/2010	Medium	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Tolerable
I value my wife's opinion when it comes to Latakia blends, because I find that her nose is the best indicator of quality. She calls them my "leave him alone to smoke in peace and quiet" tobaccos because she hates the smell. However she is able to differentiate between them all with uncanny accuracy, for it seems that her reaction to the room aroma of a good stout English blend is inversely proportional to the actual quality of the smoke. She tells me English Luxury is "awful." "Erinmore Balkan is "shocking." Squadron leader "stinks." Frog Morton is "terrible." And she has always despised anything that came from the house of Dunhill. So, after loading my trusty Ashton XX Pebble Grain and setting it alight, I asked the good woman her opinion of Commonwealth Mixture. When she walked back inside the house, slamming the door behind her, I knew I was onto something extraordinary. If you like blends with a lot of Latakia, then Commonwealth is definitely worth trying. To my tastes it is cool, smooth and bite free. A one note song from start to finish, indeed it is, but what a note! Latakia all the way! Think coal tar, steam trains, leather, campfires, blacksmith shops of old, witch hazel, dust and old machinery. It won't save your marriage, but it might get you a bit of peace and quiet. In short, I think it is sublime.
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Kilmarnock Piper	07/18/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I agree with those reviewers who call this blend "one dimensional," because anything with 50% Latakia and 50% "heavily steamed" Virginia is likely to be somewhat one-dimensional. But what a pleasant dimension it is! (Yes, those who have read the other review I wrote tonight, of Esoterica Pembroke, will note that I described it in the same way.) This is not at all similar in taste, but is somewhat similar in style, in that it stays pretty much the same throughout the bowl, but that is ok, because if something is really good, it doesn't really need to change! My tin is, like the Pembroke tin, about 12 years old. Unlike Pembroke, there is no liquor topping in Commonwealth Mixture. What is similar is the mellowness of aged Latakia. This one has 50% Latakia, and though age takes away some of that lovely smokiness some Latakia lovers crave, I myself like that variety more when it has had time to mellow a bit. My sample of this blend is a joy to behold: when I first opened the tin a few weeks ago and poured the contents into my wooden blending bowl, there were sugar crystals on the mainly black or nearly black leaf, that sparkled when I moved the bowl around or changed my perspective. Changing perspectives in the smoke are more difficult to come by, though I can get some nuances by carefully altering the smoking rate, an art I am beginning to learn after three years of pipesmoking. I cannot get the range of flavors or overtones with this blend that I get with a fine old Virginia (though perhaps that could be attributed to my personal biases; it is true that while I appreciate all styles, I am mainly a Virginia smoker), but the flavor I do get is spectacular, and I could almost go to four stars on this one. Call it a three-and-one-half. There is no hint of bite in this, for me at least, though it does tickle the back of my throat a bit when I puff a little harder. If I wasn't always wanting to try new blends, it could be an all day smoke for me, though I would miss my Virginias after a while. There may be a light topping here, but I can't identify it. It may just be a product of the aging and "steaming," and all I can say is that the nose is somewhat flowery. No matter, I like it!
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ProfessorBrown	07/16/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Tolerable
I love heavy Latakia blends, and this is a good one. It was missing some "awesomeness", however, and a little one dimensional, but is still a pleasure to smoke. it was consistently good through the entire bowl. 3 stars
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Tom Bombadill	06/02/2010	Strong	None detected	Full	Strong
If you enjoy latakia/oriental blends this mix is well worth a try. Without a doubt it's the strongest/heaviest latakia blend I've smoked. At first it was almost too strong and I wondered how long the tin would be around before I finished it off. The more I smoked it, the more I liked it. It is certainly not complex. Latakia all the way with a slight sweetness from the virginias. (I am smoking it in rotation with a light oriental, SG Grousemoor and WC Bada-bing.) It's the kind of blend I like to smoke outside. Also, it doesn't appeal to me as an all day smoke due to its strength. At first, even though I grew to enjoy it, I didn't think I would buy more, but now I'm sure at some point I'll gladly revisit this blend. Four(4) full strength latakia stars!
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Brian	05/05/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable
A friend that didn't care for this gave me a tin of this today. Not a complex tobacco by any means but one for lovers of Latakia. A good smoke, nothing exciting or dull. I'll keep it in the cellar & not sure if I will by more of it but time will tell.
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pencils	05/01/2010	Medium	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong
On the back of all that I have heard about the monochromatic nature of this tobacco, I expected it to be somewhat dull. For what it's worth, I agree that it is monochromatic but neither dull nor monotonous. After every bowl I had the same feeling - "Hmm, that was pretty straightforward. No real highs or lows. Same at the start as at the finish". I still managed to polish off 50g in less than a fortnight. Tasty, latakia, relaxing. I liked it a lot.
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Alexander	04/23/2010	Medium to Strong	None detected	Full	Very Pleasant
Good, just very good. Plenty of quality latakia and VA. Too moist, needs to dry out. Maybe not comparable with ex. Westminster GLP but still excellent. A good day smoke.
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Fellow traveler	04/09/2010	Medium	None detected	Overwhelming	Strong
The tin smell is strong of smokey fires. I enjoy it. The taste is another thing. The smoke is creamy and smooth, with no hint of rough edges or bite. The initial light is smokey latakia which smoothes out to sweet mild virginia, then the combined taste begins getting stronger and stronger and stronger. Soon it overwhelms your palate, almost like smoking a strong cigar. Like all Gawith blends it is silky in your mouth with no hint of harshness or bitterness. Like diving into cold water, the initial shock is invigorating, then you enjoy it for a while, then go numb and it is not fun anymore. That is what this blend is to me, no fun anymore. But in all fairness it lives up to its description, and if you want a strong but mellow and smooth blend full of latakia, this is a good one. I personally will never buy it again, though I love the brand and enjoy Skiff and SL.
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Virginia lover	02/11/2010	Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
For the Latakia enthusiast. The Virginia acts as a filler, not a bad thing.
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Phantom55	12/15/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
A very nice two tobacco English. Not particularly strong, but very mellow throughout the bowl. Many blends have 50% latakia, but in this one, it is not overwhelming. The steamed, probably African, Va does not bite, and provides flavor. A very nice smooth smoke which goes well with morning coffee for English smokers.
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Nachman	12/14/2009	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
I never thought I would find a blend with too much Latakia, but this is my first. It is somewhat one dimensional, like smoking a blending tobacco. I have ordered some turkish to try to improve it. Edit: I added some Turkish 92OZ TO 8OZ Commonwealth) and let it age for a while. It is better, but still not one of my favorites. I love Westminster and think I will let Greg do the blending for me.
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quantumboy	12/13/2009	Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
Your tastebuds will revolt. They will picket, they'll throw rocks, they'll beg for mercy. "The Latakia? You can't handle the Latakia!" If you think you know what a Latakia slap feels like, you ain't seen nothin' yet! But perhaps I exaggerate. Or not. Your tongue will wonder what it did to make you treat it like this. Then it'll beg for more. "Come on Baby, make it hurt so good!" The label says "Full Strength Mixture." No, 'ya think??? Gotta tell you, I don't often write a tobacco review after only one bowl, but this one's a no-brainer. If you like Latakia, GET SOME OF THIS! (sorry, didn't mean to shout...) Starts off smooth, ends up smooth. Starts off rich, ends up richer. Starts off creamy, ends with an explosion of flavor. Starts off full, ends up FULL. Don't confuse strong flavors with harshness. The quality of the Latakia is amazing, and of course building on a foundation of SG Virginias guarantees the building will stand strong. No way you're gonna forget there's a pipe in your maw. Gotta order more...gotta order more...gotta order more...
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ItarPeyo	12/12/2009	Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Strong
Like it's sibling Squadron Leader this needs drying out after popping the tin. Don't waste butane/matches trying to smoke this out of a freshly opened tin + it might bite back. Some view this as lacking complexity because of the ingredients, you have the virginias and lots of cyprian latakia and that's it. Here the complexity lies in the progression. It starts of with a sharp latakia attack which gradually leads to "soapyness" and becomes creamy and at the same time the sweetness of the virginias starts to surface somewhere at the last third of the bowl. The room note repels people, but sometimes it's a good thing. I'd give SL 3.9 and commonwealth 3.6 stars, both losing 0.1 star because of the moisture level in a fresh tin, but I'd rather dry than remoisturize my tobacco.
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forecastle	12/01/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium	Strong
I bought this blend from my local tobacco purveyer as I was looking for a new English blend and have let it sit in a pouch for roughly a week. After drying it out (which it does seem to need) I gave it a quick tar and tamp, and began to try this blend. The first two-thirds of the bowl are creamy and rich with the taste of Latakia which is well grown and robust, much like a good coffee without the heat. The tobacco burns cool and even and has a very enjoyable aftertaste. The end of the bowl takes on a sweet tone lent to it by the "heavily steamed" Virgina tobacco. This is a very nice flavor as it melds well with the taste of the Latakia creating a great blending sensation. I prefer to call this a two-note tobacco because of it's robust start, and sweet finish. Commonwealth is an English blend that is almost sure to please any palate looking for a exceptional tobacco. It is easy to see why it is compared to other big names in the latakia/English families. The only downside is the room note as it is sure to be offensive to some if not many.
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DrDyson	11/26/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong
This is a very fine tobacco when you’re in the mood for Latakia. It’s a little one-dimensional, as several reviewers have remarked. This isn’t a problem for me, but it’s worth pointing out to people who like nuance and complexity that this is not at all a sophisticated or demanding tobacco: no orientals, but a good, stout blend of sweet Virginia and pungent Cyprian Latakia. The two components complement each other in a way that seems to me just about perfect. I don’t find that the Latakia, though very much a presence, swamps or overpowers the qualities of the Virginia. Taken as a whole, the package gives a smoke that’s smooth, tasty, fairly slow burning and easy on the tongue. Perhaps people will know what I mean if I call it a ‘winter’ smoke. Although it’s said to be a full-strength mixture, and although it punches you quite hard on the nose when you open the tin, I don’t find that CM has a particularly high nicotine content. To my mind there are two negatives, though not very serious ones. One is that it comes very moist in the tin: it really does need quite a lot of drying. I see that several reviewers have said that it improves a good deal with age; I’m not surprised to hear it. Another negative is its very pronounced and distinctive room note. It isn’t unpleasant if you like the heavy, sharp-edged fragrance of Latakia mixtures, but innocent bystanders may well reel away choking. In terms of my own preferences, this isn’t an all-day smoke; I have to be in a Latakia mood, and that doesn’t happen all that often. When I am, though, I like CM a lot. On this basis, I think that three stars would be a fair rating.
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Thorre	11/20/2009	Medium	None detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong
Commonwealth is a good straight forward pipe tobacco. Quality Latakia and Virginia. This is the smoke I imagine walking across Middle Earth with. The mountains, the forest, and the plains. Sitting around the campfire at night. Pulling out of my leather pouch, and smoking. Just a simple pleasure.
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late-nitedrydrunk	11/11/2009	Mild to Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant
Every year after the first frost when the leaves begin to fall from the trees, I get a sweet tooth for some latakia. This is what I'll smoke. All of this latakia is intoxicating. And the virginias used are top notch. While not as complex as some other more traditional englishes, the taste is straight forward and full. One would have to try commonwealth to fully appreciate other reviewers comments about the creaminess of the smoke.
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Xeneize	11/06/2009	Medium	None detected	Medium	Tolerable
Nicely balanced sweet Virginias and Cyprian Latakia for a solid smoke that will please the Latakia needs of English smokers. It's rather monodimimensional, but the sweetness and mellowness of Virginias make up for the lack of depth.
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PeterD	07/10/2009	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable
This mixture may well indeed be one dimensional, but the dimension appears to be rather expansive. By that, I mean that I enjoy a variety of flavors and taste from the basic components of Virginia and Latakia. I also keep this mixture fairly moist which I prefer over the dry, but find that as always, moisture plays a significant role, perhaps more than most tend to think about or give credit to. As a matured virginia plug smoker for over 45 years, I do enjoy some of the heavy Balkan type flakes or plugs and keep them in my rotation. If this were available in plug form it would suit me far more than the "broken flake". I buy this in 1 lb bulk, and I don't see nor have I ever seen a true broken flake with this tobacco. I smoke this in a group 5 straight billiard. I especially like this in the morning with tea or coffee. In the evening with a smokey scotch. Definitely worth a good try! ....a pipe is to be savored.
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catdaddy	06/21/2009	Medium	None detected	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
This is one that I can't get enough of - the can that's always near empty. I never buy it in bulk because I'm afraid it wouldn't taste the same as is sometimes the case but I'm content buying tins. Love the richness of this smoke. One of my top 5.
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