This is IMO far and away the best SG tobacco. The only minor quibbles that I have are (a) that it comes a little too moist in the tin, and (b) that the flakes tend to be rather thick and difficult to rub out (at least this was true of the 50 gm tin I bought). But these drawbacks are so insignificant compared to the plus points of this tobacco as to be hardly worth mentioning.

A first-class all day smoke. Absolutely outstanding.

I waited for a long time to try this, and its lack of availability elevated it to a status beyond what I reasonably should have expected of it. That said, I did like this, and it is a nice smoke.

I do not claim to be anything but a novice at Virginia tobaccos, but I'll tell you what I think anyway:

The flakes are darket in color than one might expect, and in the tin they smell of raisins. The flakes are not tightly pressed, and would fall apart in a stiff breeze. Suffice it to say they rub out very easily, and pack effortlessly.

The tobacco is bright, tangy, buttery and lightly sweet, but is light and unobtrusive. So light in flavor that you'll taste the ghost of whatever you smoked before, and you'll have to dedicate a bowl to it. I had smoked Royal Yacht previously in this briar, and the Royal Yacht's ghost almost overpowered the Gawith for the first bowl or two. The flavors are there if you look for them, and they're worth looking for.

Yes this is justly ranked very high with many reviews. I waited months for the online sellers to restock and was not disappointed.

About this rumor that K&K is taking over the manufacturing, I contacted Samuel Gawith and this is what they had to say:

"Dear Geoffrey

There is ABSOLUTELY NO TRUTH whatsoever in this. KK are our distributors in Germany and that is all. Spread the word !! Best regards Bob Gregory"

Dark flakes producing a rich, creamy taste with a hint of spiceness and sweetness.

It might have a tendency to bite at times if not smoked carefully.

It produces a dry, kind of brownish ash...

As K&k seems to have taken over, I will wait and see the new production's feedback before buying any.

I feel like a good era in pipe tobacco has been closed with this take over. I don't understand why Samual Gawith has relinquished its rights over such wonderful products.

My advice, open a tin & let it sit for a week or two to "mellow" out. Then enjoy, repeat as necessary.

4 out of 4.

Personal Rating 10 of 10 (rare)

Tobacco reviews rating 4 of 4

The tobacco is sweet, tasty, and very morish. If you want to just sit back, relax, and enjoy then you cant go far wrong with this.

Upon opening the tin, I was surprised to see the flakes to be a lot darker in colour than I was expecting. The tin aroma was fantastic with just a hint of dried fruit and no casing. Just simple plain old tobacco.

My tin benefited from ageing for about two months. It was smokable off the shelf, but the flakes were a little moist, and seemed to burn a bit hot when I first bought it.

The last time I smoked this was out of an Amorelli bent billiard pipe.

The flakes were easy enough to break up, but I was not completely satisfied with the consistency at which I was able to break them up. It seemed like the best I could do was to get them like a ready rub flake.

The charring light was fantastic. Smooth, dark, and rich. I could almost swear I detected a little perique in this blend, but it may have just been my senses playing tricks on me. Either way I liked it, and hope that is a continued characteristic of this tobacco.

It was strong, but not too strong. I was able to leave my park bench feeling quite satisfied, but not in a sleepy trance that I get from some VAs.

This blend burned down to a fine white ash, and never got too hot. I did notice that care must be taken while enjoying this tobacco, for it will bite if you let it get away from you.

All and all, not my favourite Virginia on the market, but for how it was presented and advertised, I would say it measured up to its promises.