After ruining a perfectly good afternoon and a few formerly sharp knives, then running this...this...whatever through a coffee grinder, then drying it out forever, I was left with something I thought would be smokable. I was very, very wrong. I loaded it up in a corn cob of dubious heritage, then sat back for a relaxing smoke...not...I worked so hard getting it lit, I needed a crash helmet and a drool bucket. I ended up putting a few pellets of aquarium charcoal on top, fired up with a cigar torch and finally got a few puffs. Turns out the charcoal pellets tasted better than the hash, I mean tobacco. When the tobacco analog finally caught fire, I was overwhelmed with a sense of impending doom. I managed to struggle through a few more puffs. I threw the cob into my neighbors trash, chewed a few charcoal pellets, gargled with some Tabasco and chewed a few more pellets and a habanero.

I did't get the taste out of my mouth, but the guys in the ambulance and in the ER were very nice.

I love it for ever

The work needed to pack the pipe - cutting off small slices which are then cut into small cubes which are then 'gravity-fed' into the bowl - is also something that makes plug tobaccos stand apart from more 'modern' blends.

The tobacco base is excellent and the Patchouli flavoring is...well, something you either love or loathe, there is no middle ground.

The only thing I can say is: try it; however, maybe in a disposable pipe at first.

You won't be the first one to hate RB plug and neither the last one to love it.

I had trouble identifying the pouch aroma, but after reading other reviews, GINGERBREAD! I also detect cigar leaf.

The appearance of the plug is very dense looking somewhat like hashish for those of you who grew up in the hippy days.

This is not a tobacco for the beginner, period. Even for the experienced smoker, you will either like it or hate it. It takes a lot of time to prepare it for smoking. It can take hours to get it ready. The first chore is to cut it with a pocket knife and begin seperating the leaves (I have extremely sharp knives). After that comes breaking it up into smaller pieces and letting it air dry for about one to two hours. Next comes rubbing it out and that aint easy! Let it dry for a while longer and a little more rubbing and it's ready to go into the bowl. I suggest a large diameter bowl. I use a Savinelli with a 1" bore. Then comes the attempt to get it lit. It takes about three starter lites and gentle tamping and then about two to three actual lites and more [gentle] tamping. After it is finally burning, it will stay lit for the rest of the smoke. Sound like a heck of a lot of trouble? It is!

After the cutting, tearing, drying, rubbing, still more drying and rubbing, lighting, tamping, lighting ritual, the taste is, at least to me, somewhat pleasing. It had a fruity taste and I still taste and smell cigar binding. I do not find the room note personally too displeasing. However, I have not smoked this in front of my girlfriend. The dog does not hide in the corner and the cat does not give a darn.

Overall, I think being an Eagle Scout, working on the deck of an aircraft carrier, crawling under houses in a once time pest control business, mechanical design engineer and muzzle loading rifle builder gives me the patience to continue enjoying RB Plug.

Conclusion: I cannot give this more that a three star rating because of the difficulty of preperation and would probably give it 2-1/2 stars if it were available.

Keep your powder dry, Flintlock

This is as dense as any plug tobacco I've ever seen. The tobacco was pressed and steamed so much that the plug resembles s solid block. Looking closely you may find an impression of a leaf that was on the outside of the block here or there, but it looks more like a chunk of chocolate than tobacco.

Finally, the aroma. At my local B&M, a patron who smelled it for the first time gave what I consider to be the perfect description: "It smells like a Grateful Dead concert." The casing is very reminiscent of incense. I won't venture to guess what's in the casing, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of it and it is very distinctive.

I find three things invaluable when I want to smoke RB Plug. The first two are a flat-bottomed, shallow ceramic bowl and a very sharp knife. With a sufficiently sharp knife, you can cut flake-sized pieces of this tobacco off of whatever sized chunk you're working with. The bowl helps in that it will catch any bits of tobacco that work their way loose, set aside each "flake" as you create it, and cut the tobacco into whatever final shape you want for smoking. Personally I try to cut very thin flakes and then I rough them up a bit in my hands. (I say "rough them up" rather than "break them up" because the latter is beyond my abilities.) I make sure I have enough finely chopped tobacco for the top of my bowl, either through tobacco falling away as I cut or from chopping up one of the "flakes". You will probably want to wash your hands after you're done handling the tobacco. The plug is very wet and oily, and your hands will definately take on the aroma of the toppings.

The third implement that you will need is a pipe. I strongly recommend a small bowl for this tobacco. Also, whatever pipe you smoke this in is going to hold the flavor for a while, perhaps forever. Early on, I dedicated a Sasieni prince to this plug and it's been the perfect companion. The bowl is small, perhaps a Dunhill group 2, and it is wider than most bowls of that capacity.

I load the tobacco up in whatever manner suits the flakes I've created. This usually entails a combination of folding and wrapping the flakes until they fill the space inside of the bowl without being packed tightly. (Pack this stuff too tight, and you will not be able to get any air through the pipe.) I then sprinkle the small bits from the bottom of the cutting bowl on top, and tamp them lightly.

This tobacco does not light as easily as most. It's generally a 4 to 6 match affair, and it's one of the reasons that I finally broke down and bought an Old Boy lighter. Even with the lighter the tobacco will require multiple lightings. If you've packed the bowl well the tobacco will stay lit once it's started, but in general I expect a few relights throughout the bowl.

So far, I've described a tobacco that's powerfully cased, oily, difficult to prepare, hard to pack, and hard to light. Why would anyone even bother.

For me, it's worth every bit of trouble or even more. Once it's lit, the tobacco is an amazing experience. It's just the Virginias and the casing, but what a combination.

The Virginias are brightly sweet...one of the sweetest things I've ever tasted...but have absolutely no "cloying" sweetness at all. The tobacco feels dry in the mouth, with the casing being the perfect counter-point for the overwhelming sweetness of the Virginias. Half of the taste is just like the smell, the "Grateful Dead" smell. The other half is the amazing sweetness of the Virginias.

On their own the Virginias would likely be too simple and too sweet. But with the casing added, there are moments when the sweetness is accopmanied by a salty flavor, sometimes a very slight bitterness, and even a bit of smokiness at times. These flavors are fleeting, always returning quickly to the sweetness of the Virginias.

It would not surprise me to find out that most people find this blend abhorent. It's definately a combination that works for me, and it works very well. The tobacco demands to be smoked as slowly as possible, and tongue bite is only moments away if you start puffing hard...but with proper technique (especially breath smoking) this plug rewards me with a wonderful taste that I can experience nowhere else. I find it to be strong and sweet, and a great before-bedtime smoke.

This could never be an all day smoke for me. It's a "special occasion" smoke, for when I have the time to contemplate a bowl and to use all of my skills to maximize the flavor without moving into tongue-bite territory.

RB Plug smokes down to a very fine white ash. If loaded well, no tobacco will remain at the end of the bowl. The pipe will now taste like RB Plug. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to how one could remove this flavor from the bowl.

If you enjoy RB Plug, then I have one further recommendation for you. Occasionally fill up your RB pipe with a straight Virginia or a milder Virginia/Perique blend. The essence of the RB in the bowl will flavor the other tobacco; it's an easy way to experience the "RB taste" without having to go through the trouble of cutting up more RB Plug.

I have three pounds of this in my cellar...certainly more than I'll ever smoke. But this is one tobacco that I simply do not want to be without no matter what happens. If you like RB then chances are you'll love it. If you dislike it, chances are you'll hate it.

I'm giving this three starts based on my assumption that most people would not enjoy this enough to be bothered. For my personal rotation, though, this is definately a four-star smoke.

Spend your money elsewhere. This blend smoked exactly like it looked, butt ugly.

You reckon the club will ever re-admit me?

I should note that this tobacco has a VERY distinct and unique plug aroma, hard to define, but IMHO more fruity than floral, though the floral is there for sure.

The plug is very moist and sticky. I cut some very thin slices and dried them for about an hour before trying them. Still too moist, so more drying was necessary. As noted by above reviewers, even after it seems to have dried out, this stuff still crumbles in a moist manner. Since I like to smoke flakes broken (roughly rubbed out),I decided to try- against my better judgement- these damp flakes in a narrow, tall meer dedicated to floral-type Lakeland tobaccos.

While hard to get lit, this did ultimately smoke surprisingly well for feeling so moist. The flavor was fruity and complex, hints of soap and fruit, and yes, ginger bread. RBP is more spicy than floral. The strength is considerably less than 1792/Cob Plug, but the flavor is much more intense. Sweet too, even sweeter than Rum Flake. Even a small bowl of RBP lasts a deliciously long time, probably due to the density of the product. The flavor is there throughout the bowl, getting darker and richer (can a flavor be "darker"?) near the end. Curiously, given the moisture content, this RBP does not smoke especially hot.

I would emphatically NOT recommend this blend to anyone who is not a fan of scented tobaccos. The moisture problem can of course be remedied with a little patience. I have taken to slicing and drying about 5 bowls of tobac at once, and drying for several hours. (I hate to dry longer since I do not want the flavoring to volatilize.) This seems to be a good compromise in my dry climate. It is easy to slice in its moist form, and is kind of fun, if you like to play with your tobacco...

I just can't seem to leave this blend alone. It is not an all-day tobacco, as it is too intense. After dinner though, it is a great digestive. If this type of smoke fits your particular tastes, by all means give it a try. I am ordering more today.

The topping is fantastic. This is a classic, century old recipe that proves the Gawith greatness. It is elegant, refined, and a bite-free, cool smoke. The flavor is rich, as is the aroma. I cannot compare it to any other tobacco insofar, but a lychee scent is prevalent. The tobaccos are obviously virginias, and the taste is as sweet and aromatic as the room note. I might not smoke this indoors, but eventually the aroma dissipates, and you get much more of the tobacco taste towards the end of the bowl. It does not goop like so many aromatics do, and you're left with a fine, white, DRY ash. This tobacco has become a staple in my collection. My bride enjoys the smell, and unlike all the others I enjoy, this one doesn't turn her off.

This is a classic, brilliantly made tobacco, and it is worth every penny. God bless Gawith.