Samuel Gawith - Perfection pipe tobacco reviews

Review

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Reviewed By:	Date:	Strength:	Flavoring:	Taste:	Room Note:	Recommendation:
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tonyg	12/21/2007	Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Zulujerk says it all. The only difference is that Perfection will never again see the inside of any of my pipes. A couple of bowlfuls or this is enough for a lifetime.
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constantsmoker	07/26/2007	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
I like to characterize this blend as a milder version of Gawith's other fine blend, Commonwealth. The additon of Turkish/Orientals and a decrease in Latakia yield a pleasant, flavorful smoking experience. The "hint of Vanilla" is but dimly perceptible upon opening the tin, which I found gratifying, for I feared a heavy-handed aromatic couched as a Balkan blend. The tobacco fires up nicely, and the balance of sweet Virginias, slightly fragrant and spicey Turkish, and smokey Latakia is...well, Perfection (almost). I find it a great all-day or every day smoke. Not only is this a nicely balanced tobacco blend, and a perfect introduction to Balkan blends; it is part of a great Gawith 'family' of Commonwealth, Squadron Leader, Balkan Flake and Navy Flake.
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Nick O'Teen	06/24/2007	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable
Tastes to me like a slightly sweeter version of Squadron Leader, which is not a bad thing. Another solid smoke from Sam Gawith.
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Backwoods Piper	12/10/2006	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant
I must admit this smoke let me down. Any tin that depicts a hunting dog should contain an exceptional tobacco right? Guess I can't use that as a gauge for a good tobacco any more. All kidding aside I thought this tobacco would have a little more fanfare associated with a name like Perfection. Upon opening the tin you will find a predominantly ribbon cut tobacco with some broken flake mixed in. The VA's dominate this blend with a hint of Latikia and Turkish chiming in. All at once a fade to Vanilla I guess I just can't adjust to this kind of a pairing. Kind of like I don't find ketchup an appealing compliment to french toast. This isn't an awful tobacco in fact it smokes cool and clean. This tobacco just misses the boat on your hybrid english aromatic blends. I will finish this tin but I doubt I will purchase this one again. Sorry Sam.............hey is it too late to trade this tin for a tin of Best Brown?
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Sasquatch	12/09/2006	Mild to Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable
Well, Sam Gawith struck out on this one. Mixing Captain Black and Standard Mixture Mild does not yield anything that excites me. I just could not get this blend to taste like much of anything. Room note is all right. Maybe a transitional mix for some - it's easy enough to smoke, and quality is high. For me, I'd rather sink into some Commonwealth or Squadron Leader if I want an English, and if I want an aromatic, I'll hit the Captain Black or Argosy or something. Once again, a tobacco tries to do it all, and comes out flat.
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bigbowls	11/20/2006	Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I opened up the tin and said to myself "oh no, not another Latakia blend." I was really hoping for a tasty vanilla taste sensation. Well, once I lit the bowl, I was not at all disappointed. The initial burst of flavor was indeed a smooth Latakia. But, it was quickly followed up with just a hint of vanilla...a very tasty vanilla. Easy to keep lit and very tasty, I will be adding this to my regular rotation.
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Ben Rich	11/13/2006	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
This is a very well-behaved tobacco and one I enjoy very much as a morning smoke. It packs well, lights well, and stays lit; while its flavor is non-exceptional it is still exceptionally satisfying. It is the tobacco that I take if I must travel for a few days because I know it will behave itself - it will satisfy my nicotine requirements without overdoing it and, while its flavor is not as emphatic as, say, GLP's Odyssey, or as monochromatic as Samuel Gawith's Best Brown Flake, it delivers just enough flavor and resonances to make it worth toting along. It is the sort of tobacco, which, if I did not enjoy some variety in my life, would probably become my staple all-day, every-day smoke. Highly recommended. Eventually I hope to buy it in bulk and put away about a pound or more to age.
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NapaWineLover	10/28/2006	Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant
This tobacco is exceptional and delivers IMO what it promises. A very lightly aromatic (read that - softened aromas with a mysterious creamy yet not easily identified as vanilla-ish tone) When I bought this I cleared out a small tobacconist's aged stock of a few tins. This tobacco has English breeding and is what I call a very "public" tobacco. I found the flavors to be quite good. As I read some of the reviews, I notice that the lower ratings came from those that seemlingly expected something else. Cheers, VC *Update to 9/05 review above - I've downgraded this blend because I have found other blends that ring this bell with higher quality tobacco and better consistency.
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Relapse	08/22/2006	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant
Other than the bad joke square tins of all SG tobaccos, this one is a must. If you like -as I emphatically do- English or "Balkan" style blends, you will find this rather unique blend a tasteful variant. The advertised vanilla topping is virtually non-existant and it serves only to make its room note a pleasant one that wont make your non-smoker companions flee for the door. The taste is full, although with an almost dessert-like quality. The VA's are sweet and round, the orientals deliciously mild and the latakia prominent but not overpowering. The latter provides also a cedar timberland aroma that tops the blend very well. I cannot understand how some folks find this mixture boring. To me its certainly straightforward, lacking some of the complexity that many English style blends display, not always to their best advantage. Perfection on the other hand is like a fine steak grilled to perfection in comparison to a sauced tournedo that depends on the recipe to hide its shortcomings. It's a superbly simple apple pie vs. a complex chocolate and truffle cake... You know what I mean. As of today, I've gone through some 600g (12 tins) of Perfection and it has all but replaced Squadron Leader as my morning smoke. Of course, I reach for heavier mixtures at special times but I might smoke this one exclusively and not miss the variety much. BTW, it ages fast. Some tins, purchased six months ago are displaying a much nicer character than the new tins. I plan to get some twenty tins, wrap them in several layers of Saran Wrap to avoid vacuum leaks and set them aside to age a few years. If I live to smoke them I bet they will be a treat. - - - - Added August 22, 2006 - - - - - In addition, this must be one of the noblest blends around. It behaves extremely well in most types of bowls, tall and narrow or squat and wide. It packs easily, resisting overpacking. Keeps lit unless you purposefully let it go out, smokes cool even to the point when you cannot hold the bowl because of its temperature; even then, it fails to scorch your tongue no matter how fast you puff. The sweet dessert-like taste is there from the first puff down to the dottle, which, BTW, is almost nonexistant except in pipes with a deep heel below the airhole. A blend to enjoy wholly.
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peakbagger	04/15/2006	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I didn't know what to expect with the addition of vanilla to a Latakia blend but I was pleasantly surprised; this is a fine tobacco. The blend looks very similar to Squadron Leader (in the tin) but has a darker, more pungent flavor. The aroma of vanilla is only slightly sensed and it is hardly tasted but does seem to add some smoothness to the blend. This isn't an everyday smoke for me but when in the mood for it I find it delightful. 7 out of 10 stars
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emmbee	04/05/2006	Mild to Medium	None detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
I agree with distinguished gentleman: this is the most interesting, yet decidedly bland tobacco you'll ever try. It's full of mono-dimensional complexity, if such a description exists. It's cool, wet, damp and musky like an English autumn. I almost believe that this tobacco is boiled, not steamed. Imagine bangers and mash or steak and kidney pie - comforting stuff but after 5 or 6 mouthfuls, you get the idea. A truly distinguished English, nonetheless. Kind of what I had hoped Dunhill 965 or the Standard Medium would be like prior to its outsourcing. Gawith is still a steadfastly English blending house, and compared to a lot of the crap now being made in Denmark or Germany, this is a cut above. A blend no fastidious Anglophile pipe smoker should miss. Three of five stars
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thedstnguishdgntlmn	04/03/2006	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
This truly is the most complex and interesting "Boring Tobacco" on the market. I say that with great respect to this mixture. Always cool, flavorful, and dry. It has a wonderfully deep flavor that pretty much remains the same from 1st light to dottle. It seems only to get more mellow and sweeter in a Latakia sort of way as you go down the bowl. Truly a British Tobacco. I love it and recommend it to anyone who simply appreciates a good English Mixture.
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Philo Beddoe	02/26/2006	Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant
Deceptive, I was expecting a strong english with some vanilla on top. But this is about as easy to smoke as it could be. No aromatic burn or loss of flavor. This blend is smooth and tasty. This is my first S. Gawith blend and it will certainly not be my last. The flavor is not an obvious vanilla as you would expect but instead more thick and creamy, lucious like a chardonnay barrelled in oak.
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Lancelot Gobbo	10/18/2005	Medium to Strong	None detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable
Perfection seems to me to be on the border between an English blend and a Balkan. The orientals and latakia are much more forward than in a standard english tobacco. It resembles Nightcap in many ways apart from the extra smokiness of the latakia, which is much more easily noticed here, even though it may not be in the same percentage. It's a bit like I imagine mixing one third Balkan Sobranie with two thirds Nightcap. A balkanized Nightcap, or perhaps a Squadron Leader posted to duty in Serbia! A gentle introduction to the balkan style, it light easily, stays lit, and smokes to a powdery ash. Don't puff fast or it will nip your tongue, but this is easily managed. Plenty of nicotine in there too.
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Professor	08/19/2005	Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable
Perfection from Samuel Gawith is a pleasantly mild smoke. I fully expected to note a stronger vanilla casing in smoking this weed, but the casing is barely noticeable. The touch of Latakia, however, is welcome and helps to keep the Virginia base from becoming boring. I enjoy Perfection even though I will not rush to purchase more. Samuel Gawith blends much better tobacco. Nevertheless, Perfection is enjoyable and a respite from my catalogue of standards.
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	08/10/2005	Strong	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong
Perfection by Sam Gawith may be just that. This tobacco is a mostly dark mixture with some yellow or gold ribbons thrown in. There are also some small ribbons of brownish tobacco. This tobacco is interesting in smell. First, you catch the smell of a latakia, followed by a beautiful Virginia-type tobacco. Last but not least is a hint of vanilla - just enough to make one unsure of what awaits. Perfection packs al ittle springy, but after an initial light and tamp, burns easily. The match unleashes a taste treat - a very nice English style tobacco with a slight aromatic on top. Just enough vanilla to make the room smell pleasant, and provide a twist for the smoker. This burns to a clean ash and gets better in a pipe dedicated to it.
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monkeybong	08/03/2005	Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant
Trying this blend for the first time today. I wish I had found it earlier; this is the way tobacco is supposed to be. I did expect this to be a fuller blend from the aroma coming from the bag, and I am slightly disappointed, which is why I give it three stars instead of four. Like one of the earlier reviews stated, I don't notice any vanilla at all, which is fine with me. Give it a try.
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Dizz	05/28/2005	Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant
The cut of this tobacco is strange. While described as a broken flake, what you mostly have is ribbon with a few chunks of broken flake. I think this is due to the flake being nearly fully rubbed out. Just don't expect a broken flake a la McClelland. The mixture is a nice mottled variation of browns that packs well and is stored at a good humidity for aging and immediate smoking. An easy pack after the ribbons are fluffed a bit. It lights well and burns evenly. The vanilla is far from cloying, just a quiet note behind a Turkish-VA melody. The latakia is negligible. Not complex, it is a pleasantly sour, medium-bodied, and consistent smoke from start to finish. The way the vanilla is used is different from anything else I've smoked--instead of a sweetness bringing the vanilla to the fore, it folds into a delicate sourness.
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Elric	04/19/2005	Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant
Ahh, Perfection! My first foray into the Samuel Gawith tobacco line and it certainly urges me to continue my explorations. Tin aroma is standard English fare but the edges are softened just a bit by the vanilla topping. Speaking of which, the topping is so parsimoniously applied as to be a virtual no-show during the actual smoking of this fine blend (however, being a predominantly aromatic smoker, I may simply be a bit jaded). The tobacco is moist but not to the point that it incurs any lighting or smoking penalty. In fact, the smoke is surprisingly dry and light. The flavor of the tobacco itself takes centerstage and is exceptionally enjoyable, indoors or out. The latakia component seems quite light for an English blend but I also consider that a plus in this instance. The second half of the bowl is, by far, the better with Perfection. It seems to stove itself a bit and release a number of complementary and complex flavors. This is simply good stuff and I'll endeavor to keep a tin handy at all times. 4/05 Update Ahh, what a fickle thing is a pipe smoker's fancy. Another trip around the sun and quite a few blends later, I find I simply don't return to this one very often. Picadilly and Pelican have knocked this one out of my rotation pretty completely. I'll try to smoke a bowl now and then to deplete my stock, but I shan't be purchasing more.
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Blackie	06/16/2004	Strong	Very Mild	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable
After bashing G&H's Rum Flake, this tobacco (from the "other half" of the Gawith family) is a real smasher. I love this stuff. It is the one English tobacco with a topping that is not only tasty, but takes the mixture to a higher level of complexity because of the dressing, not in spite of it. Topping English is always a dicey endeavor. Most, IMO, tend to do so in an unrestrained manner. Adding syrupy casings to Latakia and Orientals is usually about as successful as pouring chocolate sauce on a porterhouse steak to improve the flavor. This is different, however. The honest vanilla/tonquin flavor is subdued and helps the Virginia sing despite the hard core peppery spice of the Turkish as the bowl burns down. The entire package is, however, heavy. This is not an all day blend, or something to smoke with a can of 7-Up at the beach. This is after dinner; Glass of Scotch; Build a fire; Put the Wagner CD on the stereo stuff. From the company that brings you rope tobacco with deep, nicotine-heavy, head spinning power, would you expect anything less from their idea of "Perfection"? If you want to try a topped English, and you are ready for a powerful blend this is worth exploring. To borrow the description of the renown Bordeaux, Chateau Petrus: This is a Velvet Hammer. It is absolutely at the top of my list.
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