Samuel Gawith Finest Kendal Twist Black XX

Reading other reviews I thought I would dislike this. Do like a strong smoke, but not harsh. This ain't harsh at all. Have inhaled just to see what happens and not overwhelmed at all. A real, proper baccy that I will buy again. Just have to see how I feel when I finish the bowl!

(12/02/12 Had to update. This is a wonderful tobacco. Can't describe taste but very tasty to me. You get loads of thick smoke. Very pleasant room note, but don't know what non-smokers or even non-pipesmokers will think!)

Yhe four horsemen of the apocalypse decided to have a tea party in my mouth. I am bowled over.

Yet intrigued.

Images evoked include global warming.

Very delicious dark pressed tobacco for the lover of ropes and plugs. Comes as a thick, hard pressed lump of shiny black tobacco, smelling faintly of smoke like lapsang souchong tea, with an earthy, leathery tobacco smell underneath.

Chop off a few slices with a sharp pocketknife, dont worry if they are irregular, you are slicing plug, not making flakes. Some thick clumps and some finer ribbons is ideal. Rub it together and fill a clay pipe, and fire up for old fasioned smoking pleasure. Very enjoyable out of doors in a howling, freezing gale, it cheers the heart. The flavour is slightly smokey, in a way unlike Latakia, more like bacon perhaps, wood, peat and autumn leaf smoke. Slight sweetness, earthy, leathery and woody flavours can be detected. The flavour remains constant throughout. Very rustic in character.

It is rather strong, but not overwhelming, not so strong as the bogies. It is not harsh like the bogies either, but is smooth, and burns cool even in the strongest wind. It never bites, although can get a little rough if let to go out and then relit much later.

A lump of this, a clay, a penknife and some matches should be in every mans pocket on a cold and windy day outdoors.

Once this settles in, it is an excellent smoking, sweet, pure tobacco. Much less sharp or edgy than Cockstrong or Picayune. Smokes clean and dry through the bowl. Floral essences wind their way through the smoke, along with an anise or licorice note. Very tasty. 4*.

I smoke this only in the winter months. I find when ever I have a cold or one coming on a few pipes of this with some fine single malt seems to cure or drive th cold away. Albeit , I have to open the windows because even with the door closed my other half says the smell is overpowering. So I smoke in in Jan/feb with the windows wide open so the smoke will vanish into the ice cold air. But to me it is worthy of a "Winters Tale". If the Romans had had tobacco, this is what they would have smoked, when they pulled guard duty on the Scottish border on Hadrians Wall, while freezing their butts off in a wollen toga.

Strong..yes. But I like it. Nothing better than a Jack Daniels on the rocks and a bowl of "black death" as its sometimes called. But then again I've smoked straight perique and enjoyed it. Not for the timid.