Samuel Gawith Cabbie's Mixture

Cabbie’s greets the nose with a wonderful smell of stewed fruit. The coins, although rougher, are about the same size as can be found in Three Nuns although the blends have very little in common. As with most of the SG Virginia blends, there is too much moisture for me to smoke right out of the tin. However, it’s not as moist as Best Brown or St James Flake. The Perique is noticeable but not overpowering. The sweetness of the Virginia's is more pronounced in the later stages of each bowl. There are some high notes, but less than I had expected. Cabbie’s offers some spice too. There’s no bite, even when pushed and I found myself enjoying the depth of flavor during the second half of each bowl more than the first half although both were quite good. I struggled a bit with whether or not this is a three or four star blend for me personally. I think it’s a smidgen under four right now, but there is no doubt in my mind that this will be a big four stars all the way after some time in the cellar. Congrats to SG on an exciting new blend that really expands their Virginia offerings!

Some coins but most of mine were pretty malformed, which was not a problem since I rub them out anyway. Tin aroma was of grass and dark fruit. Perique-y aroma but not overpowering.

Too wet to smoke fresh out of the tin but not as wet as a lot of SG blends. I did of course smoke it moist and it was typically bland and sour with a weird finish... weird is the best I can come up with. Properly dried (arid but not crunchy), the dark fruit was the star of the show. The Virginias were mostly of a red tang with a bit of citrus. The perique eschewed the pepper characteristics of some VaPers in favor of a sweet fruitiness and perhaps a bit of spice, although that may have come from the Virginias as well. Pretty fair nic hit but not a lot of complexity, although there was some depth. All in all, just not what I've come to expect from Sam Gawith, although it was a fine blend and is recommended. A bit more perique would have done this no harm but if you prefer a moderate amount and a lot of fig-type notes (more bass than high notes here), this one may be for you. And if you don't like your tobacco dry, finish the tin fast or get the tobacco into a ziplock, as it dries quickly if left in the tin.

This batch of Samuel Gawith Cabbie’s Mixture was tinned on Dec. 4th, 2015.

The attraktive oval slices are about 3/4 x 7/8 x 1/16 inches each, and the tobaccos appear darker in slices than when pulled apart into ribbons, at least to my eye. Looks to be golden and red virginias, maybe a bit of lemon. The perique is also apparent with some broader segments of the leaf showing.

The tin aroma is rich, fresh and fruity, perhaps a bit figgy with a faint perique stench somewhere behind. Detect no topping, but am wondering if an aspect of that fruitiness isn’t a slight peachiness from the casing which is often noticeable in Kohlhase & Kopp virginias. This must be a collaboration, but no problem there. It’s mouthwatering and makes one want to dive right in. You might want to wait, though. The slices are deceptively moist and smoke steamily if not allowed some drying time. I prefer to rub them out and let them dry for some time before loading up, which is then no problem and simplifies lighting up.

The flavor development seems to run along the following lines in most of the pipes I’ve smoked: At the first match CM seems lighter than I’d expected. The brighter virginias and the fruitiness promised in the tin aroma show themselves first, followed by perique spiciness. The fruitiness subsides as the flavor becomes peppery, but the first third of the bowl has me wishing for lower notes which darker virginias might have provided. No problem with the burn. The middle third reveals more depth as the virginias become toastier and earthiness emerges from the perique. The final third brings the elements together and offers more earthy darkness (reminiscent of dark chocolate and/or espresso) as the burley takes over. At the very end a surprising virginia sweetness returns. The aftertaste is almost creamy with lighter woody notes lingering. The mouth feeling is unexpectedly clean (and, perhaps, ready for the next pipe). It’s an interesting ride.

And, it’s an interesting addition to the Samuel Gawith offerings. If you’re a SG buff, or if you are interested in VaPers in general, definitely give this one a go! Am not sure how often I well return to CM, but I will be putting some tins back to see how it develops over time. A three star blend for me at the moment, but it may well be a four star blend for you and exactly what you’re looking for.

I was very excited to try this tobacco. Samuel Gawith Virginia with Perique? St James Flake is one of my favorites, so I had a feeling I’d love this offering.

First quarter of the bowl is a complete pepper bomb, which can be a plus for some smokers, but not for me.

Luckily, the pepper tones down quite a bit and I’m able to enjoy the sweet tangy virginia in the blend.

It really hits its stride halfway through the bowl. Yummy!

This is a fantastic tobacco, and I’d smoke it a lot more if I didn’t have to drudge through the pepper bomb at the beginning of the bowl.

Tin note, appearance, cut, who cares. This stuff tastes great. The Virginia is soft and sweet. The spice of the perique is not pepper, but more like nutmeg. Tobacco is crazy wet when opened. Rub it out good, and dry it out well. It's a high maintenance tobacco, but worth it. UPDATE: I like this stuff but the maintenance is just too much. It just won't dry. There is some kind of casing that keeps it wet. Maybe too much PG. I can set it out for a hour or more and it's still moist, and it's not a new tin. I would like this a lot more if they used less additives.

Cabbie's Mixture is a good addition to the Gawith portfolio. It's unique Curly Cut is what initially attracted me to it. Not quite coins of tobacco but more like loose sliced Motzek Strang but smaller.

There is a similar taste profile to other Gawith blends here. It shares the same tangy, earthy, fruity Virginias as FVF and BBF and the rich spicy Perique as St. James Flake. The proportions are interesting here though. The Virginias and Perique wrestle for dominance.

My only complaint here is that it has a tendency to smoke a little hot. No bite but the smoke has some heat. I think age should remedy this.

This is a mixture that will stand the test of time, in my opinion. The Virginias are of the highest quality and the perique is there for support without taking over the show. My first bowl was not to my liking as I stuffed a few rolled up disks into the bowl, after a little drying time. It was hard to keep lit and the strength was a little too much for my taste. For my second bowl, I used my Cuisinart spice and nut grinder. Three or four one second bursts produced a ribbon cut, which burned beautifully and reduced the strength to medium from full. This is definitely a 3 star blend in my book and worthy of the accolades it has received.

Nice tin art, tobacco is sliced similar like escudo or deluxe navy rolls but smaller and not as surgical. A bit of organized chaos if you like, but attractive in its own way.

The tin note is not overwhelming and consists mainly of what I can best describe as the smell of: apple cider vinegar, dark rye bread and decomposing leaves. Not unpleasant at all!

The moisture level is just ridiculous! It’s so wet, I don’t deem it even smoke able before leaving it open to air for at least 3 full days. After that it still is moist and as a result difficult to rub out and pack. I had thought this was difficult to light but to my surprise after a false light and 2 more goes, she was on her way. Along the entire smoke I needed 2 more relights.

Initial taste: Mainly hay, oats and a very light natural sweetness in the background, rounded off by a raisiny taste (the perique no doubt). The VA’s are not your typical bright, grassy and lemony but not the full on earthy stuff either. It’s well balanced altogether. The one thing is does not deliver imho. is pepper, even on the retro hale there is no tingle.

Mid bowl: Finally there is a bit of pepper but at the expense of the sweetness which is now starting to disappear while the perique comes to the forefront. Towards the end of the bowl, the taste becomes darker and at times a bit astringent. The ash burns down to a light grey color with only a little dottle left behind.

Throughout the entire smoking experience I was waiting for something to happen. It was all nice, but no WOW factor. The perique is there to provide some body and round out the VA’s. No matter how hard I tried, this will not bite. The room note is all right but again nothing special. No yeastiness or smell of freshly baked bread. This one won’t offend anyone but won’t make you friends either.

All in all, not a bad smoke. It doesn’t deliver the peppery tones of St James or bright Escudo, not the earthy taste of DNR, not the sweetness of Marlin Flake but is positioned squarely in the middle. This is maybe a good starting point for an adventure in Vapers, to venture out from there to what one craves in a smoke (spice, sweetness,…).

Happily gone through a fair few ounces of this blend to date.

It’s a coin cut Va-Per, the Perique runs through the centre of each coin like the filling in a chocolate bar.

Pouch note - nothing to get excited about to be honest; I’ve heard it be compared to the floor of a stable and that’s not too far wide of the mark. There is a fermented bile scent going on - not that I have ever smelt fermented bile you understand. The Virginia brings some hay to the party but it’s not one to get your smoking buds going from the smell alone.

As with most tobaccos, it comes a degree or three to the side of moist and it could do with 15 or so minutes to dry out in a warm room, probably less if left in sunlight on a windowsill.

It smokes very pleasantly indeed; no tongue bite, very even down the bowl. It does need a tamp to keep it going but it burns nicely and tastes 100% better than the pouch note would suggest.

I find that the tinned version keeps the coin shape better than the loose equivalent, which can be important, if you are wanting a true Va-Per experience; with the coin being more broken in the loose form, you sometimes need to pick around the jar to get a good Va to Per ratio.

Cabbies is something akin to St James’ Flake but, because of the need to rub each coin out, you can have an interesting bowl as it burns from the sweet Virginia to the fermented perique.

I tend to smoke this when I need a quick smoke - I find that one coin nicely fills my dinky pipe for 10 - 15 minute blast. I also enjoy smoking it all the way to the bottom of the bowl, without having to give my mouth a break, which I can’t say for some other blends.

It is relatively heavy on the nicotine side but nothing to blow your socks off; it’s mild to medium and quite possibly an all day smoke.

The room note’s nice enough - it’s a 1) to a 2) on the wife’s “You aren’t smoking that in here” scale.

It does get more lovelier with age, jarred and ready to go.

All in all, it’s a nice one to add to the rotation.