Samuel Gawith Cannon Plug

If we're to believe the esteemed history that this blend carries, perhaps this is one of those anachronistic tobacco oddities that you should enjoy in your confederate army officer uniform while camped out somewhere in Alabama, shooting muzzle-loading rifles at union army re-enactors.

Here in the present, though, this is another fantastic blend of quality leaf that is overwhelmed by the topping.

Out of the bag (bulk purchase), the plug smells like Christmas: Cloves, oranges, spices, children being chased by giant living nutcracker soldiers, etc.

But after a few minutes, that happy troop of scents is replaced by an irritating and cloying smell that lingers and begins to saturate everything in the room. Keep this stuff in the mason jar that housed your stinkiest topped flakes, otherwise it will creep into everything. And test it out in a cob or something bought for abuse until you're sure you love this stuff.

The taste is just too much to bear for me, and the nicotine punch is also serious enough to put it in the rope-strength category.

Worth a try if only for the historical aspect, but it is not for the faint of heart---or nose.

UPDATE: When ground up and sprinkled around garden shed walls, this blend may actually be more useful as pest control for ants and mice.

I love SG tobaccos, but, oh my, this is the most powerfully scented tobacco I have ever smoked. Warning: to try this stuff, use a pipe that you can throw away if you don't enjoy it; don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Now, I can see how this tobacco can be an acquired taste. I enjoy the Lakeland soapiness of SG tobaccos, however, the flavoring is just too strong for me to enjoy. It's powerful, perfumy, and cloying. To get an idea, mix several perfumes with body bath oil and scented dishwashing detergent and allow the mixture to soak into a tobacco. Not my cup of tea.

Be warned, pipe fellas, it seems like Samuel Gawith has used crumbled patchouli incense sticks as a flavoring in this plug. If you´re still stuck in the late sixties on your hippie trip, this might be for you, but all others should refrain from this terrible crap. Occasionally I like to have english or irish aromatics like Erinmore flake or Peterson´s University flake in my pipe but this kind of flavoring is definitely not for me. This is a love-or-hate tobacco and I guess you must have served for the British empire in India or been raised on porridge and Marmite to enjoy this stuff.

From the first light the smell and taste of patchouli overwhelms you until the very end. There´s no tobacco taste to detect. I´ve smoked Cannon Plug from a clay pipe(thank god) as I´d bet it would create an awful crossover to my briars.

Sorry, but I can´t say anything good about this tobacco. Samuel Gawith produces a lot of wonderful mixtures and flakes, but Cannon Plug is not among these.

0 out of 10 in my personal rating

My first review, and the first to review this extraordinary tobacco.

The Cannon was my first experience with a plug; curiosity conquered trepidation. My first two bowls of this blend lead me to put this aside as a lost cause. The reasons being that it was too difficult to prepare, and so staggeringly aromatic that I was in shock. There is little to prepare one for the intense honeydew flavour that this product exudes.

And yet.

It is a jealous tobacco. Having smoked one bowl in a nice Stanwell apple, I found that the Cannon plug had left a scent that would never go away: fair warning! So I gave it another go. Having tried the tobacco again, I would say that it has very much won me over. The flavouring has me hooked, and as strong as the honeydew oils are, the tobacco keeps pace to provide a very singular smoking experience.

It is absolutely not an all-day, every-day smoke, but if pipe smoking could ever be described as adventurous, it would be because of Cannon Plug!

I rated this as somewhat recommended. If you like aromatics then you should try it at least once, if you don't then I would steer well clear! I adore Ennerdale for its barber shop cologne, this one for its slightly overripe cantaloupe fruitiness. The piece I got is quite hard and I use a very sharp knife to slice 3mm wide slices that I lightly rub out. Jar note is pungent and lively, I don't get any "patchouli" and I know patchouli well as I used it liberally in the 70's, and neither is it honeydew, rather a cloying cantaloupe which I absolutely love! Mine required very little drying time and in my opinion very little rubbing out to appreciate the flavours. Takes a few lights to get it going well, but it's quite pokey with nic so I tend to smoke a bowl in a series of rests anyway. The fruit comes through strongly on the char and initial light but settles down and I find this one has a white pepper on the tongue on the in pull, and a light fresh floral, slightly fruity smell as I exhale. Burns down at a steady pace leaving a grey /white Ash and a pleasant aftertaste on the tongue. Not an all day smoke by a long shot but I really enjoy the occasional bowl as a palate cleanser after smoking fuller blends. I wish this came in a flake form as I would then smoke more of it. 8/10

I have a very poor sense of smell, but I could smell this one, I thought I'd opened a flower garden, that's when I remembered two things, 1 this is an aromatic and 2 I don't like aromatics.

Very easy to cut, I shaved off a few slices, filled a new clean clay and fired up, even before the match lit, I could still smell the tobacco, once lit it settled down to a nice easy smoke, the honeydew making itself known but not overpowering, an excellent quality leaf, the Virginia's smooth, you'd be hard pressed to make this bite. It lasted a very long time and absolutely no sludge at the bottom, or even a gurgle for that matter, this could be an all day smoke, a point I shall keep in mind for my next order.

I didn't care for this at all. Occasionally I like to induge myself with all the fuss and foreplay that goes with smoking a plug or twist tobacco; but this one is an unusual member of that family in that it is very aromatic. It seems to be, if you see what I mean, everything that an old-fashioned plug of tobacco shouldn't be; but perhaps that's just me. Suffice it to say that people who like Ennerdale Flake will like this too. It isn't all that difficult to prepare, and it smokes easily all the way down, with a good, cool even burn. Not for me, but I recommend it to lakeland lovers.

It's pretty strong and, as others have said, beware of the ghost.

It burns cool, slow and dry. The Virginias are cigarette like with some earthy accents as the bowl progresses. Make no mistake this is a strong aromatic plug, it's all about the Honey Dew flavoring. Too sickly sweet and perfumy, this smell and taste are not pleasant for me. Surely it fares better in the pipes of amateurs of strong aromatics.

Virginia lover

One of my favourite tobaccos. Apparently dating back to the English Civil War (1642-1651). If you are a Lakeland fan (and I am), you will like this. A very dense plug with a powerful floral aroma. Easy to prepare if you have a very sharp knife. Cut it carefully into very thin slices. It rubs out very easily. Smoke it slowly and enjoy the full on flavour.