Samuel Gawith Commonwealth Mixture

I was expecting a latakia bomb, at least that was my intention when I bought it and it was logical to expect from a blend with 50% latakia. The result is not a latakia bomb, but a full-bodied blend perfectly accompanied by a virginia so good that it is not masked by the latakia. The result fully satisfies when the mood requires an extra touch of latakia, but without being excessive. The tin note is delicious. The humidity is a little excessive for my taste, but easy to solve.

Well, I started with time getting more positive with this blend. I first smoked this tobacco a few months ago, though i smoked more than half of the tin, I was not so happy compared at least with a number of other blends (Virginias, English, more sweet blends etc) - it was alright for me some Fridays late with a drink, but generally could not be easily a daily tobacco for me. After that, I didn’t smoke the tobacco for more than 2 months, and I re-tried recently (the same first tin I got 3 months ago, having kept it in jar). This time, perhaps because I have increased significantly my experience in different tobaccos, especially English/Scottish blends, I appreciated more this one. To be more specific, I will not buy another tin before the present one finishes, but very likely will buy this tobacco little later (perhaps one tin for ongoing smoking, one for cellaring). I would agree with many folks who described some saltiness of the tobacco, a good interplay between Latakia and Virginia. I didn’t find it however so “one-dimensional” necessarily. I would give 2 stars, not that I don’t recommend this blend (it is very much recommended), but this is in comparison with other blends of this broad type of tobaccos, particularly in relation to its price (other tobaccos within the same budget outperform, yet for a diverse smoking experience I would keep it for more occasional smokes). - strength: it is more fair to say it is a medium-strong blend, i found it “mild” to “mild-medium” over the first couple of minutes, going to something little stronger in the process. Of course this might depend on whether you use filter or not and other factors. In this case i used a 6mm filter, but this is “paper filter”, specifically the same we use for corncob pipes, but this time in a briar pipe (it does allow to understand better the strength and flavor compared with carbon filters). - flavor/taste/room note: of course this is a non-aromatic tobacco, and I found its taste medium with a nice combination of the Virginia - Latakia blending. The room note is tolerable. A small number of relights come into play, perhaps contributed by the coarse ribbon cut of the tobacco, but it is smoked pretty easily.

This tobacco is a testament to SG's mastery. It is an orchestrated symphony of the sweet and incense notes. Some may argue it is not complex or one-dimensional. I agree, it is. But it is an exceptional dimension. Unlike other SG offerings, this one is easy to smoke. If you love latakia, smoke some Commonwealth and you may experience a glimpse of heaven.

I'm reviewing a recent production tin (tin purchased March, 2022). Comes wet in the tin. It's kind of a rough cut with some quite long and stringy VA ribbons and small pressed strips and chunks of Latakia. Best to separate the strands and let it properly dry. Even so, it's tougher to light than say a thin ribbon cut Dunhill mixture. (Consider chopping the leaf into smaller bits for easier packing and lighting.)

In the smoke, there's a delectable touch of sea salt from the meaty Latakia and oddly, sea salt is also in the room note along with some burnt wood and incense. (The aroma is truly fabulous if you fancy Latakia-dominant English blends.) The mouth is coated with Latakia.

For some reason, for me, this mixture triggers memories of Balkan Sobranie - the real Balkan Sobranie. It could be how the Latakia was processed but I'm not sure. At any rate, there's little doubt that this is a superb offering. It's so well done that I honestly don't miss the Orientals or even the (now almost obligatory) touch of Perique that many other contemporary English mixtures have.

This just might be the last of the great genuine English (actually made in the UK) mixtures. Better hurry.

This one surprised me by a lot!! Without expecting so much I lit a bowl and wow...A healthy dose of lat of course but the kind used here is more of a incense like varietal which I like better than the campfire stuff. And the VA used here is of a sweet ,malty kind . Together it is even a little complex. Have not yet an aged tin but I expect it ages wonderful. The strength is on the mild side and it is bite-free for sure

Preparation & Burn: 8/10 SG blends are notorious for being too moist, but not Commonwealth. No dry time required for me. It's supposedly ribbon cut but it's pretty close to course cut. Packing is a bit awkward because its not as bouncy as I like it though. Burns cool, no bite. Stays lit for the most part. A few more re-lights than I prefer.

Taste: 17/20 This is not a lat-bomb, despite being 50% latakia. I don't know how, but it is incredibly well balanced. Smooth, creamy. Nice blend.

Mildness: 10/10 My idea of a good smoke is a relaxing, low nicotine session. Therefore, the milder the better. I barely detect any nicotine here. Perfect!

Total: 35/40

Update 03/2021: The honeymoon is over. While I still like this tobacco and find it quite unique, it suffers heavily by a direct comparison with my all time favorites. I'll downgrade this to 3 stars.

This was actually sent to me by mistake as part of an online order instead of "Lakeland Dark". In retrospect this was quite a lucky coincidence as I absolutely adore "Commonwealth Mixture" and would never have bought it in the first place. Why? Because the thought of 50% Latakia seemed so overpowering and the absolute lack of Oriental leaf for me indicated a lack of complexity. Truth be told - I was absolutely wrong about this blend, this baccy is refined yet simple and incredibly pleasing.

Granted, you won't find the complexity of a great traditional English Mixture with Orientals such as e.g. in McClelland's Arcadia or SG's own Skiff - yet you will get something else that is just as enticing in this blend. I'll try to pin this down as exactly as possible even though the magical part of all the exquisite blends I love so much is of course hard to explain. The central aspect of this tobacco for me is that is full flavored without being full bodied, meaning that there is a sweet and gentle VA base (if compared to the fullness of flakes like BBF and FVF) that is complemented by the spicy and intriguing flavor profile of the Latakia that is really showcased in all its nuances in this tobacco. The nicotine content is exactly right - I can even smoke this on cold autumn mornings with a cup of tea. The second central aspect about this tobacco is that it offers an amazing interplay between its components even when it is not the most complex thing on the planet. There is still enough stuff going on to keep the dicerning smoker interested - one can concentrate on the more herbal and the more incense like qualities of the Latakia and the subtle development one get throughout one's bowl.

In other words, Commomwealth Mixture is like chamber music rather than a multilayered symphony. What is so pleasing about it is that it does something magic on the small scale and that it works with less "pomp" while still being absolutely refined.

50% heavily steamed Virginia and 50% Cyprus latakia. So when you open the tin you find equal proportion of brown and black leafs, very silky to the touch. It comes a little on the moist side, like other SG blends. I like this tobacco not so dry, I find it develops better flavor that way. Tin aroma is delightful very smoky, sweet, raisins and earthy.

Once in the pipe and lit, it delivers a velvety thick smoke, very flavorful. 50 % of latakia so latakia it’s in the front, but it´s not overwhelming. The quality of the steamed toasty sweet Virginias in combination with smoky smooth latakia, offer a dense smoke with no rough edges that burns slow and cool. In the last third of the smoke I detect a light raisins flavor, maybe the Virginia. Not a complex blend but with unique flavor very consistent through the entire bowl. Not much nicotine, need some relights, no tongue bite, nice beard note, ambient smoky. One of my favorites

Samuel Gawith's Commonwealth is another tocacco that I smoked when it first came onto the market but never took up a relationship with, until now. A tightly packed and well preserved pint canning jar gave me the opportunity to revisit this blend. While I remember my feelings of about thirty-five years ago that it was a little more than just okay, now I found it to be a very satisfying English blend. Assuming the blend has stayed the same, it has to be that my tastes and preferences have matured. As it says in the I Ching - "Perseverence furthers". I don't know how one gets this much varigation of flavors into a binary Virginia and Latakia blend at 50/50 proportions, but S. Gawith does just that. I feel it would be difficult to get this much flavor out of a single Virginia with nothing but Latakia to back it up and I assume we have a mixture of Virginias in Commonwealth. As could be predicted, the Latakia is a dominant factor in this smoke with the Virginia flavors dancing a jig in the near background. I thought the balance and subtlety was magnificent and that this has to be the best of a small subclass of English blends. Commonwealth is the standard bearer and deserves four stars.