Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Nessmuk Navy Plug/Brown Plug with Rum

Having heard some good things about this tobacco, I ordered 50 grams.

The appearance of this plug is what one would expect, although quite a bot thicker than the other plugs I have tried. Brown plug as hard as a brick & requires use of a very sharp knife to cut through.

The pouch note I got from this tobacco was very pleasant & consisted of a good tobacco scent with a very strong rum scent mixed in. Very pleasant.

Having sliced it, I managed to get some flakes off it which were thin & uniform enough to fold & stuff. The rest was rubbed out. Either way it took the flame well, and needed few relights & only a little maintenance. I didn't find it particularly damp, but a short drying period of around half an hour to an hour is still recommended to ensure optimum burn without drying out all the flavour.

The taste is predominantly tobacco, the rum adds an interesting twist to the taste, but is not nearly as strong on the tongue as the pouch note would suggest. The tobacco itself is, as expected from this company, immaculately prepared and very tasty. The dark tobacco note, with a sweetness beneath it, enhanced by the rum casing, but in no way overpowered by it. Due to the flavouring of the rum being a bit meeker than expected, this doesn't ghost a pipe at all.

The strength is medium, which is not as strong as I expected it to be, which is good, as it allows a larger bowl to be used.

The room note is perfectly pleasant, nothing overpowering or dense about it & tends not to linger too long either.

Overall, a very pleasant smoke. The only gripe I have is that the plug is so thick that even using a new good quality knife, getting an even cut all the way through is difficult, meaning I had to rub most of it out rather that stuffing & folding, which would be my preferred method.

I will definitely be getting some more, I enjoyed it, and will give it a well-deserved 3 stars. The only reason I will not be giving it 4 is that I am reserving those ratings for tobaccos which really rock my world. This was very good & I recommend any & all to try it, but it's not spectacular enough to rate 4 stars for me. Pairs well with just about anything for me, from a cup of tea to a single malt.