Samuel Gawith Grousemoor

Having enjoyed Grousemoor Plug, I set out on the long journey to find a rarely available tin of Grousemoor Mixture. Having finally found a couple of tins I set off to make the inevitable comparison between the plug and the mixture. The mixture has a much stronger floral scent in the pouch, typical of most Lakeland aromatics. While the plug has somewhat of a “baked cookie” taste with the florals further in the background, the mixture shares the similar taste of cookies with a much more forward floral scent. (Yes, I know it sounds a little silly and I seldom compare tobacco to food). The tobacco found in most Lakeland style blends is of high quality and it really comes down to whether or not the smoker finds the casing appealing, so Grousemoor will likely be a love or hate blend for most pipers. Be sure to have a pipe set aside for Grousemoor because it will leave a ghost in your briar. For me, it won't be an everyday blend, but I will keep some around as a nice change of pace. Recommended.

I am not an aromatic person so my apologies for dooming this one! This blend looks great and smells wonderfully but waaaaaayyyy too strong! It reminds me of the Old Spice perfume! When it comes to smoking it has an earthy and heavy floral taste! I bet the casing involved shoveling earth and flora otherwise it just doesn't make any sense! As with all the Gawiths its quite wet and needs some drying. But still it will smell like after shave or creamsoap! If you like herbal staff and you feel adventurous yeah go and buy some. To smoke this (as with the Black Cherry) I had to tame it down with some squadron leader.. I love Gawith flakes and blends but this one it did crossed the line..

I am one who is not put off at all by very unusual, floral, Lakeland tobaccos. I usually smoke a lot of Virginia in my day to day, but I absolutely love a good Lakeland blend. This is the first time I've tried grousemoor and I love it. I like it straight out of the tin. I'm not quite sure why I like it so much because the tin note of this particular baccy is like old man aftershave of some sort. I guess one reason is because I find the flavor very intriguing. It makes me feel like I'm smoking some long forgotten old blend that I found in my grandfather's secret stash and it was there because it was the awesome aromatic of his time. Idk, I like it. My advice, open your mind and taste buds and see if you find it as tasty as me. I usually don't smoke aromatics because I like to inhale my pipe tobaccos from time to time and most of them are simply too darn weak to please me. Not so with grousemoor. It's got that little throaty kick I just love. It also makes me think of some smoke straight out of Tolkien's world. Just awesome.

I love Grouse-moor, Like really love Grouse-moor.

For me, grouse-moor is a unicorn tobacco. An unheard of commodity in the pipe world. The thing is, all smokers want two things out of an aromatic, two things they almost never get. First, we want the tobacco to taste as it smells in the tin. Many come close, almost none can pull it off. Secondly, we want our aromatics to smoke like non-aromatics. No goop, no slime, no sludge (my fingers should not be sticky after packing a bowl). No relights after every five seconds, and no need to dry it out for a month before smoking.

For me, grouse-moor does both of these things, making it an endangered species in the pipe world.

The other thing I love about this tobacco is the uniqueness of its flavor. So many aromatics are similar in casings. Vanilla, chocolate, caramel, berry, and alcohol flavors seem to make up 90% of the aromatic casings you come across. This tobacco is unlike any smell or taste I have ever experienced. Yes this is technically a lakeland, but totally different from what I think of as lakeland flavors (think ennerdale). The smell in the tin is of.....who the hell knows? Citrusy? Kinda. Floral? Kinda. Intriguing ? Oh yes! I love everything about it, and for some reason, it seems to keep calling you back.

I usually age most of my blends, but this blend I prefer as fresh as possible. I feel it loses the potency of its casing pretty quick, and I just cannot get enough of that casing. For some, that may be a huge plus. If you don't like the flavor of grouse-moor, don't throw it out! Tuck it away and revisit in a year. It is a whole new tobacco, with a milder topping.

The one cautionary note I can give is that this stuff ghosts and ghosts hard. You practically need an exorcism after smoking this. Try it in a cob first, or a pipe you don't mind dedicating.

This is a must try tobacco, because there is nothing else like it. Even if you think you won't like it.....aren't you curious? Try it, you just have to.

Update: I cannot get over this blend. Every time I smoke it I ask myself "why dont I smoke this more often?". As it ages, the topping becomes more of a background but not in the least less intriguing. I could smoke this blend all the time, but I don't. Why not you ask? Well, availability. It seems like in the last few years finding any Samuel Gawith tobaccos is a miracle. If you can find it, get it.

Aromatic tobaccos have generally disliked me. I bought this tobacco like a Virginia, and smoked this tobacco without realizing it was one of the aromatic tobaccos. When I opened the can, I fell in love with the citrus floral fragrances that, along with the light color of the slightly damp threads, invite you to bite into it rather than smoke it. And when I smoked it, I wondered if it was not an aromatic tobacco, although it did not produce any of the allergic reactions that those aromatics usually cause me. It is a slightly fermented Virginia smoke that seems to taste somewhat sweeter than pure virginia, but it is not sweet, and slightly reminiscent of lemon flavor. An excellent variant for a light and fresh morning smoke. Ahhh, and also, it is very well perceived by the family.

This blend is highly unusual. The leaf is extraordinarily bright. The smoke is very light and somehow, this blend manages to turn "soapy flowers"-flavouring into a good thing.

In all seriousness though, this blend is interesting. There's some mellow fresh grass from the leaf itself, and the topping provides a gentle, fresh, floral flavour. It can be a bit soapy, but i find that it doesn't detract much from the experience.

It'll need some drying and some relights, but largely, it's a well behaved blend that burns nice and clean. You're going to want to smoke this one slowly, though. It doesn't seem to bite, but it loses quite a bit of it's flavour if smoked too fast and hot.

I quite like it. Also, bonus points for the nice tin art.

My experience with Grousemoor is quite strange to say the least, although in the end I will say that it's generally positive.

I was intrigued by the strange, seductive smell of the tobacco right out the packet. To me it's really one of a kind - fresh, almost a bit sour, similar to some exotic flowers and citrus fruit. It was quite dry and I had to refresh it for a few hours before smoking. I packed a corncob I bought just to try Grousemoor, afraid of potentially ghosting my old aromatic-dedicated pipe. The experience was interesting - the aroma is definitely of lemongrass and citrus, with slight hints of vanilla. It bites easily, which is a small minus, but if smoked carefully it can be very relaxing and enchanting, as it is quite different from smoking your average aromatic. After that I tried smoking it in my filtered briar pipe - this drastically worsened the taste, cut out most of the aroma and made the smoking dull and frustrating, as my every attempt at squeezing at least a bit of the distinct lemongrass aroma out was met by an awful tonge bite. I wouldn't recommend smoking it with a filter.

I will most likely come back to this blend from time to time, but I don't think I will ever fully love it like I do my Amphora aromatics. Grousemoor is an oddity at least worth trying.

After years of pipe smoking, it was finally time to sample a Lakeland style tobacco. Grousemoor was part of a trio containing the first SG blends I've ever smoked. It waited a few weeks to be smoked, while I was waiting for a new pipe to arrive and which will be dedicated to Lakeland blends. Then, when it was with me, I was very anxious to finally smoke this one.

Comes very moist and compact in the tin, but I was actually surprised at how quickly it dried out inside the tin; it is almost ready to be put in a jar (my tin of Squadron Leader, purchased together with Grousemoor, still needs some more drying). Comes in a well cut ribbon, almost bordering shag cut. The tobacco has a nice, bright, golden color from the steamed and stoved Virginias. The tin note, a real delight. This is the most pleasant smelling unlit tobacco I've ever put my nose on. You're greeted by a wonderful floral bouquet, lavender, a touch of cinnamon and it almost reminds me of that rice and milk dessert, with a touch of cinnamon.

Mechanically, there is one thing worth mentioning. Due to the fine ribbon cut, some extra care needs to be taken when packing the pipe as it's very easy to get it clogged in the bowl. After a proper packing is made with a good draw, then it's no fuss. Lights very easily, burns well, doesn't heat, doesn't bite, doesn't gurgle. This is meant to be puffed slowly.

Let's talk about the smoke. I'll take a moment to talk about the Lakeland essence. Yes, this is an aromatic. But, if your perception of an aromatic is that of a Danish or Black Cavendish-heavy blend, this is not that. This is an English type of aromatic, using natural flavorings instead of artificial-chemical ones. And when you first sample a proper Lakeland blend, such as Grousemoor, you get it why it's a very polarizing flavor. People either love it or hate it. Personally, I love it. It's a very pleasant change of pace from the more "mainstream" aromatics.

That being said, throughout the smoke this one is two-faced. In the first half of the bowl it's a pretty mild, delicate blend. That flavoring comes to the front and it has a nice floral, citrus, perfumey, slightly aftershave-ish taste so unique that it's very hard to describe. Once you're halfway through, the tobacco becomes a bit potent and more of that Virginia taste becomes prevalent. I get the more earthy, bakery, bit darker taste of Virginia as opposed to the grassier one. The flavoring is quieter, but still there and forms a nice balance with the Virginia. Burns to a nice, fine ash and leaves a pleasant room note. Beverage wise, this tobacco almost begs you to smoke it while drinking a nice cup of tea.

Grousemoor is a very unique blend and has that sort of old fashioned character that you don't find in many tobaccos. And you get a very solemn feeling knowing that you smoke one of the oldest blends that it's still being made the way it was made 200 years ago. This is history in a tin. A tobacco that will most definitely become a permanent addition in my collection and that will offer me great pleasure and satisfaction with every pipeful. A classic and a legend.

The tobacco comes as a fairly uniform tan. It is mostly a medium chopped ribbon with some fish flake bits. Pouch note is a sweet with some citrus and earth. It came at a good level of hydration for me in the ziplock baggie sample from a friend. I smoked it as delivered.

Smoked, this is fairly mild in terms of strength. There is a little hay from the Virginias, I get a hint of citrus and sweet with a little floral and perfume in the topping. I think I found the topping a little milder than the reputation would suggest. The smoke was pleasant. It burned a little fast for me. The flavor had a tart edge at times, and I am not sure if that is the Virginia base or the topping.

This was good and I enjoyed it. It was not interesting enough or punch enough buttons to merit keeping a tin around given the price. It is a 2.5 on the overall rating scale.