Samuel Gawith Kendal Plug

Wow! This was my first experience with Plug tobacco and I am impressed.

Much is made of how flake tobacco allows the smoker to control the smoking experience. Well, plug tobacco adds to that tenfold. This tobacco is likely best left to seasoned smokers, as newbies may have trouble balancing how to break it up into a size that allows them to keep it lit.

I ordered an 8oz portion of this densely pressed plug from 4Noggins, with high expectations and nervous anticipation. The presentation and novelty effect of this tobacco is amazing. It offers smokers and non smokers alike the chance to pick up and feel the tobacco, smell it and enjoy the aesthetics.

I cut a flake of this tobacco off using a sharp knife and wooden cutting board. The plug was harder than I expected and made up of larger portions of leaf. After slicing an adequate portion into small pieces with the knife, I rubbed it out well and stuffed it into my favourite flake pipe.

I found it a little hard to light initially, but once I learned to pack the smallest bits on top, I was okay from then on. Having figured this out, I was well rewarded with a medium bodied Virginia smoke, of about the same sweetness as best brown. Due to the denseness of the plug-this didn't rub out as easliy as best brown, however. Once lit, however, this provided such a slow smoke that it was amazing. Truly a unique smoking experience.

I would recommend a plug to any well seasoned smoker. This one certainly for lovers of medium Virginia's. I don't know if there's plug version of Full Virginia Flake, but if the folks at Samuel Gawith are listening-I'm ready to make an order!

My next order of this tobacco will be for 1 lb. I am curious about the other plugs in the Samuel Gawith line, but most seem to be aromatic, so I expect that this is the one that best suits me.

Kendal Plug, for me, is Nirvana. This VA has made it to the very top of my VA list. A daily and all day smoke if ever there was one. That isn't to say that I the other VA's that I have enjoyed and still enjoy go down a notch - but this is in the 5 Star category for me.

There also seems to be some confusion under this tobacco's comments. Kendal Plug is not scented tobacco. I fear that those that wrote reviews here attributing the Lakeland scent soapy floral were either mistaking SG-KP for another tobacco - or their tobacconist slipped them the wrong one. In either case, KP doesn't reveal even the slightest hint of flavoring except the distant innuendo of cocoa and a most richly rewarding and unusually velvety VA sweet nuttiness.

Generally for me, I slice a flake width-sized plug and then slice a few days worth from that diminutive plug into flakes. My preference is to lightly rub out the flakes. The moisture content is a personal choice. I don't spend too much time drying or airing out as I do with many other tobaccos.

After a char light or two this fine VA goes right into the zone and continues to almost the last puff. It also isn't finicky like many other VA's that I also enjoy. I've yet to come up with a bad combination of packing, pipe or rubbing - with one exception. Since KP comes in a plug and retains its moisture very well in long term storage - I refrain from packing this tight. Just normal packing for me works best. Lightly tamping the ash only throughout the smoke a little more frequently keeps it burning cool and flavorful. Speaking of flavor - IMO this is the tastiest most well-behaved VA that I have ever enjoyed. And, while I also enjoy Oriental blends with and without Latakia too, this straight VA would be my desert aisle smoke, if I were forced to choose. It is one of the few tobaccos that I can smoke in succession without wishing for a change of pace. It is always satisfying and while I still have ample supplies of other VAs - I have more VA pipes devoted to KP than any other.

I find this to be unusually smooth, nutty sweet and surprisingly tasty even though its more homogeneous than complex. While I'm a fan of Lakeland flakes - this has none of the SG trademark scents. While I am under the impression that this is the plug form of SG Best Brown - I find this to be, darker, richer and more flavorful.

Also, I found that this does not require any special smoking technique in order to be thoroughly enjoyable. It doesn't mind a little aggression. It also is perfectly fine if you pick up a pipe half-smoked an hour or a day past which leads me to believe that the PH of this smoke is most ideal. This tobacco has NO bite, and because it burns so well and cleanly, it is a great pipe to coax the residual flavor from pipes that may have dedicated to topped flakes such as Ennerdale Flake or Grousemoor Plug that I also enjoy on occasion. Kendal Plug, however, as far as I have discerned, has no flavoring whatsoever that doesn't occur naturally in this blend of VA's.

Marlin Flake's duller, hotter, country cousin. Who needs it?

As fine a plug or flake as you'll ever smoke in your pipe. Reeks of quality. I bought a 250 gram block, a very nice cut of the whole cake, that actually weighed nearly 300 grams. Perfect for cutting into four 2.5 oz bars and jarring them in pairs. Of course, I trimmed off a good half ounce to smoke. My plug was very firm and oily but not wet nor brittle. Pretty darn close to perfect for smoking. I really enjoy the scents coming off the freshly trimmed face as I cut this stuff. Pure, sweet, and deep, with nothing weird going on at all. True to its description, this unadulterated Lakeland plug has no essence or topping whatsoever and conveys a pure aroma. When you hold it to your ear, you can hear the crickets and the toads near a babbling brook in Cumbria.

I prefer Virginia tobaccos in straight briar pipes. I like their more intimate mechanics when you want to stay on top of the tobacco a bit. I cut thin flakes to my preference, lightly broken and folded. The familiar SG tang and syrupy sweetness comes right off the match without any hesitation. You know where you are, straight away. This plug is sweeter and brighter than Full Virginia Flake, but it’s built on the very same platform. I taste FVF here, but FVF never tastes just like this. It doesn’t nip even a bit when it gets excited but handles easily. Boy does this stuff taste good. Rich, tangy, grassy, sweet, and toasty all at once. Searching for vibrant citrus or lemon notes is a waste of time; all of that has been expertly cooked away. There is a sharper edge here when compared to the heavier, fully cooked FVF, which is refreshing. Sometimes zesty or even a bit spicy, especially at the head of the bowl. It leaves a tingle on my tongue. Less body and depth than FVF but that’s not a problem because of the pleasant, sometimes intense, tangy, sweetness. I'm hesitant to call it complex, being rounded and well framed as is typical with SG’s hot-pressed, but lots of variant flavors do come and go. KP is not boring at all and remains delicious right down to the heel. I fully agree with others who’ve mentioned the enjoyable finish. The room note is wonderful, just like FVF; rich and sweet, no staleness or sourness. That fantastic tanginess lingers in my mouth and on my face long after I’ve swabbed out and put away my pipe. Just like FVF, this stuff leaves my pipes smelling wonderfully sweet once they dry out. By the way, this smokes so cool, dry, and sweet that there is absolutely no problem reloading the same pipe and going again. Masterful blending and a gorgeous looking plug to behold. A delicious and fulfilling old-style smoke all the way. Very natural, pure tobacco. Personally, I prefer Kendal Plug to Best Brown Flake, but would enjoy either, any day, and save FVF for after dinner. I’d like to mention, as have others, my extreme fondness for the African Virginia leaf that is used here.

I wrote my review four years ago but never posted it. That's fixed. Four years later, Kendal Plug just gets better and better and is one of my favorite things to put in my pipes.

I have now smoked 9.5 oz of this, almost in one go. It was my main, if not only, straight virginia smoke for a good while. I have never smoked so much of one blend in such a small period of time. It's that good.

I have tried this prepared in all manners I could think of and two main methods stand out as ideal: 1/ The thinest flakes possible, fully rubbed out to a shag, no dry time, and simply stuffed in. 2/ Shave off against my thumb some long shards, dried a little and barely more than a gravity fill. This last one is nice as the larger chunks make for a long cool smoke, while the the thinner pieces act as perfect kindling to make the burn easy.

I found there be an obvious improvement with age. The 7 month batch I smoked was great but grassier than I like my virginias. Lots of high notes of citrus and hay. Slightly more bitty too. The sweetness is present but requires some concentration to fugure out. The 3 year old batch I smoked was much better. While the high notes are still present, there's a great umami, fermented, baking aroma that's unbelievably satisfying. The sweetness is always present, from the first sips to the last piece of dottle. It burns easily, down to the bottom, and will only bite if you let it do so.

Well worth letting this one rest at the back of your closet for a couple of years.

Although the taste is simple, it is excellent. It serves well as an easy every day VA. It is easy to smoke if you can live with the preparation. In the morning, I prepared a ration for a couple of days and kept that in an old tin. This made preparation less tedious for me. It is simple, but on those special occasions, it can also act as a great slow sip meditative smokes.

I'm now giving this blend a little break. I want to explore some of my other VA options and not smoke my hole stash in one go. This just might be my favorite virginia to date.

This was bought because Best Brown Flake is my favorite tobacco and I wanted to try the freshest and most honest iteration of this blend. I was not disappointed and the ability to cut and tailor the tobacco to your own preference is a huge plus. The plug is slightly springy and less dense than FV plug, which I also enjoy, and slightly drier which makes preparation easier. I used a very sharp Sabatier knife and sliced some small square flakes of about 1mm thickness off the end of the plug and rubbed them out to a fine ribbon cut. This was then allowed to dry for an hour or so and loaded into a Falcon with a medium to firm pack and some fine crumb like bits added on top as kindling (as is my habbit with Gawith tobacco and I suggest it as a way to overcome the problem some folks have in keeping it lit). It has a similar pouch aroma to Best Brown Flake, with no great surprise, as it is the same tobacco after all. A wonderful subtle sweetness reminiscent of hot cross buns or tea cakes. Two false lights and a true light and I was away for half an hour of blissful contemplative smoking. No tendency to bite and a lovely room note make this an ideal sit back and enjoy smoke and a perfect everyday smoke. It has a gentle flavour when compared to FVF, with a sort of brown sugar sweetness and less fruit and citrus notes. Hints of cinnamon and spice are there and this is constant throughout the whole bowl. My sample shows less age than BBF in tins that I have had but I think buying in bulk and cellaring would do wonders for it. All in all an easy 4 stars for me and a great introduction to plug tobacco for anyone thinking about trying it. I am a recent convert to plug baccy and if I had a decent supply of this to enjoy, then I would be very happy.

It has been said this is the unsliced version of Best Brown Flake. Not having sampled that fabled (but hard-to-find) blend, I cannot say. That said, I quite like this. This is a straight, unadulterated Virginia, but not one that US-based pipsters are likely to be acquainted with. This is a Lakeland Virginia without the Lakeland soap, meaning it is primarily African Virginias. To me, this is much less sweet/fruity/tangy and much more grassy/nutty/spicy. The block I got had about two years of age on it, and I would venture to say it had not been kept in a proper environment. It was so dry and hard that the first cuts from the plug instantly disintegrated, and even cuts from the interior were hard and shiny, almost like Amber. I threw the resulting pile of flakes into blender, then jarred it with a Boveda pack. A lot of work, but worth it if you want to experience a different style of outstanding Virginia.

I have been working on a chunk of this for quite a few years. I slice off a few little bits and am always surprised by the yield after I rub it out. It is such a dense plug that it seems to last almost forever. I usually smoke darks so this gets a lot of rest but it is an excellent lighter VA when I am in the mood. I like it best in a small bowl, just sipping and enjoying the round flavor.

I have a solid Japanese veggie chopper which I keep for slicing plugs. I've had it for ages and it really does the job. It's sharp and weighty so I can control the slivers. This gives me an advantage over SG flakes and their varying thicknesses. I don't have to rely on them rough Northerners and their blunt blades.

Oh yes, Kendal Plug. It's exactly what it says on the tin. Good Northern straight forward honesty.

Top quality, straight virginia.

I gave mine away as I easily succumb to Virgins Bite.