Tobaccos Samuel Gawith - Perfection

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2002-07-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I also found the blend to be pleasant and unique like most of the reviewers, I smoke this one semi-regularly and it is always cool and mellow. And I also found the blend to lack differing layers of flavor.

I know the description of the blend says its topped with a bit of vanilla. But frankly, I never tasted it. I tasted more of an almond extract sort of flavor which, mingled with the leaf, performed like a champ!

29 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2014-06-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The smoky, woody, earthy, musty sweet Cyprian Latakia is tad more obvious than the grassy, floral, mildly tart and tangy citrusy Virginias. The woody, earthy, dry, vegetative, herbal, lightly buttery, spicy and sour Turkish is a minor player, and not always very noticeable. The vanilla is very lightly added and at times, nearly undetectable. The strength is just short of the center of mild to medium. The taste is step past that center. The nic-hit is slightly more than mild. Won't bite or get harsh, and has few rough notes. It may need a little dry time. Burns a little slow, cool and clean with some inconsistency in the overall mildly sweet and campfire flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl, and requires a few relights. Has a short lived, pleasant after taste, and lightly stronger room note. It's not a very aptly named product. Deserves two and a half stars.

-JimInks

23 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	marosi (70)	2013-12-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is very nice mild english blend. The predominant characteristics are the VA's and turkish. The vanilla casing is very much in the background, and does not really move this blend out of the firmly "english" realm. This is typical of a host of english blends, especially from Gawith, where various flavorings and casings are used along with tobacco components that are classically english.

The tobacco itself is a nice mixture of ribbon cut virginias and latakia with turkish leaf. The turkish to my palate is the predominant taste component followed by the latakia, and the VA's provide a very nice base and offer a little nip on the tongue. Overall this lights readily and burns easily with few relights, and will not get hot unless you puff too quickly.

This is not a flavor bomb of any sort, and is a fine mild english. It offers a little more sweetness than some similar blends, but is not a "sweet" blend by any stretch. This is a nice mild smoke with a mild to medium nicotine content, making it a fine choice for when you do not want to be too challenged by any particular flavor profile or nicotine strength. With that said, these same mild characteristics mean that it is probably not going to make it onto anyone's list of "must have" blends, except to fill a void between other more distinct offerings.

Since we are now able to reference the pipe used for the review, and pipes can make a huge difference in how a blend performs and tastes, I thought that I would include a note on my pipe of choice here. I used a vintage GBD virgin billiard which would be considered small by todays standards, but still offers plenty of capacity for a 30 minute to one hour smoke. This pipe is at least 40-50 years old, is light as air, and smokes wonderfully with cool english blends. For those interested it is shape 124, which is identified by GBD as a medium size billiard. This fact shows you how things have changed over the years, as pipes have gotten, on average, larger and larger. If you look for an estate GBD be careful as many have been reamed beyond a usable state. In this case the pipe and blend were literally made for one another and produce a very enjoyable experience.

Pipe Used: GBD Virgin Billiard

Age When Smoked: 4 yrs

19 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2016-01-04		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Some notes on Samuel Gawith's Perfection ...

It's a mild English that can't seem to win with the reviews here - smokers of full English and heavy Balkan blends complain that it's mild and has vanilla flavor at all, smokers of aromatics complain that it doesn't have enough vanilla flavor.

Don't pick this up expecting huge Latakia flavor, it's much more Izmir-forward. Squadron Leader would fill the needs of a medium mixture, and Commonwealth is full. Perfection is mild.

The vanilla topping is light, unobtrusive. It's a condiment, not a glass of vanilla extract. It softens the blend considerably, but Perfection does not taste like a vanilla aromatic. Good chefs can work with condiments and flavors that will not be obvious in the dish, but will round it out - think of the vanilla here in the same way.

The steaming process has rendered the Virginia tobacco bite-free. Puff away.

I give it 3 stars for being good at what it is, a mild English mixture that makes an excellent breakfast smoke, but is easy enough to smoke throughout the day. It's probably not the best choice to pair with straight whisky after a steak dinner.

Pipe Used: cheap Italian briar

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Similar Blends: Early Morning Pipe w/flavoring.

16 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pseudo Nim (128)	2008-12-07		Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium to Full	Tolerable

ORIGINAL August 3rd 2008

I wasn't going to bother reviewing this one as I have only gone through one tin in fact, I still haven't quite finished it, but having just read Tantric's review, I must fully agree, "Too much contradiction in flavours" although on ocassion, I have felt a need for "something-I-know-not-what" and perfection has helped if not cured.

May I just take a moment also to thank Tantric (and of course many others, far too many to name) for some sterling reviews, Ive read a goodly number of yours and you have pointed me in the direction of Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake for which you have my sincere gratitude, all of you.

UPDATE December 8th 2008

Now that the colder weather is here I've found that something a little tastier is required and although the likes of Golden Glow and Marlin flake, along with numerous others, will still be kept in rotation, I find myself starting the day with Skiff followed by Squadron Leader and now in the evenings, finishing of with a pipe or two of Perfection.

After so much Latakia, even I would have expected my palate to revert toward something a little less dramatic and perhaps mundane or "monochromatic" as some have refered to. On the contrary, I find this an excellent tobacco for the colder weather, which will give me a chance to age some of the virginia's I've been collecting over the summer months.

I can only assume my taste has changed, for where I once found contradiction, I now find harmony, and living on the coast, excellent "cold weather gear".

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2014-08-21		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Sam Gawith - Perfection.

Will it live up to its name?

Upon opening I can quickly ascertain that it has the 'usual suspect' quality with Sam G' tobaccos, too moist! That said, it is not saturated so it only requires a very short quantity of time to let it air. The dissemination of the tobaccos seems to be very fair, an even quantity of each type. Once I have let mine rest until the right moistness is achieved it's time to get the bowl started, 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating'!

Mine takes to lighting superbly, once it is lit the burn is even and it only desists in the burn if it is left to sit untouched for some time. I know it contains vanilla but that said I struggle to detect it, don't take that too negatively as the taste I get agrees with me. It is by no means a lat-bomb, it is actually (like the appearance) a fair selection of the different tobacco flavours. I would say it's perfection but that would be too cheesy! Tongue bite? Not at all throughout the whole bowl. The room note is excellent, it is quite a light one with both aroma and thickness in the air.

To be fair, it has been accomplished very well but it lacks 'the X-factor' for me, becoming a little laborious after a while. For this subjective reason it scores 3 stars not 4 stars. I feel 'Perfection' is too much of a prodigious name for any tobacco to be called, Sam Gawith 'Really Good' would be more apt !

Recommended.

Pipe Used: Peterson Sandblast Sherlock Homes Baskerville

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Backwoods Piper (70)	2006-12-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I must admit this smoke let me down. Any tin that depicts a hunting dog should contain an exceptional tobacco right? Guess I can't use that as a gauge for a good tobacco any more.

All kidding aside I thought this tobacco would have a little more fanfare associated with a name like Perfection. Upon opening the tin you will find a predominantly ribbon cut tobacco with some broken flake mixed in. The VA's dominate this blend with a hint of Latikia and Turkish chiming in. All at once a fade to Vanilla I guess I just can't adjust to this kind of a pairing. Kind of like I don't find ketchup an appealing compliment to french toast.

This isn't an awful tobacco in fact it smokes cool and clean. This tobacco just misses the boat on your hybrid english aromatic blends. I will finish this tin but I doubt I will purchase this one again. Sorry Sam.............hey is it too late to trade this tin for a tin of Best Brown?

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gordon Tavistock (23)	2017-11-17		Very Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Judging from the reviews here, this is hardly a blend that lives up to its name. And the blend itself doesn't. But so what? Tobacco perfection for me is not only about how the blend is composed, but about the whole setting of a particular smoking experience. And I just spent the most perfect hour of the morning in total bliss over a huge coffee with lots of milk, paired with SG Perfection.

The VAs come with a hint of citrus, but also a satisfying sweetness. The Orientals and the Latakia are nicely balanced, so that it's difficult (to me anyway) to tell the different layers of the taste from another. The vanilla topping is definitely present, but I wouldn't say it was vanilla unless I had read that already. All the casing does, is to add a lovely creamy sweetness to the blend, that goes well with the woodsy cream of the Orientals/Latakia.

Is it a perfect masterpiece of a blend? No. Is it complex and interesting? No. I but once in a while, when I just want something almost childishly simple and comforting, this is one of the blends I could pick up. On those occasions, it does the same for as a café latte made whit whole milk. Sweet and mellow, but not too sweet in any way. I advise you to pair SG Perfection with said beverage.

I found that the casing gets more prominent (and I think that is a good thing for this blend) when I smoke it in a larger bowl. That also makes the Orientals/Latakia shine a bit more, in my experience. To me, Perfection does the job I want an aromatic blend to do (but that comes from the mouth of someone who would have chosen GLP Odyssey as the only tobacco to bring to a remote island, so if you smoke predominantly aros, you'll probably strongly disagree with me).

The casing fades and the Orientals get sour towards the end, and that is one of the reasons why 'perfection' is the wrong name for this blend. It also gets a bit more fussy to keep lit. But honestly, it's worth your money – at least for a try – if you're into Latakia and aromatic combinations.

Low on nic (I am a nic lightweight and I smoked this on an nearly empty stomach early in the morning without feeling anything that couldn't also be ascribed to the caffeine in my coffee). No bite what so ever. Leaves only a little moisture in the bowl.

Pipe Used: Straight and bent billiards

Age When Smoked: Fresh to five months

Purchased From: CGars.co.uk

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	fr_tom (393)	2018-06-11		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I picked up a tin of this to try. I like Gawith in general, and the name sounded promising. This is not what I would call "perfection." It is a mild crossover that is not too heavy on the vanilla. The cut is a medium ribbon with some chopped bits. Pouch note is a slightly sweet latakia. It came just a little on the moist end of the good range for smoking, and I did not dry it. As long as the tin has taken me to smoke, it has dried a little in the tin.

Smoked I get a pleasant woody latakia, a little hay from the Virginias and some vanilla every now and then. The Turkish is a pretty light touch, and I am not sure there is much of it in the blend. I will claim it is there in condimental mode.

Perfection is good but not especially compelling. It was an easy smoke. It packed and stayed lit without incident. It smoked clean without goop.

This is a 2.5 star blend. I am unlikely to ever buy it again. If it were all I had, I would smoke a lot of it.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Bud_Harold (24)	2016-08-29		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Can't say that I understand the negative reviews of this blend, because in my opinion this stuff is quite good. Great balance between the Latakia, VA's, and Turkish tobacco's. I'm able to taste a delicious hint.of vanilla sweetness that helps to mellow things out nicely. If you want a fuller English, this ain't it. This is just a tick above mild for me.

Just a well blended, perfectly burning, mellow, flavorful smoke. Well worth the coin!

Pipe Used: Grabow Silver Duke and Grabow Royalton

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: .Local B&M

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	roark (12)	2020-10-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

As a virginia enthusiast, I generally don't fancy english blends more than a bowl here and then. I had a tin of Perfection cellared for a decade, and was not intending on opening it at all since I was sure it was an aromatic. One day my wife expressed some weird appetite for pipe smoking and wanted to try a bowl, so without even thinking about it, I cracked the old tin open. To make it short, I smoked it until the last strand and I can't remember my wife even tasting it. Vanilla ? Where ? I had tried EMP, Nightcap, London Mixture, Consummate Gentleman and many more, and none of those gave me as much pleasure as perfection. I will get back to this one, for sure.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 9 Years

Purchased From: Berlin

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	dixcreek (182)	2018-09-06		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Perfect, no. Close though. Great S.G. Virginia’s for a sublime citrus and hay note, enough Latakia to satisfy and just enough sweet/sour with the Turkish and other oriental leaf. Satisfying but not over the top in strength. Can be smoked multiple times in a day or sitting for that matter. As for usual Gawith delivers a great smoke. Have tins cellared and jars as well. Yes it does improve with age.

Pipe Used: MM cobs

Age When Smoked: New and aged

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	ggsalas (2)	2018-01-20		Very Mild	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I love this mixture. The english mixtures, in many cases are to much strengthfor mi, but this is not the case. Also I feel a good taste, seems wood and smels like grass. Totaly recommended.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Iroquois (3)	2017-12-14		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I have to give it a 2 stars, even though it would be a 2,5. On the technical side, I found this one to burn quite fast, even though it won't get super hot and won't bite your tongue even when heated; could need some relight, leaves very few moisture in the bowl, with a very fine gray ash. On the opinion side: I find quite pretentious to call a tobacco "Perfection", because we are talking about personal tastes; I would have accepted it if this were the quintessential english mixture (Squadron Leader), which it is not. The quality of the tobacco is indeed very good, in line with the SG high standard, but what this mixture lacks is the decision of its taste. For me it was very disappointing to find out that the latakia doesn't emerge as I would like when I buy an english mixture; that the orientals tend to dominate over it, combining better with the virginia than with the latakia. The declared little bit of vanilla casing is very very light, I would say undetectable. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate this tobacco. It is what it is: a very mild, all-day mixture, one you can enjoy while taking a walk in the park or in town, and in this it is perfect. But, as I said, I would invest my health (and money) in something more worth them both, something whose taste has more character and in which the latakia is not a back player.

Pipe Used: Fincato Billiard

Purchased From: Tabaccheria Sansone, Rome, Italy

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-04-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

So this is Samuel Gawith's idea of perfection? Well, it isn't mine, and it's a fair bit less perfect than some of their other blends. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I had no trouble picking out the vanilla. It was more prominent in the room note but I tasted it as well. It was the Turkish that I couldn't find. The virginias were out front with the latakia well to the rear and the vanilla flavor sort of lightly draped over the proceedings. But the Turkish was MIA in my tin. I got a feeling that the vanilla flavoring was just evident enough to throw this blend into confusion. It was not unpleasant but, like Grousemoor, it just seemed to me that SG didn't put their best tobacco into this mix. Smoking BBF and FVF along with a slew of others lets me know that they have stellar virginias in their house, but chose not to use them for this one.

I'm not sure what the steaming process does unless it's like stoving, which would definitely tone down the assertiveness of the tobacco. It surely did so here. Again, the concept is intriguing but the execution didn't fare quite so well. Worth a try if you like very light latakia and want something that smells better in the room. If you're looking for something more flavorful, SG has plenty to choose from.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-07-12		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Strong

It is my belief that the large dog depicted on the label is responsible for the contents of the tin.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Susanna Hoffs (74)	2010-03-17		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

How ironic that there is a faithful looking retriever on the front of the tin.....

The only thing that's missing, is the accompanying freshly laid 'lawn turd' situated right behind mans best friend in said picture.....Because that's what this bland flavourless dross smoked like.

Weak, tasteless, smokeless, indulgent rubbish. The worst SG I have sampled to date. The only reason it gets a star, is because I like dogs.

If you want a decent medium English, try Old Dublin, not this kackarakkahoohaar!

There are NO traces of the suggested VANILLA in this blend whatsoever either..

Perfection this aint...

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sylvian (28)	2008-07-29		Mild to Medium	Medium	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Not my idea of perfection. A decent VA/Latakia/Oriental mixture, but nothing outstanding. The vanilla flavoring seems to spoil the overall impression. One tin was enough.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2007-12-21		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

My consumption of English tobaccos has grown so bloated that I've looked affectionately over the fence in search of something different.

I've tried Balkans, and to be fair to my own lack of sophistication, I'm not quite able to pick them apart from their English cousins in a blind test. Virginias are fine, but sauced up they can get nasty. I'm not averse to a topping if it doesn't burn the hell out of my tongue.

I thought then, maybe there is an aromatic out there that is both unique in taste and worthy in strength. I immediately ruled out 1792 and Royal Yacht. Sure, they're great, but I'll take them in small, bi-annual doses.

What I was really looking for was a strong Cavendish tobacco. Is there such a thing? What if I laced Captain Black with Perique? That would be wrong.

On one of my infrequent trips to the regional B&M, I mentioned this to the man behind the counter. He immediately offered Perfection as a capable alternative. He said it was a sweeter smoke, medium body, with a vanilla taste.

When I fired this thing up I immediately detected the Latakia. In my opinion, a blend with any Latakia will quickly make this the strongest element in the blend. It's true, Perfection has a topping, but I'll be damned if I can detect any. It's heresy perhaps to ask for a cased aromatic over a natural English mixture. Maybe I'm just not getting this pipe smoking thing.

To me, Perfection is a mild English with few discerning traits. It's decent, but there's too many decent tobaccos that fall in the same category. I'll keep looking.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	awt (20)	2021-06-06		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

An excellent mixture, please do not expect a full English mixture. Slightly flavoured with vanilla, latakia in background. Fits perfectly in SG catalogue, reminds me also to soapy Lakeland's . Leaves white ash, burns well if dried up a little. Perfect for smaller medium pipes, billiards bulldogs Rhodesian. An everyday tobacco which can rotate with Squadron Leader and Skiff. If smoked too much can become a little tiring due to the aroma. Strong room note. If a fav of mine I would give 4 stars. In any case not to be missed.

Pipe Used: Dunhill 3 and 4

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: Noli Milano

Similar Blends: Squadron Leader and Skiff.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	pokerpotpiper (11)	2021-01-16		Medium	Mild	Mild	Unnoticeable

I decided to buy and try this tobacco mixture. After opening the tin, a light and pleasant smell of tobacco, notes of oriental tobacco and virginia, is not very noticeable Latakia. The subtle smell of vanilla is present in this mixture. As soon as the tin is opened, the tobacco is ready immediately for making a smoking pipe. Smoking pipe with a 9 mm charcoal filter. I sat down. A cup of pleasant aromatic black coffee with cream in the fresh air. Only one match is needed and the process has started. A very pleasant process, a pleasant outgoing smoke around and a pleasant aroma in the mouth. A very slow and pleasant process of filling the mouth with smoke from a smoking pipe and blowing out of the mouth. I recommend it for beginners to feel the soft English blend. There are a lot of pipe tobaccos with added vanilla flavor, but this mixture is the most attractive of all the other mixtures I had to try. This mixture is suitable for everyday pipe smoking. I recommend trying this mixture.

Pipe Used: Savinelli Dolomiti 320 KS

Age When Smoked: unknown

Purchased From: Barcelona Spain

Similar Blends: unknown.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Phillip Ellis (14)	2020-04-07		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

I had very high expectations for this light English blend but to me it flopped. As with most Sammy G. Blends the tobacco condition out of the tin reminded me of a drowned rat. It took hours to dry this out to the point that i thought it would be OK to jar-up. The tobacco form that point would take an additional 10 minuets before stuffing into your pipe. The tobacco did behave well in the pipe with minimal relights but just lacked in flavor that was even remotely enjoyable to me. Hope this helps.

Pipe Used: Corn Cob, Comoys, & Dunhill

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	FilipPruncu (85)	2019-07-01		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Ok, so after many bowls smoked in a cheap Angelo pipe biliard shape, in a Savinelli Porto Cervo 628 bent brandy shape, a Savinelli Tevere 315 KS prince shape and a Jean Claude prince shape, I decided to give my personal opinion on this blend.

First of all, I want to mention that the tobacco is almost 4 years old, so it might be different from a fresh tin.

We start with the opening of the tin. You encounter a strange but very pleasant smell, like leather and wood. There’s no smell of latakia or vanilla, it smells like wood or more like leather. I find this smell very interesting and pleasing.

The tobacco is not very wet (well, after all, it was in a tin for almost 4 years), it’s just sticky, so you need to keep it to dry at least 5 minutes. It’s a small ribbon cut, with colors ranging from dark yellow to brown to black, in just about equal quantities.

Enough with the theory... Let’s light it up! At first, it used to go out a lot, but in time I got used to this tobacco and got to light it with a single match, two at most, and keep it lit. It delivers a cold smoke and a very pleasant taste. It’s a smooth taste of latakia, but not very strong, only to give it its sweetness and silky magic. Right away, subtle notes of vanilla start appearing. This is not an aromatic, it’s an english with a lean towards aromatics with a subtle topping. And honestly... I LOVE IT! I love this combination of latakia and vanilla. It’s not a chemical taste, but a delicate and pleasant taste.

Many people didn’t feel the vanilla taste... probably because the tobacco was new and didn’t have time to combine its aromas, or maybe aromatic smokers want stronger aromas, I don’t know. For me, this easy note of vanilla is amazing, like a vanilla pudding, not very sweet, but rather creamy and smooth. And I’m not an aromatics smoker!

It doesn’t bite, it doesn’t get too hot. I only had some problems when smoking it in my Sherlock Holmes Original when the walls of the pipe got too hot, but this happens with any tobacco that I put in that pipe. So in the end, I started smoking this tobacco in my english dedicated pipes, the prince shaped ones. The result was an amazing smoke.

When you go past the half of the bowl, the vanilla taste starts to disappear and you’re left with the delicious combination of latakia and oriental, each trying to take a front position. One time you may feel latakia, other time you may feel the oriental.

It’s a very plesant tobacco. It’s not something that made me crazy, like “wow, what a blend!!”. Still, I find it very tasty. It’s like a combination of Ashton Consummate Gentleman, Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, Dunhill London Mixture and a vanilla topping. It’s softer than Consummate Gentleman, both in taste and in vitamin N, so it gets closer to EMP, and the smell and taste of leather is very similar to the one of London Mixture. The taste somehow reminds me of Thomas Radford Sunday’s Fantasy... I don’t know why, I haven’t smoked that in over 2 years, so my memory might deceive me.

I forgot to mention, the room note is very nice. It’s not a latakia smell. At least I don’t feel it. Some of my friends said it smells like frankincense.

Final conclusion: An easy, pleasant smoke.

P.S.: Don’t combine it with coffee or beer, it will ruin all the taste. Try it with an ice cream frappe instead, or a frappuccino. :)

P.P.S.: If you will put it in a jar, know that you will never be able to get the smell out of the jar whatever you do. I've tried multiple methods and haven't been able to take the smell out of the jar.

Pipe Used: many, but I recommend prince shaped

Age When Smoked: 4 years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Ocelot79 (32)	2018-12-08		Mild	Medium	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Well, no. Although this is mild, and has in it some good quality leaves, the synthetic-tasting vanilla topping is absolutely masking everything else throughout the smoke. Frankly, I did not notice the word 'vanilla' before a bought a tin to try. Without the vanilla, this may have been a nice, smooth mild semi-English, but with it, it is just another ersatzed nonentity.

Pipe Used: Good English briars

Age When Smoked: Unknown, but not very old

Purchased From: Smokingpipes USA

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Calamiti (84)	2017-10-16		Mild	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Unnoticeable

Pipe-smoking is not just a way to convey nicotine into the system. Pipe tobaccos, smoking-related paraphernalia and traditions are (at least in case of long-established makers) also part of culture, history and heritage. That's why I often pay attention to those aspects when reviewing pipe tobaccos.

Enough is said on this page by many reviewers about the less-than-stellar flavour of this bland and unbalanced mixture. What caught my eye besides the mediocre qualities of the tobacco itself, was culturally insensitive marketing of this product which adds to its inferiority. To be specific, the weird personification of perfection in the tin art: a fat dog. A fat dog as a symbol of perfection. Uh-oh. European culture (British culture including) holds plenty of generally recognizable and long-established visual symbols of perfection like beautiful women, angels, nature landscapes, grand edifices, you name it. But not dogs, never. Dogs symbolize many things like trust, obedience, rage, protection, compulsive urge to return to savour one's own vomit, friendship, cuteness and so on, but no perfection in any case. I know no culture in the world where dogs, fat or slim, are considered a symbol of perfection. If SG for some serious reasons had no choise but to convey their vision of perfection through an animal image, the horse would be, though not a perfect, still slightly more appropriate candidate.

I have a lot of respect towards Samuel Gawith which is one of the last remaining keepers of the vanishing art of English pipe-tobacco making. That's why even its fault with this highly pretentiously named mediocre product doesn't affect my high esteem of SG, which otherwise offers an unmatched array of superb quality products. No tobacco maker, no tobacco reviewer and no smoking mixture in this world is perfect, and Samuel Gawith is no exception.

I see, a fellow reviewer wrote here some 7 years before: "The worst SG I have sampled to date". I second that. Don't waste your money on this. Buy some better SG blends, there's a lot of them still available.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Leandro (13)	2016-03-09		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

A very well balanced blend. The Vanilla touch is almost unnoticed so simplifying is a fine mild english. I really admire the balance in each element of this one but in truth there are lots of better options in Samuel Gawith. Cool and mellow, emotionally neutral and quite pleasant...

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	initials SG (29)	2016-02-26		Medium	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

Not everyone's cup of tea it seems, but goes well with coffee. Very mellow and smooth english flavor. It can be a little bit tart and has some nice nuttiness, which more or less complements the very subtle vanilla casing. Good for breakfast or as an all day smoke.

I have smoked two tins of it so far. With the first tin, the vanilla casing was stronger and sweeter. I actually enjoyed it a little more that way, though not a fan of aromatics. And with the second, it was barely detectable, and the character of the tobacco is slightly different; not in the least bit sweet. Still good. The first tin was great however.

Moist in the tin, and may not immediately take a light, but burns slow and cool. It's my opinion that this one is good revved up a little - just a few sharper puffs to get the oils in it properly combusting, and then smoking at a cadence that is just a little more aggressive than slow sipping to keep them that way.

Not every blend has to knock your socks off, this one doesn't. Will be buying more, it's a good change of pace blend.

Age When Smoked: several years

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gam86 (49)	2015-12-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I think the vanilla in these tobacco is really subtle and you cannot always "taste" it, also it changes from tin to tin. The first time I smoked was at a friends house and the vanilla taste was Mild to Medium, so i bought two tin and in both of them the flavoring is extremely mild, it's really under the latakia strong taste. Still is an enjoyable english mixture.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Otis56 (31)	2015-01-18		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Tolerable

I see the ratings for this mixture are all over the place. Perfection? I think not. But to some one it apparently was. None the less this mixture seems balanced to myself. The Latakia is pleasant and noticeable throughout the smoke I would say that the Virginia and Turkish are the stars in this mixture. Vanilla? Not that I could detect. But over all a very nice smoke. I would buy this mixture again. Peace

Pipe Used: Lombardo from the 50's

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: Trade

Similar Blends: ?.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tleek (51)	2012-05-15		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a nice tobacco. Contrary to what others have said, the Vanilla is definitely there,very very subtle, but there. Its actually a vanilla like sweetness, rather than a strong vanilla flavor, but it is a lovely compliment to the light english blend. The blend is truly a blend, and it is a little hard to identify the different components. Very light, by the standards of one who enjoys very full Latakia blends, but not overly light. It taste like you would imagine a perfect light english blend tasting like, with some sweetness added in. Dont expect an aromatic type casing and terrific smells, the sole purpose of this flavor is to slightly sweeten the taste.

If i had to say, i would say the primary taste comes from a mixture of sweet virginias and turkish. The latakia is pretty light and the vanilla adds to the flavor slightly rather than dominating it.

If your a fan of Early Morning Pipe or Squadron Leader, i would recommend you give this a try.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Dubinthedam (133)	2012-02-18		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I usually like my English blends on the light side, I find Latakia heavy blends can also have a tartness to them, perfection really is sweet tasting but with plenty of smokey flavor. The Virginia still takes the main stage and the Turkish is a nice additive. I wish there were more Latakia blends like this, middle of the road, in a nice way. I preferred it to squadron leader. I agree with reviewers, the vanilla really goes unnoticed. Great entry level English blend for aromatic or va lovers. A nice early morning English blend. I've found its great for blending, adding a little spice to OTC blends without altering their intended flavors.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rodricus (29)	2011-06-22		Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Tried several Samuel Gawith blends and this is the one that works for me. A proper english blend that can be smoked any time of the day, and all day long if I get lucky.

Tried the small tin as well as the carboard package and they both seem the same to me. The "vainilla hint", as many have pointed might as well be a typo: this does not smells or taste like vainilla. Still, I have to admit that there is something that do give this blend a nice round finish.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Beer (345)	2010-03-06		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Ok, I was sceptical about this one. A vanilla flavoring on a Latakia blend?

Actually, it is very very subtle: only barely perceivable in the tin aroma, and even less during the smoke.

It's not a bad tobacco, provided that you let it dry quite a bit (like many other SG offerings). It tastes natural, it has a nice medium body and taste, and it smokes very well. It reminds me of Squadron Leader, but perhaps less dominated by the orientals.

It isn't a tobacco that one can rave about: nothing particularly striking, but it's a fine all-day smoke. Tasty without being too heavy, with a nice balance of nutty, spicy and sweet. Ok, maybe if I actually smoked this all day long I would quickly grow bored with it.

Not necessarily a blend I will stash in my cellar, but I'll gladly buy a tin of it once in a while.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sasquatch (90)	2006-12-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, Sam Gawith struck out on this one. Mixing Captain Black and Standard Mixture Mild does not yield anything that excites me. I just could not get this blend to taste like much of anything. Room note is all right. Maybe a transitional mix for some - it's easy enough to smoke, and quality is high.

For me, I'd rather sink into some Commonwealth or Squadron Leader if I want an English, and if I want an aromatic, I'll hit the Captain Black or Argosy or something. Once again, a tobacco tries to do it all, and comes out flat.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sangagor (77)	2022-11-13		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Unnoticeable

I was not able to choose if there is flavoring or not. Main aroma comes from latakia. Not sure if support role comes from oriental tobacco or sweetness of VA. Vanilla was not detected. Smoke was pleasant, smooth sweet and maybe I detected something what can be compared to vanilla bean. Burned till the end, need fair amount of relights, my sample has accurate moisture.

Pipe Used: Savineli802; BPK

Age When Smoked: 1 year

Purchased From: etrafika.cz

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JaWiBr (443)	2022-10-31		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Tin notes of aromatic English; sour, sweet and smoky. The ribbon cut looks is light brown, dark brown and black. Fairly dry, no prep needed. Burns slow with few relights. The strength mild, nic is mild. Sweet flavoring detected with tin note and taste, though light. Taste is med and consistent, with notes of smoky wood, earth, floral, slight sweet lemon, mildly spicy and a few sour notes. Room note is tolerable and after taste is ok.

Pipe Used: Castello Sea Rock Briar SC 31

Age When Smoked: 7 years

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nach0 (35)	2021-10-06		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I cannot imagine how experienced i should be to be able to notice the vanilla in this blend. The latakia here is the main star, among a good quality tobacco mixture. Burns well, easy to keep it lit, doesnt produces any moisture bubbling and delivers what should deliver, apart from the vanilla, which im searching for till now...

Pipe Used: many including briar and cob

Age When Smoked: straight from the tin

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Maduro (19)	2021-03-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

WARNING

Putting the name "Perfection" to any product is not far from putting a bullseye on it. My tin's lid was sunken in but still held the vacuum. Yes: it looked a tad old and abandoned, as if the aging design and label wear marks made it unfit for consumption. The three store price stickers tattooed on its bottom gave away that it had been doing time. It was the last one of its kind left at the store. Most online shops had run out of it. So, what the heck; I figured I'd let the old dog surprise me with its tricks.

And yes: when I opened it, I got one nasty surprise. The inner edges of the lid and can were covered in a mess of what appeared to be Latakia particles and the vanilla topping. The topping literally covered over half the paper lining above the ribbons and looked, well, messy. My first thought was to return the offending stray and get a refund, but then I figured I should let it air out. Maybe it was stored in an overheated area. "Maybe it's just me" and my unfamiliarity with the product, I figured. Maybe the topping is thin, requiring more of it to get to work with the tobacco.

Anyway, I'm glad I did give it a chance. Just ignore the tin note.

PREP

The ribbon cuts are inconsistent at best. The Virginias, Orientals and Latakia are all there, with my tin seemly biased for the latter which I frankly don't mind. The tobacco is densely packed and firm. You'll have to scratch your way into getting the blend out. It packages well in the bowl, no thanks to the ribbon's diverse sizes and shapes.

BURNDOWN

It takes some effort to get the bowl burning, even with a single-flame torch. The Virginias take the front row on this blend from the initial light, with a brief low-to-medium sweetness along with a hint of vanilla. The Latakia and Orientals blend in quickly. The mix burns extremely well but does require a paused and steady rhythm to stay on. Retrohaling enhances the campfire experience; it lingers strong at the top of the palate but remains rich in the taste of incense and freshness of mint. The room note floats between ashy and incense-like. Closing down the bowl, the Virginias take a backseat to the meditation on Orientals and Latakia.

PERFECT?

The first time I tried this blend, I was not particularly drawn to it. However, each new time around was much, much better. All this blend needs is steady strokes. The variety of flavors is nicely balanced, the very light vanilla rounds up the tobaccos' unique profiles, and all together it's a delightful, almost refreshing smoke. I'll give this tin more attention in the coming weeks.

Pipe Used: Basket Bulldog in briar (early 90's)

Age When Smoked: 6 years

Purchased From: Tobacco Depot, Lawrenceville, GA

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wally Frank Collector (46)	2020-07-07		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

This is a gift from a generous friend. A English blend with Latakia, Oriental, Turkish and Virginia. When I opened the bag I was met by a very pleasant smoky campfire aroma with a woody, musty, earthy background with a light grassy light citrus and very light vanilla hovering behind the main background. The tobacco seemed a bit dry so I loaded up the pipe right away.

Being a thin ribbon cut it loaded into the pipe beautifully. The charring light stayed lit for a couple of minutes and then I had to relight. Relights were less than normal. The smoke was heavy, hanging and long lasting and gave off a pleasant room note of a rich, sweet smoky campfire. This didn't even come close to biting and I am not sure it would bite unless one puffed like a locomotive. This burned into a dark gray ash and left very little moisture in the bowl. The taste was consistent from beginning to end. The tobacco burned at a medium pace and seemed very consistent in burning. This could easily be an all day smoke.

Upon lighting I experienced a wonderful, rich, sweet, smoky campfire taste. In the near background was a very pleasing woody, musty, earthy flavors backed up closely by very light sweet, grass, tangy citrus, spice with mildly tart and also light butter and very light vanilla. This left a wonderful sweet smoky campfire aftertaste. The flavors stayed in place and danced together well and none of them were overpowering but complimented each other beautifully.

This was a excellent smoking experience. Complex enough to keep my attention, but no changing flavors, just consistent great flavors that did not crowd each other out, did not drown each other out and together made a wonderful smoke. This is on my favorite list and will be in my regular rotation. a 4 out of 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Red Kaywoodie 500 bent billiard

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Gift from friend

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steerpike (150)	2020-03-24		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This is a nice English mixture, and should appeal to the fans of such things as Early Morning Pipe and the Red Raparee. I also expect it to put the noses out of joint of those who think an English mixture must have no added flavouring... But before you write it off without a try, you should know that 1. Samuel Gawith does not give a damn what you think, and 2. I really don't think I would have known it contained vanilla if I hadn't been told!

It has a lovely tin aroma, mild with prominent orientals, the sweetness is subtle. The mixture is uneven, but it seems to have been planned this way: the black leaf is a very fine ribbon, the brights are a coarser cut. Moisture content is on the high side when the seal is cracked, but subsides rapidly, indicating the absence of any humectants. Sam Gawith may be blending rule breakers and daredevils, but they are not Phillistines.

It takes the match with ease, starting out oriental dominant, just on the richer side of mild, but soft and luxurious. The sweetness from vanilla is barely perceptible. As the bowl progresses, it becomes milder, any hint (or autosuggestion) of vanilla vanishes, and the Virginia asserts itself. Near the end of the bowl, the Latakia becomes prominent, the flavour ending like a simple Virginia/Latakia - dry hay like Virginia and dusty smoke from the latakia. The plug of dottle is bone dry, and if its big, you can drop it back in and smoke most of it, leaving a few crumbs!

It's not heavy on the flavour or nicotine, but it can take you on a bit of a flavour journey through the bowl. I enjoy it in a larger pipe, such as my African Meerschaum "Jambo" or my freehand, the latter seems very apt for this free spirited blend!

Pipe Used: Jambo Meerschaum, Freehand

Age When Smoked: 3 years

Similar Blends: Early Morning Pipe, Red Raparee.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Big Blue Jazzman (73)	2016-05-01		Mild	Strong	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Tolerable

Bought this in bulk. Hope the tin is better. Mine smelled nasty upon opening and tasted more like some kind of chemical than vanilla. Was really disappointed as all the other SG blends I've tried were awesome. Ended up in file 13.

Pipe Used: new dear

Age When Smoked: fresh

Purchased From: cuo o joes

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Motoyoshi (68)	2014-07-15		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I am a huge fan of Samuel Gawith Blends. I find their tobaccos to be of very high quality and are always complex or very rich. I'm guessing some would consider this a "cross over" blend but I'm gonna call it an Aromatic. It was something that I was very interested in trying from a brand that has brought me FVF, SL, BBF and Firedance Flake.

The tin has a wonderful presentation of dark blacks and browns with specks of beige and gold. I got a top note of sweetness/ vanilla. I was a little surprised to hear that others didn't detect any casing when they opened the tin. The Vanilla seems to smooth out the Latakia and Oriental's scent from the tin. It's very refreshing.

The tobacco straight out of the tin is a little moist and can definitely use some drying. Packs like most other ribbon cuts but is a little thicker than some other blenders. It is definitely not an overly gooey tobacco and won't leave your hand with excessive flavoring residue.

Lighting this tobacco there is a slight hint of vanilla. It's hard to call this a vanilla because it's an overall general sweetness. It does a great job of pushing the flavor of the orientals with the latakia into the forefront while providing a nice undertone of sweetness. Pipeline hit the nail on the head comparing this to a softer version of Squadron Leader. The VAs don't seem to do much in this blend, or at least not in my experience with it. But the first half of the bowl has some nice interplay between the "vanilla" topping and the other tobaccos (mainly latakia and turkish/oriental). There does seem to be a bit too much of Turkish taking the spotlight away from the other tobaccos. It doesn't tend to bite too much but does leave a funny feeling in your mouth. But I have had this reaction to some English blends.

Now, the remaining half of the bowl is something that's frustrating and disappointing. It seems that the topping wears off (or potentially compounds on itself) and gives off a very ashy flavors. One of the reviewers, Sirloirn, aptly put "cigarette taste towards the bottom". I don't know if it's just too much Turkish or what. But, without fail almost every bowl, of every material that I have, of various sizes of pipes, the latter half just turns into an ashy flavor with the occasional hint of Latakia. The one positive about finishing a bowl is that there is a clean white ash and no gooey mess.

If this tobacco could maintain that gentle balance that it has for the first half, this would be an easy 3 star blend if not bordering on a 4 star. But, since I can't have a positive latter half of the bowl, it's only good for 2 stars.

Alas, I could not enjoy this blend as much as I wanted to. I have found Glynn Quelch's Chocolate and Vanilla to be the Aromatic Latakia blend I was looking for. Though it is nothing like Perfection.

Pipe Used: Cobs, Briars and Mortas

Age When Smoked: new

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (317)	2013-09-25		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Like for so many others, for me the casing on this was almost undetectable. As an Oriental/latakia blend, this is a very nice but not overly interesting blend for me. The Orientals were well buried, and even though the Latakia was not too strong, it was still the major note by far. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is probably not.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2013-06-11		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Tolerable

I had found that the SG line of flakes were very inconsistently sized. The cut would be thin for one flake and then thick for the next flake. Also the flakes were a little difficult to rub out. Lastly, I had trouble keeping this stuff lit and producing an acceptable amount of smoke. These flakes had really nice flavor though. Eventually dropped the whole line of flakes due to these drawbacks.

Ok..Whats up with the weird flavor additives!!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Demetri (113)	2013-03-17		Mild to Medium	Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I should have known better than to put this in my pipe. A sample, unsolicited, from my B&M tempted me to lose my mind and think I could stray from my antipathy toward flavored Latakia blends. The esteem in which Samuel Gawith blends are normally held I will, probably unfairly, blame for my momentary insanity.

As with Esoterica's St. Ives, I had the identical, feeling of nausea trying to smoke this. Cross-over "English" blends and I do not do well together. When I want vanilla a once in six months cob load of 1Q suffices. Here the flavoring just ruins good tobacco to the point I can't really rate it outside of the flavoring. Sorry, guys.

Yes, the desert island test would find that I would quit smoking rather than suffer this one.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	renwardhoop (177)	2012-07-04		Strong	Strong	Very Full	Tolerable

Somebody got a load of old leather boots together and set fire to them.

Perfection is whats left over.

Not for me.

5 years later and I'd like to claim that the sample I had here is still in existence, but that would be a lie.

Mind you, this has to be one of the wettest ever blends from Samual Gawith's and this sample has indeed been around for at least half of that time. It's weathered quite well and my taste for tobacco has matured since I last tried this.

It isn't that strong really, unless you really pulled hard on this and I've certainly had latakia loaded blends heavier than this one. So, I tone down my ratings a little, but still wouldn't buy a full tin of this as it's not an all day smoke and could spend another 5 years in the dungeon.

Avoid if you dislike latakia, sample if you do.

Pipe Used: Most of my briars

Age When Smoked: 2 years

Purchased From: Gifted

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2011-10-21		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I hoped for more and got much less. Perfection arrives way too moist and the cut is very rough requiring (for me) a lot of rubbing out. The flavor is bland and the vanilla....no vanilla to be found. It really needs some vanilla because as an English blend, it lacks badly. When I want and English with some Vanilla, 4 Noggin's "Britts Balkan" is the go to blend for me.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-04-10		Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild	Extremely Mild (Flat)	Pleasant

I was pretty excited to try this mixture after reading the tin description. I was even willing to look passed the fact that it stated it had vanilla in the mix. In my opinion true English mixtures do not include casings.

I popped the tin, and found the aroma to be, eh, flat. Not a whole lot going on there. I could not detect the vanilla which was not a terrible thing.

The moisture content was very good, and the consistency was perfect. Too bad the "perfection" stopped there.

I loaded this up in a small Peterson billiard, and got to puffing.

The first thing I thought of while drawing on the pipe was where is the tobacco? I did not detect any vanilla, nor did I detect anything that resembled an English style tobacco either. This was simply bland. I got a hint of Latakia in the aroma, but I really wish that would have come across in a little bit more of a full flavour. I understand this tobacco has been marketed as a light English, but this was like the ultra light of pipe smoke.

I can say that it burned evenly, though a little quickly. No strange goo left in my pipe, but I was most disheartened by the lack of complexity in this blend.

Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe is advertised to be a light English, but it is extremely complex while not overloading the taste buds.

I might recommend this to someone who is a casual smoker of aromatics, and might wish for a change of pace. If you are a dedicated hardcore English tobacco smoker, I would say you will be disappointed by this.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-06-14		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I just never thought about trying this blend due to the hugh variance in revieews. BIG MISTAKE. The gentleman that had SG create this blend has a very similar "palate" to mine I guess. I find the name of "perfection" PERFECT.

I cannot believe just how wonderful the taste and burning quality of this fine blend. My initial order was for one 50g tin. I'm going for more right away and I will be less likely to let others steer me away. One thing is clear the pallets of humans are as different as personality. You just got to try one when the inspiration hits.

=

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	CPT/VSG (72)	2009-05-20		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

This is the second SG blend that I have found to react oddly with my tongue and taste buds, leaving my sense of flavor diminished after a bowl. Not exactly tongue bite but something akin. That aside, the blend is pretty mild in flavor but a worthy SG product for a piper seeking an all day light English.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-01-14		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

Tin: Abundant, smoky, spicy Turkish bouquet, mix of tans, brown, and blacks. Medium ribbon cut. Supple but not sticky.

Taste-Aroma: Nice soft, tasty, sweet, with a spicy effect, a nutty tone, with the Turkish fragrant herbal taste and aroma predominating. A stoved sour cigarette taste develops towards the bottom. Classic tongue bite develops with consecutive bowls.

Nicotine: moderate

Room Note: Turkish cigarettes

Overall: The nice initial oriental taste at the top, followed by classic tongue bite by the bottom of the bowl, reminds me of Balkan Sasieni, which I recently tossed out. Two stars.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	WillardFan (90)	2008-12-22		Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

Being a big fan of S.G. Tobaccos, I have to say that I'm a bit disappointed with this one. Everything about this blend is subliminal. You think you might be getting ready for some kind of flavor burst, only to have it disappear as quickly as it started. It took some effort to keep this stuff lit as well. Very moist just out of the tin, might want to let it sit out a bit before putting a match to it. Nothing really stands out with this blend, IMHO it's just too bland for my palette. I don't think I'll be wanting anymore of this in the future...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-08-15		Mild to Medium	Very Strong	Medium	Tolerable

Reading the mainly positive reviews below I'm wondering if I got a dud tin.

Not impressed. The supposedly light vanilla flavouring is totally overpowering, both on the nose when sniffing a newly-opened tin and on the palate when smoking. It also tastes suspiciously synthetic. I have tried leaving the tin for a few weeks and coming back to it and am not much mollified.

All a matter of taste, I suppose, but I find this pretty much unsmokeable.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-12-21		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Zulujerk says it all. The only difference is that Perfection will never again see the inside of any of my pipes. A couple of bowlfuls or this is enough for a lifetime.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-09-20		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Now hold on a sec...don't think that you are buying an aromatic if you purchase a tin of this mixture. The tin smell, as I could discern, was that of an english...there was no vanilla aroma present...but there was a faintly peculiar smell I could not perceive singularly. Upon lighting this there was no vanilla to be noticed as well...what the?? I think whatever was added is so slight or not typical vanilla topping that it goes without notice. That, or, I got a bad tin?

This smoked well after some drying time, produced a nice volume of smoke and had a little bite to it, the Va's were assertive but not in a sweet way...more like an atringent type effect. The latakia content is less than most english blends and the turkish seemed most prominent...this reminded me more of a balkan blend without the latakia showing itself prominently. It was a nice medium smoke, burned well, stayed lit well but just didn't impress me as much as the oft mentioned Squandron leader. I guess since this was made for one man's idea/perception of perfection it stands to reason that it may well not be perfection for many others....it wasn't mine...but its not a bad smoke...definitely not what I expected.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-08-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This blend was a huge deception, considering Samuel Gawith's reputation...

The tin aroma was Latakia Oriental, with a very distinctive vanilla aroma in the background, just nicely floating there. Nice long cut of gold, brown, medium brown and black. The moisture level was rather high, so I let it dry oput for 4-5 days, then I smoked.

To my most utterly surprise, the taste was flat, which didn't tie in with the tin aroma, which promised a rich, satisfying smoke.

I still suspect i got a bad tin, but I hesitate to order some more. i will eventually, though. Just to confirm/infirm my first impression.

A pity!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Relapse (18)	2006-08-22		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant

Other than the bad joke square tins of all SG tobaccos, this one is a must. If you like -as I emphatically do- English or "Balkan" style blends, you will find this rather unique blend a tasteful variant. The advertised vanilla topping is virtually non-existant and it serves only to make its room note a pleasant one that wont make your non-smoker companions flee for the door.

The taste is full, although with an almost dessert-like quality. The VA's are sweet and round, the orientals deliciously mild and the latakia prominent but not overpowering. The latter provides also a cedar timberland aroma that tops the blend very well.

I cannot understand how some folks find this mixture boring. To me its certainly straightforward, lacking some of the complexity that many English style blends display, not always to their best advantage. Perfection on the other hand is like a fine steak grilled to perfection in comparison to a sauced tournedo that depends on the recipe to hide its shortcomings. It's a superbly simple apple pie vs. a complex chocolate and truffle cake... You know what I mean.

As of today, I've gone through some 600g (12 tins) of Perfection and it has all but replaced Squadron Leader as my morning smoke. Of course, I reach for heavier mixtures at special times but I might smoke this one exclusively and not miss the variety much.

BTW, it ages fast. Some tins, purchased six months ago are displaying a much nicer character than the new tins. I plan to get some twenty tins, wrap them in several layers of Saran Wrap to avoid vacuum leaks and set them aside to age a few years. If I live to smoke them I bet they will be a treat.

- - - - Added August 22, 2006 - - - - -

In addition, this must be one of the noblest blends around. It behaves extremely well in most types of bowls, tall and narrow or squat and wide. It packs easily, resisting overpacking. Keeps lit unless you purposefully let it go out, smokes cool even to the point when you cannot hold the bowl because of its temperature; even then, it fails to scorch your tongue no matter how fast you puff. The sweet dessert-like taste is there from the first puff down to the dottle, which, BTW, is almost nonexistant except in pipes with a deep heel below the airhole. A blend to enjoy wholly.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-04-19		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Pleasant

Ahh, Perfection! My first foray into the Samuel Gawith tobacco line and it certainly urges me to continue my explorations.

Tin aroma is standard English fare but the edges are softened just a bit by the vanilla topping. Speaking of which, the topping is so parsimoniously applied as to be a virtual no-show during the actual smoking of this fine blend (however, being a predominantly aromatic smoker, I may simply be a bit jaded).

The tobacco is moist but not to the point that it incurs any lighting or smoking penalty. In fact, the smoke is surprisingly dry and light. The flavor of the tobacco itself takes centerstage and is exceptionally enjoyable, indoors or out. The latakia component seems quite light for an English blend but I also consider that a plus in this instance. The second half of the bowl is, by far, the better with Perfection. It seems to stove itself a bit and release a number of complementary and complex flavors.

This is simply good stuff and I'll endeavor to keep a tin handy at all times.

4/05 Update

Ahh, what a fickle thing is a pipe smoker's fancy. Another trip around the sun and quite a few blends later, I find I simply don't return to this one very often. Picadilly and Pelican have knocked this one out of my rotation pretty completely. I'll try to smoke a bowl now and then to deplete my stock, but I shan't be purchasing more.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-07-23		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfection is, if not perfection, then, well, at least OK, the hyperbolic trade name nothwithstanding. I'd let my tin age for at least a year, so note that my comments may not be valid for newly ripe samples.

Perfection's cut is unusual these days, like that of many Gawith mixtures. My sample came in closely packed strands with the heft and texture of dreadlocks. Pulling these apart to pack pipes, I noticed a fetid smell and worried that my tin had gotten moldy, a problem one hears about with Gawith. I never uncovered any mold, or any Perique, so cannot account for the smell.

On lighting, I found this to be a mild and exceptionally smooth smoke. The smooth texture of the smoke was perhaps the best part of the Perfection experience. The taste tended toward neutral, with a slight sweet undertaste, and every bowl smoked cooly.

I smoked this tin in a variety of pipes--meerschaums, old Comoys, new Tatums--and Perfection's taste and burning characteristics stayed remarkably consistent.

Perfection is not a complex tobacco, but it is well-made and terrifically consistent. I have another tin in the cellar, and look forward to smoking it, although I doubt I'll buy another.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BostonPipe (84)	2002-07-11		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Overall I found his blend to be a smooth, nice change of pace from my oriental and english blends. The flavoring was subtle, with what I experienced to be a slight creamy overture to it. As another reviewer has stated, it packed a little springy. However, after the false-light it settled right down with the re-light. It burned to a fine ash without a wet-heel at the end, unlike most of the "danish-flavored" blends that I have tried in the past. For the "Medussa" rating, my wife stated that this was more tolerable than my "usual" blends.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-07-02		Very Strong	Medium to Strong	Extra Full	Pleasant

"Perfection"... far from it!

It was obvious from first light that it came from the same blender as Squadron Leader... it started as a classic English much like S.L. But my first warning came when my wife said "that smells pretty nice". IMHO, room aroma is inversly proportional to flavor. This blend was no exception.

Shortly into the bowl, that distinct "English" flavor yielded to a mild... then not so mild... then overwhelming soap taste. Then, it went from bad to worse. The "soap" was overpowered by a strong vomit flavor.

After the bowl mercifully went out, I found that Perfection had burned cleanly to the bottom leaving only a light ash. [I mention this so there can be no doubt that I gave it a fair chance]. I was left with the ash... and a tongue bite not generally experienced with English blends.

For a truly classic English... I'll stick with my beloved Squadron Leader.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	The Printer Piper (16)	2023-03-06		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This “Perfection” tobacco is a mild-Latakia forward blend with bright and brown Virginias and supposedly with added vanilla. There is little to no Nic-hit, no bite and the forward aroma is a mild Latakia. This is a mild English blend with no complexity and no vanilla you will detect in either taste, nor tin-note. Think of a very weak Sillems Black without nearly as much taste or aroma.

Perfection can be an all day smoke if you don’t get bored with it. If you are starting out on Latakia blends, this is a perfect intro. Don’t expect any aromatic experience from vanilla because it’s really non-existent. I don’t think this ever was a Vanilla topping tobacco, but rather vanilla extract used to alter the sweetness of the existing Virginias only - used more for chemistry than taste or note. A very nice light intro to Latakia forward English blends you can build upon. I would suggest you buy Sillems Black if you enjoy this one.

Give it a shot, but don’t expect too much.

Pipe Used: Meerschaum

Age When Smoked: 2022

Purchased From: B&M

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	claudiobande (31)	2023-01-02		Mild	Very Mild	Mild	Tolerable

A tobacco subtly flavored with vanilla. It is a good tobacco to start with natural tobaccos and English blends, but for regular smokers of latakiados, it is not a very interesting tobacco. In particular when I smoke it I have the feeling of smoking an English mixture in one of my pipes designed for aromatic tobaccos

Pipe Used: Dunhill - Castello

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	Anakin1981 (11)	2022-12-24		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well I wouldn't call it "Perfection" tobacco, but that's marketing for you... A very light vanilla taste is added that it doesn't hit me all the times and it's light on the latakia so I guess it's another blend that can be "introductory" to that particular tobacco taste.

I find that it wants some relights as it's a bit moist, but after some days it's better in that department. It doesn't get that hot and I believe it's a light aromatic that even those that don't prefer them might smoke a bowl of it. Not my cup of tea though and I would advise aromatic smokers to steer away from it.

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the tin

Purchased From: Tobacco store

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	junehyeong (4)	2022-07-27		Very Mild	Very Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant

라타키아 입문자에게 가장 무난한 선택이 될 수 있을 거 같다. 바닐라 향 잉글리쉬로 비교적 향긋하며 강도, 룸노트도 쌔지 않아 많은 사람들이 250g 박스 형태로 찾는 연초이기도 하다.

바닐라 향의 연초이며 바닐라가 강하기 보다는 버지니아와 함께 쌍둥이처럼 동행해 부드러운 단맛으로 나타난다. 높은 강도를 좋아하는 나로서는 그리 좋아하는 타입은 아닌 연초다. 독하다 평 받는 연초를 피워도 담배를 부담스럽다 느낀 적이 없던 나는 부담스럽지 않은 연초라는 게 그리 이점이 되는 지 잘 모르겠다. 그냥 편하게 태워 없앨 생각이다.

그래도 한국에서는 좋아하는 사람이 많은 담배고 지금 해외에서도 구하기 힘들다.

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	계란반숙 (5)	2022-04-04		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

뚜껑따자마자 올라오는 라타키아의 향이 물씬풍긴다. 발칸의 향보다 오히려 더 강하다고 느낄만큼 강하다. 불을 붙여보니 잉글리쉬라인의 특유의 입안박하향과 민트향이 섞인 맛이 입안을 시원하게 한다. 스트러스의 시원함과 동시에 버지니아의 단맛이 뒤따라 올라온다. 우디함과 너트함그리고 바닐라가 배합되어있다해서 그런지 후미에는 바닐라의 크리미함이 느껴진다. 리본컷이라 불은 매우 잘붙고 오히려 맛나다고 쭉쭉 빨다가는 파이프가 뜨거워질정도이다. 불관리가 매우 중요하다 왜냐면 리본컷은 불이 플레이크보다 잘붙어서 과열되면 그맛이 사라진다 그만큼 천천히 조금씩 나눠서 흡입하길 바란다 그럼 그단맛과 고소함에 황홀할것이다 라타키아인만큼 실내 환기는 충분히 시켜주길 바란다 그리고 병안에 오래보관하다보면 그향이 빠지질 않는다는것을 잊지말라. 처음보다는 후미갈수록 크리미함이 매혹적인 퍼펙션!!

Pipe Used: full-bent

Age When Smoked: 52

Purchased From: Republic of Korea

Similar Blends: Ashton's Artisan's Blend, Peterson: Early Morning, Peterson: Nightcap.

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	Boatdock (36)	2022-02-11		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A nice crossover blend. Smokey with a touch of vanilla. Not a bad smoke. The Cyprian Latakia is present but not overpowering. Smokes cool and to a fine white ash.

Pipe Used: Irrelivant

Age When Smoked: Fresh

Purchased From: Cigarbid

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Knightsmoker (216)	2018-12-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable to Strong

I like this blend overall. The VA's seem to compete with the Lat as to which is more dominate. They are grassy and slightly citrus with some notes of toasted grain which must come from the browns. The lat is smokey and sweet. The Turkish has a dry woody note, a little sweet with a buttermilk sourness about them and a musty note comes and goes once in a while. The vanilla is present for me from the first puff to the bottom of the bowl. It is a little spicy (think the whole bean in food instead of just extract) and does complement the tobaccos rather than mute them. The room note is far from pleasant, however. It is rather strong and although I smoke only outside it was noticeable on the other side of the house for hours like it would linger in the air both the wife and neighbors had plenty of comments. Still a very good English aromatic offering that adds a change from the normal rotation. Worth a try if you are looking for something different to break up the norm.

Age When Smoked: 1 yr,

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Berzerker (28)	2018-12-10		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Bought a tin of this by accident 8 years ago. Cracked open the tin last week. Im not much of a latakia bloke but thought it might make a nice change and especially heading into summer. I really like it. Pleasant taste and the vanilla is not overbearing nor is the latakia. The virginias are great. Bit on the milder side though but all in all a pretty good blend. If you like latakia blends then just try it. Wont be a waste of money even if it turns out it wasnt for you after all. Ill be smoking my tin and am enjoying it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sybariten (61)	2017-02-22		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable

First - I am one of those who love latakia in periods, but I rarely smoke a tin without switching between it and something lighter on the palette. That said, I really enjoyed this one. Not at all a heavy aromatic, Perfection's added vanilla just smoothens the blend and makes it creamier, without being anymore in one's face than, say, the plum topping of Dunhill Royal Yacht. One of the best English blends that I have tried.

Taste: Really akin to other Gawith English blends like Squadron leader and Skiff mixture, the almost toffee sweet smokeyness with hints of hazelnuts and fresh cut grass greets the smoker as one would expect, with a savoury, salty note steadily present. But this one states that there is a topping of vanilla added. This is a sophisticated topping, not at all overly present or brash in nature, rather it lingers on the tongue on the finish. It adds a bit of sweetness, but this is still no where near as confectionery as McClelland's Frog-series. It is just well rounded and full flavoured. Compared to other offerings in the Samuel Gawith catalogue, this is a bit richer than Skiff Mixture and a bit less so than Squadron Leader.

Mechanics: Fine ribbon cut, not overly moist but could do with some drying, burns great with no bite. Mild to medium nicotine.

Pipe Used: Briar and cob.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Rob73 (77)	2016-10-23		Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Someone feels the vanilla hint, someone doesn't. That's how the personal taste and feeling works! I feel it and to me is very pleasant. In fact, for some summer smokes, I used to add a little bit of Sweet Vanilla Honeydew to some EM. But ther is no need when we have SG Perfection. 4,0/5 in my personal rating system.

Purchased From: Paoletti, Lucca (Italy)

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	pinko (52)	2016-07-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A sweet, light breakfast blend with a little more Latakia and a little less Turkish than my standby, Early Morning Pipe. Pancakes instead of bacon and eggs. The backbone is gently steamed Virginia tobacco that wouldn't bite if you tried. It's smooth VA tobacco, for sure.

The Turkish and Latakia are balanced well, a bit more smoky than tangy but well within expectations for a light blend. A sweet vanilla top note is barely there as compared to American aromatics or the Lakeland heavyweights. Just enough flavoring to compliment the blend, nothing in your face.

Perfection needs a little drying out of the tin, maybe 1/2 hour. By the end of the tin, it's dry and ready to go.

It's my second-favorite morning blend, but I have to be in the mood for the extra sweetness. Not an everyday smoke, but a cheery change of pace.

Age When Smoked: fresh - 6 months

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	aksamolsa (20)	2016-02-01		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Not as much as the name suggested but it is a good smoke, if you like English blends than probably you will like it. In order to appreciate this one you need to come back after a few different blends. Mellow, earthy and nutty with a good base, doesn't feel like overwhelmed but yet satisfying to the end. Reminds me of squadron but a lot more rounded. Can be smoked anytime, I always come back for it.

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	Haccaero (3)	2016-01-13		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I Know lot of people like this tobacco but for me it's been a delusion. I don't like strenght tobaccos, but this is really very light with low taste.

Pipe Used: peterson, vauen, savinelli, castello

Age When Smoked: now

Purchased From: madrid

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Jorge Soler (202)	2015-05-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

I wasn't impressed with this tobacco (Perfection) at all, but you can still make do with it. The tin note is as strong and pungent as, say for example, Squadron Leader, but the former is more dominated by black/darker leaf tobacco. I have detected sort of a sourness/bitterness in this tobacco, which I suppose come from the Turkish leaf, but I don't mean this in a bad way. Neither flavouring, nor tongue-bite, have been detected, and the room-note is in line with what you can expect from a Latakia based tobacco. It evolves OK in your bowl and it is possible to smoke it to fine ash if properly dry.

Pipe Used: Northern Briars G4 squared poker

Age When Smoked: ?

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Fred T (67)	2015-01-01		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I see why they call this Perfection. It comes pretty close. It's an excellent English style tobacco, Real English flavor, and a little less powerful than Dunhill 965, which is my go to English smoke. I give both Perfection and 965 4 stars.

Pipe Used: Dunhill Billiard

Age When Smoked: New to 1 year old depending on tin.

Purchased From: Smoking pipes.com

Similar Blends: Dunhill 965.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	o3Ho3 (28)	2013-12-20		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium	Strong

Interesting to taste. Interesting to observe. Interesting to smell. Latakia touch is more than a touch and virginia make the difference. But that's all. sry guys.

Pipe Used: always Peterson

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	machinebcon (50)	2013-01-03		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

The name is misleading, this is not Perfection. It is something like a differently flavoured Westmorland, with a little bit more Latakia smokiness, and some natural sweetness. The casing is subtle but noticeable. The Orientals give it a slight Turkish Delight taste, a bit like Basma (?) though I doubt it comes from Basma indeed. Excellent burning qualities, easy to pack, very long ribbons and a comparably high amount of Lat in this tin. If classified as "English blend", Perfection is one of the worse at Gawith's. As an aromatic, it is excellent. As an "English Aromatic" I have smoked better ones. 2.5 of 5 stars, if you like Westmorland, you probably like Perfection too. Addendum (July 2013) -- now after some serious drying (half year!) it has become a great, musky, smokey blend. Very smokey, slightly bitter, and the vanilla is completely gone. Bumping to 3.5 of 5 stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-06-07		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Certainly this is an enigmatic tobacco and while the guess work and trying can be fun - I also am not sure if the inability to characterize this tobacco is not in some way a detriment, that said... I have been smoking it for about a week and am half way through the tin so perhaps five days with three or so bowls per day enough to form some opinions.I have noticed that the few larger bowled pipes I have have been a bit kinder to this blend then my smaller bowled pipes.I prefer the latakia content in my English style mixtures to be between 20 and 35% so for me this is right on the mark.It is smooth and I am secure in my judgement and feelings about Samual Gawith that it is a high quality tobacco.I like the moisture level and it is a consistent and honest tobacco.I will buy it again but will certainly not stock up on it or buy it more then once a year I see some similarity to a tobacco I remember from long ago Temple Bar from Druquer and SOns out in the Bay area.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2012-02-21		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

One of my best blend. Like its name a kind of perfect one.

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	Northern Pipes (22)	2012-01-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This was one of my first ventures into an english blend as I'm fairly new to pipes and am still in my aromatic honeymoon phase. I thought that having a mild vanilla flavouring may prove a nice transition, but I didn't get any hint of vanilla at all. I am not a fan right now, but It didn't offend me. I used to hate mushrooms as a kid but now I love them, you never know what the future holds with this tobacco for me. I plan on going back to this occasionally for more input. As far as a smoker of a few years and in the early stages of trying more savoury tobaccos, this tasted like ground wood chips to me. Other than that it lit well, it's smoked cool, had to pace myself a little more to avoid tongue bite.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-10-27		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

"Perfection" or hubris? "Perfection" probably has more marketing appeal than "meh".

Given that I can't detect any vanilla, I'd describe it as like smoking Squadron Leader when you've a head cold.

The verdict of this smoker : 's okay I suppose, but I'd rather have some squadron leader.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-10-11		Mild to Medium	Medium	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I decided to buy this tobacco, as my curiosity was aroused by the description of an English Mixture that contains a light vanilla scent. This aroma is not very detectable, except, maybe, from the first 2-3 puffs, while showing good faith and being totally convinced that YES, it does contain vanilla. The tobacco is very, but very, moist.

It is exhausting to dry it out, to fill the bowl, to light it up and try to keep it burning.

Ouf, I'm tired. I said I wanted to smoke, not take a stress and patience test. In the end, an uninteresting mixture by Samuel Gawith.

The only interesting thing for me in this tobacco was to find out the breed of the dog on the label.

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	Capt (339)	2011-07-27		Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

Once you let this tobacco dry out, the "vanilla" flavor is gone......Forever.

The first few bowls I smoked was a nice, flavorful English mixture with a hint of sweetness. The addition of Turkish to this blend left a sweet, minty flavor on the palate, long after the bowl cooled down.

But after drying out, you are left with a regular SG English blend. But hey, that's not so bad!

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	derlict311 (71)	2011-02-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfected blended, perfectly balanced and has highest of quality of Turkish orientals and their gentle spice. More mild than Squadron Leader and probably best in the morning with coffee. I like everything about this tobacco.

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	krg1000 (183)	2011-02-08		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

A very nice blend from Samuel Gawith. Everything in this blend seems to come together nicely. It comes a little bit moist in the tin. But once it has been opened for a couple days seems to dry out somewhat. I can't really taste the vanilla, but what there is of it makes a nice addition to the smoke. This does seem to burn down nicely to a fine ash at the bottom of the bowl. It also produces a nice amount of smoke. I would recommend this when it is available, which seems to be an issue with Gawith blends of late.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-01-16		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant

This is appropriately named, I keep plenty held back at all times.. A great and pleasant smoke.

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	Monopod (26)	2010-11-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

I made a mistake with this one, since I intended not to smoke latakia out of free choice, for a while at least. Perhaps that made me more objective ? I think that it's a good man that can carry a tobacco experience accurately over the years.I smoked quite a lot of Balkan Sobranie years ago, and the other in the khaki tin that I can't remember the name of. My good friend smoked pounds of both during our time together (RIP)

Well, I'm sorry Tony but I tried to like it with your passion, but if this one is close to the recipe for BS I don't like it. For latakia lovers though this must be one of the best available.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-10-10		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Perfection is mild, the operative word in the description is "steamed". So do not expect a strength or taste powerhouse. If you have gone a few days without a smoke this may be a nice treat.

If you smoke everyday, you will find this a bit bland and try to smoke harder to get some flavor from the thin wispy smoke, only to burn your tongue off. This puppy will nip hard with its sharp little teeth.

My tin was from 2005 on eBay. The tin aroma was hard to find to say the least. The tin had kept its seal.

The latakia is very slight, the vanilla is faint ( I can get the same vanilla taste by soaking a Grabow filter in vanilla flavoring ). Although the combination of vanilla and latakia is pleasant.

This is not a blend I will buy again, and so will not recommend it.

Read SirLoirn below for more details.

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	ChevySpoons (7)	2010-08-26		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Acceptable, even pleasant, but not outstanding.

The problem may be that this one hasn't yet decided what it is. Is it an English? Is it an aromatic? Hard to tell. If somebody was looking for a vanilla, I wouldn't suggest this, as I found the vanilla hard to detect. Good tobacco taste and Latakia is present, though, so if an aromatic smoker was looking to explore English tobaccos, I might suggest this as a nice introduction.

Overall, a pleasant, but somewhat puzzling, blend.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-08-25		Medium	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

I would love to give this blend a poor review in an attempt to discourage demand so that I can have a ready supply whenever the next shipment arrives. However I love this stuff! I have smoked close to a pound and enjoy the complexity of the blend. The only serious complaint is the reliability of supply. Never let a customer try the competition! I have replaced this blend with 4noggin's Brit Balkan which is an excellent tobacco and readily available. If Rich runs out I guess that I'll be down to lawn turds...

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-07-25		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Disappointing mixture...

Despite appearing as an English mixture being completed with a vanilla topping, which triggered my interest, it turned out as being bland.

Maybe I should have let it age first?

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-04-19		Extremely Mild	Mild	Very Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I am not a huge fan of heavy nicotine tobaccos so I approached this one with a measure of anticipation, hoping to find a regular all day smoke. While it is not a poor tobacco it is not for me. I am going to let the tin dry out a bit and see if the flavour improves. At times I felt like I was sucking on air, especially during the first part of the bowl. I liked how the vanilla came in and out of the smoke but there was not much else going on for me. I didn't really notice the Latakia. On the plus side it took ages to burn and was a long smoke, regrettably it was a long boring smoke.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-04-01		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

At the first puff of this blend, i felt the necessity to review it.

It's a blend for English Mixtures lovers and not only. What can I say? A perfect EM taste (with a lovely latakia) and a perfectly balanced touch of vanilla. PERFECTION, that's the right word to describe this blend....

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Billy777 (18)	2010-03-26		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

My first impression on opening the tin was that it smelled like a cross between burnt rubber and burnt manure.

So it was a surprise that it turned out to be subtle and refined when I smoked it. The Virginia and Latakia are nicely balanced and give a slightly salty taste. What I really liked was that it was slow burning and kept getting better as I smoked it down to the bottom of the bowl.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2010-03-24		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

It's quite a funny blend because sometimes it smokes just ok and sometimes bad enough not to smoke it again. But there is another issue with this one , i don't quite understand it .It's sure not a complex blend but a UFO blend type.The kind you don't know what to say or think of it while smoking.

2 stars just because it sometimes smoke ok.

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	Sinister Topiary (84)	2010-03-06		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Could I have found my default blend with this one?

I shared the opinion of others here -- a latakia blend topped with vanilla? But the vanilla is a mere whisper deftly applied that wonderfully suits the soft latakia. And the absence of oriental is noticeable, but not necessarily a bad thing since it's nicely balanced without it.

I'm reminded of other quality english crossovers like Frog Morton on the Town. Indeed if I were to characterize its flavor I would say... imagine if Samuel Gawith made Captain Black White -- top quality leaf, no hint of chemicals, greatly toning down the twinkie-marshmallow-vanilla topping with a deft hand until it's a mere suggestion -- then crossed it with a bit of Commonwealth, and you get Perfection.

So why not four stars? Because this is a fine table wine to be drunk with pleasurable ease, not some exceptional vintage to be savored. Perfection is not exceptional, nor necessarily a masterpiece. (Can a table wine be exceptional? No, but it can be terrific!) What Perfection is is an extremely enjoyable, simple, quality smoke that has enough going on to keep it interesting.

I enjoy Perfection very much. This might just become my go-to default blend when I want a wonderfully satisfying smoke that I don't need to savor as I would my other favorites.

Highly recommended for those wanting to move from aros to english, as well as to those who simply want an easy quality english smoke.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	nikko (5)	2010-01-21		Mild	Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

This stuff is just awesome,I love the smell out of the tin. A bit moist, better when dried out a little. Not sure if I taste or smell vanilla, there is something sweet about it though. About half bowl it gets even better dont know how to explain this as I am new to the review club. I ordered a lb of this,I hope it is as good as the tin. This is my fav, I have smoked several english blends,965,Balken seiseni,squadren leader,Three oaks syrian,EMP, all great tobaccs. This one is the best to me so far, probably just personal preferance.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DEN-C1956 (35)	2010-01-08		Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

i have just smoked a few bowls of this wonderful blend,as has already been said by 'briarpatch' not as strong as 'squadron leader'but a very nice blend,this tobacco is quite course cut but packs well in the bowl,and im getting quite a liking to samuel gawith pipe tobaccos.if you want a nice easy going tobacco this is a very good one to try.upon opening the tin theres an aroma like 'SL'..but just a little less hitting,wonderful stuff...i like it a lot.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-07-22		Mild	Mild to Medium	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Milder than Squadron Leader, with lots of Vanilla. A good gateway tobacco for smokers wanting to venture into the wonderful world of full English. Too mild for full English smokers, and too much Vanilla for that matter. Otherwise, good quality tobacco, and properly moist.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cmhpipesmoker (21)	2009-07-21		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant

It's almost impossible for me to give a true review of this blend since I ended up adding nearly an ounce of Cyprian latakia to a 50 gram tin. My first experience with this blend was just a whiff of it, in bulk, at my local pipe shop. Even though described as a mild blend, it did have hints of the latakia aroma I like. It wasn't until several weeks later that I went back to purchase several ounces of it but found that they were out of the bulk. I ended up buying the 50 gram tin and it sat around my house for nearly a year before I popped the tin. When I did, it had a flat aroma. With every tin I open, I typically dump them in glass jars for aging. I let this sit for several weeks before smoking a bowl. Again, its aroma was just flat and I was not, in my opinion, smoking even a mild English blend. Not being very patient (I probably should have let it sit for several months), I went back to my local pipe shop and purchased an ounce of Cyprian latakia. A small portion of it I added to another blend but nearly three quarters of this went into the rest of PM. Interestingly, its aroma (pre lit) is now close to that of Skiff. However, once lit, it does not smoke like Skiff but as a slightly sweet, almost medium robust English blend. I'm not saying this is a bad blend because I believe Sam Gawith to be one of the finest blenders and produces high quality blends. I love both Squadron Leader and Commonwealth Mixture. This is just a blend that's not right for me. Without the additional latakia, I gotta give it a two rating. However, give it a whirl as is and you may like it. If you find you don't like it and if you're into "making your own blends", you won't be disappointed by adding in some latakia.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	newmission (14)	2009-07-21		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Being a fan of early English blends this brought back some old memories of the bulk blends that used to be sold at Humidore One Panasch in Southfield, Michigan. (just outside Detroit). It was a great shop filled with tins and bulk, pipes galore and the largest walk in humidore that I have ever seen. The English blend is very mild and not overpowering while the vanilla top just sweeten's a bit. There was a shop in Royal Oak called 3 Ravens that had a house blend called English Breakfast Tea. SG Perfection brings back memories of that blend. Stout, but sweet, like a good cup of black Tea with just the right amount of sugar to take the edge off. I am convinced that SG has a good thing going here. Wont smoke it everyday, but it will be in my rotation and I am sure that I will always have a tin hiding somewhere around the house. PEACE

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-04-20		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This was a very flavorful and sweet blend. It got sweeter and richer midway in the bowl. If you like English blends this could be your morning tobacco. I'll put it in my rotation.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	kg0mz (54)	2009-03-19		Medium	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Broken flake. Really? I dug around in the tin a little, and I didn't find any broken flake. I was looking forward to a broken flake SG tobacco. I much prefer a flake (or plug) to ribbon. I may not know how to smoke ribbon tobacco. I almost always regret messing around with ribbon.

Anyway, I liked this even though I was convinced I would not like it, determined not to like it. Same with Grousemoor, I hated liking it, too. Two SG tobaccos I have not liked liking. I have tins of Squadron Leader I dread opening. And, I can name a few GL Pease tobaccos that are members of this set.

Not to be beating a deceased horse here, but I firmly believe that ribbon leads to hot spots in the pipe and tongue bite. Why mess with it when you can enjoy a cool, slow burning flake, plug or twist?

5/15/09 UPDATE: Anacol! In a larger bowl (24 mm) the burning characteristics are entirely different, very much improved. I am beginning to appreciate just how much the pipe can influence the tobacco. This stuff is divine in a big, old, heavy, bent billiard I picked up on eBay (a Ben Wade repaired and reconditioned by Tim West). This pipe combusts this ribbon better than any other pipe I own. Wow.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2009-03-17		Very Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

I was disappointed because the Latakia and Turkish are really mild. I mean this stuff might be good for beginners who would like to have a mild hint at what Latakia and Turkish are. There is also this little weird feeling on the tongue I have with the Squadron Leader as well. As the tobacco is mild, you might be tempted to smoke it too quickly, and then, instead of feeling a tongue bite you feel some kind of anaesthesia. UPDATE: One more tobacco that benefit from being smoked a few days after opening the tin. The tobacco is of course still mild but the weird anaesthesia feeling is over. It is very tasty and pleasant, I will grant 3 stars finally.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2009-03-01		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

As somebody said Perfection is the gentle face of Latakia ! A very ?politically correct? medium English mixture, smooth and soft, w/ a very light vanilla topping which I can detect only in the tin aroma.

It smokes always cool, flavourful and dry, with just a hint of ?aromatic? which I just like very much.

Regarding the components, useless to say they are of the very first quality.

Would I be able to stick to a medium EM as an all-day smoke, Perfection has all the numbers to be that one.

Again, the high price still affects from receiving my four stars.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-26		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

I would love to tell you all that this Perfection is, in fact, some lovely kraut, but beat me senseless, I can't do it. Both Gawith brands are favorites of mine and I have a hard time knocking the smokes they make. Most of the time I don't have to because they both make some spectacular flakes, mixes and twists. Most of the time, also, these smokes take off in (sometimes wild) directions that no other blender seems to have thought of. That, my friends is general perfection. (Though divided between two particular, peculiar companies.)

This specific Perfection mix misses it for me because it never got up and went where it was meant to be. I think it is sort of Frog Morton over the Vanilla Bean. The vanilla is there with VA and Latakia in a pleasant enough, easy packing mix, but after the first third, well, the game was called onacounta rain.

Not a bad blend by any means but my own, this is definitely in the "try them, try them and you may, Try it and you may, I say" category.

One note though........I think that Squadron Leader mixed with Cob plug (1792) at about 5:1 is a Great Smoke along the same line of thought.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-09-07		Medium	Medium	Medium	Very Pleasant

I have only been smoking a pipe now for about 4 months. I have tried several drug-store varieties, Captain Black, Half & Half, Borkum Riff, Iwan Ries 3 Star, etc. I finally decided that I am now a pipe smoker, and must delve a bit deeper into it. I ordered the Stand By Me sampler, which had as one of the five offerings, Perfection. I found it to be just as advertised.

It is, so far, my favorite smoke, followed by Optimum. Very pleasant room note, exceptionally smooth, and just sweet enough for a novice, like myself. It burns nicely, without any tongue bite. This is an area where I have been experienceing issues, as I have given up cigarettes completely, adn tend to smoke too greedily. I have just ordered a few tins, and will be buying more as the budget allows.

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	p4p4 (59)	2008-08-30		Strong	Medium	Medium	Pleasant

This is a difficoult to smoke blend. With charme and elegance, like every Gawiths products.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-08-16		Mild	Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I really enjoy this blend. The vanilla is stronger in the beginning but not overwhelming, then moves to the background. The English components are always the primary flavor. A very mild flavored smoke with no bite. This isn?t an everyday smoke but if you?re in the mood for something sweet but don?t want to break out a full aromatic this is the perfect choice. Another advantage is that the anti smokers tend to leave you alone due to its pleasant room note.

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	jankoez (69)	2008-08-05		Mild to Medium	Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

It is no doubt where from this blend is coming, it is correct English mixture - somewhat in modern style because of vanilla. Since it is quite mild, it is good for beginners in pipe smoking, as well it is good for those occasions when one wants to smoke spicier tobacco and still other people are not complaining for strong room note.

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	Tantric (321)	2008-08-03		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Full	Strong

I hadn?t reviewed this tobacco because, quite frankly, I don?t like it at all. I wouldn?t go as far as to say it is dreadful, but it definitely pales against other Gawith offerings. I hadn?t really found the time to put into words the reason I dislike artificially sweetened Latakia or Oriental mixtures (be it by the topping or the casing methods). But, well, I?ve just been on a holiday and after giving it some thought, I hope you don?t mind me sharing my perspective.

Personally I dislike artificially sweet Latakia mixtures. I get the impression the tobacco becomes bloated, heavier than it really is, and confusing. More or less the same thing happened when I smoked Bob?s Chocolate Flake, or MacBarns? Latakia. The thing is I don?t enjoy the STRUGGLE in my palate between the vanilla casing agent (or chocolate, or cherry or whatever) and the salty-mineral-earthly-humid leather-burnt wood nuances of Latakias (especially the Cyprus variety)

Mind you, I?m not referring to the savoury interplay between Latakia, and the NATURAL sweetness of Virginias, Orientals, or even Burleys. In fact McConell?s Scottish Mixture uses a fire-cured Kentucky that provides a naturally sweet and smoky enhanced contrast to the Latakia, not to mention Dunhill?s use of an UNSWEETENED variety of brown Cavendish leaf in My Mixture 965 (nowadays I have no idea what Orlik uses in that blend).

However, in Perfection, as in Chocolate Flake, or in MacBarens? Latakia mixture, there?s too much of a contradiction in flavour, and it poses, at least for my poor palate, something impossible to solve. I mean can one imagine the Pittsburgh Steelers? Iron Curtain playing a gentle and suave defence against the Dallas Cowboys? Not that Latakia should have the strength of Mean Joe Green or Jack Lambert, but it definitely is no Lynn Swann either (yes, yes, I?ve been watching the NFL channel).

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2008-07-18		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

My son, also a pipe smoker, gave me a tin of this without telling me what it was, as I'd heard of it but never tried it. I make my living with my palate and sense of smell and I did detect a very light natural vanilla aroma in the tin. Good guess.

After a bit of drying time it loads and lights nicely. The vanilla starts out a little assertively, but once things warm up, it moves to the background. At this point the Virginia and Latakia take turns on bass and tenor with the Turkish coming in with alto and even some soprano harmonies. Metaphoricaly speaking. It doesn't make any real sounds. Other than the ones in my head. If I keep my tinfoil hat on nice and snug.

Not one I smoke as a steady diet, but like to have it around.

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	Xeneize (275)	2008-05-07		Mild	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Very interesting "hybrid" blend. Light on Orientals, this is mainly a Virginia/Latakia with some vanilla-like flavoring (I taste some rum sometimes). It reminds me of PS English Oriental Supreme, although I like Perfection better due to milder flavoring, which lets you enjoy the true tobacco flavor and also bites a lot less.

Another high quality SG mixture. Not an everyday smoke, but nice for a change of pace from your regular English/Balkans.

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	WmZiggy (81)	2008-03-02		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a mild or "morning" English blend. I wasn't aware of the Vanilla top dressing till I read it here, nor did I pick it out when I openned the tin. What I did notice was the nice presentation of Bright and Brown Virginia and Turkish leaf and light dose of Latakia. I was hoping that this would be a lighter Latakia blend and I wasn't disappointed.

On the charring light and first third of the smoke the Latakia dominated the taste. About mid-bowl the Latakia took a back seat and the Turkish/Virginia interplay took center stage. The smoke was mild, subtly sweet, with a nice Turkish twang with Latakia under tones from mid-bowl to finish. From mid-bowl to finish I enjoyed this tobacco best.

If you buy this blend as a Vanilla aromatic you will be disappointed. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a toned down English, you might enjoy it. I like blends that use Latakia sparingly, such as IRC's Dr. Bradly. I would characterize this as a step up in Latakia from that blend.

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	PipePaladin (78)	2008-02-09		Mild to Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

This one is similar to squadron leader but with a light - hard to detect note of vanilla! Not 'perfect' but nice English alternative to your rotation!

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	constantsmoker (65)	2007-07-26		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I like to characterize this blend as a milder version of Gawith's other fine blend, Commonwealth. The additon of Turkish/Orientals and a decrease in Latakia yield a pleasant, flavorful smoking experience. The "hint of Vanilla" is but dimly perceptible upon opening the tin, which I found gratifying, for I feared a heavy-handed aromatic couched as a Balkan blend.

The tobacco fires up nicely, and the balance of sweet Virginias, slightly fragrant and spicey Turkish, and smokey Latakia is...well, Perfection (almost). I find it a great all-day or every day smoke. Not only is this a nicely balanced tobacco blend, and a perfect introduction to Balkan blends; it is part of a great Gawith 'family' of Commonwealth, Squadron Leader, Balkan Flake and Navy Flake.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-06-24		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Tastes to me like a slightly sweeter version of Squadron Leader, which is not a bad thing. Another solid smoke from Sam Gawith.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2007-03-13		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

If you smoke aromatic pipe tobacco blends to please the crowd, you'd better be socializing with some fairly stout friends. Otherwise, you might end up playing solitaire afterall. Perfection is not a teaser, but a substantial blend, manly dare I say.

This would have been better named "Pleasing" rather than "Perfection." I would want a bit more vanilla before I would proclaim it perfect.

This is nothing less than an English blend Americanized, making it less direct and a little more gentle than it would likely end up without the added flavoring.

Having smoked Squadron Leader for years and consider it my all-time favorite English blend, Perfection seems akin to SL, but a little softer, with a definite, though fairly mild, vanilla topping. Even the unburned tobacco is softer to the touch than SL. Perhaps the steaming and topping have conditioned the leaf to this effect.

This smokes nicely after a bit of drying out, smells good even with the substantial Turkish element in the mixture and has a mouthful of taste. The remnant ash is mostly grey with a bit of white. Pipe was left clean, as was my palate. Good for an occasional change for latakia and Turkish leaf lovers.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-11-20		Mild	Mild to Medium	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I opened up the tin and said to myself "oh no, not another Latakia blend." I was really hoping for a tasty vanilla taste sensation.

Well, once I lit the bowl, I was not at all disappointed. The initial burst of flavor was indeed a smooth Latakia. But, it was quickly followed up with just a hint of vanilla...a very tasty vanilla.

Easy to keep lit and very tasty, I will be adding this to my regular rotation.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-11-13		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

This is a very well-behaved tobacco and one I enjoy very much as a morning smoke. It packs well, lights well, and stays lit; while its flavor is non-exceptional it is still exceptionally satisfying. It is the tobacco that I take if I must travel for a few days because I know it will behave itself - it will satisfy my nicotine requirements without overdoing it and, while its flavor is not as emphatic as, say, GLP's Odyssey, or as monochromatic as Samuel Gawith's Best Brown Flake, it delivers just enough flavor and resonances to make it worth toting along. It is the sort of tobacco, which, if I did not enjoy some variety in my life, would probably become my staple all-day, every-day smoke. Highly recommended. Eventually I hope to buy it in bulk and put away about a pound or more to age.

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	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-10-28		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Very Pleasant

This tobacco is exceptional and delivers IMO what it promises. A very lightly aromatic (read that - softened aromas with a mysterious creamy yet not easily identified as vanilla-ish tone) When I bought this I cleared out a small tobacconist's aged stock of a few tins.

This tobacco has English breeding and is what I call a very "public" tobacco. I found the flavors to be quite good. As I read some of the reviews, I notice that the lower ratings came from those that seemlingly expected something else.

Cheers, VC

*Update to 9/05 review above - I've downgraded this blend because I have found other blends that ring this bell with higher quality tobacco and better consistency.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-04-15		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I didn't know what to expect with the addition of vanilla to a Latakia blend but I was pleasantly surprised; this is a fine tobacco. The blend looks very similar to Squadron Leader (in the tin) but has a darker, more pungent flavor. The aroma of vanilla is only slightly sensed and it is hardly tasted but does seem to add some smoothness to the blend. This isn't an everyday smoke for me but when in the mood for it I find it delightful. 7 out of 10 stars

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-04-05		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

I agree with distinguished gentleman: this is the most interesting, yet decidedly bland tobacco you'll ever try. It's full of mono-dimensional complexity, if such a description exists. It's cool, wet, damp and musky like an English autumn. I almost believe that this tobacco is boiled, not steamed. Imagine bangers and mash or steak and kidney pie - comforting stuff but after 5 or 6 mouthfuls, you get the idea. A truly distinguished English, nonetheless. Kind of what I had hoped Dunhill 965 or the Standard Medium would be like prior to its outsourcing. Gawith is still a steadfastly English blending house, and compared to a lot of the crap now being made in Denmark or Germany, this is a cut above. A blend no fastidious Anglophile pipe smoker should miss.

Three of five stars

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-04-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This truly is the most complex and interesting "Boring Tobacco" on the market. I say that with great respect to this mixture. Always cool, flavorful, and dry. It has a wonderfully deep flavor that pretty much remains the same from 1st light to dottle. It seems only to get more mellow and sweeter in a Latakia sort of way as you go down the bowl. Truly a British Tobacco. I love it and recommend it to anyone who simply appreciates a good English Mixture.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Philo Beddoe (221)	2006-02-26		Mild	Very Mild	Mild to Medium	Very Pleasant

Deceptive, I was expecting a strong english with some vanilla on top. But this is about as easy to smoke as it could be. No aromatic burn or loss of flavor. This blend is smooth and tasty. This is my first S. Gawith blend and it will certainly not be my last. The flavor is not an obvious vanilla as you would expect but instead more thick and creamy, lucious like a chardonnay barrelled in oak.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Lancelot Gobbo (25)	2005-10-18		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfection seems to me to be on the border between an English blend and a Balkan. The orientals and latakia are much more forward than in a standard english tobacco. It resembles Nightcap in many ways apart from the extra smokiness of the latakia, which is much more easily noticed here, even though it may not be in the same percentage. It's a bit like I imagine mixing one third Balkan Sobranie with two thirds Nightcap. A balkanized Nightcap, or perhaps a Squadron Leader posted to duty in Serbia! A gentle introduction to the balkan style, it light easily, stays lit, and smokes to a powdery ash. Don't puff fast or it will nip your tongue, but this is easily managed. Plenty of nicotine in there too.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-08-19		Mild	Extremely Mild	Mild	Pleasant to Tolerable

Perfection from Samuel Gawith is a pleasantly mild smoke. I fully expected to note a stronger vanilla casing in smoking this weed, but the casing is barely noticeable. The touch of Latakia, however, is welcome and helps to keep the Virginia base from becoming boring. I enjoy Perfection even though I will not rush to purchase more. Samuel Gawith blends much better tobacco. Nevertheless, Perfection is enjoyable and a respite from my catalogue of standards.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-08-10		Strong	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable to Strong

Perfection by Sam Gawith may be just that. This tobacco is a mostly dark mixture with some yellow or gold ribbons thrown in. There are also some small ribbons of brownish tobacco. This tobacco is interesting in smell. First, you catch the smell of a latakia, followed by a beautiful Virginia-type tobacco. Last but not least is a hint of vanilla - just enough to make one unsure of what awaits. Perfection packs al ittle springy, but after an initial light and tamp, burns easily. The match unleashes a taste treat - a very nice English style tobacco with a slight aromatic on top. Just enough vanilla to make the room smell pleasant, and provide a twist for the smoker. This burns to a clean ash and gets better in a pipe dedicated to it.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-08-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

Trying this blend for the first time today. I wish I had found it earlier; this is the way tobacco is supposed to be. I did expect this to be a fuller blend from the aroma coming from the bag, and I am slightly disappointed, which is why I give it three stars instead of four. Like one of the earlier reviews stated, I don't notice any vanilla at all, which is fine with me. Give it a try.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-05-28		Medium	Mild to Medium	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

The cut of this tobacco is strange. While described as a broken flake, what you mostly have is ribbon with a few chunks of broken flake. I think this is due to the flake being nearly fully rubbed out. Just don't expect a broken flake a la McClelland. The mixture is a nice mottled variation of browns that packs well and is stored at a good humidity for aging and immediate smoking. An easy pack after the ribbons are fluffed a bit.

It lights well and burns evenly. The vanilla is far from cloying, just a quiet note behind a Turkish-VA melody. The latakia is negligible. Not complex, it is a pleasantly sour, medium-bodied, and consistent smoke from start to finish. The way the vanilla is used is different from anything else I've smoked--instead of a sweetness bringing the vanilla to the fore, it folds into a delicate sourness.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-06-16		Strong	Very Mild	Very Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

After bashing G&H's Rum Flake, this tobacco (from the "other half" of the Gawith family) is a real smasher. I love this stuff. It is the one English tobacco with a topping that is not only tasty, but takes the mixture to a higher level of complexity because of the dressing, not in spite of it.

Topping English is always a dicey endeavor. Most, IMO, tend to do so in an unrestrained manner. Adding syrupy casings to Latakia and Orientals is usually about as successful as pouring chocolate sauce on a porterhouse steak to improve the flavor. This is different, however. The honest vanilla/tonquin flavor is subdued and helps the Virginia sing despite the hard core peppery spice of the Turkish as the bowl burns down.

The entire package is, however, heavy. This is not an all day blend, or something to smoke with a can of 7-Up at the beach. This is after dinner; Glass of Scotch; Build a fire; Put the Wagner CD on the stereo stuff. From the company that brings you rope tobacco with deep, nicotine-heavy, head spinning power, would you expect anything less from their idea of "Perfection"?

If you want to try a topped English, and you are ready for a powerful blend this is worth exploring. To borrow the description of the renown Bordeaux, Chateau Petrus: This is a Velvet Hammer. It is absolutely at the top of my list.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2003-10-03		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

This looks and smells just like "Squadron Leader" but has the slightest hint of vanilla added to it. It has the same short broad ribbons in the same brown to dark brown leaf color.It is a little moist upon opening the tin but that did not seem to affect the burn in the pipe. Packing is easy with a lighter touch seeming to work best. Initial flavor is like "Squadron Leader" but the vanilla casing comes in nicely after the second light. The balance between the leaf and the casing is perfect IMO, with nice interplay all the way to the bottom of the bowl which is suprisingly dry. From time to time I got a whiff of a floral note similar to "Bob's Chocolate Flake" which makes me wonder if this casing is also present in that blend. All in all I found this blend to be an excellent cross-over blend. I go through aromatic phases from time to time and when in that mood, this is one I will definitely smoke. Rating 4 out of 5 points. Amereaux probably would smoke this. Enjoy....

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-08-07		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable

I've been a fan of SG for a bit now, though I hadn't tried this blend. So when I saw it at JR (we were driving through North Carolina, and I made the family stop) I couldn't help myself.

When I opened this tin, I didn't even realize the tobacco was cased. To my untrained nose, it smelled like a sweet English blend. The appearance has been sufficiently described above, so I won't belabor the point.

It packed easily in my GBD virgin. The first match brought out a sweet puff of smoke. Virginias and the mild casing here were very evident, with the latakia chiming in here near the end of the chorus.

The first third of the bowl was smooth and sweet. The Virgina sounded sweetly throughout with the hints of vanilla and latakia humming softly in the background.

As I reached the second third of the bowl, the smoke became a bit more complex. The latakia and perhaps some orientals chiming in. Not drowning out the sweetness, but certainly taking centerstage.

As the bowl gets near the its end, the blend really gets rolling. The english components really shining, leaving the vinalla completly by the wayside. Hints of nuttiness and leather coming through now. Its also gotten a bit stronger. Finishing with a nice powdery white ash.

The blend produced a good amout of thick smoke, and though my sniffer is blinded by alergies, my better half didn't seem to mind this.

All in all a good smoke. I'm going to have to get a few more tins to set back and age.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2003-06-07		Medium to Strong	Very Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

This is an interesting blend to be sure. It is one that you have to nurse by being very light on the draw mixing the smoke with a porton of room air to gain the subtle flavors that are there otherwise the VA overpower everything else that is going on here. I don't consider it a well-behaved tobacco. Smoking a 1/3 bowl while breaking in a Savinelli natural, 4 slow draws produced a flood of fluid in the stem. This will keep me from working at finding the complexities that I am sure are there.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2003-04-15		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

So the heat index is > 105F again and my quest for a cooler, summer smoke continues. This one caught my interest due to the hint of vanilla claimed in the PR. I didn't really sense it much in the aroma or the taste, but no harm done. I'm not sure that this is 'perfection' but it's a good smoke. I would guess that a Company established in 1792 must be doing something right. An interesting mix of wide ribbons of VAs from yellow thru red to black with some Turkish for good measure. These are high quality tobaccos. The Latakia is also there but not overpowering in any respect. Overall, this English taste is enjoyable. After the initial light which is slightly difficult, this blend burns evenly and coolly without the need for multiple relights that I sometimes encounter with ribbon cuts. Even if mistreated, I experienced no bite. Although this one will not be an all day smoke, it is a nice change from my normal VA flakes in the hot weather.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-12-30		Medium	Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Gawith Perfection is a decent, middle-of-the-road English blend. There's nothing offensive about it, but it's not remarkable in any serious way, either. There's Latakia, a bit of Oriental, and a touch of VA sweetness. The very light vanilla topping doesn't come through in the flavor or even in the room aroma. I guess one could say that it merely tempers the Latakia without ever coming to the fore.

The cut is a long ribbon, packed densely into the tin. The tin aroma is typically English. The tobacco, because of its long cut, can be fussy about being loaded into a narrow bowl. It packs slightly springy, but generally burns cool and dry to a fine ash.

As aromatically-enhanced English blends go, it's OK and I smoke it from time to time in my rotation. However, I find myself reaching for Frog Morton On the Town and GL Pease's Mephisto more often.

Update: Found a pipe that this smokes remarkably well in. It's a big-bowled Mastro de Paja and the large tobacco chamber really seems to let the flavors open up in this blend. If you've tried this in a smaller or narrower bowl and didn't care for it - try it again in a larger one.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2002-11-09		Medium to Strong	Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I was hoping for another crossover English to add to my McClelland #5110/Frog Morton (and siblings) & Clan Shaw Mountain rotation. I don't smoke English blends too often, but the sweet & smokey combo just fits the mood sometimes. Perfection doesn't make the list, though. To be fair, it doesn't really try.

Perfection fails, to my taste, by trying to be two things at once - a straight English blend, and a mild, non-sweet aromatic. The vanilla flavoring is very sparingly applied, is not sweet, and seems to detract from the English characteristics. The vanilla adds some smoothness, but it doesn't integrate, seems like an afterthought. I would like this better if more casing was added. I find the English tobaccos to be only average, so eliminating the casing completely wouldn't help much either. Conclusion: Not bad, but nothing to draw me back.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Albion1956 (42)	2002-01-16		Medium to Strong	Medium to Strong	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Those were the days, when you search the land over, just to come back and have your tobacconist develop a blend to your likeing. Well Perfection is just that, a weel made blend of quality Va's, a portion of latakia, and a Turkish presence. Upon the can opening ceremony, I detected a vanilla presence, mixed well with the aforesaid, and a nice looking blend it is. After some fresh air, no not me, the tobacco, we loaded up an old Loewe. The first light brought out a classy taste of fine tobacco's, with just a waffing of vanilla. Tamp and proceed, this was done with some care, so not as to rush the process, and get tongue bit from the combination of Va's and vanilla. This blend smoked well, with a slight golden color to the pale ash, and required no other light. there was very little dottle, and like all flavored tobacco's, this one is no different, smoke it in a committed pipe. A well made tobacco, especially if you like vanilla, as I said, it's not a strong presence, but it is there. I tried this with a head cold, and I may try it again.

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