Samuel Gawith Perfection

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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!

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.

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.

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.