Samuel Gawith RB Plug

I've had this kicking around the cellar for a few years and stumbled on it while looking for something else. First impression: A patchouli scented black bar of cheap soap. Now, I really love plug tobacco...the ritual of butchering something with a sharp knife and then setting it on fire appeals to my inner psycho. Despite many, many years of smoking plug tobacco, this one had me crying "uncle" almost before I had it loaded and lit. It is one tough little chunk of...some bizzare mutant offspring of tobacco and kryptonite, dipped in tar and patchouli. It smells just like a walk down any street in Berekely...un-washed "human beings" doused in that sixties era substitute for personal hygiene. Yech.

After ruining a perfectly good afternoon and a few formerly sharp knives, then running this...this...whatever through a coffee grinder, then drying it out forever, I was left with something I thought would be smokable. I was very, very wrong. I loaded it up in a corn cob of dubious heritage, then sat back for a relaxing smoke...not...I worked so hard getting it lit, I needed a crash helmet and a drool bucket. I ended up putting a few pellets of aquarium charcoal on top, fired up with a cigar torch and finally got a few puffs. Turns out the charcoal pellets tasted better than the hash, I mean tobacco. When the tobacco analog finally caught fire, I was overwhelmed with a sense of impending doom. I managed to struggle through a few more puffs. I threw the cob into my neighbors trash, chewed a few charcoal pellets, gargled with some Tabasco and chewed a few more pellets and a habanero.

I did't get the taste out of my mouth, but the guys in the ambulance and in the ER were very nice.