Samuel Gawith Scotch Cut Mixture

I'm no expert on what a "scotch cut" blend of this variety should be like, but I enjoyed it. There's a kind of warm, perfumed feeling to the tin aroma that I found relaxing and intriguing. I would not classify it as an aromatic; the flavors seem natural, even herbal. On lighting up, I found it to be a mild and subtle virginia blend whose fragrances reminded me of oatmeal (really fine oatmeal, not the Quaker oats variety I eat every morning) but still with a satisfying tobacco taste. The latakia is laid on with a light touch and I have no idea what the cavendish is flavored with, if anything. "Meadowy" is the word that floats in my mind here.

Blended for the Chicago Pipe Show, two of the 500 tins made were given to me by a visitor who kindly brought them back. A smooth interesting tobacco, not demanding and certainly no heavyweight, the cavendish is the first to make it's presence felt, followed by the latakia which seems to have been used more as a condiment on a bed of fine virginia. This is a very pleasant "Light" English ? I detect no flavouring other than the cavendish which seems to be prominent throughout. If your holding onto a tin of this and are wondering what it tastes like, then my comparison would be with Old Dublin or a Murray's 965.

Now I draw upon these two comparables for the following reasons, first the initial taste reminds me of Old Dublin, second, I've tried Murray's version of 965 and found it a little flat in comparison to Orlik's 965 (which I prefer, Philistine or not).

I could smoke this early in the morning, during a very hot day for a change of pace or late in the evening after too much "sensory overload" Sadly, when these two tins go, there shall be no more.

Appearance: the 250 gram bulk, sealed and packed in a cardboard box, of course, did not contain any release dates. The excise stamp indicated Q3 2016, and I'm willing to believe that date - tobacco in bulks hasn't been imported to us long time ago. An almost mono-color blend of fairly broadly sliced ribbons of brown, with an almost black cavendish standing out. The tobacco is a little dry, but this fact didn't hurt it, rather the opposite. It is perfectly stuffs into the pipe.

Flavor: When I opened the balk, I smelled quite a stiff and dense smell ... pork rinds! Over the years, the black unsweetened English Cavendish by Samuel Gawith, whose "flavor" I was already familiar with before, completely superseded all other notes. The tobacco had to move to a jar and rest in it for a couple of months with regular airing. Only after that was I able to pick up any semblance of light topping, similar to cheap apple cider (the manufacturer claims it's apple and whiskey) as well as other tobacco notes. All tobacco tones were safely hidden under the smell of unsweetened Cavendish and only appeared after ten minutes of airing in the draught - the suede smell of latakia and its, almost imperceptible here, peaty smokiness, soft hay notes, a slight earthiness, noticeable wood tones and finally, the aromatization I mentioned earlier. Slightly discouraged, I closed my eyes, and in my mind's eye I saw a glass of Johnny Walker, mixed with apple juice, with a pan of roast smoked pork next to it. Both the booze and the snack were, say, so-so. I stuffed my pipe and braced myself for the worst.

Taste: Of course, the smell of pork rinds from the cavendish can be weathered. But it is impossible to remove their taste from the tobacco. So, I was not too surprised to find a note of roasted smoked pork fat on my tongue. But framed by the tobacco notes, it wasn't irritating: sweetish baked fruits, a slight earthiness, some wood and nuts, the lightest wine note - all of this together was quite balanced, although very simple. Perhaps even the Peterson Old Dublin, close in composition to this tobacco, had a more complex taste. Towards the middle of the pipe the taste changes slightly: the sweetness goes away, the woody and meaty notes come to the forefront, but don't dominate. The tobacco has a slight roughness in taste, disappearing to the middle of the pipe, does not bite the tongue, smoked slowly, very dry, cool, and fairly tolerant of overheating. The strength is medium or slightly lower - in very large pipes a nicotine hit is possible. The aftertaste is sweet and sour with a woody undertone, not bright, but quite persistent. The tobacco does not leave moisture in the pipe, burning out in almost white ash, which, however, contains some dark fractions.

The smoke from the tobacco is reminiscent of pan-fried escalope (surprising, no?). It's fairly persistent indoors, but it has virtually no peaty latakia notes that irritate those around you.

What's the bottom line? First of all, this is not a tobacco for everyone. Its strange flavor and taste can put off a fair number of pipe smokers, and if you smoke it regularly, you'll probably need a separate pipe for it. It has a very simple taste and is a good everyday tobacco - especially if you live alone or work outdoors and don't have to worry about the smell in your house. I, on the other hand, smoke it when I'm in the mood, and I'm seriously considering where to put the second bulk of this. It looks like it's been discontinued, so maybe over the years it will acquire some collectible value. Who knows? At least, it will take a long time to finish it.

Un mix pasticciato, senza troppo carattere, capo e coda. Avevo molte aspettative, purtroppo deluse. Ad oggi è uno dei pochissimi (insieme all'orrido Celtic Talisman) SG a non essermi piaciuto.

Always nice to hold something special in your hands, so expectations are high when opening it.

Although the tobacco is in a bag rather then vacuumed, it was very moist. Even after drying out for an hour, it was still a wet smoke after the first third of the pipe.

As for the taste. I am big lover of latakia and can appriciate a good black cavendish mixture, but although this should all be in here, in my opinion, this the taste went more to a very good virginia with a hint of Black Cavendish and the latakia??? I think it was left behind in Chicago.

But all things set aside, a good virginia and I will happily smoke this tin down to the bottom (maybe adding a hint more BC and latakia in the process, just to see what happens).