Samuel Gawith Scotch Cut Mixture

It’s a very complex, mellow, non-aromatic English blend with just a hint of Latakia. I was lucky to get a tin from a friend which was already cellared couple of years (stained wrapper), probably sat on the shelf at a remote tobacconist in Salzburg, Austria. I was surprised how complex, deep, very good tobacco it is! Moderately moist. Rubbed, the different tobaccos easily recognisable. Tin smell is more latakia oriented but that’s not the case with the taste and room note. Very easy to handle, plug and tamp. Lights easily and expands quite a lot. The bowl smokes very straightforqardly to the end, no relighting needed. Nutty flavours, sweet, spicy and rich like an aged cheese. Although no flavouring, it gives an impression of a cognac VSOP combined with a caffé latte plus some smoked ham in the background. No bite at all, doesn’t get too hot even if smoked vigorously. Definitely needs cellaring to get this state.

I tried to discern Latakia in this blend, but to no avail, as it was very much in the background without giving the smoke this typical earthy/smoky taste. The smoke was pleasant, but rather uninspiring, with cavendish dominating. Orientals provide some pepper. It gets better in the second half of the bowl, more creamy and nutty, as others have noted. Maybe it will grow on me, but for now it is not a blend that I would include in my rotation as I am a sucker for Latakia-rich blends. Still, I would rate it as recommended.

Update: I don’t change my rating, although several more bowls have left me somewhat disappointed with what I perceive as some harshness. For friends of Scottish blends, I recommend Scottish Cake. A much richer and nuanced mixture than this one.

This is the stuff for whoever likes to have Scotland in their nostrils. From the tin, it reminds me of Speyside single malts. Lighting it up only confirms these notes with the added bonus that you can now get a taste of it (at least I did). Burns cool and dry without being harsh at all.

Like with any Latakia blend, the smokiness could be overwhelming for some people I guess.

50g tin. The wax paper was very stained on opening, and clearly had absorbed some of the moisture/casing. The tin aroma is slightly musty to my nose (in a good way), some SG floral in there, but also I think I detected some berries or perhaps plum.

The cut is nice and rough with different sizes (some quite large) which gives it a good handmade 'rustic' appearance.

When it comes to the flavour, clearly anyone who doesn't like latakia should avoid this one, but for those of us who do it gives a lovely sweet and spicey smoke, with the cavendish giving it a smooth creamy finish. Not unlike a good quality scotch smokey malt whisky in fact, and a glass of scotch would be a good partner to this blend, ideally on a cold winters evening next to a warm fire! The casing flavour is, like most english/scottish blends minimal and the tobaccos in the blend shine through as a result. Recommended!

Original review:

Tin: Comes redundantly wrapped in a large, crinkly golden bag stuffed in a large can. Mixture of medium browns with a fair percentage of black, medium ribbon cut, not sticky but the tobacco can be compressed into a ball, the ribbon quickly coming back apart. Fairly moist feel to it. Compared to old Dunhill tins I have, SC is not very smoky latakia. Perhaps it is the cavendish that has quite a musty smell.

Packing & Burning: Packs readily enough, lights with one or two matches.

Taste & Aroma: Initially buttery, the cavendish seeming to dominate the blend as it does in the tin aroma. Mr. Oblong described it as herbal or meadowy, the flue cured providing a background. The latakia is undetectable.

Nicotine: Strong and lingering

Overall: Not any of the Kendal scent. GH's Scottish Mixture and No. 5 Mixture, and SG's Best Brown, are all likewise stated by the blenders as having no added flavor. 3.7 stars.

Update:

Taste & Aroma: I too sense something like licorice.

Room Note: It does have something akin to an electrical fire.

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Definitely something to be enjoyed outdoors.

Overall: For the above two reasons, 2.9 stars.

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).