Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture

This is an excellent light/medium Latakia mélange, classically English. The Virginia base gives it a velvety herbal airiness, the Orientals a nutty tangibility, a silken briskness. Nifty!

The Latakia?Cyprus, probably?has been subtly applied; it gives the whole composition depth and ampleur, without bitterness. The start is a little austere perhaps, but when everything gets going, this is a wonderfully meditative tobacco; gentle, but not bland. Heartlily recommended as an introduction to Latakia, or as a subtly Balkanic change-of-pace mixture for discerning aromatophiles.

Tin note of tart red wine and a sweet smoky campfire. The tobacco is ribbon cut and a mix of light and medium brown and a little black. Tobacco is slightly damp so no prep/drying needed. Burn is medium with a normal amount of relights. The strength is medium and nic is mild. No flavoring detected. Taste is medium and mostly consistent, with notes herbal smoky, wood, mildly sweet, earth, little sour, grassy floral, with a peppery spice on the retro. Oriental/Turkish is leading with Latakia and Virginias supporting. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is very pleasant.

To give you a hint from where my below impressions are coming from; I favor aromatic blends (vanilla being my favorite), although I am finding I enjoy English/Scottish blends more frequently, which I could not stand when I first started smoking a pipe. I have been trying more of the English/Aromatic combo blends, which I have found being more and more of that I am reaching for for my everyday smoke

Opening the tin the primary note I smelled was the Latakia. Leathery but not too strong. I could not smell any of the other tobaccos.

The flavor I tasted was the Latakia, but it was not as strong as Squadron Leader. I could taste the Virginias in the background and there was a hint of sweetness for me.

It arrived semi-moist, no drying time was needed. Was able to light this easily and needed a few relights. I did not have any tongue-bite with this blend.

I saw a drop of Samuel Gawith and month ago and had to get some tins. I really like EMP so asked several people in different pipe groups for recommendations for a light English blend and this kept popping up. I wasn't sure I'd get the chance to get a tin until I went back to the UK, SO I was happily surprised to see it become available.

It comes in an attractive tin with a very heavy cardboard insert. The tobacco is pressed pretty firmly in the tin, but fluffs up as it were with no fuss. It comes in a cut that has some very long but consistent ribbons of tobacco. It does come very moist, so I left my tin open until it reached the right dryness for me and then I jarred it. The tin note smells of sweet Virginias, tangy Orientals, and smokey Latakia. The sweetness in the tin note reminds me a lot of Presbyterian Mixture. It does pack well and light well.

Right away the Orientals and the Latakia are doing a dance. The Latakia is smooth, smokey and earthy. The Orientals are tangy, herbal, and full. The Virginias are sweet and bright. What really gets me is how light yet complex this is. In this blend the flavors meld and build off of each other just like in Presbyterian Mixture. It's wonderfully sweet and smokey at the same time.

The taste I give a medium. The complexity of the flavor warrants it. The strength is a medium as well. Nothing is making this too strong and I have to say that it's a great blend for a hot day. I think that this smells wonderful and I think some of your non smoking friends might as well.

This is my go to "Afternoon delight" blend. I like Virginia-Turkish blends or medium-strength English/Balkan blends that are Oriental forward, and in this category Skiff is a favorite.

Just because curious minds want to know I compared three tins of Skiff one afternoon, one from 1994, one from 2012, and a newish tin from 2018. I smoked all three in meerschaums with similar bowl geometry. All three were excellent in their own ways, the freshest batch being bolder in flavor, with slight variation in flavor depending on what was combusting at the moment. The older versions were both more uniform in flavor, the different component parts having melded into one, but they did have a definite change of character as the bowl progressed toward the bottom. The oldest version actually starts out a bit bland, almost stale, like it was past its peak, but by bowl's end it really became one of the singular taste sensations I have ever experienced.

In briars I found that the younger version performed best in a wide chamber (a Charatan 489 bent pot), as this emphasized the layered complexity of the various components. With the age-melded flavors of the vintage versions I found a tall narrow chamber helped emphasize the progression toward a magna cum laude finish. For as long as my supply of the 1994 vintage holds out I have dedicated a tall London-made John Redman to this blend.

Now, what about those flavors? The Latakia component really fades as this ages, the 27-year old version had no campfire at all (not even any smolders). The Orientals shift from mostly spicy overtones with some sweet sunflower seed to more buttery and creamy flavors (almost like cashew butter), while the Virginias progress to superb flavors of fresh baked bread.

All three vintages share a unique scent of motor oil/road tar, so I was glad to see Doctor Max also mentions this because I thought I was crazy! Keep in mind, this is just a scent, not a taste! Although charred or broiled steak notes are fairly common in certain tobaccos, Skiff has a rather unique flavor of Prime Rib Au Jus (in the younger version this is somewhat sublimated by the more overt Latakia presence).

Somebody else mentioned that this is similar to Germain's Eighteen-Twenty, and I can see some commonality, but Skiff really has some unique flavors going on that I haven't encountered anywhere else. Obviously I'm a big fan and highly recommend!

This is a really rough/coarse ribbon cut with sort of an acrid/fermented tin note. If you are a Latakia lover, you will probably appreciate this tobacco for what it is. Somewhat dull as you light up your pipe, this tobacco evolves quite nicely as you progress through every quarter of your bowl. I am finding all of the ingredients quite balanced and just in the right ratio. The smoking experience is very sweet and grassy with a bit of spiciness and sour under notes here and there. This mixture has more than enough Latakia to make your palate sing and is well served of Oriental and Turkish leaf as well. It truly is a symphony of flavours.

I first picked up a can of Skiff when I visited a local B&M tobacconist and just wanted to give him a sale. Despite my small purchase, he's since gone out of business, but so have most of them in my area.

I had no idea what Skiff was other than that it was a Samuel Gawith blend. Squadron Leader is one of my favorite English blends along with Penzance. The can I bought seemed fairly old, having some discoloration and staining of the can and label. However, I thought that might be a good sign that the can was well 'aged.'

Upon opening, the tobacco seemed rather moist, but had a nice English aroma. The 'smokey' smell typical of these blends was present, but much lighter than my favorites above. My tin did have a few stems in it but not an objectionable amount. After loading it into one of my pipes dedicated to tobaccos with Latikia, I found that it lit easily and burned well as long as I periodically tamped it lightly as it burned down.

I was very pleasantly surprised. I found it milder than SL or Penzance and a real treat of a smoke. I experienced no bite, but then I often smoke Virginias as a counterpoint to my English blends (hence I tend to draw lightly). It has more of what I'd describe as a pure 'tobacco' taste (the Virginia?) than the other two, but with a nice light balance of Latakia to give just that hint of zest. After a full bowl I sensed the presence of vitamin N, but not in an overwhelming way. Altogether, I think this one will be one of my go-to's when I want an English without the heavy Latakia flavor. I was undecided whether to give this a three or four star rating but settled on the four to counter some of the ratings below. This is NOT a one star tobacco nor a two star for that matter. I personally feel that anyone that does not like this blend really just doesn't like English blends.

I like the blend so much that I've bought it in bulk and have stored most of it in 4 oz. Bell jars. It's stored with my bulk Penzance and SL. I smoked a bowl today after lunch and found that I did not find a significant difference in it from that sold in the tin. However, I have dedicated a rusticated Savinelli with a nice military bit for this blend as I'm sure the Latakia will remain with the pipe as most English blends do.

I came across this one in that seemingly endless search for a medium strength, flavoursome, yet tolerable Latakia-Turkish-Virignia smoke. Where I come from it is difficult to find Dunhills?, Rattrays? or G.L Pease?s creations (i.e., one can only get them via international mail order, and then fight for them at customs), so one has to do with whatever is available. Some of Gawith?s and Davidoff?s blends have of recent become regularly available. I like Davidoff?s Royalty very much, but it is not an economical smoke by any means, so why not give Gawith?s a try? I have tried the four Latakia based mixtures, Perfection included (though will not try it again). Skiff is the mildest, the other two being Squadron Leader (medium) and KBE (aka Commonwealth--full!). Skiff smokes very nicely.

It is mild, but flavoursome, and has that unmistakeable Latakia aroma that seems to split smokers and non smokers down the middle. My SLW, unfortunately, cannot tolerate the stuff (she keeps on asking me if its legal), and I have to retreat to the garden studio to enjoy any Latakia mixture. However, more than Latakia, what I really like about Skiff is the tangy predominance of the Turkish tobaccos. They add a very stimulating substance to the flavour, making it for me especially enjoyable. Indeed, Skiff is very mild and easy to smoke (packing is quick and lightening is no problem), but the extra Turkish gives the aroma perhaps a rather more pungent quality than SL or KBE (very much like Black Mallory and Red Raparee, in which being the former stronger, the latter is far more pungent). I find it a good option both to get acquainted with oriental mixtures, or as a change of pace when not in the mood for full bodied Latkia blends. In any case, it is an excellent companion when reading, say, Agatha Crhistie.

I bought skiff because I had run out of squadron leader (SL) and could not find it anywhere. In the meantime I have been smoking full virginia flake also from Samuel Gawith. I find skiff similar to SL, however I prefer the latter. Maybe because SL had become my regular daily smoke. I noticed that Skiff burns very very fast compared to both other tobaccos mentioned . Full virginia is excellent , but somewhat plain, still a good daily smoke. I could not pinpoint the exact differences betw skiff and SL and will get back if I find SL again to compare them directly. At some point I felt like skiff had more nicotine compared to SL, ??? but I may be wrong , anyway both skiff and SL and full virginia are good for daily preferred smoking.… I‘ve smoked about half a tin since I last wrote and the more I smoke skiff,the more I like it, it has a nutty taste with a hint of raisin and is low on nicotine, which I like because I am nicotine intolerant .