Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader

Una nuona EM, bilanciata, leggera, adatta anche a chi come me non ama particolarmente la tipologia. I tabacchi, come sempre in casa SG, non si discutono.

Over 500 reviews, not much I can add so this will be short. Upon opening I do get a slight floral / soapy tin note, and it's there with the first few puffs, but eventually fades. Mild on the Latakia. Seems like I have to relight it a tad more often than average, but overall an enjoyable smoke, and recommended for any English fan.

This is a tobacco that I’ve waited to try for a long time, and had high expectations from it due to the big score on tobaccoreviews and what my pipe smoking friends have told me. But I was expecting a blend with more latakia (i’m a latakia “addict”). It’s not heavy on latakia, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, because it’s still a pleasant blend. It’s somewhere between english and oriental in my opinion. Probably Commonwealth is better suited for my needs.

I already smoked half of the tin. It’s not a very complex tobacco that you would need a tin or more in order to make an impression.

So lets start as usual... with the beginning! We open the tin and inspect. We detect a very, very weak smell, which seems to have a casing similar to SG Perfection (but it doesn’t have, so don’t worry, it’s only the tin smell). It also smells a lot like leather, like leather gloves or a leather jacket. So, the tin smell is not something “wow”. It’s not strong, it doesn’t amaze you with anything special. It’s some virginia smell, hay smell, if you search for it, and that’s normal, because this blend is full of virginia!

The cut disappointed me.... it’s a very unequal ribbon cut, with very long ribbons. I’ve actually found a ribbon that was almost as long as my straight pipe.

Visually, we see in this blend many pieces of bright and dark virginia, and some fewer pieces of latakia and oriental.

Although the tobacco that I have is from 2017 (and I opened it in June 2019) it’s still wet. So, before smoking, I let it dry more than 10-15 (like I usually let my english or balkan blends), somewhere around 20-25 minutes to be semi-dry. I don’t like to smoke it very dry (to crumble in my fingers) so I’d say that 20-25 minutes is the appropriate drying time for Squadron Leader.

It lights up easily with two matches. At the first draws you don’t feel a lot of taste, it’s more like a shy virginia. But as you smoke, the turkish and the latakia subtly start making their appearance, but none of them dominating (maybe the turkish, but sometimes latakia comes in front as well). The aromas are subtle, but pleasant and balanced, so it’s a softer than I expected. A good part is that if you leave the pipe to cool down, when you relight it you will be surprised by a better aroma, at least at the first draws. That’s when you start tasting the latakia with its smoky and creamy taste, then comes the turkish with its leather taste.

The room note is very plesant for an english blend, it actually gives a nice frankincense like smell. It has the strength of Early Morning Pipe and the taste of London Mixture. So it can’t be bad for those who appreciate softer blends in strength and in latakia amounts. But Squadron Leader is certainly below these two blends (EMP and LM). I can’t say that it’s a great blend. It’s a blend that you can smoke anytime, anywhere, anyhow. Nothing special. It’s just ok.

EDIT: It actually has more latakia than I thought. Or maybe I was used to blends stronger in latakia. But don't worry, you'll find it there. 🙂

EDIT 2: I finished the tin and I'm sorry I said "It’s not a very complex tobacco that you would need a tin or more in order to make an impression". I was wrong. This is actually a fine tobacco. Still, not one of my favorites but I enjoyed this tin more than I thought at first. I also deleted the whole thing about getting hot and warming your bowl. It's not true. It smokes great. So instead of 3 stars, I'll make it a 4 star tobacco. 🙂

Pipes used: Savinelli Tevere 315 KS (Prince shape) Jean Claude unknown model (Prince shape) Peterson Aran B7 (quarter bent Rhodesian shape), Butz Choquin Castel 1009 (pot shape)

Taste: 7 (out of 10) Smell: 7,5 (out of 10) Burning: 7 (out of 10) General score: 7 (out of 10)

As a mainly aromatics smoker who is moving over to English style tobaccos I've found this to be a great tobacco, there isn't any one tobacco that dominates, rather the Virginias complement both Latakia and Turkish, giving a pleasing tin note and a light, almost ethereal smoke with a room note that won't cause the non smoking brigade to string you up.

Smoking this give you hints of all three tobaccos without giving in to being bland or boring. It burns cool and fresh from the tin it requires a few relights, but after some drying time it drys out a little and burns consistently without needing relights. It's a satisfying smoke with a lighter than average nic hit and no bite. The room note is very light and won't put off any non smokers so it's a good smoke for social occasions.

I really do like this english. However its way to hard to find and does not live up the hype. Dont get let the hype fool ya, there are just as good and better english blends that are way easier to find.

I expected more Latakia from something "English." So if, like me, you're new to this stuff and you're looking for something in the vein of 965 or Nightcap or even Early Morning Pipe - look elsewhere! This is, however, a very nice Virginia-forward smoke that will burn consistently and never bite or complain.

High quality, smoothest blend I have ever tried, no tongue bite, I would recommend this to anyone, perfect for people who don't want too much spice, smoky or sweet, the name is truly accurate, the only thing missing is the smell of fresh cold air and diesel oil floating through the cockpit of your biplane.

Not much to say other than what's already been said a bazillion times.

Ribbon cut, dark brown, a little on the moist side but can be smoked straight from the tin.

SL is a medium-ish latakia blend. The Virginias are nice and sweet. Are there orientals? Maybe a whisper, they don't jump out at me. Latakia component is well balanced, always there, a little smoky and woody, but never overwhelming.

I like it for what it is, though it's not the kind of thing I smoke very often.

Squadron leader is a good solid staple for many pipe smokers. It has a floral essence about it and has that pot pourri aspect to it that you may or may not like. that aspect can be found in many tobaccos on the market. I find it to have a delightful aroma in the tin, while smoking, and in the room note. I get some serious spice with this blend and sometimes it's too much for my palate. So I try to take it easy. I only smoke English and I like heavy Latakia laden blends. This has some amount of Latakia but I think the virginias and orientals outweigh the lat. I think Germains King Charles mix is similar but has a much sweeter flavor to it. At the squadron leader factory the tobacco usually is dropped in a glass of water right before packing. so drying time is a must and jarring the leaf is also necessary. this takes a few weeks to mellow out and meld into a decent smoke. It's good and I've ordered 3 tins, 3 separate times so it keeps me coming back. I find this tobacco to change all the time. From one smoke to another it's just something different every time I get to it. Sometimes In a good way , sometimes in a bad way. When it's good it's real good when it's. As it's usually too hot, spicy , and gives me the ol bite. But that may be my palate and the way I react to the acidity or something as I see most reviewers find this smooth and mellow. I find it sharp and spicy , But to each their own! I recommend it.