Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader

Nice English blend, suited as all day smoke. The tobaccos (Virginia, Latakia, Turkish) support each other, they really 'team up' in this blend.

Ah Squadron Leader, I eventually found a tobacconist who stocked it, so very hapilly handed over the near £10 to buy the tin. Very pleased with myself I decided to keep for a while before opening. Well after a few weeks I opened it with dissapointment! The only smell I could compare it to is A rubber hot water bottle. So I thought it must smoke better than it smells, but to me, and im no tobacco pro, it just seems that there was something missing. Im not sure what but im gonna leave the tin to rest for a week or so and see if its any better, If not, im gonna have to mix it with something sweeter like vanilla or something, Well maybe I will do another review next week if its any better!

Well I take it all back, After leaving it for nearly a week its completly changed taste, and for the better. It still smells a bit like a hot water bottle from the tin though!

Adding vanilla was a waste of time, ruined it, so dont bother trying that.

i may have bought a bad tin the one i bought smells of soap tastes like soap but i am not giving up on it if i dont get any satisfaction after letting it sit for a couple of weeks i will try blending it with an aromatic i will update ata later date this is a update after 2 months of a open tin it has calmed down i had 2 pipes full last night and yes very nice so i up my recommendation to 3 stars

I love this tobacco so much that I've agonized over how to best write a review-so I'm going to keep things simple.

This tobacco presents the perfect balance of orientals, latakia and virginia for an an English smoke that can be enjoyed all day, any day. In addition to being balanced, the tobaccos are of great quality as well and compliment one another very well.

This isn't overwhelming with nicotine, nor is it lacking.

A lot of reviewers rate the moisture content as high-I find it perfect; especially given the fact that a tin lasts me a while.

The smoking experience is top notch! Relights are a rarity, it doesn't burn hot or wet (especially if the tin has been opened a while) and the flavour is consistent throughout.

There may be other tobaccos that claim to be the benchmark English. For my money (and this IS reasonably priced); Squardon Leader is the best out there and is well deserving of a full 4 stars.

Check out the Samuel Gawith Website...great presentation. That they're still doing everything in-house, in England, makes this truly one of the last great English tobacco houses! Can I upgrade to 5 stars? 🙂

This is the third stop on my Lakeland tour.

I smoked and reviewed Skiff mixture earlier, so some comparisons will not go amiss. SL was wetter in the tin than Skiff, requiring 3-4 hours of drying time (for the tin, not per bowl) before reaching my preferred smoking moisture. But that may have been a result of a longer shelf time subsequent to packing for the particular tin of Skiff. Also, and surprisingly so, SL was considerably sweeter, in spite of the fact that it is supposedly more natural. If it gets its sweetness from virginia tobacco alone, these are some very sweet virginias.

But sweetness is not the only flavor. There is a considerable amount of various oriental flavors such as a kind of "woodsiness," smokiness, etc. The latakia is subdued. In fact, I think this would be better with a bit more latakia. Toward the end of the tin, I mixed some bowl-fulls with Commonwealth Mixture 1/2 and 1/2. Those were perhaps the best smokes, and I'd highly recommend you try this.

I was unable to smoke this straight through due to a personal issue that put a halt to my smoking for a few weeks. The tobacco lost a lot of flavor in that time. So I'd recommend you smoke this within three weeks of popping the tin for best results.

As with Skiff, there was considerably more tobacco, leading to more smokes, than with the SG flakes. In similarly sized bowls, I get 15 or so from the flakes and 21-23 with the mixtures. That's a 3/2 ratio, and given the identical prices, that means a greater bang for your buck. But for me, I still prefer the flakes. They are my favorite tobaccos over all, whereas the mixtures do not necessarily distinguish themselves from others in the market.

A bit better than Skiff for my tastes. I'll revisit it soon.

I had heard of Squadron Leader, but wasn't sure what it was. My guess was an English.

I like it. Priced fairly for a tin. Easy to pack and smoke. No bite. Leathery and Smokey. Not as grassy as some of the other English I've smoked. Although I like grassy. This one is more subtle. Only problem so far - the bowl won't stay lit as this was very moist upon opening. That's ok with me; better than too dry.

I believe this is the Squadron Leaders all day smoke. Easy, low maintenance and accesible; it won't get in the way of mowing the lawn, working in the garage or shooting down enemy planes. Smoke this one in the pipe you clench and save the fancy gourmet blends for the end of the day when the missions are over.

Recently I ordered a tin of everything SG makes and I was very surprised by how well this blend works. There is nothing exceptional about the tobaccos used but the balance achieved is outstanding. This is a smooth no-bite smoke that develops beautifully throughout the bowl. At the end of the bowl you could happily enjoy another. It is a pleasant smoke with no fatigue. I had no expectations for this blend but I think I will always be sure to have a tin around. This could easily serve as an all-day-smoke.

I can't make heads or tails of this tobacco.

The first week I smoked it almost every day, and it was divine -- one of the very few tobaccos that I ever exhale through my nose. The aroma is almost like incense. Really gorgeous stuff.

After about a week (stored in the tin, not in a jar), the flavor turned to dust. It tasted like smoking dry dirt. It was incredibly unpleasant.

My theory is this leaf needs immediate jarring. When it dries out it loses its flavour and goes from oriental loveliness to dust flavor in the blink of an eye.

this one merits a second tin. Still puzzling over this one...

Now that I am a big boy and have outgrown the aromatics I understand why us oldtimers seem to gravitate towards English mixtures like this. A smoke that gets its flavors and nuances from a selection of fine tobaccos rather than casings. Like other reviews the initial impression upon opening is "this stuff does not smell too nice"! Don't worry about it because it smokes with a great taste, no bite and cool burning.

I won't go on with all the good thing others have said about SL, just this, if you haven't tried it yet you are missing one of the great ones!

Like all of the SG tobaccos it arrives too wet but a few days in the humidor and it's ready for prime time.