Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader

My first review... Fairly new pipe smoker(6months), though a cigar smoker for past 10 years. Have purchased a wide variety of various tobacco’s and have as a present smoked 11 different tobacco’s. Found this tobacco to be one I can smoke all day, with a smooth smoke and an assuring pleasant taste.

My introduction to English tobacco blends. When I asked around I kept getting pointed to Squadron Leader as the dictionary definition of an English tobacco. It was mild on the nicotine too so I decided to track down a tin.

The aesthetic of the tin is really is up my alley. The Great War biplane, the name Squadron Leader, it’s so alpha and English I love it. The smell from the tin wouldn’t be good from an aromatic smokers view. Smells like burnt rubber. It’s faint Latakia and oriental. Once I canned it and left it for a day it smelled like a smokey BBQ sauce. Odd to me.

This is wet. Let DRY OUT a bit before packing.

The taste... it’s hard to describe. It’s both sweet and tangy from the Orientals, sweet from the Virginias, but savory and smokey from the Latakia. It’s a more oriental forward blend, very light and airy. Easy going with lots of flavor. A creamy, dry, and cool smoke. Wood, campfire sweet savory creamy buttery smoke. Some floral elements too from the orientals. Does not bite. Non offensive aftertaste, mild and nice. Rather mild nic hit and not an overwhelming Latakia flavor at all. Defiantly can be smoked all day.

I didn’t finish the bowl and I ordered 4 more tins. If you want to try your first English blend this is it. If you want an all day English smoke this is it. Burns dry ash falls out of the bowl no moisture. Easy, light, airy, flavorful, oriental forward, and on offensive to your tongue tobacco. A staple on my shelf.

Couldn’t be happier.

Sam Gawiths contribution to the light English style, the charmingly named Squadron Leader is pleasant but not exciting.

The mixture of black through to to tan leaf is uneven and varied in its cut, and somewhat moist in the tin. As noted below, the tin aroma is very mild even when breaking the seal, and soon gone. This is a shame as I enjoy the smokey incense aroma of a good English Mixture as part of the pipe "foreplay".

It is easy to light and smokes cool, with gentle smokiness and just a hint of spice from the Turkish. The flavour is more full than Dunhill Early Morning Pipe, mostly from the excellent Virginia leaf: the Latakia and Turkish seem thinly applied to a thick slice of nice granary toast. It's got adequate nicotine, doesn't bite and doesn't leave much dottle.

Personally I prefer more spice and punch in my Mixtures, not necessarily Latakia but I do expect a bit more from the Turkish. This is more reminiscent of Dunhills Baby's Bottom: Virginia with a hint of the exotic, although this is just a bit less vanishingly mild.

An excellent tobacco, high attractiveness, unique to the individual and unmatched, medium and excellent room note for smokers, you would completely transform this tobacco.be sure to taste it.

Samuel Gawith- Squadron Leader

A mild English, smoking this blend off and on for the last year or so. The Latakia which is usually the main focal point is a little subdued here, but I could smell it upon opening the tin, as far as the taste goes it never overpowers but is there. The orientals are sour, not sour like the candy my grandmother used to give me in church when I failed to pay attention but more so tangy sour. The Virginia’s give a little sweetness but I can never taste the leaf completely nor does it become a over powering player in the mix.

This blend is a little wet upon opening and needs some drying time, I had to re-light a few times but it never smoked hot for me regardless of how hard I pushed the blend.

This blend is great, not overly great but I like it a lot. I feel as though this blend may be rated higher recently due to the lack of stock at many major tobacco outlets therefore increasing its mystique.

The tin art is fantastic also and I always love seeing it.

Wonderful tobacco.

Pretty soft, with a great aftertaste.

This has made me a fan of Samuel Gawith tobaccos, as I believe that if they produce such high quality products as Squadron Leader, all of them need to be tried out 🙂 .

Great quality and a skilfully blended 'English' mixture. The skill comes in letting every component do its job but no more. If I could change it, I'd wind down the orientals just a touch, because I'm very sensitive to the dry taste they can impart to a mix, but this one is still just within the bounds and works well. What a great introduction to 'English' mixtures for those who have not tried them; here's where you start!

This is really as essential English as you can get. All the flavors are well balanced with maybe an ever so slight nod to the latakia in the mixture. It is incredibly wet straight from the tin, so its best to let it air out a bit before lighting. Even then I have a bit of trouble keeping it lit. For me it demands a bit more attention than I would like to give a middle of the road English blend. Good flavor, but a bit moody for me.

I like the blend but it is so difficult to find in any great quantity that I have all but given up keeping this stuff around. With so many great English blends out there, it shouldn't be too big of a loss. I would say that everyone should at least give this iconic blend a go, but it might not "wow" like some other English Blends on the market.

A friend gave me this tin to my place over Christmas and I was delighted to be gifted this tobacco which is reputed to be a classic, textbook English blend. Before smoking it I had heard that its strength lay in its balance and this is true. Nothing really jumps out. Its sweet, its smoky, there are orientals, but all in perfect harmony. It is also strikingly consistent to smoke throughout although I find it does start to get rather acrid towards the end of the bowl. This is not uncommon though and is certainly not something to be held against the blend. Potentially an all day English smoke. Very nice.