Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Dark Vanilla

The description for the tobaccos is the same as they are for Kendall Dark as they are the same thing. he boldy earthy, nutty, woody, smoky, mildly sweet and spicy dark fired Kentucky is the star with the earthy, tangy and mildly fermented dark fruity, woody, floral Virginia in the background. The vanilla is lightly applied, and doesn’t tone down the tobaccos much at all. It mostly adds a light sweetly smoothness to take the edge off some of the roughness. I also get a small sense of caramel from a topping as well as a very light Lakeland essence. No chance of bite or harshness is present. The nic-hit is medium to full. Burns cool, clean and a little fast as shag cuts will do, so a slower puffing cadence is advised. The flavor is consistent from start to finish. Leaves virtually no dampness in the bowl, and needs few relights. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste. Not an all day smoke, and I recommend a smallish sized pipe for this blend.

-JimInks

Gawith Hoggarth - Kendal Dark Vanilla.

I love the pouch-note from this: vanilla and tobacco, what's not to like?!! The blend's a medium cut shag, with a good amount of moisture. The flavour from the smoke is a bit milder with vanilla than I expected from the smell; it allows a lot of the tobacco's (especially the Burley) to come through. I find the added flavouring's a nice weight: it's just enough to enable notification but it's not too strong. The burn's good, and although it's a shag cut it's not that warm. The speed does concur with a shag though: it's pretty fast. The nicotine's good for the whole day: medium, and the room-note's nice.

This is a good vanilla aromatic, not the best, but still worth three stars.

Recommended.

Mottled shag cut with a pouch scent of vanilla, although it struck me as more of a butterscotch/caramel. It was sweet smelling with the slightest bit of pure tobacco underneath. Mostly it's aroma was of basic aromatic. Came wet in the bag but dried out quickly. Based on 1/2 oz as I used the other half ounce in a blind test.

I am no fan of the regular Kendal Dark, as I found it too harsh with the disquieting tendency towards removing all the saliva from my mouth. I recall thinking that it needed something to be a good smoke. It never occurred to me that what it needed was some flavoring. Mostly burley-forward, the vanilla flavoring is noticeable as a flavoring but not necessarily anything specific. Most apparent in the snork, I do not consider this a flavored blend as much as I consider it a sweetened and toned down blend. The basic flavor of Kendal Dark is retained - a dark, hearty and robust earthiness, but it's got the sweetness I prefer in most tobacco with this version. Again, this is a true aromatic pipe blend with the tobacco taste front and center and the flavoring used as an enhancer rather than a blanket. Don't let the word "vanilla" in the title throw you. I thought "vanilla" (more caramel) when I sniffed it but "tobacco" when I smoked. Smokes dry and doesn't need much drying time prior to loading, as it dries fairly quickly. A solid smoke that I will come back to on occasion.

This shredded wheat biscuit was so thinly spun, it reminded me of a ball of hair cleaned out from a brush. The aroma wasn't much beyond a woodsy, lightly sour, natural affair. The real flavor developed once lit.

After the match found it's home, a deep burly smoke arose with a mysterious back note that must be the "Lakeland" flavor. Iv'e read this is supposed to be a soapy taste, but I found it to be a peculiar toned down English that lingers on your tongue. I can only describe it as a distillation of antique store dust. Dry and heavenly. Not sure where the vanilla is, so don't buy it to satisfy a sweet tooth.

I had a lot of fun with this one. The taste and cut of it brought needed variety to the hobby.