Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal North Star

As basic a tobacco mixture can be. Predominantly Virginia tobacco tempered with burley in long string like ribbons. On first opening the pouch one could be forgiven that the aroma is nil. However digging around and loosening up the perfectly hydrated contents, a gentle aroma wafts forward. Fresh hay, tea, grass, a faint honey like sweetness, a trace hint of burley cocoa. Obviously been stringy ribbon, packing slightly tighter is the way forward. Lighting is a hassle free affair. Once lit this is what I call a "whiskey smoke" You sip it at leisure, take your time and enjoy the flavours as they develop. Granted they aren't overly overt and obnoxious, more subtle nuance, a gentle awakening. A trip back in time to when pipe mixtures weren't doused with synthetic flavourings to the point of drowning actual tobacco notes. This is a mixture where the tobaccos themselves are front and centre. They and they only do the talking, again it isn't obvious, a gentle whisper that at first you may have to work hard to hear but once tuned in, this tobacco delivers. Spring meadows, the grass, the citrus from the Virginia, the fresh hay, that minute drop of honey amd sprinkling of cocoa come together in glorious wisps of delicate smoke. This is a mixture that if you can savour and appreciate like a fine single malt, with no bells and whistles then it is one that will delight, enliven and renenergise. However go at this like a pairnof bellows and that gentle symphony will be out of tune, it won't work, it will get blisteringly hot and will turn your tongue to leather in double quick time. Patience, a leisurely pace and gentle sips is the order of the day. Master them three things and you will unlock something quite special. A deffinite four stars for North star.