Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Revor Plug

I'm not the best at picking out flavours but this plug really impressed me. I found it easier to light than other plugs I've tried as it wasn't quite as wet and was easier to shred. I would agree with some here that I was sure it has some kind of Latakia in it now (as of August 2018) - even the leathery, creosote-like smell and black colour of it.

It may just be the way they cured the Kentucky leaves but it certainly reminded me more of Latakia blends I've smoked, or Toscano Antico cigars rolled with very dark fired kentucky. It even burned in a way that reminded me of a Latakia blend; quite nicely into light coloured ash, unlike other kentucky Lakeland blends such as St. Bruno flake. Not that they don't burn well, but if you smoke St. Bruno you'll know what I mean.

I would recommend this to anyone that likes flake, plug or twist tobacco, though I didn't find it anywhere near as strong as some of those I've smoked. Murray's Warrior Plug is the other plug OTC I can think of and that provides a totally different experience. Maybe Condor Long Cut would be a good comparison?

Like I said, highly recommended from me if you like this sort of thing. It's great stuff.

Revor Plug is dead easy to deal with. It's sumptuously smooth and creamy. It suits any old pipe.

All in all a good smoke for the summer.

Another sample by a generous pipe-mate from the UK!

Only having read few reviews on this, but being a Plug and Twist lover, I was happy to get ahold of some of this. My sample must've had some neat age to it, as the plug was full of sugar-crystals. Yet I was surprised by its scent!

The scent from the unburnt and uncut plug is slightly Lakeland-ish (floral), smoky and woody. After cutting some of it and rubbing it out to a shag I noticed the intense Latakia-like scent, which confused me. Either they used some Latakia in this (which I rather doubt), or they treated the dark fired Kentucky in a way, that makes it smell similar to Latakia. Maybe they used the same woods to smoke this? I don't know, but as I'm not a Latakia fan per se, I was a bit scared when noticing this.

As it had some age to it, it needed only 30-45mins of drying time to smoke dry and even.

In the first few puffs, I noticed the Latakia-ish aroma quite intensely, but then it toned down a bit and became quite pleasing to me as a non-Latakia smoker! It has a slight floralness to it, as well as a hint of licorice in the flavoring, which I like a lot. The tobaccos are very present tho and are very woodsy, smoky, and have some earth to them. The intense dark fired Kentucky is the star player here and is refined with some minor fruity and grassy notes by the Virginias. The Virginias and probably also the topping add some decent sweetness and a whiff of sourness to the blend, that makes it very digestible and balances the bold power of the dark fired leaf.

Even tho it has similarities with Latakia, I like the Kentuckys aroma a lot! It's different than Latakia and in the smoke its much, much more mellow in flavor. The interplay of the tobaccos and the topping is superb and creates a one-of-a-kind smoking experience, which got me hooked! I value its woodsy smokiness and the slight licorice/anise touch it has from the topping just as much as its bold and satisfying strenght. A wonderful blend, really!

This deserves to have so many 4 star ratings, and no ratings below 3 stars...! It's a genuine, superb smoke, that I couldn't compare to any other blend. The slightly "English Touch" makes it very interesting to be quite honest and I'm glad I diddn't let the intense Latakia-ish scent in the unburnt tobacco scare me off.

Of course a 4/4 star worthy blend...I need to get some more of this! 😉

Upon opening the pouch, you are greeted by a thick, dark and glossy plug with a smell of sweet licorice that reminded me of the old Irish Flake. It easily crumbles after cutting and smokes nicely after some drying time.

There is a treacle/licorice topping that imparts a dark sweet flavor during the smoke, taming the other flavors and always shadowing them. The Kentucky offers leather, roasted nuts and earth while the Virginia is of the hay/grassy kind. There is a balanced mellowness between the casing, the Kentucky and the Virginia, all working in unison to present an honest tobacco that is well rounded and has no bite. A cool smoking and slow burning tobacco.

Overall a classic British tobacco that takes the smoker to the end of the 19th century and accompanies him thru the 20th century for a lesson in pipe tobacco history.

Virginia lover

Firstly I would like to thank all the reviewers for their (mostly) unbiased opinions,especially pipestud whose reviews,whether good or bad are never far wrong and have served me well over the years. Now to the tobacco,I dont care what your smoking preferences are, if you try this plug you Will fall in love with it,I did. The other reviews describe the presentation,ease of preparation and all the other fine qualities very well and all I can do is add my weight of opinion and wholeheartedly agree. This tobacco smokes cool and has a mouth feel like no other,it's soft ,smooth and creamy but with plenty of body and flavour and never overpowering. It starts off with dark chocolate develops onto woodsy,Smokey peat etc and ends with spice....it's outstanding. I am sorry if I sound evangelical but this baccy is so good, if youre an arro nut you'll love it,re the chocolate,if you're a lat fan you'll love it,re smokey,peat and if you're a Virginia/burley lover like myself you will love the pure natural sweet taste. In my mind I think of this tobacco as a faithful old dog,you can pay it as little attention as you like and it will give you no bother...But if you show it some love it will reward you tenfold. Take it from someone who has smoked just about everything over the last 32 years this stuff was a revalation.I strongly suggest you rush out and get some,then put your thoughts on here. Good luck.

Others have commented on the nature of the plug; I found it v easy to get into and break apart. Be certain to do so, otherwise it's like trying to light a folded newspaper from the top -- a few layers burn and then nothing. Properly broken up, it burns nicely, if slowly.

Other than hints of chicory, mostly tastes of plain dark Virgnias. I didn't get any Lakelands in the taste. The N can sneak up on you. Certainly worth trying if the profile is similar to your preferences and you enjoy a slow smoke.

Like many of us here in the USA, I have been wanting to try Revor Plug for some time now. I managed to purchase 2 pouches from a vendor in Scotland - got them in 3 weeks time which was not bad, considering.

I opened one of the 50g packets and took out a moderately glossy, very dark brown plug of tobacco measuring 5x1x1/2 inches. It had a faint Lakeland-like smell, but not overwhelming at all. The plug appeared dense, but looks can be deceiving as it took to the knife very readily, crumbling as I cut a few slices off of its width end. If you want to slice it into flakes, it won't work that way due to the crumbling nature of this bar. The pre-light draw had a candy dipped medicinal taste to it, perhaps resinous, but only faintly present. Lighting it revealed the chameleon it really was as I swear I tasted smokey, musty Latakia! Its taste profile, to me, was similar in a way to Seattle Club's Plum Pudding and Mississippi River offerings (which I do not care for as I am not a big fan of Latakia). Most likely the Latakia-like presence is from very well produced Kentucky leaf; and for me more pleasing than Latakia. I am surprised that there is little mention of this Latakia-like presence in any of the reviews of RP contained on this site and on other pipe smoker/tobacco forums except for PipesterJim's take on it. Well, the hunt for information is one of the things I enjoy about this hobby, hence the diversion. At times I detected a similarity to Stonehaven's musty, bittersweet characteristic minus the treacle topping.

At first, I rated the strength no higher than medium, but this one creeps up on you and can deliver in the nicotine department - quite strong actually. Lighting was easy and could be smoked to the bottom of the bowl only with occasional tamping. It was a cool, bittersweet (not cloying by any means) smoke from beginning to end without gurgle. At times a bit salty and a bit chocolatey. Not monochromatic by any means and only gets tastier as the bowl progresses.

I was totally surprised by Revor Plug, and for the first time ever with a pipe tobacco, my expectations (taste/flavor wise/flake handling) were the polar opposite from what I had expected. Lots to be said for this one! I do give it a 5 star recommended and am very happy I was able to try an old-time classic.

Am very impressed with Revor Plug. Though almost certainly not for first-timers, it's easy to prepare and smokes cool, sweet and full. On reflection, it's number one in my rotation, though Condor Long Cut is a competitor. If you like dark flakes, give this a try, IMO it deserves the praise heaped on it by other reviewers. Update 12.8.13 Two years on, am upgrading this to a solid four stars. After experimenting with a few dark flakes, the contrast with Revor is remarkable. Although it's the only plug I've tried thus far, I get the feeling that nothing could surpass it, certainly if like me you want a strong tobacco that's high in quality and near-as-damn-it unflavoured. This said, the pouch aroma is pretty dark and gorgeous, reminds me of liquorice & molasses somehow. It's no bother to prepare, I shave thin slices off the narrow ends of the bar with a sharp knife and rub them out. It could be smoked straight away, I'm guessing, but drying out the rubbed slices for 30-45min in my airing cupboard works well for me. Am using a small bowl, 'cause it's well punchy N-wise. What a great smoke this is! Easy light, easy burn, easy smoke, lot's of smoke, cool and sweet. Great, full tobacco flavour. Even the aftertaste is pleasant to my mind, I swear I had a chocolate moment. What can I say? Get some!

Update 29.11.18 Have returned to this after a break of some years, I guess because of experimenting with other tobaccos. After one bowl I wonder why I left it so long! It is, quite simply, sublime.

Update 10.2.22 I just wanted to confirm that on returning to Revor Plug after a break the same thing happened. How come I left it so long? Why aren't more pipers raving about RP? It suits me down to the ground, ticks all the boxes - flavour, strength, zero bite, aroma, clean mouth feel and after-taste, easy prep, loads of smoke, nice burn rate, the whole nine yards. This time around I'm finding that with the baccy aged a few years my method of choice is to slice flakes of about 1.5mm from the end of the bar and cut/rub to a coarse cube consistency. Then I gravity-feed into my small Falcon Dublin with very gentle tamping and away to go. Great tobacco! I know. I'm biased. But still.

I was little bite scared about the strength of this tobacco after reading this review, but this tobacco is not "very strong" it dont bit the tong, and the nicotine is not high, it's just a spicy tobacco, with lot of aromes.