Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. No. 12 Mixture

I am a fan of many of the Gawith Hoggarth blends but #12 is lacking for me. Unless my aging eyes (and taste) are deceiving me, I find it hard to believe that there is actually 45% Latakia in this blend. Number 12 Mixture has the same underlying distinctive taste that is found in other GH English blends. I am not referring to the soap taste found in many of the GH scented blends. There are a lot of taste similarities in #12 to GH's Balkan Mixture but it lacks the full flavor of Balkan Mixture and it's not just because of the absence of the Orientals. Considering the claimed 45% Latakia, #12 lacks the full, smoky flavor of similar blends. IMHO if an English blend is going to rely on just two tobaccos's it needs to be superbly done (think Lancer Slices) and in this case #12 falls short. It's not a bad tobacco, there are just too many ones that are better.

Boring and forgettable, this Latakia mixture feels wimpy and uninspired. Its thin, shaggy nature (although proclaimed a coarse cut) yields an unconventional presentation, but adds nothing to improve the smoking characteristics of the blend. And the tin description is overly optimistic regarding the included ratio of Latakia, which, as many have suggested, falls quite lower than the stated 45 percent.

Also indicated by GH, the inclusion of only bright leaf, with an absence of red, and abiding by the plethora of golden strands in the sample, you'd expect this a sweet smoke, which it is--you'll get mostly high notes here.

But more surprisingly, there is no mention of Oriental leaf. Are the authors being vague here, or is there really no leaf? My initial smokes don't seem to detect a pronounced spiciness, and picking through the tin I could not discern any sparkly, coarse and almost fuzzy textured leaf that I associate with the Oriental component, so I wouldn't doubt it.

While on my low to middle list of favorites, I'd take the strictly Virginia and Latakia mixes of Balkan Flake and Commonwealth Mixture any day over No. 12--there's a sort of flare about them that No. 12 lacks, Commonwealth with its steamed Virginias, and Balkan Flake in its beautiful presentation. But No. 12 is too subtle for any showing off.

Taken together, No. 12 is a hell of a lot of bright leaf, and maybe 35 percent Latakia, which explains its boring nature. You would assume with the high degree of Virginias, at least, that No. 12 would have a hefty kick, missing the low nicotine laden Orientals, but that's not so, it's on the lower end of medium.

In the end, No. 12 demonstrates that top notch leaf will not necessarily grant one an excellent blend. There must be something more, if not skill then at least inspiration, both of which this blend lacks. If you consider yourself the average sort, I'm sure No. 12 will impress you with its mediocrity.

This tastes like it is made up of about 25% to 30% Latakia (not the claimed 45) that's been scrubbed with a sea-foam loofa and bath gel.

It's tasty but soppy.

Images evoked include the elephant man french kissing his romantic interest after semi-successful minor cosmetic surgery.

G&H No12 is not as bad as some of the reviews here suggest, nor is it anything special. I confess I rarely buy loose tobaccos but in the spirit of adventure I have been trying to introduce a little variety into my tasting of tobacco, beer and single malt whisky lately - because you never know what you may be missing. And I will swear my palette has been changing - probably improving - with age. So on the recommendation of my local tobacconist (although I suspect she doesn't smoke a pipe) I gave this a go. And it is okay. Just okay. I'm not sure I could even go as far as to call it two dimensional. This is a light-hearted, undemanding smoke, the better to be enjoyed when you are concentrating on something else and, I would suggest, before midday.

This blend is just an average Lat. blend. Nothing that stands out and it is just a VA/Lat. no oriental. More to the point, the lat. is not a powerhouse like C&D's Pirate Kake, and the VA's really are a little thin here too. It also bites a little even when I am smoking very slowly. I would not buy this again personally SG's Commonwealth is a better blend in the same vein I think.