Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Top Black Cherry

After having my tin around for an occasional smoke almost a year now, I decided to review it. To start, I need to say that I am not an aromatic pipe smoker. I prefer straight tobacco flavor over aromatics. I do try aromatics regularly in hopes of finding that one special aromatic that I'll add to my rotation.

The merits of this smoke is that it actually has a good flavor that isn't chemical tasting. It will not bite even if you smoke it hard and fast. To date, this is the finest aromatic that I have found. It is top quality. I will keep some on hand, however I only smoke a bowl about once every month. That isn't often enough to claim it is in my rotation. But often enough to say I like it. I would smoke it more often if the topping was milder and the strength greater. I may experiment mixing it with some of my straight blends to see what happens.

I was a bit hesitant in getting a cherry blend. But with this being from a top notch blender, I figured I'd give it a whirl. Upon first popping the tin of this blend, some would definitely let this dry for quite a while. Right out of the tin, at least for me, it lit very easily and stayed lit all the way to the bottom. The room note is great. This should get some compliments from those around you. It burns nicely to the bottom of the bowl. Highly recommended.

As a predominantly aromatic smoker of Borkum Riff Cherry Cavendish, I thought TBC would be a nice change of pace,while still sticking to my favoured style. TBC is milder than I expected, but still a pleasant tobacco if you are into the aromatics. This would be an ideal blend for non aromatic smokers who wished to venture, ever so hesitantly, into trying an aromatic. I ordered 50 grammes (2oz) of this one as any more than that would have incurred serious customs tax, if not for that, I would gladly go and order a bulk amount of this tobacco. Having said that though, I doubt it would ever please me enough to replace my standard fair of BR Cherry Cav, as I prefer a stronger taste to my aromatics, but it's a pleasant tobacco none the less. Although the tobacco appears wet, it is still reasonably dry to the touch, but still doesn't stay as well lit as I thought it should. Perhaps it's wetter than it feels. Perhaps I need to just modify my technique for this tobacco, but it is the only real negative in my books and only a small one at that.

This was very wet coming out of the tin and took some drying out before my pipe would stay lit. It has a mild note of cherry, not as much as I expected to taste. The tobacco is good and deep for such a light flavored smoke... i will try other cherries before coming back to this one, still worth a shot though.

In the tin, the tobacco is in a sealed plastic bag; unless you live in the desert, first order of business is to remove the baccy from that and sit in directly in the tin, or it'll never dry. This is seriously moist and sticky when freshly opened. Jet black with some hints of brown, a very potent cherry smell, a little medicinal. Dr Pepper and Dandelion & Burdock (root beer) fans will approve. Or should I say Cherry Coke? I've been smoking it for a while now, and when I let the chosen pipes rest for a day or so and then smell the bowl, I get: cherries. Not cherry flavoured tobacco, but just cherry. This one is very cherrysome. Cherry fans will cherrysh it. Cherry haters will hate it. Did I mention it tastes like cherries? Not very strong vis-a-vis Lady Nicotianna; Lady Cherry and Queen Cavendish are very much in attendance. A pain in the arse to keep lit because it's so moist - maybe six months of drying out will help that (or maybe a spell in the microwave as Mr Big says). I don't mind the relights, though, because I like it a lot when it's actually lit. Uniform flavour from beginning of smoke to end, and that flavour is: apple. Er, I mean cherry! Cherry it is. It's black, it's cavendish, it's topped with cherry. No mystery here.

The verdict: Cherry-tastic!

Upon opening a fresh tin it looked and felt like someone stuffed a fresh brownie in there ! The tin aroma was not pleasant, smelled like snuff chewing tobacco, not what I expected, not a strong cherry scent maybe some" Lakeland floral" in there. I left the tin open as the moisture level was very high . After 8 hours the tin note improved, the chewing tobacco ammonia was gone and I was almost ready to try this. I still needed to dry the tobacco more ,into the microwave with a bowlful for 7 seconds. Here we go ( did I mention I'm not a big aromatic smoker): It packed and lit nice, "Lakeland Floral" with just a hint of cherry/berry, no mostly "Lakeland Floral", G&H buys "LF" by the tanker truck. Wow, does this burn nice and slow , no goop, stays lit with just a touch of sipping. I asked myself why can't other tobaccos burn this well? About a 1/4 way into the bowl I started to pick up some sour cherry flavor but it's still mostly "LF". The tobacco took on a mellow sweet caramel flavor about half way thru the bowl. It now reminds me of "Petersons Connoisseurs Choice" with a touch of LF. Half way into the Cob and we need a relight, I detect some spice/bite . I relit and tamped , a little bitter on the relight. All but the slightest scent of LF left. Last 1/4, just Cavendish left, seems to have an aftertaste of snuff, wow, what a ride. Would I buy again, maybe to have around for public smoking, is that allowed anymore?

Upon opening the tin the aroma is heavenly. The cherry flavor is genuine with just the right degree of flavor. Not at all synthetic or phony like some I've tried. The flavor lasts throughout the smoke. It may need a little drying out before packing but I've found it to be perfect right out of the tin. It burns really well right down to the bottom of the bowl with no relights. I've tried many cherry blends and in my opinion this one is the best.

I indulge in this from time to time. The Black Cherry taste is very strong and somewhat sweet. Drying is a must for this when fresh. Will steam burn your tongue easily until it dries out. It is very pleasant and a great change of pace. I rate this as excellent when a Black Cherry is desired. Treat for the Evening and goes great with a nice cup of strong Joe.

This blend had a taste of old rotten cough medicne and dust. YUCK!