Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Syrian Latakia

This is a high quality blending/condiment tobacco: full, rich, and smoky as a good Latakia should be. Jim - Durham (UK) philosopher and tobacconist - tells me that there are people who smoke it by itself; but it's hard to see why anybody would enjoy it on its own. Latakia is good in the way that a salad dressing is good: delicious, but only if you have the salad too.

I have to be in the right mood for Latakia, but when I am I like this one very much. I have found it interesting and rewarding to add it to G & H's Curly Cut and Broken Scotch Cake (tobaccos that are a bit feeble and colourless on their own) and Balkan Mixture (to fill out the taste a little). Mix it well in and leave the result in the jar for a few days, to give the tobaccos time to get to know each other properly. Have a go - use whatever proportions you wish, depending on how well you like Latakia. I find the flavour here very sharp and salty and clear, and you may discover that a little goes a long way.

This is good stuff for the amateur blender to have fun with. Keep it well quarantined, though. Smoke-cured Latakia is never slow to make its presence felt, and will impart its qualities to whatever other tobacco or pipe it comes into contact with. When you smoke it, the room note is not to everybody's liking.