Samuel Gawith Westmorland Mixture

I chose this one as another step on the pathway of trying to sample as many SG tobaccos as possible. I didn't have any real reason for picking it, just fancied the name as much as anything, it's worked for me before so worth trying again.

The tin aroma was very mild, not sure what to make it to be honest, possible hints of latakia but little else. After a relatively easy pack of the pipe, found lighting this unpleasantly, surprisingly and annoyingly difficult. I see other reviews mention that this is a slow smoke so hardly the most flammable leaf by the sounds of it, not sure it's excusable for a tobacco this finely cut though. Once lit though, this proves to be a decent enough tobacco, if a little too mellow. It dances nicely between Grousemoor virginia and Squadron Leader latakia, maybe giving odd little hints of cavendish on the way, perhaps giving a little toffee or golden syrup.

In summary, it's much like a Grousemour/Squadron Leader remix lite, perhaps a little too mild (and that's saying something from me who loves a mild leaf) but nonetheless blends two of SG's finest well. The major downside for this though, is that lighting problem. This is finely cut and should light pretty well even well damp. However, this demands almost constant attention, even more so than a particularly tricky flake. Ordinarily, I might be humming and harring a bit between giving it a three and a four, probably settling on latter due to my self confessed bias towards SG. Ultimately though, that lighting issue is enough to condemn it to a three star status.

A high class virginia-based-blend. Just little cavendish and very little latakia. A natural nutty aroma counterpointed by a discret and enteresting mentolated flavouring. A elegant, smooth, tastefull, and , in my opinion, very underrated tobacco.

I agree with the majority of reviews below, both bad and good, and here's why: I was tempted to hate this tobacco for the extreme smoothness and mildness in the taste, which Latakia by definition normally does not have. Then, as I smoked this pipe weed and stared off into the rain from my front porch, it occurred to me that Latakia lies on a sliding scale similar to that of beer. Oak is like the smooth, mild malt beers. Pine is like the dry, (pleasantly) bitter hops. Westmorland is all Oak and no Pine. It tastes mild to a fault, yet... that smell. That beautiful smell of the woods comes off of it. The taste was so mild and so smooth that I was able to puff away mindlessly without worrying about bite, and let the beautiful Oak aroma take me to places in my childhood, when things were simpler; to camp fires and stick fights and games of capture the flag, and in that moment, smoking westmorland and staring off into the rain, I felt free.

Conclusion: If this tobacco were a little cheaper, I'd say go for it, but at $11 for 50g of no flavor, I probably won't order more.

Update Jnauary 2011: I find it now just a little bit too sweet for me, but still I recommend you try it for yourself, it is IMO a very underrated tobacco...

Initially a little disappointing, but after the tin had been opened for 2 weeks Westmorland surprised me by having become absolutely first class yummie!

Update: a woman friend entering my smoking shack was pleasantly surprised by the roomnote!!

Update: during finishing the tin it grew on me and became one of my faves

I thought I'd give this blend a try especially since so many others have already said such bad things about it. I know now that's not the best way to choose a tobacco.

In the tin I can see and definitely smell ever so slightly the Cyprian latakia in the blend but it's clearly a minor player in the overall blend. Very noticeable is the Cavendish and unless my nose is tricking me, it seems to be a bit sour-ish smelling ... very interesting twist to Cavendish. There are supposed to be VA's in there too but I sure can't see 'em or smell 'em. The moisture content from the outset seems perfect for smoking - no drying time needed.

I can faintly feel the brush of latakia across my tongue while enjoying a mildly sweet Cavendish on the top of my palate. When I exhale and subsequently breathe in, I can smell the most wonderful Cavendish sweetness mixed with the Latakia smokiness in the smoke ... but it's nondescript. The VA's never come to the forefront in any way. Must be a super small percentage of VA's in this mixture ? I was hoping for slightly more.

Well, those two paragraphs were my initial impressions of this tobacco but things evolved over my testing period.

The majority of my test smokes were done in a group 3ish SMS Meer. I did also test it in a group 2ish Dr. Grabow, a Cob, and also in a group 3 briar (Stanwell HCA II with short stem), and finally in a large group 4 Tinsky. These pipes also varied shape from Billiards, Bent Bulldogs, and Freehands. So, the test is pretty inclusive.

Here's the result: This tobacco is pretty bland, non-descript, and overally yucky (sorry for the techinical term there). The Cavendish ingredient seems to take center stage and never marries very well with the Latakia. The Virginia tobacco must be an exceptionally small percentage as I never even tasted it. The most pleasant thing about this tobacco is not it's flavor as it clearly doesn't have any to speak of, but the way the smoke wafts across the front of your face will lend a super sweet smell at the tip of your nose and subsequently across the top of your palate. Enjoy that for all its worth, there ain't no more to like about this tobacco. Concerning the topping / casing ... sure it's there and you'll suffer a full mouth of soap every time you smoke this tobacco. Room note: not overly intense but just simply terrible. I finished smoking my meer one afternoon and had to run out of the house for about an hour - when I returned, much to my dismay my home smelled like some stale taxi.

So, a long review but it's been a longer test than I wished it might have been. At the onset I had high hopes that if I could ignore the soapiness, the flavor of the tobacco might come through but it never happened. Add on top of that the weird tongue bite that comes after smoking other blends first (not evident if this is smoked first oddly enough or even multiple bowls back to back of just this blend), and the rotton room note, this tobacco is simply a loser. Pass by, go elsewhere.

A very well achieved Scottish mix. I find it nicer than the Dunhill 965 (which I find too Black Cavendish). In any case, I think the mix of Rattrays "Black Mallory" is superior.

Smoking now:

Almost a 12 year old tin. This review reflects that. Tin note is a dark, fermented, vinegar, tangy fruit aroma. Reminds me of ketchup in a glass bottle. The moisture in this after 11 years and 10 months is still there although it is a SG blend. Usually they’re so wet right out of the tin. This one is sticky, and I still dried it out slightly.

The taste is mild. It’s a dark fermented tangy fruit, hay, and also a tad bit of earth, wood, smokey incense from the Latakia. I don’t detect much of a topping although it might have wore off after a decade. I would say there’s a little sweetness and flavor added to it. Maybe tonquin bean. The more I smoked this blend the more of the tonquin bean I detect and it’s nice. The retrohale is okay and there’s that familiar Latakia taste and smell. Not a L lat bomb it’s just there in second place. The topping and age I suspect retards the Latakia. The aftertaste is nice and short lived. Required a few more relights than average but SG blends are so wet. It could be repeated all day. If pushed it can get harsh. It’s a mild and easy going dark Virginia and cavendish with some flavoring, sweetness, and a pinch of Latakia. It’s quite alright.

A nice departure from a traditional English blend. The Cyprian Latikia provides the smoky, woody essences though I'd have guessed there was some Dark Fired Kentucky in there as well. The Virginias bring the grassy and sweetish tastes and the Cavendish gives the toasty flavor. Theres definitely a vanillaish flavor going on in there likely provided by the touquin bean. I felt there was a good amount of nicotine in there. Dry sweet smoke with a fairly dry bowl on the finish.

The flavor goes from smoky earth and woodsy to dark fruit, slight grassy citrus sweetness and there's some floral and spice in there as well, and this is an old tin by the looks of it. I really don't pick up on the tonquin bean, like in the 1792 which is unbearable to me, no in Westmorland it's different, warmer maybe some kind of cordial or spirit. But yea definitely something going on in the topping department. Overall an enjoyable blend and repeatable during the day. I think it does have some type of Lakeland essence but not soapy like Cabbies Mixture was, and no there is none in squadron leader.. Suprisingly full taste and a good amount of nicotine had me putting my pipe down satisfied multiple times (Kentucky?!)... I'll give it a 3.5 and I'd put it outside my rotation, as a once a month kind of blend.