Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Rich Dark Honeydew

Jack Hargreaves - the television presenter from yesteryear used to smoke the old Gallaher’s version of this but that blend has long gone - I see that old tins (empty) are still for sale on EBay though. I couldn’t tell you if this GH blend resembles the Gallaher’s version at all but I really rate this stuff. The smell in the pouch is absolutely gorgeous and it it sings like a siren, tempting you to have a smoke. It has a rich, honey voice that says “smoke me,” so it’s best not to refuse. The opening few pulls reminds me of the old Condor my Grandad used to smoke; very full but kind on the tongue. It has that old taste - some call it floral, some call it soapy but I think it is sublime. I’ve raised this question on my Condor review: was the Lakeland soapy, flower arrangement of Condor, honey? I don’t know, I could be well off the mark but it certainly reminds me of some tobaccos of another era. I could be completely wrong about this memory but, after the first bowl, I was whisked back to an armchair in West Yorkshire when all was right with the world. The blend isn’t too moist straight from the pouch; I do find that the none tinned tobaccos seem to be more ready to smoke than the tinned versions which, presumably, have more moisture to keep them fresh when they languish on a tobacconists shelf for a few months. It isn’t too strong for my tastes but it will ghost a pipe - as most aromatics will. It comes as a ready rubbed which packs easily into the bowl but it does smoke fairly quickly, especially when compared to some of the Titans: St Bruno, Condor etc. This makes it very good for a quick smoke between jobs; even in my larger bowled pipes it goes quickly. I’ve bought several ounces of this so far - an ounce comes in between £7 - 8 which seems to be the norm these days. The room note is pleasant enough and the smell doesn’t hang around too much when you’ve finished smoking.

All in all - one to try and see if it tempts your palate like it does mine.

This is a very nice tobacco from G&H, as with most G&H blends, it's made with some quality leaf. It's nutty from the burley, rich and sweet from the honey. The maple really comes through in the pouch note but it's a kind of in the background of the actual smoke, which I like, so it doesn't mask the natural tobacco flavor and that makes this a tasty blend. The Lakeland essence is there as with many G&H blends, but it imparts a nice floral note to the flavor profile that I find refreshing. Once it's packed and lit, it burns effortlessly and with very few relights and won't bite even if pushed. It also has a pretty decent hit of vitamin N to it, so I would have a little something on the stomach prior to smoking.

I'm not sure why it took me a while to try this one. Possibly because it is listed as an 'aromatic' (it really isn't), possibly because it sounded a little too sweet (no again). In the end, it was wanting to at least have a proximation of what the late broadcaster, Jack Hargreaves, smoked as his regular pipe tobacco when it was produced by Gallahers. Not having tried the Gallahers original I don't know how close this is, but if it is half as good then old Jack like with most things knew what was what.

It wears whatever casing it has very lightly. You will struggle to detect any floral lakeland, although a hint may be there. This is a wonderful even smoker, not too strong in flavour but with a nicotine kick that can catch you out of you have enjoyed it too quickly. Once it is away no relights are needed, and it burns right to the bottom of the bowl but with no bite at all. This will probably not mean much to a lot of people, but if you are a UK cask ale drinker and loved the taste of Jennings Bitter when it was still brewed in Cockermouth, Cumbria, then this for me is the tobacco twin, with a natural sweetness that lightly dances around a wonderfully dry and long flavour finish. A fantastic English blend!

Jubilant! I've just finished a bowl of one of the finest offerings by G&H that I have had to date! Perfect from the pouch, with a slight honey and maple aroma caressing a very good Virginia /Burley blend. Came in a broken flake that packed like a dream and smoked with one relight to a white ash at the end. I smoked this on an empty stomach with a black coffee for breakfast and enjoyed every puff! Gawith and Hoggarth seem to do V/Bur blends extremely well and it's rare that I get one that I dislike. The honey is never overpowering and is there if you take it very slowly and the room note is probably the best ever with a honey/vanilla breeze that wafts in the air. Nicotine level for me is a light to medium and put me in deep contemplation for a decent hour. I totally recommend this to all, although novice pipers may miss the subtle nuances in the flavour if the cadence isn't as gentle as a stream trickling over pebbles in a trout stream.

rich dark honey dew is one of then blends that if you had a grandfather that smoked a pipe, chances are they had a bowl of this stuff.

back when it first came out it was made by gallahers and many moons ago it got discontinued, although a scour around the bay will come up with empty tins, sometimes a sealed one will pop up for astronomical prices.

anyways fast foreward and gawith and hoggarth have came to the rescue although it isn't exactly the same supposedly it is in the same ball park.

so what is it like?

opening the pouch I get honey straight off the bat, a quick ruffle of the long dark ribbon, up pops some vanilla, backed by maple syrup and some nuts and a slight wisp of cocoa and floral. it's a nice long ribbon with a touch of broken flake, this keeps the burn in check, perfect moisture to load and burn. once packed and lit, the honey does come across but never overwhelmingly, the vanilla backs it up along with the maple and that slight touch of cocoa and floral.

towards the middle of the bowl the flavours stand down slightly and gently bring up the earthy dark Virginia's with a touch of hay and the burley with a little spice and touch of cocoa.

the end of the bowl it's tobacco goodness all the way, the burley comes to the fore seamlessly intermingling with the earth and dark fruit of the dark Virginia. Burn rate is fantastic one light should do it and it's a nice middle of the road burn, not to fast and not to slow, the touch of broken flake does it's job in slowing the burn very well. Do beware though, going at this like a freight train will cause it to get hot and bite, but a regular cadence will cause no problems.

All in all this is a lovely blend and one that does well for repeated bowls during the day, the strength is just right not too much that it overwhelms but not enough that it leaves you feeling...meh. it's just right and the flavour never bores or cloys. it is just one of them simple old fashioned pipe tobaccos that just does the job and does it very well.

room note won't garner you any enemies, although it produces plumes of smoke it isn't heavy and it shouldn't raise to many eyebrows within your company.

one thing i have noticed is that the pouch aroma bears quite a resemblance to mac baren Scottish mixture and mac baren navy flake so if you like either or both of these two then you should have no problem liking this one.

finishing off this is a beautiful blend, enough straight tobacco flavour for the purists amongst us and just the right amount of added flavour to keep the aromatic fans happy.

Will confidently recommend this, 5 out 5 EASILY earned.