Samuel Gawith Celtic Talisman

Another catch-up review from my notes in 2009 when I first tried this. Back then, SG & GH blends were readily available most all the time. I've since rejoined TRs under a different handle but here's my take on Celtic Talisman: This is about as fine a cherry blend tobacco as any on the market with a better price tag than most. Tin aroma is very prevalent & appealing.

The tin is packed full of loose tobacco and mine arrived fairly moist. I dried a bowlful out for about 25 minutes and stuffed it in me wee Peterson #317. It smoked cool with no tongue/palate discomfort. The marriage of sweet Virginia with the tasty cherry casing compliment each other.

CT seemed to have a bit more Vitamin N than most aromatics. This is a pretty darn good cherry blend and I thought the price was right...$6.48 per 50 gram tin. If one likes a cherry blend, they might be well advised to give this a try. I was satisfied with CT and don't have anything negative to say about it.

Another catch-up review from 2009 when I first tried this. Back then, GH blends were readily available most all the time. I've since rejoined TRs under a different handle but here's my take on Celtic Talisman: This is about as fine a cherry blend tobacco as any on the market with a better price tag than most. Tin aroma is very prevalent & appealing. The tin is packed full of loose tobacco and mine arrived fairly moist. I dried a bowlful out for about 25 minutes and stuffed it in me wee Peterson #317. It smoked cool with no tongue/palate discomfort. The marriage of sweet Virginia with the tasty cherry casing compliment each other.

CT seemed to have a bit more Vitamin N than most aromatics. This is a pretty darn good cherry blend and I thought the price was right...$6.48 per 50 gram tin. If one likes a cherry blend, they might be well advised to give this a try. I was satisfied with CT and don't have anything negative to say about it.

I hate to contradict Dr. Scott, but Bob Gregory of Samuel Gawith pronounced it with a hard C like (K)eltic about 10 times in his radio interview, so I guess I'll take the Managing Director of the manufacturer over some Yank on the internet. Ep. 156 of the Pipes Magazine radio show if you want to hear it yourself (ﾉ＾◡＾)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻

As to the blend itself, it's a moderately sauced cherry cavendish flavored blend with good Virginia undertones and a smooth Burley backbone. The flavor is evident but not overwhelming, the aroma is excellent, and the strength is really good for an aromatic thanks to the Burley.

It comes fairly dry in the tin and burns down with no relights, so I never feel like I've got to mind it too closely.

This is one of those aromatics that stays in my rotation for when I want a little more strength without sacrificing the room note. Avoid this if you're expecting Boswell, it really doesn't fit in the same category.

The tin smells like dried sunny fruits with sugar. The tobacco is cut thicker and somewhat longer than your usual ribbon (Peterson tobaccos for example).

The room note is certainly sweet and non smokers will like it.

But I really cannot detect any specific cherry or vanilla aroma. There is certainly some sweet flavours, but what I really enjoyed in this tobacco, is its Virginias and Burleys tastes. This is top notch good quality pipe tobacco. Just not what I had expected.

This mixture delivers a satisfying smoke that tastes (also) like tobacco, has a good strength (the vitamin N level, of course), burns d

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y all the way down and leaves me wanting more. The topping is well conceived and is most interesting when smoking the tobacco. I like Celtic Talisman and will be buying more.

While this was a very good tobacco, I've lost a taste for it. I might get made fun of, but I find the cherry flavoring to be too subtle for my tastes. The strength knocks me back a bit, but that's because I'm used to weak aromatics.

I will continue my search for a cherry aromatic that jumps out more. Nonetheless, this is a very good blend and I recommend getting a tin.

Finally a cherry tobacco I like. I smoke Aro's about 70-75% of the time and have never found a cherry I could grant more than 2 stars to.

Very pleasant from the tin and the roomnote gets compliments. If anything this was a little dry from the tin. The cherry is not overdone and stays through 3/4's of the bowl. I don't taste a lot of chemical flavor that I find in most other cherries. Nice gray ash that comes out cleanly and no goop.

It's a happy aromatic that's mild and enjoyable enough to be a everyday light-up

When you first open a tin of Celtic Talisman you are knocked over by the amazingly sweet, even sickly cherry and vanilla flavours. It's a little moist and sticky at first and I strongly recommend transferring it from the tin to another container before smoking. Once it's aired a little and the flavours mellow it becomes a joy every time to open it. Even the colours are attractive, with the bright Virginias jumping out alongside the darker Burley and Black Cavendish.

The tobacco packs well and is a dream to light. It burns slowly and can often be smoked right down to the bottom without relights. The first light reveals the cherry flavours, which develop into a creamy and more vanilla flavoured smoke. A third of the way down the bowl and you get a satisfying sweet smoke which makes me think of toasted marshmallows, but the cherry and vanilla is ever-present and the cherry is certainly noticeably in the room note which everybody seems to enjoy. The sweetness does not overpower the natural flavours of the tobacco, although I didn't really feel the presence of the Virginias. It burns cool, smooth and with some body so that it's a pleasure to just fill your mouth with a large volume of smoke and enjoy the flavours.

This is a very nice aromatic!One of the few imports I keep a healthy stock of.The taste seems full and slightly dark but in a nice way,not bitter at all.The tobaccos are nicely nut and this aromatic features a cherry liquer that's very unique from other cherry flavored aromatics-has a luxurious flavor to it.With a name like Celtic Talisman,it's tend to throw people off with the name don't be fooled though..goes nicely for a dessert tobacco.