Samuel Gawith Celtic Talisman

I received a generous sample of this as part of a swap with a friend. I cannot comment on the version straight from the tin, but the tobacco seemed to have been kept very well, so I cant imagine too many differences being present. I requested this sample in order to broaden my aromatic tastes.

The note of this tobacco from the pouch I received it in is absolutely heavenly. Sweet, rich, summery bright Cherry & Vanilla in perfect harmony. It smells just wonderful.

The cut is a ribbon-cut with the standard gamut of colours present in an aromatic, bits of Cavendish, Burley & Bright Virginias vying for attention in a pleasant-looking blend.

The moisture content of my sample was perfect. The tobacco packed easily & took the light like a dream. The burn was steady & only a couple of relights were required.

The taste is very, very nice. The Cherry is the dominant flavour at the beginning of the bowl, but the Vanilla builds as the bowl progresses, dominating in the last third of the bowl. The tobacco is definitely present, but an times is completely dominated by the toppings. This can burn hot if pushed, and if this happens, it can snap at the tongue, so caution should be exercised.

The room note is extremely pleasant, and the tobacco is mild/medium in nicotine (possibly more medium than mild - a plus for an aromatic to me).

I'm going to give it 3 stars, it's nice, and I've enjoyed it. I may obtain some for future consumption, but I'm not really a confirmed aro-man yet, so wish to broaden my tastes before I commit any cash (I have several other generous samples yet to comment on). The detrimental points were that the tobacco was occasionally smothered by the flavouring (as opposed to working with it) & it can bite. I may simply request it in future trades. An added bonus is that it didn't gloop up my pipe.

I was looking for a cherry aromatic and I was fortunate enough to be able to acquire a sample and try this blend. The smell on opening the sample pack was a beautiful and rich strawberry/cherry and vanilla scent which I found very nice. At first I didn't know whether to smoke this blend or chew it, its smelled so inviting. I packed this blend into a medium bowl 314 Peterson System Standard pipe using the Frank method. Made the initiating light and was greeted with a very strong strawberry/cherry taste. Not unpleasant but very sweet. Tampered and lit again and it continued with the strong sweet taste till about a third of the bowl then it quieted down and the vanilla tones came out. Yes this blend definitely has a rich casing but the quality tobacco still came through. The sample tobacco in my opinion had the correct moisture level, just right and it smoked to a nice grey ash to the bottom without any goopiness. At no time did this blend smoke hot or in my opinion overpowering or boring but if you don't like heavier aromatics or cherry blends I wouldn't recommend it but if you do enjoy 🙂

Got the a tin as a gift.I don't smoke much aromatics but it's Gawith's blend and usually I like SG blends so when I got home I took my bent Falcon and filled a rustic Bulldog bowl with Celtic Talisman.After few puffs I got the cherry vanilla toping and it was just too sweet.Finished the bowl and next day filled a Savi's Hercules Bulldog and it was same result.Absolutely too aromatic to my taste. Gave the tin to a mate of mine who's in aro's and he loved it. The tin note-ok.The moist level okay as most of the times when we're talking about SG blends. To a person who'll love aromatics this might the choice..I don't know but as I said before mate of mine who's been smoking mostly aromatics had another thoughts about it.

Opening the tin, smelled similar to Grousemoor, but not the same. Somewhat confusing smell. Lighting it up, great smell and just the perfect amount of aroma. One of the best aromatic tobaccos I have smoked. Much better, much tolerable than Grousemoor

Edit: I could not finish the tin. Far from perfect. Still too strongly aromatic for me. But still better than Grousemoor

Blending artistry of the highest level. The blenders chose some top tobaccos to create this blend and then added some fantastically balanced cherry-vanilla flavors. All together I get a nice, smooth, smoke with the addition of a steady cream and cherry candy flavor which keeps me interested and never irritates my taste buds. This tobacco packs well, burns well and in my case needed no drying. It has a divine Room Note.

The first SG I plan to buy again. Done how an aro should be done. What I mean is, you can actually taste the topping without straining and the tobacco underneath is full and of good quality. Doesnt seem to have the excessive PG/Humectant of other SG blends - but it's there. Does not taste of cherry or vanilla to me. It is unmistakeably raspberry. Very similar to Mac Barens 7 Seas red, another cherry-come-raspberry which I prefer slightly, as the 7 seas topping is just that little bit stronger and lasts all the way to the end of the bowl. The SG has slightly better tobacco but the MB has the slightly stronger flavor, so for an aromatic 7 seas wins by a hair. Would have preferred a flake. If only Firedance topping was done like this...

Not sure what to write about this one. The tobaccos are classy, but the flavouring somehow doesn't fit my taste. From the first sniff on I compared this to fabric cleaner or washing powder, t does smell absolutely okay - but not for something you want to puff. Bronze-brown ribbon cut tobacco, very moist in the tin, packs a bit too compact, so it needs some drying. Not really "cherry" - it has a tin aroma that reminds me of fruit gums, or like Wrigley's Juicy Fruit. The smoke leaves a dry feel on the tongue - it actually dries out the complete mouth. The room aroma is okay. Taste and smell are quite far away from each other: it tastes bitter, and a bit like cheap booze. The smell is acceptable, though artificial. It provides enough Nic that you don't want to smoke another bowl for a while. It's not a full-flavoured mixture, but brings natural sweetness. I'm happy to finish the tin soon. Will not revisit this again. 2 of 5 stars. Not your typical aromatic.

I have been working my way through the SG range of blends and I have enjoyed most of those I have tried. This is no exception. There is a nice hint of cherry when you open the tin, but not enough to overpower the tobacco.

The hint of cherry carries over into the smoke when you light this tobacco. The taste of good quality tobacco, typical of all their blends, mixes very nicely with a gentle flavour of cherry and a hint of vanilla. The taste remains pretty much the same until you reach the end of the bowl, when it becomes slightly less aromatic and more tobacco flavours come through.

Not as strong as many aromatics, but I like that as it allows the tobacco to blend in with the flavour. I will certainly be keeping a tin on hand so I can enjoy this on a regular basis.

Ever wonder what would happen if you blended a Gawith tobacco with some cherry and black cavendish? Well, you'd get this.

The tin note is chemical and awful, and might bring to mind children's cough syrup. This will cause you to lower your expectations, and if you lower them enough you might enjoy this.

It's a blend predominantly of Burley, I think, and cavendish. The taste of cherry is far more muted in the bowl and actually agreeable, taken for what it is. It tops a rather dry, nutty Burley taste unlikely to impress or offend. I wouldn't know there was any Vanilla in this if the tin description didn't say so, but I thought I tasted a whiff of vanilla halfway down the bowl.

Someone somewhere wrote that this tobacco reinvents the aromatic. I don't know quite what that means. I'll say this: I did actually taste a bit of cherry in it, and the tobacco had a touch of vitamin N as well. And it didn't bite. In those three ways, the tobacco pleasantly surprised me.

I didn't hate it. But it didn't convert me to aromatics.