Samuel Gawith Celtic Talisman

Through my tobacco journey I have enjoyed a lot of blends and more importantly learned what I like and what I don?t like. I have learned my tastes gravitate towards more Va ? VaPer ? Va/Burley ?Va Blends and flakes. Although I prefer a more natural tobacco taste with minimal flavoring added if none at all, I have always been on the lookout for an aromatic that still had good, quality tobacco, good taste and frankly some nicotine. I sort of gave up on finding such a blend.

Until now.

Folks, this is as close to the perfect Aromatic/Va-burley I have smoked. It has a fantastic Va taste first and foremost, while the burley and Cav are supporting actors, all on the stage of a cherry flavoring that is not assertive, masking or overbearing. Then the cherry on top (sorry for the pun) it has a good nicotine balance, siding on the lighter side of Medium.

My first advice, please treat this as if it is from Mac Baren. By saying that I mean, let it dry out for 24-48 hours first before smoking it. Straight out of the tin, it can nip the tongue. (I tried it, and I advise not to) This is the only downfall I have found through the half of tin I have smoked.

In the Tin ? The appearance is black, brown, and bright ribbon strands; some chopped, some longer than others. The aroma is fantastically cherry liqueur.

1st light ? Immediately you are aware of the Virginias and it is top notch flavor of Va that dominates this blend. The Cherry/Vanilla are there but not as storng as the natural Va taste. No problem lighting it the first time, once tamped you are your way.

Mid bowl ? You realize the dual play between the Va and the Burley and the taste is a tangy cherry with crème. The Virginias are tangy, and tend to ?sting? the back of the nose but not in a bad way. Something like horseradish. The Nicotine is rising but never goes to far. The unbiased remarks on the room note is, very good but cherry is not mentioned, more of pastry or baked goods. If you made cranberry nut bread and added cherries to it, that is what this is like to smell and to smoke. The Va, Burley and Cav create this ?malted? bread affect and it is all I can do not to chew the stem. (I promise I am not over exaggerating)

Bottom Bowl ? The cherry flavor has backed down, but not dissapeared and you left with a great natural taste where they all have blended together to create a creaminess in the mouth. The tanginess is still present. The nicotine has sat right a level where this could be enjoyed all day, but you know you always know you are smoking something with depth.

I can see this being a great all season, all day smoke for me for a very long time. 3 stars, could have been 4 but the there is a very small tendency of tongue bite if not prepared and dried.

This aromatic blend differs a lot from the other S. Gawith's blends.when you open it you instantly get cherry and the base of burley and virginia is not detected to me.a bit moist but no drying is required.needs a few lights burns medium.the flavours are balanced between the topping(vanilla is really on the backround) and virginias.also a nuttyness comes out if you go hard on it.the nicotine level is low so you can start your day with it.leaves the proper moist.for me it's recommended not highly though.i have also to add that the flavour is natural though the room note is very tense.

I purchased a tin of this four years ago and tried it in several briars. In every case I found the cherry flavour overpowering and artificial with no tobacco flavour; so I put the remaining tobacco into an Atlas pressure top jar and forgot about it. A couple of weeks ago I decided to give it one more chance. It has benefitted from the three years rest in what I now suspect was not a totally air tight container. The cherry flavouring has diminished and I can now taste the vanilla as well as the virginia and burley. Glad I didn't toss it out! It has a pleasant enough room note. Others have commented that this blend needs to dry out a bit. My experience seems to confirm this. If you like virginia/burley based aromatics , this may light your fire.

I'm fairly new at smoking a pipe, still learning the "do's" and dont's. I basically picked this blend purely out of a gamble to try a tinned tobacco (something new). I am still experimenting, so I haven't decided what type of tobacco I'm most partial to yet. Upon first opening the can, the tobacco smelled very sweet, a little bitter and very cherry, it was also very moist to touch, so I decided to put the lid back on it and let it dry for a bit. About a week later I went down to the man-cave (basement), where I usually smoke and decided to check the tin. The tobacco had dried considerably and the sweetness wasn't nearly as strong. The bitter cherry smell from before had subdued and now smelled a bit like baked cherry pie, very appetizing. I loaded up the Barontini Bulldog, using the 3 step method and lit up. 1st light was mostly all Va and I couldn't really detect the cherry or vanilla at all. 2nd light up and she was off and running. I detected more of the Va and maybe the burley, which faded quickly and as the smoke progressed, the cherry started coming through, but subtly and the pipe stayed lit with no problem. I never really got the vanilla I have read about on the other posts, but then again, my pallette is probably not as refined as other more experienced pipe smokers. It was a very good, mellow smoke. The cherry infusion was nice and subtle and the tobacco flavor was delicious. The nicotine hit was nice and the room note was quite pleasant. This blend didn't bite either, so I will be buying this tobacco again in the future.

A cherry tobacco blend of exceptionally high quality. That's what is is. Simple as that. There's really not anything more to say. That is all, folks.

Celtic Talisman is an agreeable Danish style aromatic (sweet pastry, vanilla, Christmas pudding etc.) with the addition of light cherry touch.

It is mild in strength and burns nicely with a few minutes of drying time. In the mouth it has some acridness in addition to the sweetness as most Danish style aromatics do and room note is quite nice for people who tolerate tobacco.

It is a nice aromatic, but nothing exceptional like say, Firedance which I find exquisite and would recommend even to people who do not smoke aromatics. Quite similar to 2013 Samuel Gawith special edition which does not have the cherry however but overall not quite as good. Recommended for smokers who enjoy Danish blends. 2.5 stars.

Another fine aromatic by Samuel Gawith. I am currently into Latakia but I almost felt sorry when the tin is empty. It is a good blend with nothing extreme or intense. Just rounded up for a general -in a good way- smoking experience.

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 🙂