Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. No. 5 Mixture

I've been dipping into a big jar of this on and off for around four years now, but it's never made it into the "smoke often" category for me.

There's nothing in any way "wrong" with it. The virginias are balanced nicely by the dark-fired Malawi leaf which is sufficiently present to remove the tendency to bite hard that G&H's "Gold" shags suffer from and to add some depth and strength.

It tastes exactly like what it is, a Va/dark-fired blend with the emphasis on the Va. There's no "soapiness", no noticable flavourings, just good quality leaf. It even keeps its flavour outdoors well, which not all tobaccos do. It needs no attention at all to smoke and burns well and quite slowly left to its own devices.

Yet somehow I just don't find it very exciting. Worth a try though, it might well be just what you're looking for in a no-nonsense traditional blend that doesn't take as long to smoke as a flake.

One caution - it is a bit stronger in nicotine than the taste might lead you to think, so a little caution concerning bowl size might be in order until you've get a feel for it. Oh, and aging doesn't seem to change it much.