Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal No.7 Unscented

The Virginias offer some floral grass/hay, a little earth, wood, citrus and darker fruit, the latter of which is more in the background. Has a little cigarish taste much of the time, though it doesn’t over take the other aspects previously mentioned. Won’t bite, but can get harsh if puffed real fast, which also causes one to take more notice of the cigar. The nic-hit is medium. Burns a little fast, and I recommend slow puffing. The flavor is fairly consistent, and has a bit of richness, but not a lot of sweetness. Needs few relights, and leaves little dampness in the bowl. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

This one appears to have fallen under the radar here at TR.com with only 5 reviews so far. My review is based on a one ounce sample that I quickly parlayed into a 2 pound purchase. This stuff is indeed that good.

This is Kendal Kentucky's cousin from one state over. Both are shag cut, fairly dark in color and high in nicotine. Both are barely sweet, although this one is a tad sweeter, and both have nice cigar notes, but not too cigar-y. I did not taste any chocolate or cocoa in either one but if I had to choose one that was closer, this wouldn't be the one. This is just a beautifully rich and rewarding smoke that tastes of tobacco, virginia tobacco in place of KK's burley, but keep in mind that these are the African strains. The reference to Gallahers Rich Dark Honeydew is well taken and I basically agree, although my memory of what RDH tastes like fresh is hazy. My last 4 tins of RDH were all at least 10 years old, some of them closer to 20. But based on memory, this one is indeed close. But it isn't a sweet melon flavor to me - it's more of a brisk lightly sweet iced tea. Or something. I'm so terrible at placing flavors. I'm fine with what things ain't but not so good at what they are. 🙂

The chances are good that if you enjoy Kendal Kentucky, you'll like this one as well. Just a bit of a different take, but with a lot of similarities. A 4 star blend, without a doubt.

There are some things in life we never forget. For pipe smokers, specific to pipe smoking itself, I believe our desire to start smoking a pipe begins at a very young age. I know most if not all of you often reflect on those joyous and perhaps distant memories of our fathers, grandfathers, uncles, family friends ‘et al'.....smoking their briars intently, methodically, peacefully and without any form of prejudice whatsoever. The fragrant and pungent odors from pipe tobacco has no memory jolting-olfactory equal, save perhaps mom's apple pie or the baking of bread in a wood stove oven on a cold winters morning. I started smoking a pipe some twenty-two years ago and of course, like all those before me, began the hunt for that magical tobacco. My transition from aromatics to English was rather swift where I eventually settled very comfortably in the world of English Virginia blends. My absolute favorites were St. Bruno, Condor and Three Nuns but I would sometimes try another blend in the same genre.

Getting to the point of never forgetting some things in life, I will never forget the absolute pleasure I experienced with my first pouch of Gallaher's Rich Dark Honey Dew. Simply, for me, one of the best Virginia tobaccos I had ever had the pleasure of smoking. I was so impressed I returned to my tobacconist following my first bowl and bought the last three pouches he had in stock. Little did I know at the time, those would be the last packets of RDH he would ever carry. I would never forget that deep, naturally sweet, powerful and sophisticated taste. RDH simply elevated my taste buds to another level and left me with a deeply seeded memory I thought would remain as a memory only

---

until I opened the bag of No. 7 Mixture.

No. 7 offers an exceedingly close resemblance to Gallaher's RDH in all categories. It's dark brown shaggy cut and faintly restrained Kendal casing along with it's soft velvet texture smacks of RDH's long lost twin. While smoking No. 7 it's medium-to-strong strength and billowing white spicy smoke with that underlying sweetness of rich deep flavor adds yet further dimensions to the overall cloning effect to RDH that I am getting. No. 7 does not evolve significantly during the smoke and I am thankful for that as I truly enjoy the experience of its' original flavor right from the charring light. No. 7 has, for me, brought back those wonderful elated memories over two decades ago when most of the UK's tobacco offerings filled the shelves of Canadian tobacconists. God bless the internet and thank goodness for the plethora of e-tailer tobacconists. No. 7 is most highly recommended!

Summary: smoked molasses and honey, with a touch of lemon, comes from this mixture of dark-fired and flue-cured Virginia.

Half of this blend seems similar to "Dark Shag" or "Kendal Dark," and the other half seems to be something like "Kendal Gold." The smoked Virginias are slightly outnumbered by the flue-cured variety, and this gives this blend a warm sweet Virginia flavor with an undertone of the smoky, tangy dark-fired leaf. The shag cut burns easily and caramelizes quickly, turning the bright hay and floral flavor of the flue-cured Virginia into a fall honey flavor, while the dark-fired influence gives this a touch of molasses. Any toppings meld right into this and guide it rather than dominating it, giving it a slight richness. It loads easily at its default moisture level, especially with the Hana method, and burns down to a powder of grey ash but smokes slowly. It is stronger than medium in nicotine, especially in the latter half of the bowl, but this works well if you are engaged in strenuous activity. For me, this could be an all-day smoke, since it rewards smoking slowly enough that the nicotine is not overwhelming and its varied tastes spread out and meld, sending my tongue seeking the internal variations of their texture. An instant favorite!

The descriptive says Cocoa and Chocolate flavoring have been added to this blend. I tasted neither. I got a rich, deep Virginia flavor and a fairly quick burn from the shag cut. The strength and flavor combination was delightful. A deep dark sweetness enhances the already strong tobacco presence. This stuff is just flat wonderful!

I, like Pipestud and Steverino, didn't taste much of a chocolate flavor in this blend but there is an undeniable underlying sweetness that comes along with a pretty good punch of Lady N. I do detect a very light chocolate scent in the pouch and strangely after many bowls, I did get some of the taste after using a large, wide bowl. When completely dried, the shag cut makes for a quick and if one is not careful, hot burn. Smoking Kendal's #7 quickly can make this go from sweet to bitter fast! I do not detect any of the soapy smell that GH is often known for having. This blend is not related to GH's #7 Broken Flake. I'm not a big Virginia smoker, but this one is a keeper for me. Recommended.

“Kendal No. 7 - Typical air-cured aroma, enhanced with the sweetness of chocolate flavoring.”

When I first saw this tobacco, I immediately thought Dark Bird's Eye. No. 7 resembles DBE's fine, hair-like constitution, but without the “bird's eyes”. The aroma of the tobacco is similar as well, as both tobaccos are made from dark leaf. With these similarities, I expected No. 7 to taste very similar to DBE. There is some similarity in flavor but there are additional characteristics that give No. 7 its own personality.

The fine cut makes it easy to load the pipe and the tobacco takes to flame readily. One match will usually do if you don't feel the need to tamp after lighting. Upon ignition, No. 7 produces a large volume of smoke. This may be due to the fine cut burning relatively quickly.

The Lakeland scent is what I first notice after the tobacco is burning. It never gets strong or dominant in this blend but you probably won't miss it. It seems to diminish somewhat as the bowl progresses. There is also a subtle sweetness in this blend which is present throughout most of the bowl. It too is mostly a background player. One interesting taste I noticed is pepper, as might be experienced with a perique blend, and not a little bit. I've noticed this in other dark fire-cured and air-cured blends and it is apparently a characteristic of that leaf. An aspect of No. 7 that is an enigma to me is the “chocolate flavoring” mentioned in the manufacturer's description. I've smoked quite a few bowls and haven't been able to identify anything that resembles chocolate. This may have something to do with what I'm perceiving as sweetness but it just doesn't come through as chocolate to me.

*We are not told directly what the components of this blend are. As mentioned earlier, since No. 7 resembles DBE in both appearance and aroma, it is logical to assume that the same dark leaf is used, though it is air-cured rather than fire-cured as with DBE. The overall dark color of the tobacco seems to confirm this. I find the taste to be similar to burley as there is no Virginia grassiness or tanginess.

As for nicotine strength, this is a tobacco that can sneak up on you. If you pay attention and smoke at a reasonable pace, No. 7 is your friend and shouldn't overpower experienced smokers. If you get busy doing something else while you smoke, it can come up behind you and slap you on the back of the head.

This offering from Gawith, Hoggarth is a good blend for the smoker who enjoys a Lakeland-style tobacco but prefers the scented flavor in a more moderate proportion. The medium to full flavor and substantial nicotine level should satisfy all but the most demanding of smokers. Recommended.

*Addendum

When I wrote this review, I had not seen a description of this tobacco that listed the constituent tobaccos. I recently found such a description on one of the etailers' web page:

"The main distinguishing feature of this mixture is the high proportion of Indian dark air-cured tobacco in the blend (35%), which lends a certain 'cigar-type' aroma to the smoke. Combined with 27% dark-fired leaf and only 38% flue-cured Virginias the blend provides a fairly strong smoke." I was close!

This was originally purchased by mistake. I meant to order some Broken Flake #7. I smoked a bowl, but was so angry with myself that I really didn't get a good feel for it. However, something in the back of my mind told me not to return it - cellar it, and see what happens. That was 1/10/14, or so the date label on my mason jar says. I'm really glad that I did.

This is a wonderful blend. Nothing here is gonna blow your socks off, and the shag cut is a bit of a PITA when it comes to loading. It burns a bit faster than I prefer, and the room note isn't gonna earn you any fans. (Angry mobs won't run you off, but you're not gonna get hit with heaps of praise either). The color is a nice medium to dark hue, and it has a decent enough nicotine hit. However, due to fast burn and depth of smoke, I suggest that you smoke this in a larger-sized pipe (say, something along the lines of a Pete #408) and sip on it. This will allow the blend to really open up.

Your reward? A deep and full blast of vaguely sweet Virginia goodness. I was tempted to say "greatness", but I wouldn't really classify this as "great." Just very -very, very - good. It's also got an ever so faint dash of GH&C's famous Kendal sauce, but so faint that unless you actually know what Kendal Sauce is you'd never guess it. Just something different and earthy way back in the background. Just enough of a whisper to let you know that it is there, but definitely not enough to ghost your pipe. Just enough to add a very nice touch to the Virginia sweetness.

As far as the sweetness goes, this isn't hay or alfalfa-like, or any other sweetness that I've encountered in any other Virginia blend. No freshly cut summer fields or English bog in spring thing going on here -- just a sweet earthiness that I cannot really describe. Tobacco, that's it... but not quite pipe-like or cigar-like... something in between. I'd like to think that this is the shag-cut tobacco that Sherlock Holmes kept in that ballet slipper, and pulled out when he had a particularly tough case to ponder.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend it. I'm definitely cellaring a couple more pounds worth. This is not something I'd want to smoke every day, but it makes a nice player to slip into my Virginia/Burley rotation every now and then. Besides, this is one of those blends that I want to keep as a special treat, since it costs over $50 a pound and offered in bulk only. But it's worth every damn penny of the asking price.

Just off the back deck after another bowl of this excellent blend. First things first. The constituent tobaccos are: Indian dark air-cured tobacco (35%), Combined with 27% dark-fired leaf and only 38% flue-cured Virginias. I get very little to nothing of anything Lakeland in terms of scenting. I detected the merest smidgen of cocoa. All reviewers thus far are pretty much spread across the board in these regards. In terms of cut...I disagree with most others. My recent bag is definitely not shag. In fact it is a fairly heavy ribbon. It came moist, very packable and eager to light and burn. No bite. My constant sipping didn’t overheat it or change the flavors which are rich and do indeed show cigar notes from time to time. This is touted as being the base blend for other GH items...no surprise. It’s rich enough that even by adding Lakeland scenting the base tobacco would shine through...a hallmark of GH scented Lakelands. Yes, this IS under the radar - but shouldn’t be. Less smoky than Dark Birds Eye it has significant flavor, good manners and a decent hit of N. It should be far more popular. Highly recommend to seasoned puffers of Brit blends especially.

What a great blend is here! Rich and tasty, full of zest and pure tobacco goodness. And, what's important, it contains a healthy dose of nicotine. I like it very much.