Samuel Gawith Black Forest
(2.86)
Rich black cavendish tobaccos blended with bright Virginia, create a smooth smoke with a subtle honey flavouring.
Details
| Brand | Samuel Gawith |
| Blended By | Samuel Gawith |
| Manufactured By | Samuel Gawith |
| Blend Type | Aromatic |
| Contents | Black Cavendish, Virginia |
| Flavoring | Honey |
| Cut | Ribbon |
| Packaging | 50 grams tin |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Production | Currently available |
Profile
Strength
Mild
Extremely Mild -> Overwhelming
Flavoring
Medium
None Detected -> Extra Strong
Room Note
Pleasant
Unnoticeable -> Overwhelming
Taste
Medium
Extremely Mild (Flat) -> Overwhelming
Average Rating
|
2.86 / 4
|
Reviews
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Displaying 21 - 28 of 28 Reviews
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 12, 2020 | Mild | Medium | Mild | Very Pleasant |
Let me begin with the good. The Black Forest is the best artificial rendition of honey aroma I ever met. Actually it's not so easy to make a non-honey product (be that soap, beer, pastry, shampoo, candies, tobacco or whatever) to smell or taste like honey in a good way without soaking it in real honey. Attempts are numerous and unsuccessful. With the only exception I'm aware of: Sam Gawith's Black Forest. Its tin aroma is unbelievable. It smells honey better than certain brands of actual honey.
Unfortunately, that's where the magic ends.
The incredible honey aroma quickly dissipated after just few first puffs. Then I struggled through an unremarkable and disappointingly familiar mix of dull Cavendishes and edgy Virginias - the same kind you find in myriads of standard mass-market continental pouched aromatics. It's like upon opening an aged dusty bottle of a rare Special Reserve Vintage Grand Cru Trappist Ale you find inside a fizzy yellowish pisswasser you might buy at any corner store.
Don't get me wrong, producing such a blend would have made an honor to any Danish of German aromatic blender. It's a well behaved mixture, the aromatic juices are good and applied delicately. Still, it obviously doesn't stand up to the level of the rest of Sam Gawith product line.
Do I recommend this? Well, somewhat. You won't believe your nose when you sniff it. And you won't be offended when you smoke it. Just don't buy it by the pound. Try a sample first.
Unfortunately, that's where the magic ends.
The incredible honey aroma quickly dissipated after just few first puffs. Then I struggled through an unremarkable and disappointingly familiar mix of dull Cavendishes and edgy Virginias - the same kind you find in myriads of standard mass-market continental pouched aromatics. It's like upon opening an aged dusty bottle of a rare Special Reserve Vintage Grand Cru Trappist Ale you find inside a fizzy yellowish pisswasser you might buy at any corner store.
Don't get me wrong, producing such a blend would have made an honor to any Danish of German aromatic blender. It's a well behaved mixture, the aromatic juices are good and applied delicately. Still, it obviously doesn't stand up to the level of the rest of Sam Gawith product line.
Do I recommend this? Well, somewhat. You won't believe your nose when you sniff it. And you won't be offended when you smoke it. Just don't buy it by the pound. Try a sample first.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20, 2019 | Mild | None Detected | Extremely Mild (Flat) | Unnoticeable |
Unfortunately a tasteless blend from Sam Gawith's.
The sweet aroma that comes from the opened tin is very pleasant indeed, full of promise of a sweet tobacco with grassy hay-like overtones mixed with a little honey. The tobacco is no quite as wet as some SG blends I've tried and can be loaded straight from the tin.
It looks rather dark for an aromatic with clearly a high cavendish content mixed with gold virginia strands. It certainly looks the part and feels like a SG blend of their best quality.
If you are expecting a superb flavour then you'll be disappointed. This has no taste at all. I've tried all pipes, briars and my best meerschaum, but I just can't get anything out of this one at all. There's no room note either.
A shame this as it will now just be a bind to get through a seemingly never ending tin. I just can't recommend this blend. the weakest of the SG blends I have tried over the years.
The sweet aroma that comes from the opened tin is very pleasant indeed, full of promise of a sweet tobacco with grassy hay-like overtones mixed with a little honey. The tobacco is no quite as wet as some SG blends I've tried and can be loaded straight from the tin.
It looks rather dark for an aromatic with clearly a high cavendish content mixed with gold virginia strands. It certainly looks the part and feels like a SG blend of their best quality.
If you are expecting a superb flavour then you'll be disappointed. This has no taste at all. I've tried all pipes, briars and my best meerschaum, but I just can't get anything out of this one at all. There's no room note either.
A shame this as it will now just be a bind to get through a seemingly never ending tin. I just can't recommend this blend. the weakest of the SG blends I have tried over the years.
Pipe Used:
Briars, Meers
PurchasedFrom:
Dan Pipe Germany
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2019 | Medium | Very Mild | Mild | Unnoticeable |
Disappointing. As beginner, I have not got experience with light aromatics. My first word after smell of fresh tobacco was: “wtf?” After smoking i wanted to find honey, but without chance.
Finaly, after several bowls in Jatoba wood I was able to find some kind of pleasure
Finaly, after several bowls in Jatoba wood I was able to find some kind of pleasure
Pipe Used:
Cob; Noname Jatoba wood
Age When Smoked:
New
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Dec 28, 2016 | Mild | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
I cracked open this blend early spring of this year the the smell from the tin was what I expected, bright tobacco with a honey hard candy note . The first few bowls were tasty, but then I put it away for a while.when I came back to it a month or two later the flavor was awful, like the tobacco went rancid.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Jan 28, 2016 | Mild to Medium | Very Mild | Mild | Unnoticeable |
Not much to get excited about here for me. The black Cavendish tastes fine but is just dust in my sample. The overall tobacco is ok and the honey topping is pants and just wont stay or go. A very lack luster blend for me..
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 01, 2023 | Mild | Mild | Mild | Pleasant |
The weather is heating up, so I thought it might be the perfect time to crack open this tin I've had cellared for the past 3 years. The honey casing prevented the Virginias from aging, but the smoke did not disappoint. The honey flavour is definitely more than subtle, and detectable in the tin note. The casing is not soaking wet, so it's ready to smoke right away. The crispy Virginias and sweet Cavendish help give this a baklava-like flavour which pairs nicely with a morning coffee. Burns clean and leaves no residue in your pipe. This is a great aromatic for warmer weather — smooth, mild, and refreshing.
3.5/4 rounded up to a 4. This blend seems misunderstood in the comments. It's not meant to be a heavy aromatic, nor a complex Virginia blend. Rather, this is a perfect middle ground blend for non-aromatic smokers who enjoy the occasional flavoured smoke.
EDIT: I have to bring this down to a 3 out 4. This blend does fall a little flat, especially after the tin has been opened a while (I kept it in rubber seal jar which I know is sub-optimal but my blends do fine in these as long as I finish them within a year). After a few months, this blend tastes stale. The nice bakalava taste I was getting mid bowl just wasn't coming through much at all, and the Virginias began to be more noticeably uninteresting. I will keep this blend at a 3, because it is enjoyable if smoked fresh.
3.5/4 rounded up to a 4. This blend seems misunderstood in the comments. It's not meant to be a heavy aromatic, nor a complex Virginia blend. Rather, this is a perfect middle ground blend for non-aromatic smokers who enjoy the occasional flavoured smoke.
EDIT: I have to bring this down to a 3 out 4. This blend does fall a little flat, especially after the tin has been opened a while (I kept it in rubber seal jar which I know is sub-optimal but my blends do fine in these as long as I finish them within a year). After a few months, this blend tastes stale. The nice bakalava taste I was getting mid bowl just wasn't coming through much at all, and the Virginias began to be more noticeably uninteresting. I will keep this blend at a 3, because it is enjoyable if smoked fresh.
Pipe Used:
Peterson Deluxe Classic Natural
Age When Smoked:
3 years
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 07, 2022 | Mild | Medium | Mild to Medium | Pleasant |
Samuel Gawith master blender Bob Gregory gave me a tin during the last Towpath smoke-off competition to try out. I am not into aromatics though, but I totally get the honey idea behind it. Despite the bright virginia it contains, it has sort of a dark character to it, probably, because of the added flavouring. Not as bitey as other aromatics out there, but it might cause some friction if you are not careful. I personally do not dislike it, but I am not loving it either. The tin note is nothing special, but it gives you a hint of what is to come when you light up. My tin was a bit on the dry side, but it smoked reasonably well. I think the citrusy notes combine well with the Cavendish, but this is not a tobacco I'd recommend if you are not into aromatics. I have put this tin aside at work for those days you forget your preferred blend at home because I know I won't be reaching for it, and there is nothing I hate more than tobacco going to waste. Taking all of this into consideration, I think a rating of 2.75 stars is about right.
| Reviewed By | Date | Rating | Strength | Flavoring | Taste | Room Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| Apr 04, 2022 | Mild | Mild to Medium | Medium | Pleasant |
Black forest. Such a light and easy going tobacco. Sweet tin note of honey and grassy virginias complimented with black Cavendish. Easy to pack and light. Was not as wet as the most SG blends. The smoke is creamy and sweet. Not much of complexity. I could smoke this the whole day. Just let it hang from your mouth and do your thing. It wont bother, wont bite. Another good example of a aromatic blend, that will not punch you in the face with artificial flavors, only baccy taste sweetened with medium honey flavor. The Fox recommends...
Pipe Used:
cob
PurchasedFrom:
etrafika.cz
Age When Smoked:
New
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