Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Gold

This is just an OK blend. I really like most of the G&H's offerings I have tried so far but this one just missed for me. The VA's are gold and it might be topped with something very lightly, perhaps sugar water? As it seems sweeter than a natural VA could be but only slightly. There is also a brown sugar like taste to it. Not that it is brown sugar that has been added just reminds me of it a little but that is not it. No hay/grass notes really, but a zesty spicy note that reminds me of cinnamon. Again, not suggesting it was added but the spicy note reminds me of similarities of it. Outside of these notes, the blend is rather one dimensional. It never bites would be a good all day blend if you are into it, might mix well but it is not marketed as a blender so I base the rating on its stand alone points. While not bad there are many other mild golden VA blends that are better Dan's HV, for example comes to mind. I doubt it will age as mild as it is. I see no reason to revisit this one personally.

This is really one of the finest tobacco's I have ever had in a cigarette. Its shag cut perfect for RYO. It comes moist so if your using for cigs will need some dry time. Its pricey but worth it if your a connoisseur of good cig tobacco. Just has a great pure Virginia taste to it. Its a very naturally sweet Virginia no toppings on this one its not needed.

I really wanted to like Kendal Gold. I am a huge G&H fan. I have liked the handful of straight light Virginia flakes that I have smoked. I tried to like it. It is so amazingly nondescript that I wonder if it meant to be used as a blender only, except that it is more filler than blender, as it has virtually no taste. It makes an ok cigarette, except for the trace of Lakeland baby powder (which I like in thier other blends, by the way).

I would describe the cut as an ultra-fine ribbon, just this side of a shag. It is the same as the Dark Birdseye and Kendal Kentucky, and is a great uniform cut.

I'm letting mine rest in the hopes that it will improve with age.

Here is my take on this tobacco, it is straight virginia and it is a shag cut, which is something that history has told us that it was made to either be rolled into a cigarette or stuff in a pipe I do believe that the formula has changed from when I originally smoked this 10 years ago, back then the virginias were more nicotine heavy not so much now, it was dryer not so much now it was shaggier not so much now, it’s an all day blend for the pipe smoker that’s in it for the nicotine but if you are one of the pipe smokers that is expecting to hear a symphony every time you light up a pipe keep on moving and save your money, I personally like it but your mileage may vary, I don’t think this one improves with age but smokes better almost completely dry.

Is it a pipe tobacco? Is it a cigarette rolling tobacco? It's two
When England went barmy with its cigarette taxes, numerous "pipe tobaccos" emerged on the market...alkaline balanced and shag cut, excellent for RYO but not so great to put in a pipe.

Gawith & Hoggarth's 'Kendall Gold' appears to be one of these...at least from appearance. I rolled a thin-guage cigarette from it, and it was the mildest, most pleasant cigarette you can imagine...even without a filter. Beautiful.

I was ready to write it off as being suitable only for rolling your own. Then the thought occurred: "Boy, this ain't Route 66...it's from G&H! Try it in a pipe." And I did so, in a small bowl corncob.

Wow! Soft, sweet Virginias dominate with just the slightest whiff of Lakeland essence. And I mean the slightest whiff. The tobacco burned quickly, but stayed quite cool in the bowl. No second match was required after the "false light;" the tobacco burned coolly, cleanly and completely to the heel of my pipe without needing relighting, although frequent gentle tamping was required. Shag tobaccos can quickly expand upward and above the crown of one's pipe if not tamped a few times.

Will I smoke it in a pipe again. No, probably not. Will I roll the rest by hand into cigarettes? Yes, as this tobacco is more amenable to either hand-rolling or use of a Rizla-type two cylinder manual roller. The "tube injector" type of cigarette maker will probably not handle this tobacco well; the strands are long for a shag, while still being a shag cut. Some further rubbing or clipping of the tobacco might be required for some rollers.

Room note is pure cigrette. Non-smokers will not be pleased, even if you sing Gawith & Hoggarth's praises while polluting the air of the smokaphobics in your circle. 2 stars. This is the highest quality RYO tobacco I've ever encountered...but it's still RYO IMHO. See what I did there?

Kendal Gold is labeled a shag cut tobacco, i don't think so! This is a Ribbon cut plain and simple. Shag's are the preferred cut of the Hand rolling enthusiasts. I tried and it was not that easy with a single wide wrap. This ribbon cut would be well suited for the RollYourOwn machine/TubeInjector crowd. GawithHoggarth Does make this blend in a shag cut known as Auld Kendal Golden and it's no longer available in the US market. That being said, if you like mild English bright Virgina's this is one of the finest examples available today.

I was expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. Easy to light, easy to keep lit, the shag cut makes this a dream to smoke. A very mild smoke with some nicotine. I enjoyed this while hiking through the Pemi Wilderness during a perfect winter 5 days.

A light bright Virginia blend with a fairly uninspiring tin note this thin ribbon borderline shag cut packs easily with plenty of " bounce" in the cut thanks to the perfect moisture content. The charring light is easy to over do thanks to the cut and the true light takes easily . The first two thirds are on the citrus side of the Virginia profile with the mellower ones taking the fore in the final third. This particular purchase was as fresh as possibly could be with the tobacconist opening the 1kg bag on the counter to weigh up my pouch. This means the blend is on the more rambunctious rougher side and best sipped. A good no nonsense smoke with plenty of aging and home blending potential.

Slightly sweet, raisins, grassy. Flavor isn't powerful and seems to wane as i smoke through the bowl, and the smoke is pretty harsh on my mouth. If you're into straight Virginias, you may like this quite a bit, but it's not my thing.