Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Gold

Gawith Hoggarth - Kendal Gold.

When I take a whiff of the tobacco at the beginning there really isn't anything to report, a very very slight Virginia smell but it's subdued in the up-most fashion. This one arrived at a satisfactory amount of hydration and just like I have heard, one could be forgiven for thinking it's cigarette tobacco!

It lights easily and once lit I find the same character within the taste as I noted in the appearance... it tastes just like a cigarette! By no means does it taste bad, to do so it would require character of which it has none! I will raise some more positive points now, the first is tongue bite, it feels similar to a cigarette with the fact it's a comfortable smoke on the palate. Another similarity is temperature, it's a cool smoke that doesn't become hot even when under strain. Nicotine, again it's cigarette quantity, is this truly a pipe tobacco?!! After a few bowls I have come to the conclusion that this would be a great tobacco for someone looking to switch from ciggies to the pipe but it will bore the socks off any seasoned smoker!!

Two stars.

This is a pretty decent Virginia blend, but like others have said in the various reviews, it is a little cigarette like in appearance, taste and room note. It is a little light in body as well and I found the nicotine content to be a little light as well. It is a shag cut as well, which I pretty much despise.

So there are plenty of negatives to this blend before I even start my review, but some of the positives to this include the fact that is virtually biteless, it burns great from beginning to the end (maybe a bit fast) and has a nice sweetness that is kind of a dulled version of the haylike/bready sweetness one would expect from a Virginia.

Another thing I found odd with this blend is a complete lack of any Lakeland floral aroma. This is odd only because I have tasted it in every other GH blend I have ever tried. This one is pretty good, but I likely won't reorder as it is not good enough to break into my crowded Virginia rotation.

Sweet hay. If your name is Trigger, you'll love this one. Sweet hay is all I get from this. Can probably use this as a blender to good effect, but smoked by itself it offers very little. The burn is perfect, albeit a bit quick. It doesn't offend in any way, but is a real plain Jane. No Lakeland detected in a cob.

Mild to medium in body and taste.

I found this tobacco to be fairly bland. The tobacco itself is not bad quality, and it has some flavour to it - it's not like smoking hot air, but it is very cigarette-like. That quality is great in cigarettes, but not what I really look for in a pipe tobacco. The tin note is likewise, fairly bland, not unpleasant, but doesn't rock my world, it's a sweet hay-like scent. The tobacco packs well & burns easily, so it was easy to smoke. I found it had no bite, either, which is somewhat surprising considering it is pure Virginia. The room note is fairly mild, again fairly cigarette-like. Due to the fact that it burned easily, was a simple smoke and didn't bite like a ravenous beast, I will give it 2 stars, as the tobacco itself was not bad as such, but I don't think I'll be queuing in the rain to buy more. I may purchase some in future for a quick smoke when I need something with reliable burn that I can smoke quickly, or to use as a blending base, but I don't think I will ever consider this as a 'go to' tobacco. May age well, due to it being all Virginia, so might get some for cellaring to see how that works out.

What can I say about this blend that others haven't already said?

It's an exceedingly average tobacco, notes of citrus and hay overlaid with tobacco greet the nostrils upon opening the pouch, upon lighting you get a very light taste of sweetness, like a speck of brown sugar. It burns well and didn't need a lot of relights. I maid a RYO cigarette with it and it proved to be very effective in this role.

But.... I mixed this 50/50 with a pouch of Borkum Riff Ruby and left it a few days, upon opening the Mason jar I was greeted with a more subdued, refined cherry smell than one gets from straight Borkum Riff, the moisture level was superb and upon lighting the taste was that of fresh, almost over ripe cherries and a hay like lightness with a aftertaste of sweet cherry. As such I would highly recommend this a mixer tobacco, on its own it makes an excellent RYO tobacco, however as a pipe tobacco its just average, even as a relatively new pipe smoker I've smoked far better blends.

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.

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?