Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Gold

This straight, sweetish VA isn’t as good as the Kendal’s Mixed shag in the Gawith & Hoggarth range, because it lacks that bit of ‘bite’ that the Burley gives to the latter. It’s all right, though. Not for the connoisseur or the lover of strong flavours, but if you want an all-day easy smoke, this is a respectable choice; it’s also, as far as I can tell, a completely natural tobacco with nothing added, and I like that. It packs well, burns easily (and, for a shag cut, remarkably slowly), doesn’t bite unless you beg it to, and doesn’t make too many demands on the palate. Admittedly it lacks flavour and ‘body’, but sometimes that isn’t a bad thing. I find this kind of tobacco good in hot weather when one wants something light; it suits a large bowl, tight packing and slow smoking. I find also that it is much better indoors than out. I don't know why this is, but it seems to lose its flavour completely in any sort of breeze. Maybe it's just me, but that's how it seems.

My brother-in-law makes rollups with Kendal Gold, and it would, in fact, be a good transitional smoke for someone wanting to make the shift from cigarette to pipe smoking. As an earlier reviewer has said, it’s a good mixer; it goes well with St Bruno Ready Rubbed, I find. I wouldn’t queue in the rain for it, to be honest; but it’s a nice tobacco for what it is, and the beginner will not find it too challenging. BTW: It's not what you would call a strong tobacco, but Vitamin N is certainly present. The room note is no big treat, incidentally; it's like cigarette smoke in high concentrations. I put it down as 'tolerable', but SWMBO denounced it in no uncertain manner.

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.

I must take issue with all the people damning this blend to the fiery pits of RYO hades. I’ve smoked two cigarettes tops in my life. Both were during the Clinton administration, and I was too altered to know better or remember.

But anyway, speaking purely as a pipe smoker, this is something I may very well purchase again once my meager (compared to my staples) stash of this is gone.

As a Virginia lover, surely there’s a place for an easy-smoking blend that doesn’t require a lot of attention. Even though I’m an apartment dweller, I have been a homeowner in my time. And this is the perfect Virginia for outdoor chores. I can practically see myself mowing the hilly lawn of the little place in Louisville where some of my fondest memories reside.

Is this blend one that requires—or deserves—a lot of attention? No.

But there’s definitely a place for it in my tobacco arsenal. I’m fairly certain I prefer this over any of the codger blends I have tried recently.

So that’s the bottom line, I suppose. This Kendal Gold basically fills the niche usually occupied by the old OTC standbys.