Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Bosun Cut Plug

Many thanks to the above reviewer (OSR,) for giving me a sample of G&H Bosun Cut Plug. I really can't add much as OSR covered all the bases, including the bit about the Clove perhaps giving the smoker a "Perique like tingle."

I like my Virginia tobacco to taste like tobacco. Yet, I also enjoy some added, discreet flavoring from time to time and Bosun Cut Plug delivers on both counts. Not as strong as my favorite G&H offering (Dark Birdseye), this one still packs enough punch to satisfy my craving for Nicotine. It does have that distinctive G&H smell in the pouch, which usually tells me that I'm about to smoke a quality Virginia.

Bosun Cut Plug is a delightfully cool smoke, burns reasonably well as the tobacco is consumed, and leaves a clean, dry ash. Thoroughly enjoyable.

I bought this because it was said to smell like aftershave on a website, and I thought that would be quite the experience. Well, it doesn't smell like aftershave, but rather of raisins and cloves, or perhaps dried figs and cloves. This probably should have been labeled as the Christmas cake of all of Gawith and Hoggarth's tobaccos rather than rum flake, as this smells like Christmas. However smoking it is a different story.

It tastes as it smells while smoking, but becomes increasingly bitter down the bowl, until it becomes more cigarlike than any other tobacco I have tried, including cigar blends. It is alright but can leave a bad taste in your mouth that lingers all day. Nicotine is very strong but not so much so as the dark flake/plug or peterson's irish whiskey which is right behind dark flake. It is enough to cause nasea if you smoke it in the heat.

Would do better with less dark fired virginia but is a decent lakeland smoke. Clove oil ought to be more popular with blenders as it really shines here. The geranium however is a bit reminiscient with common rue which can offend some noses while intrieging others. Best smoked outside on a cool day.

Note: store bosun cut plug in a new mason jar. Its oils easily evaporate. If they do, it will taste similar to brown flake scented, revealing some tonquin. And takes away about half of its strength with it. Smoking it dried is still quite pleasant, but it looses its raisin and clove taste, becomes very floral, and half the nicotine. Fresh and/or wet, it is a head spinner. I do not recommend smoking it wet in the heat. The clove evaporates first. Rehydrating it however is very simple. Use about 2 drops of water, two drops of rose geranium oil, and a drop of clove oil per fist sized amount in a mason jar, then let it sit for a week.

I have to admit that I wasn’t a huge fan of the unscented version of Bosun, but I found the scented version to be much more enjoyable. In the bag, the smell is that of a full on Lakeland aromatic with lots of floral/soapy smell that I enjoy. In the pipe, the first half of every bowl is more aromatic than anything else with a quick build to medium strength. I don’t get any of the clove, but the rose comes through nicely. The second half of each bowl offers more tobacco flavor and the mixture of the flavoring and Virginia shines through. BCP is an enjoyable smoke for the lovers of Lake District tobaccos.

Very typical floral Lakeland with wonderful earthy Virginia taste. Flavouring is present and obvious but does not overwhelm nor does it obscure the true tobacco taste. I’d characterize the degree of added aromas medium or medium plus. The overall taste is quite spicy, clove oil possibly, in a Lakeland sort of way. I personally detect some kind of coniferous aroma in Bosun Cut Plug, could be the geranium. Aromatically it is quite similar to Glengarry, Kendal Flake etc though probably a little stronger and smokier due to the dark fired component. Not as strong as Dark Flake though. All these tobaccos are variations on the same theme. Needs some experience or direct comparison to assess their differences analytically though.

Burns well and dry – I bought mine in bulk and the flakes were quite dry. Did not produce tongue bite to me but I felt a slight tingle on my tongue. An excellent tobacco, but I think I prefer the subtler and less strong Kendal Flake, Grasmere or Glengarry. 3.5 Stars.

Gawith Hoggarth & Co. is my n.1 brand, with a wide variety of high quality blends. Bosun is another great soapy, Kendal scented. Slightly less flavoured but more stronger than its 'brothers' Coniston and Ennerdale, it is more suitable for an afternoon smoke. 4,0/5 in my personal rating system.

Another winner from our friends in Kendal. And definitely a tobacco to challenge any preconceptions you may have about so-called "Lakeland" blends.

The composition and texture of the blend is first-class, the note from the pack only the mildest of florals.

Pack your pipe gently, light it and sip, it will reward a little care. Smokey (if that's not an oxymoron) and rich, there is the subtlest hint of something like rose water and perhaps a touch of citrus. Just like seasoning on a fine food, if it is done delicately the flavours are enhanced. This is what has been achieved here. Tobacco flavours plus.

Recommended.

To review this one, you must like Lakeland Blends or most likely it will get a bad review. To those of us that do like Lakeland blends, this is a good blend and offers a lot in taste and nuances while smoking it.

This is primarily a VA with added flavors and spices. It is an all brown ribbon cut after rubbing out and it has a pouch aroma that is sweet and spicy. I like it dry, as it then packs and lights easily and the added flavors have been toned down some. Upon lighting it one is rewarded with a sweet creamy smoke, full bodied but not cloying and has a room note that is pleasant but not overwhelming. It smokes sweet on my palate and I mostly taste the VA used in it with other flavors wafting in and out as I smoke it down. Though it is full bodied and somewhat strong in flavor, it is gentle to smoke with no tongue bite and it burns dry all the way down the pipe leaving just a little dottle at the bottom of the bowl. It produces a dark gray ash and stays lot well. I do not get a strong soapy flavor from this but I do taste the Lakeland flavoring in the background. It would be a good starter blend for someone wanting to try a Lakeland blend. While this is not my favorite blend of this type, it is a very pleasant smoke and one I recommend trying.

Sources claim that this blend was one of those that got the company off the ground. And judging by the composition of the tobacco, this statement is at least not far from the truth. It feels like the manufacturer experimented a lot: "Just take a little of all kinds of Virginia until you get something that tastes right. As a result an acceptable compromise between different varieties and drying methods was found. That's where the guys should have stopped! But for some unknown reason they decided to add a little essence as well. As a result, I got a nice bouquet of dried wheat ears, dried apricot, grapefruit and frayed leather with a slight hint of clove and geranium. Fortunately, nothing else could be picked up from the open can. The can itself had a 2012 excise tax.

The manufacturer has a tobacco that has almost the same name: Bosun Plug. It is one of Gawith, Hoggarth & Co.'s most famous tobaccos, sold by weight as pressed "bricks," which are called "plugs." Accordingly, a "cut plug" is a cut from these "bricks" with a knife. Naturally, no one cares much about the quality of such cutting, so the tobacco is cut and broken up somehow. In spite of this and the age of the tobacco, it is easy to fill a pipe with this mixture, as it is quite loose and well kneaded. The color of the tobacco is the usual dark Virginia earthy brown with light flecks of coffee and milk.

The tobacco flavor is as simple as the mix ititslef: a bread and grassy hint of Virginia, a little bit of earth, a light hint of grapefruit and apricot, and cloves. The strength of the tobacco is medium, but a little stronger than #7 Broke Flake. Fans of light tobaccos may feel the nicotine kick closer to the end of a large pipe, although the strength does not change as you smoke. The tobacco is mild, burns slowly and cool, burns unevenly, and sometimes fades. Burns, leaving a loose, but fine ash. There is little moisture, the tobacco is easily smoked without a filter.

The tobacco smoke has a light, neutral tobacco smell with a hint of clove oil.

Bottom line: another everyday Lakeland from Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - A lightly flavored Virginia of medium strength.

Again, I’ve had the generous help from a friend who gave me some 20-25grms of this.

Bosun Cut Plug is one of the best examples of the Lakeland so-called soapies. In its genre, I have appreciated its balance in both flavouring & strenght, none of the two going after the unbearable limit of say a Condor.

Very very much smooth & cool. Medium to full in strenght and flavour. The fired cured leaf is definitely there but never jumps out to prevail over the flue cured. Better smoked in a contemplative mood (and possibly in meers, which I didn’t) to avoid some moderately bitter aftertaste.

Not a blend I would smoke often, but surely the blend I would consider when in the mood for a Lakeland scented.