Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Broken Scotch Cake

This is a beautiful tobacco in both appearance and taste! I only discovered it about 5 months ago and have purchased several 500g bags of it since. It is one of the most pleasent tobaccos I have ever smoked in terms of its burning qualities, coolness, and creamy Virginia flavor. It isn't a very complex smoke. It does, however, change from a naturally sweet, creamy taste at first to a light toasty flavor with just a hint of that Virginia "twang", for lack of a better word. There is no bad aftertaste. I do not detect any burley. It is just a tad moist right out of the bag. It burns to a nice grey ash.

This is a special smoke to me in almost every way. Then again, I like natural tobaccos that are somewhat light to medium in strength. Definitely an all day smoke!!

UPDATE: After aging for 3 years I have tried more of this. The flavor, while nicely aged, seems to have gained in strength considerably! It could be that my tastes have changed. It does burn very well but just doesn't seem to have aged like I thought it would. Maybe it's this cursed Texas heat! This would no longer be an all day smoke for me.

Since purchasing a 5 sample trial pack of Gawith & Hoggarth tobaccos, I've come to enjoy a couple of them on a regular basis. One of these is Broken Scotch Cake. I find it to be just a good no-nonsense tobacco, though maybe a little mild for some puffers who prefer the heavier blends. I tend to go with BSC as an everyday, anytime, good utility smoke, like an old stand-by. The color is a mixture of browns and the cut is shredded with some 'flake bits' mixed in. I just pull some apart when I fill a bowl just to assure there is no bunching together to impede the draw. It lights very well and burns easily to a light grey fluffy ash. While smoking there is that familiar VA tang which in this case is like the after-effects of a mild salsa, just enough to tingle a bit. The flavor, to me, is just a good honest VA tobacco flavor with just a hint of natural sweetness (as compared to cherry, maple, etc. sweetness). There is an airiness in the smoke that would allow easy exhaling through the nose, and that 'tobaccoey' scent lingering in the mustache. In some ways it reminds me of GLP Cairo but not in the flavor sense, more in the smoking sense. The smoke is cool and soft with that slight edge I mentioned staying pleasant all the way down the bowl. There is an underlying and very faint citrusy note during the first half of the bowl, but it's subtle and changed to the rich flavor found in the last of the bowl. It's like a char-broiled taste. The sample came with just the right moisture level (at least for me) and translated to very little moisture in the pipe. It gurgled once about halfway down the bowl, and one swab with a cleaner took care of it. The room aroma reminds me of a dear family friend whose pipe has provided me with a lot of fond memories over the years. IMHO this would be a good tobacco for anyone, but newbies should be somewhat cautious not to puff too hard and get the heat rising. Just a good VA smoke.

Good smoke for any time if the day. Packs well and takes the match well. Some initial sweetness and hay as well as just a tinge of Lakeland essence. Not a powerful blend but a solid smoke none the less. Pairs well with cup of Earl Grey or Irish Tea. All in all a very good quality smoke from G&H, just like the rest of their fine tobaccos I have smoked.

Predominately dark course leaf presented in a square tin. The tobacco is pressed tightly in the tin and is enveloped in a clear plastic wrapper. It has a nice moisture level which enhances the tin note. The initial aroma is cigar like though pleasant. The tin describes the blend as flue cured and sun cured Virginia. Upon the charring light I found the blend to be fairly mild and simple. There are no underlying nuanced flavors. I found Broken scotch flake to be a pure Virginia. There is a hint of sweetness but not much. I found no flavoring that I could distinguish. The n level is decent but not overpowering. The tobacco is of great quality and burns as clean as any I have smoked. The bowl burns to a fine gray ash. My pipe cleaner came out dry and had little if any discoloration. That impressed me. It is a very "clean" blend. I thought the second half of the bowl improved and re - lit until there was nothing to burn. I enjoyed the smoke. Not the blend I would take if I had only one to choose but one that I will re-visit

This wasn't at all what I had expected. Reading the other reviews here I am wondering if the bulk package I got today is even the same tobacco. My sample isn't broken flake at all. It is a fuzzy shag. It isn't bland at all, or mild. A friend who was present, and not smoking, said that the smoke had a pleasant vanilla scent. That having been said, it was a fine after-dinner smoke tonight. The licorice flavor was the real problem with this blend. It gave me a slightly sick feeling. Like many G&H blends, it is a well-crafted tobacco, and it has weird flavoring because that is what this blend is supposed to taste like. If I liked licorice I would love this stuff.

A mild virginia. Almost imperceptible, but evident, taste & aroma of Lakeland Essence on charring light and a tinge of an 'ammonia' odour in nostrils, but very faint. Background: I've been smoking mostly G.L.Pease Union Square and his Triple Play & JackKnife plugs, as well as Navigator. Whether that leaves me with a well-adjusted 'virginia' palate and nose others can judge!! The tobacco is slightly spicey in the first 1/3rd of a bowl, relatively bland in the next 1/3rd and left a modest dottle with some reasonably strong 'nasties' in the last 1/3rd [which I didn't smoke into!]. Nothing spectacular - pleasant enough - modestly tolerable room note. Not special.

This packed nicely, lit easily, and smoked smoothly. I don't know about other tins, but there was not a hint of Lakelands or other flavorings in this batch that I could detect. Despite all that, I found the actual flavor rather 'meh' -- one note that I didn't like that much, but wasn't in any way bad.

I like many of the Gawith & Hoggarth tobaccos, but some of them tend to bite me, notably any that have a lot of bright Virginias. This is one of them. It reminds me a bit of Coniston Cut Plug, which bites me a lot. This bites me somewhat, presumably because of the addition of some richer medium Virginias and a bit of latakia. It requires very slow and careful puffing to enjoy, but still, bites me somewhat, even with careful puffing.

Interesting light body and toasty mellow flavor, well behaved in the pipe, but not appropriate for my body chemistry. YMMV.

Oh, and it does have a very light Kendal Lakeland topping...

Tin: A partially rubbed out flake that looks like an incredibly variegated form, crudely stuffed into the tin. It appears to be of the orange or red variety, middle to old belt, having a mahogany hue, the browns ranging in the light brown spectrum. It has a fragrant natural VA smell. Feels like it is at just the right moisture level.

Packing & Burning: Readily rubs out into ribbon form, packs and lights easily. Burns to an ash with one match.

Taste & Aroma: Initially very mild fragrant Kendal floral scent and lightly sweet, transitioning to a toasted, stoved, or a nice char-broiled taste. Reminds me of BCRF with less of the Kendal floral scent. No bite, just a mild salsa.

Overall: BSC has the least floral note of GH's blends I have tried. Too much nicotine to be an all day smoke. 3.5 stars.