Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug

Perhaps this Coniston Cut Plug Unscented changes from time to time? My impression is that there's only a small difference between Scented Brown Flake and this stuff, mainly that the scented componet has been toned down. But this is a very nice tobacco with very polite smoking behavior; easy to light, no bite, long lasting and good to the bottom of the bowl. This is an honest medium+ strength tobacco, certainly nothing to be afraid of. There's a light floral scent, a sweet fennel taste and of course that wonderful G&H caramelized Virginia flavor. The taste is consistent for the entire bowl. Room note is pleasant and beard note is great for bedtime - Ivory Soap. Probably should be treated as an aromatic as far as pipes go, but the ghosting would be compatible with Latakia blends. I highly recommend Coniston to Virginia lovers who are looking for a little variety, but prefer to stay away from heavy handed aromatics. PS As I'm editing this I am enjoying the wonderful aftertaste, which I forgot to mention.

Quite frankly, it'll be awhile before I try another G&H tobacco. I either love them or loathe them. I think they make the best "strong" tobaccos in the world... and also the worst ones - to my taste, of course!

This one is a nice dark broken flake that smells of the Lakeland florals (as some call them - I call 'em soap!) which I detest but that I find tolerable and even beneficial in some blends. In this one, I found it overpowering during the first 1/3 of the bowl. I was surprised but pleased that I made it past this point because the middle 1/3 was very good. The soap taste dissipated and the dark-fired leaf flavor took over. Nice! Unfortunately, that didn't last very long, as during the last 1/3, I consistently got a heavily burnt toast flavor that was extremely bitter. This happened no matter how slowly I puffed. It was not pleasant, I assure you, even while it was preferable to the soap taste at the beginning.

If you enjoy the Lakeland style flavoring- and it appears there are many that do - this one will be right up your alley. It's a high quality blend that unfortunately just isn't my cup of tea.

Nice strong lakeland flake tobacco, its got some of the characteristics of the ropes, but isn't so harsh, or so strong. Perhaps the diferent process involved on pressing plugs tames it a little, I find it much more approachable.

In the bag it smells faintly smokey (dark fired leaf isn't the same as Latakia, its not so heavily smoked), earthy, tobaccoey, like a rope tobacco in fact. It's quite dark, and pressed quite densely. The cut is quite thick, thicker than the Samuel Gawith flakes, which makes it burn quite cool. I could'nt smell any topping scent in the pouch.

Offers a lot in the way of flavour development. It burns well, and the flavour at first is very faintly sweet. The aroma of the smoke at this stage is decidedly sweet, faintly nutty and a little like vanilla. Maybe this is Tonka bean? Its certainly not sickly smelling like a danish aromatic. I assume that the scenting in this soaks well into the leaf, because the taste is definitely of a scented tobacco. As the smoke progresses, the taste of the topping recedes, and the earthy, very faintly smokey taste of the tobacco comes through, and builds steadily in intensity. The aroma also becomes less sweet, and more like rich tobacco at this stage. It does leave a faintly soapy aftertaste, which some may not enjoy, I find it quite pleasant.

It does not bite unless provoked, and tends to burn fairly cool, with little harshness (unlike the ropes). Drying it out a little may be a good idea, as it does gurgle sometimes. It burns really slow, and will last well even in a small pipe. It is quite strong, so a smaller pipe is good unless you really like nicotine. Smoke it out of doors, on rainy days, it makes it all seem alright.

---

UPDATE

---

Got some more of this, as the weather in Preston is back to it's usual grim, Northern rainyness, and I'm surprised I didn't buy more sooner. Delicious stuff, and perfect on a cloudy, blustery day like today- it never overheats, never bites, you can turn your clay upside down to keep the rain out and it still smokes just fine. Very leathery, strong tasting tobacco- I notice the topping more now, right from the start slightly soapy, but in no way overwhelming the flavour of the tobacco- very nice. I started smiling as soon as I lit the first bowl!

This, for me, is the perfect lakeland.. Although I greatly enjoyed dark flake.. this Coniston is slightly more versatile.. it is still heavy but considerably more approachable.. the essence for me is just right.. it starts out strong on the first puff.. but once acclimated you get the tobacco forward and just a nice creamy backdrop of flavoring.. the dark fired virginia is bold but pleasantly rounded off by the burley and straight virginia.. this is one I could smoke anytime.. Enough strength.. but also pleasant to just puff on and relax with.. this is what Gawith Hoggarth does best.. old fashioned blend.. if you aren't quite up for a rope this will do the trick.

Gawith Hoggarth - Coniston Cut Plug.

An early review that needed 'tweaking'. Well, deleting and redoing as it was rubbish 😉

A very dark, broken flake, of a good moisture, with a deceiving aroma: it smells far more perfumey than it tastes. A lot of the blend doesn't need any further rubbing, there's only a small quantity of pieces of flake that require a rub.

Lighting up a bowl of Coniston is a simple task, and then it gives one seriously hard-core smoke. As it says in the description there's a smoky flavour, one that may overpower a lot of pipers, it's EASILY the leading taste. Unlike the pouch-note I don't get any florals, perfume, or sharpness, it's the smokiness which dominates. The temperature of Coniston is quite cool, and the burn's brilliant.

Nicotine? Strong. Too strong for me. And the room-note? Not good.

The rating then: tricky. I think it's quite unpleasant but I recon the quality of it's good.

Somewhat recommended.

My introduction to Lakeland style tobaccos was with the famous/infamous Condor, before that I didn't even know there was such a category called Lakeland. So, after having smoked a few pouches of Condor and having liked it very well, I decided to dig around and see what other Lakeland style tobaccos can be had in the U.S., that's when I found this blend.

Upon opening the bag (bought in bulk) I was greeted by that strong, pleasant floral smell some call soapy. In excitement I packed and lit my pipe, and was greeted by both satisfaction and disappointment.

The Lakeland flavor comes thru and is noticeable, but not as pronounced and "in your face" as I had hoped. That was the disappointment.

The satisfaction comes from everything else. See, even though the Lakeland essence is milder than I had hoped, it still comes thru and satisfies my craving for that taste. Further, the tobacco flavor comes thru and it is a very good flavor indeed. I can't really say that I find much complexity here, but the tobacco is good, tasty, most of what I taste is Va.

The body of the smoke comes from the Kentucky, which gives the blend the tobacco-y kick without being too strong. I would say this blend is full flavored and packs a decent nicotine punch, but it is not at all overwhelming. The cut plug (another fancy name for chunks of flakes, really) rub out easily. While lighting takes an extra second or two than, say, a shag cut, it is pretty easy and stays lit.

As far as moisture content, I have to say that, like many tobaccos out there, it comes with too much moisture, but this one perhaps a little more moist than most. Keep in mind it is better to have tobacco that is too moist than tobacco that is too dry and have to re-hydrate. With that said, I find it necessary to dry out the tobacco before smoking. A pipeful of rubbed out tobacco, spread out evenly, gets to a good smoking condition in about half an hour.

The one thing I can't help you with is the room note. I like the room note of pretty much all pipe tobacco and so does my wife. What I can tell you is that if you can only tolerate sweet aromatic roomnotes then this might be something you need to smoke outside.

This stuff is expensive, but worth it if you want a quality Lakeland. After having smoked 8 ounces I can say that, while I have not found a suitable replacement for Condor, I will buy Coniston again because it is a good Tobacco.

One of my cups of tea (probably MY cup of tea). I find it a beautiful all day smoker even if not at breakfast. It’s relatively strong but never overwhelming. I like its texture as well as its humidity. Sometimes a bit too damp but I'm used to load the flakes in my pipes and then wait for a few minutes. There’s a Lakeland aroma behind but I like it and I consider a plus. Medium to large bowls are its best, at least for my taste. Top-notch baccy with good content of Mr Nik. I’m used to buy it in large bulk quantity because it cellar absolutely well. Try by yourself, you won’t let down.

I am a smoker who usually avoids Lakeland like an anthrax milkshake, but I tried Coniston and I like it. Strange. It does not have the yukkiness of an over-topped Gawith at all.

Gawith Hoggarth Coinston cut plug - The 75% Dark Fired Virginias run the show here . A little nuttiness from the burley . There is a light fruity taste coming from the lighter Virginia i think . The Lakeland essense is moderatly applied and goes well with the strong blend . I think I detect some tonquin . Full flavored true tobacco flavor with thick dense smoke . Strong nic hit . When i ordered I was thinking this was in line with Bosun Cut but it is obviously stronger . Stronger than ODF . I can finish a small bowl with no problems . Good quality tobacco . Not really my thing but I score it a 3 .