Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug

I don't believe there are aromatic tobaccos, aromatic simply means "fragrant" in my language (Greek), therefore I only call them flavoured tobaccos, meaning that something has been added to the tobacco, aside from flavour developing through curing and steaming/pressing.

This is a flavoured tobacco, fairly strongly so, of the Lakeland variety. I can't put my finger on what the flavours are, there's clearly a base Lakeland mix to which stuff is added to make the various Gawith offerings. This is the English school of flavoured tobacco too, adhering to rules regarding what can be used to add to tobacco. I detect some similarities with Bob's chocolate flake in the base additive, although there is a lot more of it, as well as at least two types of floral essence (some whiffs of jasmine, maybe rose, maybe orange blossom, maybe incense), over strong tobacco. It smells absolutely divine from the pouch.

The presentation is thick cut broken flake, my bag actually sat for 3 months due to Covid-19 restrictions therefore it is possible that some of that goodness dissipated. Nevermind as I will be buying more given the first chance. It was much dryer than usual Gawith, but that's due to sitting for so long.

Lighting up was easy, needing a lot of relights. I find that Gawith flakes tend to turn to stone before burning to ash. It gave me a very long, cool smoke.

Taste is initially a strong floral blast, with some citrus zest for the first quarter bowl, then it slowly gave way to the excellent and strong tobacco, until at the heel it was all tobacco with just a hint of the floral essence. Really excellent tobacco. This is no nonsense, it isn't a goopy cherry cavendish leaf, nor is it particularly sweet, although the added flavouring makes it feel this way. It has a ton of layers too, from sweet to cool to floral to savoury to real strong tobacco. Someone may think that because it smells a bit like old fashioned cologne it is not a "man's" tobacco, but it is, it is really exquisite.

Something about the Gawith blends is just special for me, they are unlike anything else I've tried and they are loud and proud about it.

Not for everyone, but for me this is top notch.

A stout, deliciously smooth and well built flake. This is one of my top 4 or 5 GH scented flakes, and its easy to see why. This is a quite traditional scented flake, composed of dark fired, burley, and virginia, with a cool flower-sweet scenting. You must like Lakeland style, or don't even bother. If you do, however, then this is a great choice. Its pretty middle of the road in terms of strength of scenting, the tobacco as per usual with GH is of the finest quality, deftly blended and aged. A superb flake that i smoke an oz or two a month.

This reminds me of Bosun Cut Plug, but there are some differences. First of all, the broken flakes seem to be a little thinner and it rubs out pretty easily, so be careful to not rub it out to much. There are some cloves in here as well as the typical G&H Lakeland floral toppings (which I like) and it's a little less sweet with plenty of good, natural tobacco flavor, very tasty!. I rubbed it out just a little and packed it loose. It burned good with only a few relights and did not require any drying time. G&H uses good quality tobacco in this, just like in all of their blends. Take note, this is a strong tobacco, so you'll want to sip it and have something on your stomach when you smoke it.

Another nice trip to Kendal, indeed.

I received 50grms of bulk CCP from Kingsize of Sheffield (UK), alongwith Ennerdale (and others).

CCP belongs to the same cathegory( and brand) of Ennerdale, sharing quite the same cut, colour and flavouring. Just, CCP is one notch stronger and a couple milder in flavouring. This makes it something different and more user-friendly. And deserving a higher rating.

A small Castello long-shanked Prince, was used for this review. Rolled a couples of pinches of this roughly rubbed flake, one false light and here we go !

The smallest quantity of flakes gifts the longest and coolest smoke! Never the bowl is hot, never the smoke stings. Sweet, earthy and flowery. Mildly soapy/citrusy/almondy. The presence of fire-cured leaves makes evidence to the nostrils. The strength is satisfactory and perfectly manageable all the day. So the complessive body is as well.

At the end, only dry fluffy ash.

Traditional english flakes have a special place in my heart indeed.

Intensely refreshing from first light to middle of the bowl. Intoxicatingly floral to the point of transporting me to an aromatic rain forest somewhere in pipedom land. I'm not trying to be creative, I truly mean it! This tobacco captures my attention and holds it. My favorite GH Lakeland. The finish with each exhale reminds me of fabric softener and oil of Olay in a very pleasant way as though a pipe smoking perfumer concocted this blend to cary me away. Far away! Picks up strength 2nd half of bowl and remains floral but morphs into heavier layers on the palate. Smokes clean, cool and slow. Exquisite! Interesting how the same blend affects us differently and personally.

reading reviews here I am, again, reminded how subjective tobacco smoking experiences can be. I don't find CCP particularly strong. Now don't get me wrong, it IS strong, but its not insanely strong like Blond Bogie or Black Irish rope. And I don't find it nearly as strong as Dark Bird's Eye. I love DBE, but boy, it has to be smoked carefully or your head will swim. I don't find that to be the case with Coniston Cut Plug. Its in the same ballpark as Boson cut Plug. I prefer CCP because it's smoother and I think more complex. But i know why some love the Bosun. In a sense, the classic GH flakes...Kendall, Dark Scented, Rum Flake, Bosun Cut and Coniston Cut are somewhat similiar. There *are* differences to be sure, but they are in the same category. And i love all of them. This is among my favorites, though. I love Rum Flake and I love, actually, Louisiana Flake (which is less strong and perhaps more one dimensional, but i love it). This has a creamy quality, and is amazingly tasty. Perhaps the tastiest of the whole lot. Kendall Flake has more casing I think, and you smell that casing more than CCP, but in the actual smoke I think CCP is even fuller. The usual smoky fire cured taste is there, always, but the bright virginia softens it perfectly. Not an all day smoke, but can be an everyday addiction.

If you like English Lakeland Blends then this tobacco is a must, its superb.

It's one of the few of the many strong tobaccos I smoke that get's a thumbs up on aroma.

In my opinion it's not so "perfumey" as Condor but beware, it will case (ghost) your pipe as will all English Lakelands.If you want to enjoy "English Lakeland" tobaccos give them a pipe or two on their own.

They will definitely ruin and spoil your enjoyment of a different tobacco type if the same pipe is used.

The long cut broken flake is easy to rub out, lights like a dream and smokes down to the end of the bowl.

This is one of my favourite tobaccos now.

Edit:- I've just been looking again through the reviews below I read a quite a while ago now and why I actually bought this tobacco as in my case I was looking for a Lakeland with a likeness of Condor (albeit not the same) and it was Fofo and Pipester Jim.

Thank you both and I agree with you Jim, ...sorry Sam, ...I've just tried the 1792 Flake and it's terrible compared to this.

Got this with some other samples at a shop in Carlisle. Got 6 smokes out of it. I'm really digging the mighty Coniston.

This is rightly compared to 1792/Cobb Flake. It is 1792 light, or lighter. Still pretty strong, but with less dark-fired leaf (1792 is apparently 100%, this is only 75%). You can also taste tonquin, but perhaps it's lighter here as well. Tonquin is not the same as the lakeland flower scent, as many assume. It is a vanilla substitute, and is very sweet. The florals are there as well, though only noticed on the initial light.

The burleys and virginias added to the dark-fired leaf make the flavor less dark and earthy, or muddy ("pungent burnt smokey" as they say in the above description) than 1792. Instead, you get more rounded, creamy, even nutty flavors, at least after the tobacco had dried sufficiently.

This is a real winner. If 1792 is too "pungent burnt smokey" (muddy) for you, or too strong, but you otherwise like it, this is your tobacco. Well worth a try. I will be revisiting it.

Lovely tobacco. Strong, full-flavoured, even slightly treacly. Burns cool and slow.