Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Cut Plug

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.

This is a "man's" smoke if ever there was one. Almost but not quite as powerful as Dark Flake or 1792, this is a nicotine powerhouse with a full, smoky flavor that is utterly unique. The Lakeland perfume here is reminiscent of Ennerdale (perhaps St. Bruno, as well) but it's applied with a lighter hand. Or, maybe it's not that less flavoring is used but rather that the base tobaccos are so powerful they drown out anything that's added to them! I really like how this stuff smokes, its lack of bite and its ability to cure my desire for a nicotine fix. I also like the flavoring that's used. What ruins Coniston Cut Plug for me is that there are almost no "light" or sweet tobaccos here. The underlying leaf is bitter and unpleasant, and the polar opposite of what is used in, say, Kendal or Ennerdale flakes. I've found that mixing this 50-50 with other G&H mixtures can yield some very smokeable products, but taken on its own I hsve to force myself to finish each bowl.

Somewhat recommended, as this is a high-quality product that just isn't to my taste.

You gotta like the Lakeland soap taste to really get into this one. It's not off my list, but just occasional. Try it, but not on an empty stomach.

With this baccy I went a strange journey. When first opening the pouch I was shocked by the specific 'barber' sort of aroma. But when smoking the first bowls I was impressed and excited. The tobacco itself is really a great dark fired leaf, quite strong but not overwhelming. Soapy aroma was just nicely rounding the taste. Also, the aroma was always greeted by my wife, which was quite surprising to me. However, after some twenty bowls I started to be sick of the soapiness. I couldn't enjoy the tobacco more and I can't even today although I do consider Coniston to be an excellent dark fired. Apparently I will never become a fan of the GH's lakeland flavour.

I presume the scenting process is carried out at the final stage, just before packing. Nothing else could explain that the scent makes its presence felt in ascending order in plugs, flakes, cut plugs and ribbons. What is tantalizing or piquant in plug form has become insufferable in ribbon form (Erinmore is a clear example).

The tobacco quality is good, but the scenting intrusive. I have had the same scent in the same makers XX Dark, where it is only on the surface of the plug, and enjoyed it. In the cut plug form it approximates to Condor.

-An english lakeland style semi-aromatic broke flake

-Dominated by a base of dark fired leaf which translates to a higher nicotine content, full and satisfying in that regard

The aromatic factor is light but significantly there. One might say it has some of that "soapy" quality but to me it is verging on floral but not over the edge. I can detect a slight amount of added sweetness to the smoke and aroma very much like tonquin. This in effect is similar to Samuel Gawith's 1792 Flake but as a lessor density in strength and slightly different aromatic quality. The taste of the smoke has the light sweetness from the tonquin, which helps to round out the overall flavor, smokiness from the dark fired leaf and the other aromatic agents contribute a sort of mild bitterness. The smoke strength is tame and not bitting like a VA flake. The richness of the nicotine content in relation to it's mild strenth on the palette is deceptive, so puff slow with caution (not quite near 1792). Another lakeland variety which may be sought after by certain niche smokers.

- Recommended to "Lakelanders"

WHOAH! This stuff is POTENT. The casing is nice, very old-lady perfumy (I mean that in the most positive sense I can.)

About 1/4 of the way, this stuff gets very bitter and burnt tasting... This doesn't make it very pleasing to me, but the first few puffs are nice.

The power of this tobacco is pretty stout. It gets a tad harsh, and is... Well, not really my cup of tea. I would hope that there was a virginia with this casing... Not such a powerhouse.

I've heard that this flake "grows on you". I have tried it in many sizes and types of bowls and it's the same over and again: floral

Does anyone know why the British like such "old lady perfumed" tobacco? It is growing on me a little, e.g. today out back in the wind it almost tasted and smelled fitting to be out there smoking it. It's snowing now, perhaps it would benefit from some snow time out in the blizzard. Something's got to help this poor stuff. I'm DGT'ing some right now in my CoolSmoke. It's bound to lose some of the perfume!

Smoking notes: Lakeland blends are difficult for me to break apart in terms of different flavors. Coniston Plug is the heaviest in terms of Lakeland, but it's definitely dominated by perfume/soap/floral notes. Added to that is a hint of smoke, black pepper, and some earthiness. Despite the advertised heavy Dark Fired Kentucky, though (75%??), I don't get that much of it and never would've guessed the high amount.

This tin is 1.5 years old. I prepare the tobacco to be the cut and moisture level that I like. Then it's easy to pack and smoke. Smokes at slow-medium pace with minimal relights. Might be a bit too Lakeland-heavy for an all day smoke for most people, but those who like it could definitely smoke this anytime they like. No tongue bite.

Halfway through, I either get used to the perfumy essence, or that it melds into the smoke. In any case, I'm left with a more balanced sweet/smoke note.

Medium in body, mild-medium in strength.

To sum-up, it's a nice blend overall, but I get the feeling that some of Gawith Hoggarth are just too similar for me, especially when most of what I get is Lakeland. Considering that a couple of other similar blends are just a little more balanced and sweet, I'd give this one two stars. However, don't let that mislead you - this is worth trying, just not at the top of my list.

P.S. I don't consider Lakeland a flavoring, but rather a signature casing. Therefore, I don't consider this an aromatic blend and won't include it in the "flavoring strength" category.