Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Dark

This is an awesome smoke with the first coffee of the day. This tastes to me like a maduro version of 5 Brothers. It’s very nutty and earthy with a big dose of spice and pepper. There is a subtle creamy sweetness with very faint chocolate notes. It can be a bit harsh and rough around the edges but never unpleasant. This might be the best coffee companion I’ve discovered so far.

I am falling hard for the House of Gawith 'shag'-cut tobaccos.

Comparisons to Dark Flake/Dark Plug are apt: Kendal Dark seems to share a common ancestor with these two, but is thinner smelling in a jar. Sniffing, I find similar stale chocolate and tonquin notes, though, and at times, the suggestion of menthol, which doesn't appear in the taste.

Burns quickly as you would expect, and the flavour isn't as robust as the aforementioned flake/plug, but it's 80% there, and awfully convenient. Rewards slow puffing because the nicotine content is robust and it will turn ashy speedily. I prefer to enjoy Kendal Dark in a good-sized pipe, which allows that magical mid-bowl zone of the smoke to meander along.

I also recently plumped for an 8 ounce bag of the stuff, since the first 2 ounces went quickly.

3 stars from me.

As this is my first review I should probably take a few sentences to explain myself. First, although I like to smoke as often as possible, like most people I find myself only having fifteen minutes at a go for a pipe. Second, I have no interest in 'contemplating' whilst smoking: there is always something else to be done. Hence I have no time for aromatics or strongly flavoured tobaccos. Third, I look for sufficient Vitamin N in a tobacco to wake me up in the morning, and to soothe me after a few bowls. Hence, I have been smoking Kendal Dark almost exclusively for a couple of years now. The shag cut is convenient, and means a bowl never outstays its welcome. Moreover, a few bowls can be smoked in a short time. The woody, spicy flavours are noticeable and pleasant, but never distracting. The Vitamin N level is just right for a kick start and for an afternoon's work with a pipe as a constant companion. I am sure others will be able to point to other tobaccos with a similar combination of cut, strength and flavour profile, and fair play to you. However, Kendal Dark, so far, is the one for me.

Gawith Hoggarth - Kendal Dark.

The pouch doesn't reveal much of a surprise: a fairly dark, finely cut shag tobacco. The aroma's ever so slightly aromatic, nothing that would imply a large casing's been added, but a delicate one has been.

Because of the correct hydration this lights easily and delivers a full tasting smoke. Full, albeit basic; there isn't any flashy nuances, it's a simple smoke. The flavour I get coming through is mainly a strong/robust Virginia one, with bit of a fired touch. Although there doesn't seem to be any 'flashy' nuances to this, there is one that's 'not so flashy': after five minutes or so the smoke starts to become acrid, with the fired touch becoming burnt instead of fired. This taste also lingers on the palate afterwards.

If you smoke for nicotine this is a blend that's sure to please: very strong.

I can honestly see why some pipers would find this appealing, it sums up the term Old School to me: a no messing, full tasting, strong blend. For me though, it's too macho, I'll stick with my Black Frigate!

Not recommended.

Kendal Dark;

Star Rating = 3.75;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 10;

Room Note = 9;

Flavor = 10;

Bite = 10;

Burn = 10;

After Taste = 9;

Raw Score = 58;

Rated Percentage = 97%;

Comment = Very Smooth, Very Mild, nice Natural Tobacco Flavor, No Bite, White Ash Burn.

A shag cut blend of dominating dark fired leaf and some air cured leaf subtly making a pressence and thinning the blend a little. This is smokey-spicy with enormous nicotine strength that could make your head spin. I did find it too bitter as it smoked down the bowl. Being a non-flue cured blend strength on the palette is fairly cool. Simply too over the top and unrefined for me. The quintessential Sherlockian shag so, smoke this when the game is afoot.

Update 19 July, 2021 Now that I have a little more experience in the world of pipe tobacco, I’m revisiting this review to give it a more appropriate rating: two and 3/4 stars.

First a little back story, so you can better understand the type of smoker reviewing this blend.

I’ve been smoking pipes again for just over a month, after having stepped away from the briar for several years.

My palate has never been super refined, but I certainly know what I like. I’m a onetime daily smoker of cigars with a very Habanos-esque profile, both the authentic item, as well as Nicaraguan-grown cigars blended by Don Pepin Garcia and the like.

So, although I certainly enjoy bold fare, when it comes to pipe tobacco, I find myself drawn primarily to sweeter flavor profiles. Things like FVF and Best Brown are my current favorites.

But I also enjoy something a little more savory to break up the monotony. I smoke a couple bowls of Five Brothers every day.

So here we are: Kendal Dark, you are magnificent.

As we all know, when certain blends containing the name Gawith hit shelves, one has to act fast. I remembered this from my earlier smoking adventures.

And, sure enough, when I picked a pipe up again around last Christmas, shelves were mighty empty.

So I took to Reddit to ask for advice on non-GH blends that provide that bold, strong, change of pace smoke I crave day in and day out. The consensus was that I should seek Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired and Dark Kentucky.

So I ordered a couple of ounces of each to try the waters. Both were quite enjoyable in my book.

But around the time I was working on those, several GH blends reappeared. My experience with them was, admittedly, limited... so I tested the waters and decided to order a pound each of Dark Birdseye and Kendal Dark.

Both are great, as many here will attest. But, for my money, THIS blend — Kendal Dark — is more luxurious.

Smoking it just feels decadent and silky. It tastes, to my aforementioned unrefined palate, like a combination of espresso and dark chocolate. But smoother.

And, of course, there’s a little bit of that old Lakeland essence. But, hey, that’s part of the attraction to me.

So I’m going to keep using Kendal Dark (and Five Brothers) as my change of pace smoke. And, as I go along, I hope to keep cellaring a little... so that hopefully; eventually, I’m smoking an even better version of the new-stock version.

In closing, I’ve just got to say that, while Mac Baren’s HH blends are very nice, Gawith Hoggarth is the original gangsta. The measuring stick.

And, in my opinion, nothing beats Kendal Dark on the bold, savory end of the flavor spectrum.

Dark, dark dark! Kentucky & dark fired VA together can be pleasant without being overly-bitter (there is a very light casing that helps, but it's barely noticeable, never mind being really identifiable). However, the shag cut burns v quickly, but not enough to cause problems. It's probably better as an 'add-on' to mild mixtures than on it's own.

This is a pretty good smoke. I just finished up a sample of this one that had been jarred and buried on a shelf. Of the shag cut Kendal blends that I have been trying, this one may be at the top to my tastes.

As I have said in a few of these reviews, I don't particularly like shag cuts. They are typically a pain to load and they burn fast. This one was a pain to load, but it burned fine. It is probably the more heavily (Lakeland) scented of these that I have tried, but it is no Ennerdale or anything like that.

And like the others, this one does pack a nice nicotine punch. It also smokes smooth and biteless like all GH blends that I have tried. This latter point makes GH, perhaps, my favorite blender. It seems everything they make smokes easy and leaves you satisfied, even if many of them do smell like an old lady's girdle. lol