Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Dark

This is (or rather was) a great shag tobacco, and conceivably the model for the "black shag" of Sherlock Holmes fame. Sadly as of 2011, due to some insensitive European legislation, it is now (certainly in Europe) a 1.5mm ribbon cut. So, just a few old fogies inconvenienced and 150 years of British tobacco tradition cast aside. No problem there.

I find this tobacco very similar to Kendal Kentucky so my review is almost identical. The main differnces here seem to be that KD has slightly more of the soft dark sweetness and lacks the bitter dry edge of KK. This is, no doubt, due to the contituant leaves i.e. the sweetness of virginia as opposed to the nutiness of burley. However, these differnces are so small as to render these two tobaccos as more of a variation on a theme than anything else. I generally prefer savoury to sweet but in this case Kendal Dark wins out for me, just.

This tobacco is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me as it smells just like the tobaccos my Grandad used to smoke. I'll try to not let that cloud my judgement, much.

It smells nice in the bag (like all G,H&co. pipe tobaccos, it seems you can only buy this weighed out loose in England) and has an attractive, uniform, burnt umber colouring. Despite the shag cut I found this tobacco to be easy to deal with and lacked both the wimpy ability to put flavour across and the temperamentality I usually find in this kind of tobacco.

The flavour has been well described here; being (to my tastebuds) rich, slightly earthy with a hint of spice and softened with a natural muscovado sweetness.

Although this is a fairly strong tobacco I had no probelms with the occasional inhale because of it's seemingly complete lack of additives or flavourings (which always seem to irritate my lungs). I also tried rolling it in a cigarette paper and found it an enjoyable experience - retaining it's full flavour and being of a much higher quality than any other hand rolling tobacco I've ever tried, which is admittedly, a limited number.

I can't fault the stuff. If you like smoking full flavoured, natural and high quality tobacco and you don't like paying huge amounts of money for the privellage why wouldn't you smoke this?

I think this is the same tobacco sold as "Kendal Dark Thick Cut", which is in fact a fairly fine to medium cut.

Another tobacco based on Dark Plug, or Dark Flake. I detect little of the lakeland floral scent. Burns well, a strong, cigar like smoky taste that the dark fired, air cured tobaccos are known for. You won't have to check to make sure its actually lit.

Its a very strong tobacco, very high in body. Even in a small pipe, carefully smoked it can be overwhelming. Because of its cut (fine relative to the flake/plug) it tends to burn faster and deliver more smoke.

I can't help thinking the a tobacco much like this would have been smoked long ago in England, in a little clay pipe. Its strong enough to have reduced Sherlock Holmes' "Three pipe problem" to only a single pipe.

My 4* recommendation is based on the type of tobacco. If you want to fill a large pipe and smoke it for a long time, this isn't your blend. A small pipe, very carefully and slowly smoked, is really nice. Not to mention that your pouch could hold several weeks or months supply!

Stronger than Kentucky Kendal, and smoky. Very cool. Mid-bowl it is not as spicy/sweet as the Kendal #7 Mixture. I think the #7 is the sweetest of the three what with the fire-cured VA. I am packing the bowl firmer and getting better results (a longer burn with consistent flavor). Also, somebody suggested dumping the ash and going easy with the tamper. I think that is right. Now that I know how to smoke these shags I like them almost as much as Irish Flake.

This is an awesome shag tobacco. It is easy to light and smokes all the way down with few to no relights. Burns to a fine white/gray ash. Bitter/sweet with a bit of spice/heat on the tongue. This goes well with coffee in the morning it you want a real wake up call! I bet it would be wonderful smoked after a cold day outside with a cup of hot chocolate. I think the flavors would compliment each other nicely. Once the weather is a bit cooler I think I will confirm this theory. This may be redundant, given other reviews, but there is a bit of cigarishness to the flavor and aroma. Best smoked, at least for me, in a small to medium sized pipe. I tried some in a large Italian freehand and it burned way too fast. I couldn't control the burn even with slow puffing and it was not as enjoyable this way. It became a bit bitter and hot. Maybe it was because I had all my windows open and several ceiling fans going at the time. Nice amount of nicotine, though not as much as Dark Birds Eye which is another G&H shag type tobacco that I like. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a stronger full tobacco flavored smoke.