Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Kendal Dark

Many of us retain an affection for the old shag cut blends that were meant to be rolled or smoked in a pipe, but in the old world cigarette way, something you had after a meal or when work was done for the day. Shag cuts pack easily and burn well, and "Kendal Dark" is no exception. It begins with a spicy flavor of dark smoke after being crammed in the bowl, then deepens to a honey-molasses type flavor as the Virginias caramelize, and finally ends up as a kind of tangy sweetness that is very pleasurable to sip for hours.

Like other old school blends, "Kendal Dark" was not designed for the hobby smoker but the working smoker, or the fellow who had a couple minutes to dip his hand into a pouch, cram a pipe full and then spend the next two hours nursing it while he did something else. It is designed to be a constant series of little rewards, like sipping a sweet and spicy drink, not to distract but to smooth the work process. If that is how you smoke, this blend is a great all-day smoke, but for the more sedentary and hobbyist types, it may be a bit strong, as it starts with medium-to-strong Nicotine levels and ramps it up from there, so that by the end of the bowl you may be coated in a fine, cold sweat.

For me, this is tobacco at its best. It loads and burns like an OTC, has only a tiny hint of the incense-like flavorings that the UK tobacco makers use to cure and refine their blends, and delivers enough Nicotine to be a good friend and joy throughout the day, but not enough to put you on the floor. I mix it with "Five Brothers" sometimes to cut the smokiness and broaden the sweetness into a full harvest flavor.

Kendal Kentucky is a fine ribbon cut, a "strong, cool, traditional tobacco". It is so finely cut that you can easily roll cigarettes with it. The smoke is of a powerful intensity, both in body and in nicotine strength. There is some depth if you wish to discern the aspects of the Virginia from the Burley, but mostly you get a bold body of rich tobacco flavor. It is a simple tobacco blend with an agreeable balance between the Virginia and Burley. For such a bold tobacco, there is a smoothness and finesse that was unexpected. Even so, this is a tobacco for experienced pipe smokers who know when to put the pipe down when necessary. I also experienced a little sweetness from the Virginia. The high point of the bowl was shortly after the second lighting, after the tobacco had been tamped down. The low point of the bowl is in the final stages when the tobacco is almost spent. Kendal Dark smokes cool and dry. It was smoked in an Orlik Captain Black billiard with a good cake.

This tobacco is an exceptional offering from G & H. Its mild flavor will deceive you when the high nicotine content hits you like a brick. I smoke it in a pipe and sometimes in an ultra light cigarette to tame the kick of this tobacco. I would definitely recommend this tobacco not be tried by a beginner used to aromatics and would further recommend anyone smoking this have something on your stomach. The nicotine in this high quality tobacco will make your head spin for sure. I like Kendal Dark, Kendal Kentucky, but find Kendal Dark Birds Eye to be my own personal favorite of the G&H offerings.

This is another one I've been sipping in since the drop a few months ago now and I finally think I have a grasp on it. G&H Kendal Dark comes in bulk which is how I bought it or in a 17oz bag (which I may get next time).

There's not much to say about packaging but it is a very interesting tobacco to say the least. It comes in a dark brown, very fine shag cut. Some of the ribbons are extremely long. The smell is wonderful. Lots of barbecue, nuts, smoked wood, and herbs. This came dry enough to smoke, but me being inexperienced with a fine cut lead to some disappointing smokes for a while. I learned that this blend does best in a smaller bowl, and tightly packed. It lights really well and holds a light well when properly packed.

Now to taste. When lit I taste a wonderful melange of flavors. The Burley gives a lot of nuts, earth, wood and has a characteristic BBQ spice, but it's very well rounded and gives me a sort of perique-like effect on the retrohale. It's everything I love about the Dark Fired in the Dark Flake Unscented. The Virginias offer a nice sweet, bready and slightly tangy backdrop. This blend is held together with a very slight Lakeland Topping, it adds the barest floral and vanilla note which is, to me, almost undetectable as a separate flavor from that of the tobaccos. The burn rate is slow when packed right, and tends to smoke cool.

The taste is a medium-full. After you take a few puffs and set your pipe down the flavor pleasantly lingers but it doesn't take over your mouth like Black Twist does. The strength is strong. Landy N has come to take you for your favorite restaurant and a night out. She isn't as strong as Rustica or HH Bold Kentucky but it's up there. I usually smoke a strong one like Irish Flake or Bayou Morning Flake in the morning with my coffee, but the inexperienced may wish to have a bite to eat before sitting down with this. The smell is very Dark Fired forward with a light floralness, but your milage may vary. Not an all day blend, but a darn fine one.

It has taken me a year to come to terms with this powerful, unusual tobacco. Now I can't live without it. I don't dry it out much, but I tear the shag (now soon to be a 1.5mm ribbon because of silly legislation) for easier packing. And I pack it fairly tight, tighter than one would think for a shag and I smoke it very slow.

It has the smallest bit of sweetness from the VA, to go with the powerful smokiness. It is funny but as has been noted the fine shag cut seems to make this taste much lighter than the flake form (Dark Flake).

In fact the taste is rather non descript and it doesn't produce a lot of smoke. The trick is to smoke it very slowly.

I find this to be the perfect strengthener for wimpy blends. Because of KD's high strength and relatively neutral taste (there is the tiniest hint of Lakeland). So it is great for blending.

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.

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.

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

I have been on a Gawith run for the past several months and this is by far the strongest and most nicotine laden example I have tried of the bunch. Being a shag-cut it was easy to pack and after a false-light and tamp I was off.

Wow! What a delightful, full, peppery, mature, smoke! Caution to the fast-puffer however, this Virginia will incapacitate you if you go too fast. Blowing some through my nostrils I find my eyes opening wider and I slow the pace even more. Halfway through the bowl the smoke really settles down to a mezmerising, almost meditative experience. A slight cigar-like flavor permeates more the farther down the bowl I progress.

It burns to a fine grey-white ash. I did not need a pipe cleaner the run of the bowl, (Probably due in large part to my slowing down as I progressed), and it left just a small dottle at the end.

This is definitely, IMHO, not a smoke for the beginner or first time Virginia smoker.

My first time I smoked this in an older Charatan Extra Large Pipe. Hmmm, maybe this is why after finishing it around Midnight, it took me roughly 2-3 hours to get to sleep. I plan to smoke it again in a large pipe but will do so in the early afternoon, not late at night!