Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Coniston Plug

As this is Coniston Cut Plug in plug form and I see no differences in either version outside of this being slightly mellower and sweeter, this is a repeat of the Cut Plug review. The bold dark fired Virginia offer a bit of earth, smoke, wood, floralness, vegetation, spice, bread and plenty of fermented tangy dark fruit as the main player. The dark Virginia provides earth, wood, tangy ripe dark fruit, bread, sugar, and a little floral grass. In a support role, the Malawi burley is earthy, woody, very nutty with a little molasses, and a touch of cocoa. The Lakeland topping is obvious without totally drowning out the strong tobaccos. I’m not sure what the other toppings are besides some tonquin, but they are much more subtle. A very strong blend that's very full in taste. The nic-hit is quite potent. Won't bite or get harsh, but it does have a few rough edges. Well balanced, it burns cool, clean and slow with a very consistent flavor all the way through to the finish. Leaves little dampness in the bowl, and requires a fair number of relights. Has a pleasant, lingering smoky sweet after taste, and stronger room note. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Gawith Hoggarth - Coniston Plug.

I can start this review with a sentence that I never thought I would say, "I enjoyed preparing this plug"! I normally hate plug prep' but with Conniston Plug it can be cut through the grain of the plug to make perfect flakes which are easy to crumble. The aroma is a 'no messing' alcoholic floral one, it's quite a pungent smell which is very suggestive of what the smoke will taste like. As I mentioned, this is brill' to get ready to smoke and I have sliced then rubbed mine into pretty fine pieces.

On to another good point, getting this lit, because the prep' has allowed me to make delicate rubbings it is a doddle to light up, and once it is burning it stays lit well. The smoke temperature can become too warm if really chugged hard so I go easier with it. The flavour is exactly as I expected, floral and alcohol with the floral taste being heavier. The topping is a full one, thus making the 2 different tobacco flavours harder to discern. It does give a good nicotine hit, it's not too mental in that area however if you don't like "N" then you won't like this!

I think Conniston Plug would be a good plug to begin your 'plug journey' with due to its ease of preparation but due to the nicotine amount and heavy casing it may be a bit much for some smokers! 3 stars from me.