Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Brown Pigtail E/S

I'd never tried this tobacco before, but I think it is great. I particularly like the pig tail appearance this tobacco comes in. You can only buy this in bulk and, so far as I know, it is only available in the UK market. The Virginia is quite apparent as you light up your bowl, but it is quite different to anything I've tried so far. This is not an aromatic blend, but I can taste something I can only describe as flowers along with the sweetness of the Virginia. I really cannot tell how long this tobacco might have been in the jar before I bought it, but I'd say it is well aged. You need to dry this tobacco before being able to smoke, but you only need to cut it up in small slices and let it dry for 1 hour at room temperature to achieve that. Very easy to pack and keep lit in your bowl. The tin note is quite flagrant and fruity, and it reminds me of some cavendishes (if I am to go by the tin description, this is a straight Virginia). In terms of strength I'd say this is a rather strong blend, so do not smoke it on an empty stomach.

I am surprised by how easy it is to keep this tobacco lit in your bowl. Also, I like the fact this tobacco starts yielding right at the start of your smoke as you light it up for the first time, but it will develop in strength and aroma every quarter of your bowl.The sweetness of the Virginia is quite apparent all the way through, but as you smoke more and more this blend reminds me of some cigars. I am finding this blend very creamy and mellow, and it smokes quite cool in your bowl.

I have visited Gawith & Hoggarth's web site to look up this tobacco and they class it as a chewing blend. Also, it would appear they've topped it up with rum and maple sugars to ad up to its sweetness. They also explain that this tobacco in is brown variety is even stronger than the so call black pig tail as it is only fermented but not cooked.