The Official Gawith & Hoggarth Thread

[Dock]

Shockingly enough Kenny and I were discussing pipe tobacco at the SHPC meeting on Tuesday. We both agreed that Gawith & Hoggarth is the Cadillac if not the Rolls Royce of pipe tobacco. In terms of taste, appearance and moisture level it's second to none. Another good trait is that nearly all of their blends are available in the states. Of course their cost is signifigantly higher than other imported brands.

The one issue that I find with some of their VA and burley blends is that they lean towards the VERY soapy side. Obviously some floral flavor is expected with lakeland blends but a couple of theirs are really over the top! Likely the worst offender is Scotch Flake. It's floral notes are akin to ivory soap imo.

Which G&H tobaks are your favorites and why?

 

[Tennessee Dave]

My two favorite GH's are Brown Bogie and Sweet Rum Twist. I love these ropes for a weekly smoke or two. Generally I have quite a lot of SG like FVF, BBF, Chocolate Flake and Kendall Creme Flake in my rotation. Really haven't tried many GH's. Always looking for suggestions so feel free to suggest away as to which of GH's I should consider.

 

[Carlos]

My favorite Gawith Hoggarth & Co. Ltd. tobacco. Hmmmmmmmmm...........that's tough.

I really like the Kendal Dark Thick Cut. Strong. Some would say one-dimensional. Kendal Plug and Kendal Kentucky are all similar yet different. Very enjoyable for the full-bodied pipe smoker.

Coniston Cut Plug is pretty darn good. For a flavored tobacco flake.

Bosun Cut Plug is also very good. Has the scent of clove.

I avoid their ropes mostly. I smoke them occasionally. Stronger than those available from Samuel Gawith. My last sample of black rope was overcooked. A bit charcoally in taste.

Also, my last purchase of #12, a really great latakia blend usually, was perhaps something different. I suspect a main component tobacco has changed. I will not be getting any more of that.

Dark Flake Unscented is a favorite.

 

[puros_bran]

Black Irish X

Strong, Full Flavored, fun to prepare, Whats not to like?

 

[Puff Daddy]

Conniston Cut Plug unscented, Curley Cut regular and Dark Flake are great. I'm going to have to find some of that Kendal Kentucky Carlos, sounds interesting.

 

[Natch]

You hit on my favorite blend there. Over the past two years I've packed away many pounds (OK, 500 grams) in jars of 12 different flakes. Bosun, Glengarry, and #7 Broken Flake are my favored scented. Louisiana Flake is OK, but where did they hide the perique? Certainly not in the flake. Bob's Chocolate is almost bitter with the hint of baking chocolate in the background. Rum flake is my Sunday treat, love the sweet undertones, but wouldn't want to smoke it every day. Haven't found a flake of theirs I didn't like, though Grasmere is rather bland. Many of their "shag" cuts aren't that exciting to me. Wasn't it Smokingpipes that had flake and shag samplers awhile back? I bought a 10- one ounce samples of 20 of their blends not a year ago, but I can't seem to find it listed on their web site. It was a great way to try them out.

One problem I'm noticing though, I really like the scented/floral aspect of them, but as I've been smoking them a lot for a while, I'm having a harder time "tasting" that scent. The tobacco taste and smell is still there and an enjoyable smoke, but that floral seems to have gotten fainter. Can one develop an immunity to that flavoring?

Natch

 

[Ol'Dawg]

A lot of their blends are too strong for me to enjoy and I'm not a fan of trying to smoke soap. However I do like and keep some of their Bob's Chocolate Flake and Glengarry Flake on hand. The Glengarry is listed as an aromatic but I don't think many people would put it in the aromatic class. To me it's just a good VA flake with lots of flavor but not much nicotine.

While trying to find some good low nic VAs a few years ago, I found the Synjeco site to be fairly accurate in their ratings and descriptions.
Synjeco tobacco reviews

Jim

 

[pipetongue1]

Afternoon All, Now we're talking! No hesitation for me I love ALL their offerings, haven't been burnt by one of them yet! My first was Ennerdale back in '03, my fav is Bosun CP, G&H is the very base of my cellar, just rec'd some Dark Plug for me and Puffs, couldn't do without G&H, I still have some Dark Fl. from '03, Ken :tongue:
Pacem en Lakeland! :tongue:
ps; SG can't hold a candle to G&H....K. :tongue:

 

[Natch]

Ennerdale is the best, mild, all day Va. I know of. When I want to smoke a big bowl of something and have the time to slowly take it down to the dottle, nothing beats Ennerdale. I like to cut their flakes perpendicular to their length, so they form little cubes (somewhat like some of the burley cubes), then let them dry a bit. Easy smoken ipe:

As it's a Friday afternoon and I've had another rough week, I'm just loading a monster sized Lovat/Poker Mike Brissitt made for me with, oh, about 6 or seven ounces of Ennerdale, made a brandy Manhattan in a bucket that wouldn't fit on the island, and the porch, the mutt, and the deer are waiting for me.

Natch

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I love GH tobacco!

In descending order:

1. Dark Flake
1. Dark Plug (can't make up my mind)
2. Brown Irish X - love what I've come to call Brown Rope
3. Coniston Cut Plug, which I would call an aromatic but others might not; the first tobacco in this class that I've found I like.

I used to smoke a quite a bit of Dark Birdseye and a bit of Kendal KY but don't anymore. Why?????

I ordered Brown Pigtail in the recent group buy and find it's flavor muted. From what I know Brown Irish X, Happy Brown Bogie and the Pigtail are all made from the same tobaccos, the only difference being the diameter of the rope. Then why should all three ropes be different, the Brown Bogie the most flavorful, the Brown Irish X the next flavorful and the Pigtail the least?

 

[Herzl]

#7 Kendal Mixture is a filler when I don't have either Dark Bird's Eye, Kendal Dark, Dark Flake Unscented or Dark Flake Aromatic open. I also have been using it for blending experiments. One of the 'Darks' or 1792 is going to be smoked every day. I like Bosun and Coniston Cut Plugs, and go through my stash pretty fast when I have them, but don't hoard them like the 'Darks.' I also hoard Sweet Rum Twist, Brown Irish X, Black Irish X, Brown Bogie, Brown Twist, Coconut Twist, and Black Twist, but the prep is a hassle and the result not uniform. I have #12 Mixture but it doesn't excite me. Haven't been able to get my hands on Kendal Kentucky or Dark Plug yet, though I've been trying. They sell out overnight, so somebody's buying. lol, next time I won't mess around making up the rest of my order to save on shipping.

 

[Tom Clemons]

I'm a G&H Fan, too.

1. Conniston Cut Plug
2. Rum Flake
3. Broken Scotch Cake
4. Broken Flake No. 7
5. Whiskey rope
6. Brown Flake unscented

TC

 

[Warwick]

My favorites, in order:
1.Dark Flake Unscented
2.Dark Thick Cut
3.Dark Plug
4.Brown Bogie
5.Dark Flake Scented

Second Tier:
Kendal Kentucky
Coniston Cut Plug
Rum Flake
Brown Flake Scented
Brown Flake Unscented
Brown Irish Twist/Sliced Brown Twist

Fair to Middlin:
Rum/Coconut Twist
Dark Birdseye
Broken Scotch Cake
Louisiana Flake
Brown Pigtail
Grasmere Flake

Least Favorite:
Black Irish Twist
Black Kendal Twist XXX
Bosun Cut Plug
Ennerdale
Top Black Cherry

As I review the list of GH offerings, I can't recall now if I've tried Best Brown #2 or not, or whether I'm thinking of SG Best Brown. Hmmm....might have to order some.

 

[Tom Clemons]

Wow, Warwick, what a list. now I've got to go order more G&H blends to try.

thanks,

TC

 

[ftrplt]

I only smoke Bob's Choc. Flake. The BCF has a touch of "floral" at first match but this seems to disappear after a puff or two. FTRPLT

 

[jlong]

I've only tried one only and that is Balkan Mixture. I liked it a lot but Bill Baileys Balkan Blend sort of pushed the envelope for me.

Do Samuel Gwaith and Gwaith and Hoggwarth have any connection?

 

[Doc Manhattan]

William Gawith, son of Sam. Gawith the first, formed a rival tobacco business with Henry Hoggarth--both William and Henry were trustees of SG after the death of its founder. Samuel Gawith's tobacco comapny remained in the hands of Sam. Gawith the second.

From the SG website:

Samuel the Third was two years and five months old at his father's death, and once again the company was put in the hands of trustees, probably Samuel the Third's mother, John Edward Gawith (who died six years later) and William Henry Gawith, Samuel the Second's youngest brother.

A word here about William, who set up in rivalry to the Samuel Gawith dynasty, about the time John's enterprise failed. He set up in partnership with Henry Hoggarth, whose sister he married. Together they purchased the Lowther Street tobacco factory, and made snuff at Marble Mills outside Kendal. The firm continues now as Gawith Hoggarth TT.

(It was a similar situation with the brothers Adi and Udi Dassler, who founded Adidas and Puma atheletic shoes, respectively.)

 

[Anonymous]

When I stop to think about it, I have never tried any of the G&H offerings.

 

[jlong]

Thanks for the scoop on SG and G&H. Interesting history.

 

[Jimbo]

Dark Plug is a favorite of mine. The only offerings I don't like are the scented ones, not because of G&H quality but because I just don't like scented tobaccos. Everything I've had from them is top notch.