Gawith Hoggarth & Co., Ltd. Mixture #12

[NeverBend]

The Search Continues...

Date:April 18th, 2015
Brand:Gawith Hoggarth.
Mixture:Mixture #12
Manufacturer:Gawith Hoggarth & Co., Ltd.
Year made:2015
Type:English (full))
Where smoked:Outdoors (front porch)
Pipes:Ser Jacopo Renaissance #316
Radice Rind
(several other rough finished pipes)

Let me state at the outset that this is the mixture that @Branzig humiliated me into writing a review about. I’ll be more aware of what I promise in the future.

Starting in 1989 my full english was (almost) exclusively Elephant & Castle The Stout but with the passage of time it’s wonderful flavors became less distinct. Since then my tastes have run more towards Virginia but I continue to look for a full latakia that can replace that venerable mixture.

The company description of Gawith Hoggarth Mixture #12 says that it contains a whopping 45% latakia. I bought 500 grams from PipeTobacco.Com on sale for $38.25.

Opening the bag gives a decided aroma of English manufacture, a classic medium English mixture, with a whiff of sweetness and no chemical sweet tar aroma of processed latakia.

It’s a medium ribbon cut with colors that range from hay to deep browns but almost no black and that’s consistent with this kind of latakia that’s dark and mottled but not black.

Packing was easy but the strands are long and some needed to be folded into the bowl. Lit with one or two wooden matches without incident in all bowls. Mixture #12 tends to go out easily if you don’t pay attention that resulted in the occasional re-light.

Over the first four or five bowls there was a considerable difference in the flavor although the burn characteristics were basically similar.

The first bowl was silky smooth with a complex VIrginia bottom that supported a light but bright latakia hit, certainly not what I’d expected from a mixture of 45% latakia. The flavors were distinct but distant as though there was more to offer that I couldn’t quite access.

I don’t feel that I pay as much attention when I smoke compared to other reviewers. Instead, I tend to get myself into a rhythm and make occasional observances about the flavor and burn but this first bowl found me sucking harder and breaking cadence to get to that distant taste that was eluding me and I scorched my mouth.

I put some Mixture #12 in a mason jar and allowed it to decant (oxygenate) and tried it a few days later. Flavor and smoke were more aggressive and the latakia hit was amplified but at the expense of the (light) dextrous combination of flavors that it had in the first bowl. Oddly, I couldn’t get a comfortable rhythm with this bowl because of it’s aggression that amplified towards the dottle.

The following bowls were different (within context) from either of the first two but they have been similar to each other as I’ve developed a rhythm with this mixture. It’s not as full as I expected from the 45% latakia that’s claimed and the complex sweet thread is either not in play or hard to notice. A break in cadence can get you some aggression. I’m not a good source about nicotine hit other than to say that it’s perfectly tolerable to me so it’s not a lot.

I began this review with comments about Elephant & Castle, The Stout, that was similar in latakia content to what’s claimed for Mixture #12. Like The Stout, Mixture #12 has a distinct nose that suggests English manufacture but the comparison, sadly, ends there. Gawith Hoggarth, in my opinion, gives an honest effort with all of their tobaccos and Mixture #12 is no exception, sporting quality vIrginia, orientals and especially latakia but there’s a soul lacking here. The flavors deliver with too much distinction but too little interplay and nuance. It smokes like an ala carte dinner without any sides.

The changes that I noted when decanted make me believe that this blend will age well but only for a few years (at most). So most of it will go into hiding.

Brandon, your move.

[Branzig]

Brandon, your move.

Excellent review, Pete.

As it turns out, I recently (unknowlingly) reviewed this blend as well. A lot of the things that you mentioned, I noticed as well. Particularly the importance of smoking this blend in proper cadence: A bold and full bodied Balkan. Excellent flavor and amazing mouth feel. Smoked it along with my dark roast coffee, and the two complimented each other very well. A little bit of nicotine in this one. My only complaint is that if you aren't careful, this one can bite a bit. A few times I felt that familiar sting on the tongue, but a quick cadence adjustment nipped it in the bud

I am shocked to find out that it is lacking Orientals though. Because I was certain I picked up some in there, so I guess I was off in classifying it as a "Balkan." However, as you noted, like all GH&Co blends, the leaf is top notch in this blend. The latakia is simply excellent.

I haven't smoked to the extent that you have, and I have never tasted the Stout to compare this too, so IMO this was a really great smoke and something I would keep on hand.

As your search continues, I found something that I think I will hang onto in my rotation. It is no RR or Abingdon, but it is tasty.

Now, as far as your statements of the blend lacking soul, well there is no argument there! This is a Gawith blend with no Lakeland Snot! The essence is the soul of the Gawiths. No Lakeland, no soul. I think it really is as simple as that

Keep piping and searching Pete