Gawith & Hoggarth Coniston Cut Plug Review

This tobacco is my introduction to Lakeland tobaccos. I'd heard that you either loved them or you hated them and most of what I read leaned toward the latter. Recently, my curiosity led me to order several of the Gawith & Hoggarth tobaccos from 4 Noggins in order to try them for myself. Several of them were out of stock and that prodded my curiosity and interest further. The appearance of the Coniston Cut Plug was of finely sliced plugs, as one would expect from the name. It was not just coins, but ribbons in abundance where the coins had fallen apart. The tobacco was moist out of the bag. Mine was the unscented variety so the aroma was not too floral and perfume-like, as many of the other Lakeland-type tobaccos are. I should have given the tobacco a little more drying time for my first bowl, but I smoked it right out of the bag. On later bowls I did allow for a little air-drying time and was rewarded with a drier smoke. The tobacco packed nicely, without having to further rub out the tobacco. It seemed almost to be drawn into the bowl. It lit easily when given adequate air-drying time (overnight for me). The initial flavor was a robust, smokey, bold character with a slightly soapy tinge. I had heard of this soapy aspect, but found it to be interestingly different and tasty. The flavor is deep and rich but not complex. The taste stays with you for a while after smoking and is not unpleasant, at least for me. There's not a whole lot of difference in the smoke as you move down the bowl; it is pretty much the same bold tobacco flavor the whole way down. The intensity and the strength (nicotine) of this tobacco is formidable. It is one of the strongest tobaccos that I've experienced. It burns fairly cool and dry. I smoked three bowls of it in an Orlik Captain Black billiard with an optimum cake.