Samuel Gawith have blended a mixture of burley & golden Virginia leaves with a rich double-fermented sweet black cavendish, added a splash of amaretto to give a smooth flavoured tobacco with a soft room note. This pipe tobacco is ribbon cut and presented in a limited edition collector's tin.
When I smell this one the amaretto seems very mild, it doesn't have the heavy attribute associated with aromatic blends. For a change with Sam G' blends mine is of a good moistness, but as mine was a 5 gram sample it may be more moist from a sealed tin.
The flavour of the smoke isn't what I would expect from an aromatic, the Amaretto is easy to notice however I don't find it as full as you would anticipate from an aromatic, it acts more like a 'gentle' enhancement on the flavour. The nut quality from the Burley is a little tricky to ascertain as I get confused between the amaretto almonds or the Burley's nuttiness, either way it's nice! An easier flavour to identify is the Black Cavendish's sweetness, it comes through perfectly! The Nicotine is at a mild amount, N lovers will be disappointed! Throughout a bowl of this it gives a decent burn, it doesn't go out easily but burns quite steady. The temperature of the smoke has been cool, a quality that is embellished by zero bite. The room note is a pleasant one, not too heavy and not too light with little added flavour noticeable.
As I usually find with Samuel Gawith this is an exceptional pleasure, hence four stars!
Cons: The plastic bag inside the tin isn't sealed completely. So the tobacco was dried out. I jarred it with a humidity stone to dehydrate and got it to a smokable moisture content in about a week. I'm pretty sure its lost most of its topping.
Pros: Nice classy collectible tin. Great looking mix of tobaccos. The ribbon cut is easy to pack and light.
Tobacco notes: Per above, I'm not sure if I'm getting the original effect but there is a very light almond note. The tobacco has good taste for being recovered and it burns slowly. No tongue bite. No real nic hit. Room note is pleasant
This would be a solid 3 star tobacco IF the tobacco had been sealed in the original tin to preserve the moisture. 2 stars with the packaging but at least it wasn't wasted.
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