Pipe Tobacco Review

Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader with Perique

Samuel Gawith tobacco company is one of the oldest and most well know producers of pipe tobacco, cigars, and snuff.  Established in 1792, the company operates out of the United Kingdom.  The specific tobacco we are discussing for this review, Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader with Perique, was re-introduced to the pipe smoking market in 2015 with a special release of 2000 tins from Smokingpipes.com (SPC).  Since then, SPC has had two consecutive releases of this limited edition tobacco; 2018 where they produced and sold 3000 tins, and 2019 where 4500 tins were provided to the pipe smoking consumer base.  I am hopeful we will see a 2020 production with 5000+ tins, however, with the current worldwide pandemic, things may not turn out in our favor.  Only time will tell…  

Info & Overview

Brand: Samuel Gawith

Category: English

Blend Components: Virginia, Latakia, Orientals, Perique

Flavorings: None

Cut Type: Ribbon

Available Packaging: 50g tin

Price: $13.75 USD

On to the review…

From the Tin: Interesting combination in the tin.  The tobacco shows lots of light and dark brown leaves.  The dark black latakia and perique leaf is certainly viable and present.  The tin note is heavy latakia with the synonymous campfire/burn wood scent.  There is also a naturally sweet, similar to honeysuckle, undertone in the tobacco tin smell.   

Tasting Notes: I still recall the first time I tried this tobacco.  Just to be straightforward, from the first bowl, I was hooked.  This is a wonderfully made tobacco that I find extremely tasteful and satisfying.  From the tin, the tobacco yields a good moisture level, however, as I enjoy smoking my blends a little on the drier side, I allowed the tobacco to sit out for 20-30 minutes prior to loading the pipe and smoking.  Consistently, this tobacco offers tastes of wood cedar chips, dry grasses/hay, campfire, and burnt wood notes.  There were times I noted a spicey pepper essence, however, this typically dissipated quickly after the start of the bowl.  The tobacco burns down to a fine white ash leaving little dottle in the bottom of the pipe.  The smoke is a cool, thick, and white with a room note that is what you would expect from a heavy latakia or oriental blend.  Not spouse approved.  Overall body of the smoke I would rate as medium/full while the strength of the tobacco is full.   

Overall Impression: As I stated in the opening, this tobacco is exceptional.  My only issue regarding the blend has to do with the production and availability, not the tobacco itself.  As a limited/special run, this blend is very hard to acquire and not in regular supply.  It could, however, be argued that most of the Samuel Gawith blends are currently difficult to purchase, making this tobacco just a normal for us in the States.  If you are ever provided the opportunity to purchase Samuel Gawith’s Squadron Leader with Perique, I highly recommend you do so.  Keep an eye open on the Smokingpipes.com website for their “hopeful” annual release of this blend as you will be highly rewarded for your wait.  

Tobacco Score:

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Interested in seeing the video review for this blend? Visit The Pipe Professor YouTube channel at the following link: https://youtu.be/XJz61yRApko for video review of this tobacco.

Be well,