Samual Gawith and Cabbie's Mixture

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jazz

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2014
813
65
UK
Forgive me for this may be long-winded.
I'm mainly a Virginia guy. I'd hazard guess that 80% of the tobaccos I smoke are VaPer's, VaBur's and variations on that theme. I enjoy the subtlety and I especially enjoy the sweetness. Virginia is just incredibly comforting and seems to make everything around me much better. Over the five years that I have been at the pipe, I feel, and perhaps arrogantly, that I have got the hang of them. Well, most of them.
Naturally, Cabbie's Mixture sounded like my cup of tea. So, and perhaps belatedly I ordered some about two months ago and looked forward to opening the tin. Opening a new tin is one of life's exquisite pleasures. A pleasure that I'm sorry to say that most around me don't understand and certainly don't appreciate. It arrived along with others that are regular burners in my pipes and when there appeared space in my rotation for another open blend then coin met with tin and we were in.
As usual for Sammy G the stuff was wetter than any tobacco should ever be in my opinion but that was to be expected and I enjoyed the aroma and appearance of the weed inside. Promising is what I thought. I laid some on a plate and left it out for a few hours until it was just right and I do like a little moisture in my leaf.
Then it all went south. I found it rough. I mean this stuff was lacking any finesse at all but worse still was the utter lack of sweetness. Sweetness is important to me in tobacco. Not the cloying kind but that subtle just there and almost not type that teases you through the bowl and builds. It's my favourite thing about Virginias. This stuff had none of it. Just rough and really peppery but there was something else going on. Something which had nothing to do with tobacco. I really could not put my finger on it but I suspect it was cross contamination from some of their other blends. It was not soap or even floral but I did not like it and it was distracting. I have encountered a similar thing with one of my tins of Squadron Leader in the past.
Anyway, suffice it to say that I did not like the stuff and began to regret my purchase. The next few bowls were a similar experience but I kept trying and let the whole tin dry before having enough and sealing it up.
A few weeks go by and I decide that before I open another tin of something I really must finish off at least one of my open blends and decide I will force myself through this stuff and see how it goes. It's now really dry by my standards. I didn't seal it all that well it seems. Pipe lit and that distracting flavour I could not put my finger on has departed. Progress, I thought. It's still quite rough and very peppery but seems not as bad and getting through the bowl was not a great pleasure but neither was it the hardship the previous smokes had been.
Fast-forward to now and what has prompted me to write this uninteresting wall of text I'm sure. I just had a great smoke with this. I mean it was really good. That sweetness I crave was not there at the start but built throughout the bowl until something almost magical happened and it happened in an instant. The flavour turned into popcorn. Literally and exactly like that very lightly sweet stuff you get in the cinema here in the UK. It was delicious and it lasted to the very end.
I look in my tin and see I only have about two bowls left and this serves me a dilema. I will buy more of this. That experience was too good not to but when, I'm unsure. The reason is that it's simply, a pain in the arse. I don't want to dry my tobacco and watch it like a hawk in the process so that I don't mess it up. I don't want the uncertainty that it may or may not have a flavour or scent on it that may or may not be intended to be there. I expect the blender to provide me with a tobacco ready for smoking when I open the tin. The moisture content should be part of the recipe and consistency is critical. As I have smoked this blend I have wondered what the blender intend me to taste? The truth is that I'm still unsure.
I like Samual Gawith tobaccos, I really do. When they are good they are hard to beat and honestly, many of my nirvana smokes have happened with their tobacco but to be frank, they are a hassle. There always seems to be a little frustration in with the blend.
Anyway, thanks for reading. I had to get that off my chest and although I'm sure the bemused looks aren't zero there will be less here than had I ranted about this down the pub.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I've smoked about a half-dozen new blends and been very disappointed, not because I disliked the tobacco but because they were so-so, to me. Triple Play and 10 Russians come to mind. These are quality tobaccos with all manner of reviews on TobaccoReviews, none of which describe my experience. My point is that consciously or not, it is possible to have a repeat bad experience with a tobacco, and I really can't say why. I assume the fault is mine.
Your experience diverges from mine in that the last few bowls were good. If we say that an occluded palate or mood can detract from smoking, then one or both of yours cleared. I've had experiences of this many times.
Please let me know if and when this tobacco is available in bulk:).

 
Jul 28, 2016
7,565
36,060
Finland-Scandinavia-EU
Jazz: I don't do much S Gawith blends due to the fact they usually come pretty wet and secundo I'm more of a Burely type myself (with the exception of those few virginia forward blends as Dunhill dark or ST Bruno flake&RR+Solani / nevertheless I'd be curious to know if those J Germain's blends are hard to find stuff in England?,I have heard lots of good things about the Germain's products

 

pipeman7

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jan 21, 2017
291
0
I admit cabbie's mixture doesn't live up. it's kind of bland. I think it would be much better as twist with like 10 x as much Perique. That would actually be amazing. I usually mix in some St. James Flake, or some real St. James blending Perique. Or Black XX as they both have a similar peppery flavor. I keep the black xx rope in the jar of cabbie's too.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I absolutely love Cabbies Mixture, it’s one of my favorite Gawith Tobaccos and is definitely one of my favorite VaPers just behind Dunbar. I’ve noticed it wasn’t well received when it first came out but a lot of folks that didn’t like it to begin with seem to come around to it once revisited. My thinking is it just needed a bit of time to mature in the tin.

 

jazz

Part of the Furniture Now
Feb 17, 2014
813
65
UK
@ saltedplug. I agree and know exactly what you mean. I have also had blends go the other way on me. Where I have been enjoying a blend very much only for it to turn into completely hideous experience overnight. I must say though that the longer I smoke a pipe these kinds of experiences happen less. Perhaps as I focus more and more on the kind of thing I really know I like. Whatever it is, one thing is certain for me and that is that pipe smoking is a real voyage of discovery and always will be.
@ Paulie. I wouldn't say Germain's is hard to get hold of in the UK but some of their blends have been getting harder. My favourite blend of theirs I have not been able to get hold of for a long time now as it's always out of stock when I place an order. It's always in stock when I'm skint but I'm skint now and it's actually out of stock at the tobacconist I mainly use. I think I know why this is and it is an irritation of mine because it never used to be hard to get hold of.
Also, not all of us in the UK are in England. My avatar is the clue buddy :D However, I must concede that much of my online ordering is from tobacconists in England and a damn fine job of it they do too.
@ pipeman. For me, it wasn't bland at all but full of flavour. Trouble was all the flavour was acrid and nasty until that one bowl. I'm about to have another but in a different pipe. I'm interested to see how it will go.
@ hawky. Based on my last experience I can see why people love it. I will too if I can consistently get the same experience from it. The question for me is that if I have to put so much prep work in to get it then is it really worth it?
Forgive the absurd analogy but we have a brand of crisps (chips) here called Smith's Salt 'n' Shake. It's one of the oldest but they are completely free from salt and flavouring but they come with a blue sachet of salt in the crisp packet. You have to salt them and shake them yourself. WHY? Not only are they not ready to eat but ultimately disappointing because of the totally inconsistent experience from crisp to crisp. Some crisps have salt and some don't and who wants an unsalted crisp? I don't buy them because it's better to buy the ones they flavoured for me. After all, it's what they do :D

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"Forgive the absurd analogy but we have a brand of crisps (chips) here called Smith's Salt 'n' Shake."
I haven't seen those in years....I thought they were history. Nice to know they're still around.
I remember opening the packet upside down as the little blue sachet always sank to the bottom :puffy:
Regards,
Jay.

 
Jul 28, 2016
7,565
36,060
Finland-Scandinavia-EU
Jazz:Thank you for your added information,yet I'm to express my gratitude to almost all main Uk tobacconists,or shall I say English, all the with whom I've been dealing provided me with exemplary customer service and shopping experience, the latest one I got bang out' of dealing was the Cgars.co.uk/Turmeaus truly exlusive service it was and my items got shipped out in surprisingly short time frame, yet them shipping charges were acceptable,to continental Eu £ 7

 

johnnyiii

Can't Leave
Nov 30, 2013
320
7
hertford nc
I have two Tins in a half pint jar. For me i found the pepper taste but mostly a nice grassy va taste. My take after about a couple of months or more of aging .. was that the Perique went through the roof with mine. I bought straight Perique once thinking I would tinker with blending it ... until I smelled it. Wow stinky to me..e
That's what I smelled in my aged jar anyway. I would guess you tasted the start of that ?maybe? Since you let it dry alot maybe not?
I didn't mind the wet .. fixed that with burley ribbon cut... I dis though dislike the bite as I tent to draw hard.

 
Mar 29, 2016
1,006
5,540
Cabbie's Mixture was a big letdown for me. After the aging and the nice smell off the tin, I was expecting anything but the soapy Lakeland flavor. Of course than was one tin but I will not risk buying another. I passed it on to the Pipe and Cigar Club in Bucharest during my trip there.

 

hawky454

Lifer
Feb 11, 2016
5,338
10,220
Austin, TX
I understand. All I do for prep is, open the tin, rub it all out, dump contents on a paper plate and let air dry for an hour/hour and half then load it back in the tin and it’s good to go! I’d love to see them start releasing this in the boxes... hint hint, SG.

 
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