Trying out some Gawith Hoggarth Coniston Cut Plug for the first time this morning, in a Dr. Grabow Lark.
View attachment 321104
I've always heard lots of people describe Lakeland blends as soapy tasting, but I've never found that to be the case. I've had Ennerdale, Kendal Black Cherry, Rum Flake, Bob's Chocolate Flake, Kendal Dark, and War Horse plus a few other blends with light floral elements and never found any of them to be at all soapy... until now.
The backbone of Coniston Cut Plug is definitely the dark fired Kentucky, and there's quite a bit of chocolatey Burley and bright Virginia flavors going on too, but then there's that light Lakeland essence that in this particular case tastes (to me at least) exactly like how the hand soap you find in those gas station bathroom pump dispensers smells. It's not pleasantly floral like all the other Lakelands I've had, it's just soapy. Blech!
It's a darn shame too, because the blend of tobaccos used in this one is delightful. The retrohale is smooth as silk and the nicotine content is out of this world, but that little underlying hand soap flavor note just makes my stomach flip flop and I ended up having to dump the bowl out halfway through. I wonder what essences make Coniston Cut Plug different from all the other Lakelands I've had, since I've never found any of the others to be soapy (though War Horse was rather mothball'y). Weirdness.