Rollie Tobacco: Mixed Coconut (5/10)

Well once again I have nearly finished off my last purchase of rollie tobacco from the market, so it's time for a review. This time it's the coconut rollie tobacco from Gawith and Hoggarth.

I haven't much to say about this particular tobacco. The tobacco itself does smell like coconut, but I think if I hadn't been told what it was and smoked it, I wouldn't be able to tell exactly what the flavour was. Indeed, several people have asked me; 'What is that you're smoking?' To which I have replied; 'coconut.' 'Ah!' was always the reply.

My only complaint concerning this tobacco is that the tar is quite foul. The first half of the cigarette is smooth and otherwise fine, but once the tar builds up, it is not terribly pleasant. Of course, many tobaccos suffer this problem, and the lesson is to not smoke them to the very end... Concerning its positive traits, it is moderately strong and yet surprisingly cool. It's an acceptable tobacco, not great, but not bad either.

• Flavour: 4/10
• Sweetness: 4/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 4/10
• Value for Money: 5/10
• Indulgence Factor: 4/10
• Overall Rating: 5/10

Pipe Tobacco: Broken Scotch Cake (4/10)

The Broken Scotch Cake by Gawith and Hoggarth is, I think, best described as bland and inoffensive. It's like the Bells or Famous Grouse of whiskeys (ok, to some they are quite offensive), or that gateau someone else baked at a party that you say is really nice, but never get around to finishing because it's dry and flavourless and really just mind-numbingly dull.

I could not discern any particular flavours of the Broken Scotch Cake, but as the little amount of tar did build up towards the end, there was a bit more of whatever flavour it was. Thankfully there was no offensive aftertaste either, so really I have no complaints about the tobacco except that it's just generally boring.

Give it a try if you like... I'm neither recommending it nor warning you not to spend your money on it, but personally I'll leave this one to the hoi-polloi- it's not for me.

• Flavour: 2/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 3/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 7/10
• Value for Money: 4/10
• Indulgence Factor: 2/10
• Overall Rating: 4/10

Cigar: Rocky Patel '10 Year Panatelas' (8/10)

Rocky Patel is a well known name in circles of cigar aficionados and his company produces a range of cigars from the moderately priced to premium cigars in the same price range as the best Davidoff or Montecristos. The company is relatively new, however, it has certainly made a name for itself, and we were very impressed with the cigars we tried.

My associate and I tried the small panatelas which were aged 10 years. These are among the cheapest cigars produced by Rocky Patel, but we were very impressed. They are made of Nicaraguan long filler in a dark Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. Typical of a dark maduro cigar, the panatelas had a very strong and spicy but well-balanced flavour that was quite enjoyable. For the first few minutes of the smoke, the cigar was a little too hot for my taste, but as soon as the tar built up slightly, they were considerably nicer, and thankfully the tar did not build-up to excessive levels towards the end.

A tin of five of these small panatelas will cost around £25, so about a fiver each. For their size, this might seem a bit expensive, but they have as much flavour in them as a churchill would at three-times the price. We definitely recommend the Rocky Patels for any special occasion or times in which you just want a great smoke.

Smoking time: 20-25 minutes

Flavour: 9/10

Smoke Sweetness: 4/10

Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 5/10

Value for Money: 5/10

Indulgence Factor: 8/10

Overall Rating: 8/10

Cigar: Jacob van Meer Corona (4/10)

Jacob van Meer is another Dutch cigar manufacturer, and I have found it very difficult to find them for sale in the UK via the internet. Nevertheless, they are readily available in the EU. Their coronas are made of Belgian short filler (stems and bits) in an Indonesian tobacco wrapper.

We thought these cigars were alright, certainly nothing special, and I have very little to comment on. Moderate tar, neither a dry nor sweet smoke, they were simply a fairly average cigar. I have little complaint, except that they were loosely packed which made them smoke a bit hotter than would be desirable.

In the Netherlands a box of ten of the Jacob van Meer Coronas will cost around €13. In the UK, if you can find them, I would expect the price to be at least £17 for ten, due to the extra tax.

Smoking time: 20-30 minutes

Flavour: 5/10

Smoke Sweetness: 5/10

Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 5/10

Value for Money: 5/10

Indulgence Factor: 3/10

Overall Rating: 4/10