Pipe Tobacco: Coffee and Caramel (6/10)

According to our tobacconist, the Coffee and Caramel by Gawith and Haggarth is one of their best-selling, even approaching the popularity of their Cherry and Vanilla. If you recall, the cherry and vanilla was a light smoke, slightly sweet and we said would make for an excellent beginners tobacco. The Coffee & Caramel also makes for a good beginners smoke. It is slightly sweet, but certainly heavier in flavour.

The Coffee & Caramel is made of rich black cavendish tobacco and has an incredibly dark, weighty and even syrupy appearance. Unsmoked the aroma is almost sickeningly sweet, and one can definitely smell the coffee, but the smoke is neither overtly sweet nor terribly strong. Unfortunately it is hard to keep lit (my mate used up about 20 matches), and the tar does build up on this one- so pipe cleaners and a pipe-knife are a must! You may even wish to try using a filter if your pipe has a space for one.

• Flavour: 6/10
• Sweetness: 6/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 3/10
• Value for Money: 4/10
• Indulgence Factor: 5/10
• Overall Rating: 6/10

Rollie Tobacco: Brandy (5/10)

There is very little positive or negative to say about the 'brandy' handrolling tobacco by Gawith and Hoggarth. I smoked it and generally thought; 'eh... not bad.'

There really are no defining characteristics of the Brandy. It is moderately tarry, has a moderate barely-sweet flavour, neither boring nor exiting... you get the picture. Anyways, you'll take it as no surprise I rate it a 5.

• Flavour: 6/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 4/10
• Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 6/10
• Value for Money: 5/10
• Indulgence Factor: 4/10
• Overall Rating: 5/10

Pipe Tobacco: Three Nuns (4/10)

Nearly all of our reviews of loose tobaccos have thus far concerned Gawith and Hoggarth brands and there is good reason for this- they tend to be quite good (with a few notable exceptions), and are available from our tobacconist in bulk.

However, we are aware that many people do not have access to these tobaccos, so we have reviewed a pipe tobacco that is very common; 'Three Nuns.' Their motto is 'none nicer'... well, I have tried much nicer, but to be fair, this was not an unenjoyable tobacco, but neither was it a particularly enjoyable tobacco. We mutually decided that it was like the 'Drowning Mona' of pipe tobaccos... in that, like the film 'Drowning Mona' there is nothing wrong with it, and at the end, you feel moderate apathy; 'well, that's two hours of my life gone... but not that there is a desire to have those two hours back, just... eh.'

Flavours... yeah... well, it's not too dry, not too sweet, slightly spicy (from the perique tobacco in the blend). The only real downside is that it gets quite hot, which is certainly due to the fine cut of the shag. Give it a try, or not... I don't really mind... But it'll cost you about £4.50 for 25 grams, slightly more than the price at which we get our G&H bulks.

• Flavour: 3/10
• Sweetness: 4/10
• Tar (1=wet, 10=dry): 5/10
• Value for Money: 4/10
• Indulgence Factor: 3/10
• Overall Rating: 4/10