Cigar: Don Julian No. 1 (6/10)

Don Julian is a cigar manufacturer operating in Spain and Portugal, and their cigars can be found in most tobacconists on the Iberian peninsula, and quite possibly in some UK ones as well. The No. 1 coronas we tried (pre-cut and machine-rolled, but well-sealed) were made of Sumatran tobacco, and were ridiculously light in flavour; a very 'blond' smoke. Though I generally like my cigars to be pungent, thick and flavoursome, these were not bad- certainly there were no negative flavours at all.

My colleague (who tried more of these than I did) told me that he had a couple good ones, but a couple bad ones as well, so unfortunately we are left with another one of those inconsistent manufacturers. Give them a try if you like, especially if you prefer a very light smoke. A pack of five will cost around 10 euros, and a bit more in the UK.

• Smoking time: 10-15 minutes
• Flavour: 3/10
• Smoke Sweetness: 5/10
• Tar (1=very wet, 10=very dry): 5/10
• Value for Money: 6/10
• Indulgence Factor: 6/10
• Overall Rating: 6/10

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

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