Manufacturer Description:
This Limited Edition is made up of different Virginia varieties, combined with a touch of spicy Louisiana Perique. The Perique, matured in sherry barrels, gives this tobacco its characteristic flavor: natural and spicy.
Characterisation:
The Spring Time is a light to medium brown Flake with darker veins and evenly distributed golden speckles. As usual for the Flakes from Samuel Gawith, the slices are of a rustic appearance, they have an irregular shape and are, despite the good moisture, so brittle that the slices can hardly be removed individually from the tin. The scent, which rises from the tin is appetizing, slightly sweet and reminds of dry figs, as is typical for Virgina-Perique mixtures.
Plugging:
Since the Spring Time is very brittle, one can hardly remove the Flakes as one piece and bring it bend and folded into the pipe. If one tries to do so, one will achieve more or less good results. Alternatively, it is possible to mold the tobacco into loose balls or to make its own Ready Rubbed by crushing it. For all types of preparation you should take care not to fill the Spring Time too tightly or too high into the pipe, as the pressed tobacco rises strongly under the heat.
Light up:
Like many Flakes, the Spring Time rises under the flame, so you have to use the tamper several times to smooth the surface. After a few flames, however, the tobacco burns very constantly.
Smoking properties:
The Spring Time fills the mouth with lush smoke and it immediately becomes clear that this Flake is a vigorous and strong tobacco. The predominant aromas are smoky and full of tobacco-spice. However, a delicate sweetness overcomes the taste buds in an interesting way and if you are very careful, you can also taste finer aromas of roasted bread, a sourish note reminiscent of leather and woody flavors. The burning is indeed very stable, but the tobacco should be pressed gently to bring the embers closer to the tobacco. Very pleasant is, that the usual companionship of Virginia-tobaccos such as tongue-bite and gargling does not occur - on the contrary: in the end, only very fine, light ash and practically no condensation in the pipe remains.
Redolency:
The aromas in the room, while smoking the Spring Time is quite sweet, but nevertheless tobacco, so the society of non-smokers should not necessarily be looked for. For a spring walk this powerful tobacco is all the better.
Conclusion:
As usual for Samuel Gawith, the Spring Time presents itself as a rustic but beautifully brown-marbled and appetizingly fragrant Flake. Its consistency and the resulting somewhat more elaborate preparations make it as well as its not to be underestimated strength rather suitable for experienced smokers. These will find in the Spring Time strong-spicy aromas, accompanied by a tender sweetness, which spreads pleasantly in the mouth. In the case of deliberate smoking, not only roasted aromas, but also more unusual flavors of wood and leather appear, which probably originate in the exclusive Perique used. If you are looking for a strong tobacco for spring walks, the completion of a rich meal or late cozy hours, you should stuff your pipe with the Spring Time.
Copyright © 2016 by TECON GmbH
with friendly support of Dennis Hübel
