Samuel Gawith -- Celtic Talisman

Brand: Samuel Gawith
Blend: Celtic Talisman
Style: Aromatic
Pipe Used: Savinelli Natural
Price: $6.84/50g

Appearance: 7
Taste: 8
Room Note: 8
Value: 9
Overall: 8

Samuel Gawith's Celtic Talisman is a relatively new blend from the storied tobacco company. Billed on the tin simply as being an aromatic it is in fact a blend of Bright Virginia, Burley, and Black Cavendish topped with sweet cherry.

Upon opening the tin I was met with a firmly packed and fairly moist ribbon cut tobacco that appeared to be primarily made up of the light Virginia leaf with a bit of dark Cavendish mixed in. The aroma was very sweet and smelled of cherry and vanilla. In fact, the tobacco both looked and smelled almost identical to Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream.

Being the impetuous fool that I am I gave the moist tobacco no time to dry out and immediately loaded up my Savinelli Natural Oscar #313 and gave it a light. The tobacco lit right up and I have to say that the initial flavor was also identical to the aforementioned Mac Baren blend.

The blend was sweet but not overly so and much of that was a result of the Bright Virginia and not due to the topping. While advertised as a cherry blend I thought that the Black Cavendish carried more of a vanilla flavor although the cherry was evident in both the room note and the aftertaste.

The Celtic Talisman also delivered a surprisingly spicy kick that served to complement the sweetness of the blend. This added bite made for a most unusual and pleasant aromatic smoke.

Given my haste to fire up this tobacco I was surprised to find that it burned cool and dry and never required the use of a pipe cleaner to soak up any goop. The Celtic Talisman smoked clear down to the bottom of the bowl and needed only a few relights along the way. This was not at all what I expected and it sure came as a pleasant surprise.

The room aroma was very nice and it was here that the cherry became most evident. Once again it was very similar to the room note of Vanilla Cream.

Celtic Talisman is the first true aromatic from Samuel Gawith that I've tried and if my experiences with this blend are any indication then I need to try some of the others as well. This is a sweet tasting tobacco that burns well and leaves behind nothing but fine ash and a wonderful room aroma. And while I've been saying that it and Mac Baren's Vanilla Cream are almost identical in taste and aroma I have to give a slight edge to Celtic Talisman as the subtle spiciness brings some nice complexity to the blend.

All in all Samuel Gawith's Celtic Talisman is a wonderful, light aromatic and can be had for a song. If you like the idea of a cherry blend that avoids the artificial cough syrup taste that one often finds in heavier aromatics then this is certainly one to try.