Jim's Sam Gawith Cabbie's Mixture Review.

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JimInks

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Some liken this to the old VaPer Three Nuns, but there are many differences, so I’ll review this for its own merits, and forgo the comparison. The Virginias are bright, red and perhaps a smidgeon of black stoved, which would account for a minor stewed fruit taste. The others provide citrus, a very mild grassiness, sweet dark fruit with a touch of tanginess, and hint of spice. Some of those characteristics, like the grass and citrus, are subdued by the deep sweetness of the Virginias. The perique essentially underscores the Virginias throughout the smoke in a supporting role with a few raisin and date notes along with a mild spiciness. The strength is medium while the taste is just past that. The nic-hit is not far from medium. The coins are rough cut, and there some loose ribbon present as well. It’s moist out of the tin, and depending upon your preference, you may consider a slight dry time. I did not do that as I prefer some moisture in my tobacco. Burns a little slow if not dried, requiring some relights, but it doesn’t leave much dampness in the bowl, so it can be burned to ash. The flavors remain consistent from start to finish with no bite. The after taste lingers just a bit. Has a pleasant room note. Can easily be an all day smoke. Three and a half stars out of four only because there are VaPers with more complexity, and this lacks just a little of the depth that several four star VaPers have. For those who want only a mild to moderate dose of perique, it’s an easy four star blend.
 
Another fine review - thanks.
Will Samuel Gawith's Cabbie's Mixture be sold in the US & if so, when?
 
Big G":hbzt9hok said:
Another fine review - thanks.
Will Samuel Gawith's Cabbie's Mixture be sold in the US & if so, when?
I hope so, but I really have no idea.
 
Thanks for another great review Jim. Cabbies wasn't even on my radar until now.

Jim, if you had to make a choice between this blend and SJF, which would you go for and why?
 
Stick":aabgz4kp said:
Thanks for another great review Jim. Cabbies wasn't even on my radar until now.

Jim, if you had to make a choice between this blend and SJF, which would you go for and why?
SJF hands down. It's one of my favorite tobaccos and I could smoke it all day if I was the type to smoke one blend all day. There are a few other tobaccos in that category, too. SJF is not a complex blend (neither is Cabbie's), but it has a richness of flavor that hits the right notes for my personal taste, more than Cabbie's does. It has a little more depth and more earth notes, which I really like. I prefer earthy Virginias to grassy ones, and Cabbie's has little grassiness, but it doesn't quite have the fullness of SJF. SJF also has just a little more perique, too.

Having said that, Cabbie's is worth buying and smoking all day. I like it. It just wouldn't make my top five VaPer list, which is currently SJF, Louisiana Red, Heinrich's Curly Block, Solani 633, and probably Askwith Kake and Navy Rolls (I know that's 6). Strang, Viprati, and Director's Cut are VaBurPers, so they are in another genre. I could add more to each list.
 
Thanks Jim, good to know. As a SJF fan it was interesting to hear your take.

I've made a list of your top 5 too... :D
 
Thanks for the review Jim, it was very helpful. I picked up some Cabbies Blend and some SJF, as I've not tried either before. So I'll see which suits me best. :)
 
Good to know that the Cabbie's made it state-side. I'll probably pick up a tin to try in the future.

However, I don't see it besting their Saint James Flake for a spot in my Vaper rotation. I do enjoy coin cut blends though.
 
I've been wondering about that one. Your reviews are always a pleasure to read!
 
I got my tin of Cabbie's Mixture in yesterday afternoon and I excitedly tried out a bowl. My mistake was drying it out a bit too much, perhaps, but I was sorely disappointed. I very much like St James Flake, smoke at least 4 - 5 bowls a week (I smoke a LOT of different blends) and was really looking forward to Cabbie's.

The weirdest thing was I felt a little woozy from the Cabbie's. Couldn't figure out where THAT was coming from. Anyway, I vowed to just put it aside and try it again in a more moist state.

I should mention that I smoked it in a brand new David Iafisco pipe, as another reviewer suggested Cabbie's should be smoked either in a Meerschaum or a new, unsmoked pipe. I don't know how detrimental this ultimately is. At any rate, the Iafisco pipe is exorcising the Cabbie's with Blakeney's Best Bayou Flake.

I truly hope I can salvage this Cabbie's. I'm a Samuel Gawaith fan and as intimated, I love St James Flake.
 
I love Cabbies it's very different than St James though. It's dry and Peppery. If you like St J and haven't tried Sam's Flake you might like that, I know it doesn't have Perique but it has similar flavor to St James to me.
 
Thanks for the review, Jim. I just saw this and many other new blends I've never heard about, such as Lakeland Dark, Black Forest, Roper's Roundels and Salty Dogs. I also saw that Gold Block is back. Not that it is a great blend, but I used to buy tons of this in duty-free shops in the 90s. But it was the flake version in the rectangular tins. We'll see...
 
Well, that nice looking tin stared me down long enough until I broke and finally cracked it open and tried it again. Well, without wasting words, I've grown to love it, it's been a frequent after breakfast morning smoke with a large mug of coffee.

I can't say it's better than Saint James Flake - in fact it seems different enough to not even warrant acomparison, so I won't bother. Suffice to say that I'm very pleased to have found another VaPer Flake to enjoy, and that's good enough for me.
 
Going through a tin at the moment. It's a good blend, but it lacks the sweetness that I seek in blends of this nature. Will enjoy the tin, but it's not a keeper for me.
 
I tried a tin of this recently, and found it pretty "meh". Not exactly unpleasant and it burned real good right out of the tin (a new one on me for Sammy G). Yet I found the flavor altogether a bit boring and one dimensional.

After about half the tin, I even put it away for a month or so with the hope that after jarring and exposure to the O2 might bring it around. It didn't, but I decided to keep at it in the hopes I'd develop a taste for this. That didn't happen.

Perhaps this is one that needs a few years of down time to blossom, as all of the other SG blends seem to require. Yet I was encouraged by some of the reviews right out of the gate. Gotta say this doesn't do it for me right now. <shrug>



Cheers,

RR
 
Springtime flake is pretty good, it surprised me it has way less perique but it has a sweetness too it from the "perique aged in sherry barrels" more likely a sherry topping i;m really this blend but it's not as great as Cabbie's imo
 
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