Samuel Gawith: Black XX Rope 8oz Pipe Tobacco

Samuel Gawith was the son-in-law of Thomas Harrison, a snuff manufacturer who moved his trade and equipment to Kendal, Cumbria, England from Scotland in 1792. Gawith inherited this equipment from Harrison, and the company has been crafting premium tobacco since, with one of Samuel's two sons continuing the brand while the other joined with Henry Hoggarth to establish Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Though offering separate blends, both brands remain forever linked and still share the same manufacturing facility in England's Lake District, utilizing processes and techniques that date to the brands' 1792 roots. In many of their mixtures, Samuel Gawith maintains the standards enforced by the United Kingdom's strict purity laws of the 19th and 20th centuries — such laws dictating how much and what type of flavorings could be added to pipe tobacco and ensuring that sub-quality leaf wasn't hidden under the veil of exorbitant toppings.

Like Brown No. 4, Samuel Gawith's Black XX is a traditional rope-cut pipe tobacco of straight Virginias. While Brown No. 4 foregoes any heat treatment, Black XX does undergo such treatment, contributing to its extra-dark color and distinct, slightly more mellow flavor profile — though still remaining quite full-bodied compared to other blends.