REVIEW | Samuel Gawith Squadron Leader Pipe Tobacco - Is It Worth the Hype?

Always love each video you make. I am still a new pipe smoker. I have a Peterson Lestrade P-lip pipe for now. Will definitely be adding some new pipes going forward. Thank you for the effort you put into these videos. As you always encourage, I do enjoy good tobacco, good food and good drink.

Good to see a new review from you, Kevin. Thanks for reviewing Squadron Leader. Bsck in thebday pilots' helmets were also leather,😊

Squadron Leader for me is such a well balanced blend.None of the constituent tobaccos dominate but they all work together creating just a great English style blend.I would only put Presbyterian Mixture above it

I always look forward to your postings.........so calming and enjoyable.

Hey man, I live in Central AR and travel through the river valley often. If you’d like to sync up for a pipe sometime please shoot me a message.

I have heard many negative comments about "Lakeland" blends. Is SG Squadron Leader in that category ? If not which blends are ?

Always a good time and a lot of good info on the blend. It is hot out in CO too, but minus the humidity. ;)

I just bought a new headset and I could very faintly hear young kids chatting, I thought it was my oldest. Turns out its your kids chatting through the video and my new headphones are just awesome haha.

Awesome to hear your take on Squadron Leader! I love this blend. I smoked mine tins immediately, so fresh vs. aged probably has some nuances, but on the tin note I caught scents of culinary herbs, like sage,thyme,white pepper. I also felt some of those scents were in the smoking flavors as well. So reminiscent of those incense qualities Latakia lends, but once again, more on that roasting culinary herb side. I think referring to those nuances being similar to potpourri is spot on!

Cheers and may many more wonderful bowls of Squadron Leader be in your present and future!!

Butt sweat on the saddle seat. Not smart enough to enjoy it. Cheers from the Soggy South Carolina Lowcountry.great video.

So keeping tobacco in a tin is just as good, if not better than removing it from the tin and storing it in a jar?

I've smoked this blend twice and have had excessive re-lights. On both occasions I had the tobacco air out for about 30 minutes, but have had no luck. It's to the point where I do not enjoy this blend and it tastes like an ashtray. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong as it only happens with this blend. 🤷🏾‍♂️

Among these three awesome blends, I haven’t tried Squadron leader yet. Also Old dublin is another english blend that I really like.

I love Squadron Leader, I have plenty in my cellar😊 One of the first englishes I tried, like it more than EMP and others

I have to ask even though you probably get it a lot...did you print those labels for your jars or take them off the tin? They look printed because when I took the labels off my tins they were too large for the cap so I put them on the side of the mason jar EDIT: I see there is a video on this! will be watching

Another great video. I had a tin of this about 7 or 8 years ago. It’s been too long! I need to revisit for sure. BTW, I’m sure you’re on it, but friendly reminder that the new Sun Bear comes out on Tuesday. You were kind enough to let me know last year, so I figured I’d return the favor.

Hi Kevin! You should also try Squadron Leader's sister blend 'Skiff Mixture'. A fine blend worthy a review.

Where do you buy online? I usually just type in the tobacco I want and a random website comes up. Any staple websites you can give?

Squadron Leader is one of my favorites. I have stocked up several tins of this and Presbyterian Mixture. Glad you enjoy it as well. Thanks for another great video!

Great review, cheers!

Its just " Ok," and sadly nothing compares to McClelland.

It makes me laugh - being an Englishman and seeing how the UK government are keen to ban tobacco completely - in a few years to come we won’t be able to buy an English blend in England 😢 building a cellar of pipe tobacco and cigars is so key for us

Hello my friend...hey, I recognize that Peterson B42...great pipe. Great review and explanation on Squadron Leader ...think I'll have a bowl of that today. Thanks again for your take on this great blend.

I just ordered a few tins of this today! Looking forward to it, it has been quite illusive until now.

I enjoy all of your reviews. A couple of years ago I wanted to try an English blend. Many recommended Squadron Leader. I enjoyed the tin note, but the flavor was too pungent for my taste. It almost ruined me on English blends lol. Then I tried Hearth and Home’s BlackHouse. The sweetness of the orientals balanced out the pungent qualities of the Latakia. BlackHouse has become my English blend. Great review, as always. Maybe I should revisit Squadron Leader since I am now acclimated to Latakia

The Squadron Leader of Samuel Gawith is one my all favourite English blends, though I would say that I prefer the Commonwealth of SG, because it's still smokier than the Squadron Leader..
But the pipe tobaccos of Samuel Gawith are generally my favourite ones on the market !

Really good review of the blend. A personal favourite sat by a roaring fire in Autumn after a blustery walk. Nice video.

is that the Ring of Barahir

Wonderful video!

Stellar review on a historic tobacco. I agree with English is great for fall winter and early spring. Love my more traditional old codger non aromatic blends in hot weather and in my cob. Happy piping

Have you ever tried Esoterica's Margate? If so, does Squadrone Leader compare? I'm looking for an alternative when I run out Margate. So hard to find!

My son went to Scotland recently and stayed in Edinburgh for a few days. He dropped by a pipe shop while touring the city and picked me up a few ounces of their Gawith & Hoggarth house blend. I'm fairly new to pipe smoking, but I'm certain it includes latakia. It was packaged in a rolled up plastic bag with no description. Just the name, Gawith & Hoggarth in small letters. Most of the bag was plastered with ridiculous government warnings and a picture of diseased lungs. I moved the tasty tobacco to a proper container to keep it from drying out. It's also very comparable to Peterson's Nightcap.

Hey Kevin have you ever watched the Sherlock Holmes movies. The Basil Rathbone ones as i think he was the definitive Holmes. Keep your videos coming. 👍

Been my daily go-to for many years. Dont know why but 2 years ago I started hating Latakia. So now it is mainly Virginias and Burley

Just ordered a tin of this legend. I hadn’t seen it in stock anywhere for no less than five years. Love the patient package opening. Can’t wait to take on the aroma first hand. 🎉

Love your channel, keep up the good work. I think we should make you an honorary Englishman with your style, caps and love of an English blend 😂 Have you tried Samuel Gawith Skiff Mixture? Similar but even better in my opinion with a bit more orientals making it one of the best English/Balkan blends. Recommended.

I very much enjoy your reviews and pipe journalism.
Just for the record, only the Italians used biplanes in WW2, and then only in the very beginning. Biplanes were used extensively during WW1 except for the Germans who slipped in a triplane or two.
Happy piping.

Your videos are really relaxing, enough to enjoy a pipe during - and I know, that's the point. I will however say that I am having issues trying to enjoy the tobacco and not taste the bitterness or "smoke" flavor of it. I would certainly like to taste the sweetness and fruit flavors and such associated with it, and its scented of it, rather than tasteful of it to me. I go slowly, tamp and relight as necessary, and just can't get the sweet, fruit, or other "flavor" it is labelled as. The PS 24 Nougat for example - it smells like the 3 Musketeers bar you described - but during the smoke, I couldn't taste that flavor or sweetness. I might be having issues because I used to smoke hookah and I'm comparing it to that. Any insight is useful, thank you kindly.

It's cold and has been pouring rain all day. I'm on my balcony enjoying a bowl of Squadron Leader and watching your review. Sometimes life is really nice!

Thanks!

Good review. Squadron Leader is an excellent English tobacco. I tend to favor GL Pease's Westminster and Quiet Night for evening English smoking. Chelsea Morning or Petersons Early Morning are certainly worthy of the "first bowl of the day with coffee spot!

Hi Kevin, I've recently watched a few of your videos and enjoyed them. I have therefore subscribed.
Geoffrey. UK.

I've got a question about tobacco reviews in general. Since I prefer to store my tobacco in jars, I've always been curious about how you reviewers get the tin labels transferred onto the jar lids, such as with Early Morning Pipe, in this video. I would like to do this, rather than writing on the jar lids what the contents are. Thanks.

Me again, again 😂 it's funny how my taste has changed in such a short time. I have tried many of the blends you have including ogs which i really like and a few other Vaper's which i enjoy, but find myself enjoying the English blend the most including emp and nightcap. Maybe it's coz I'm English 😂 i trust your judgment so have ordered 5 tins. Thanks for the content Kev. Enjoy the autumn 😊

A good English always takes me back to hanging out with my grandfather & great uncle as a kid. So they've always smelled good to me

SG’s Squadron Leader and Commonwealth Mixture are the most popular tobaccos currently being purchased in Cambridge England.

Excellent review. Spot on with the flavor profile of this blend, especially over the last few years. I remember it having more depth several decades back. We need to get hold of some of the green tins with perique.