Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Top Black Cherry

Top Black Cherry is Gawith, Hoggarth & Co.'s black-cherry-based aromatic. According to the maker's description, the blend's foundation is sweet black Cavendish put through a special double-fermentation process, joined by a ripe black-cherry flavoring. The leaf in the tin is nearly all jet black, with the rest a very dark brown; it's a medium-thick ribbon cut, and since moisture is high it arrives clumped, requiring airing before smoking. Unlike many cherry tobaccos, the aroma evokes not candy but a more bitter, dark cherry liqueur, and it becomes more pronounced on the smoke as the bowl progresses. Among the Kendal house's aromatics, it's not an example that's light on nicotine. Records indicate the same blend has been distributed as Exclusiv Black Cherry in the United Kingdom and as Top Black Cherry in North America.