Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Bogie Unscented

The first thing that needs to be said about these sorts of ropes is that they are multi use and come with a moisture level appropriate for it to be chewed. It can even be ground up and used as snuff, but that's another story.

Purists will say that one should smoke this as it comes and not attempt to dry it, otherwise it will burn fast and you will lose nuance and flavour. (There is no nuance however this tobacco is smoked.) This overlooks that historically, users of this tobacco would not have been jarring it up in airtight containers. It would likely have been wrapped in a cloth or carried around in a simple pouch. It would have dried as a matter of course over the week or so since you bought it. Giving this some air time, unless you do something extreme, is decidedly unlikely to produce a smoke that burns too fast. I would suggest that smoking it 'as is', with constant relights, is more likely to adversely affect the flavour of the tobacco, not to mention the practical ease and comfort of the smoke, than any resonable attempt to allow the tobacco some air time.

Short version: Pipe smoking is not an exercise in ideological purity. It is, ideally, a relaxing hobby. Do yourself a favour and smoke this after some air time.

As to the smoke itself, altho these black ropes are described as 'stoved' Virginias, any resemblance to the stoved Virginias of say Rattrays or McClellands, or even Lanes, should be entirely dismissed. Firstly, it is not a 'straight Va' to begin with. The source leaf is a fired Va, and of a potency more normally found in Burleys. There are no citrus and dried fruit aromas or flavours to be found here. There is some sweetness, but the overall impression is dark, tarry and smoky. If you're the sort of person who likes Lapsang Souchong tea this could well ring your bell.

On an entirely speculative note I have long wondered about the chemical note in GH black ropes and twists. It is not found, at least to my nose, in the brown versions. Altho I can scarcely accept the notion, and a part of me wants to dismiss it as fantastical, I can't get out of my head the suspicion that GH actually use coal to cook these black tobaccos. If someone has a fact based explanation for these odd flavours and aromas I'd love to hear it. But it must be said, there is a coal like aroma to all of the black ropes and twists from GH that I have smoked.

Supposedly less strong than the Brown Bogie, be under no illusion: this is on the heavy side of nicotine.

In conclusion, this is a decent smoke and with the proper preparation is reasonably manageable in the bowl. It's bold without being complex. Not in the slightest bit nuanced or subtle. It would be a rare pipester for whom this would be an everyday tobacco, but works as an occasional change of pace, perhaps when one needed a nicotine jolt or some kind of reset in your tobacco journey.

I am sure I had reviewed this before but seems to have disappeared into the ether. Oh well, time to review it again.

I purchased this a few years ago not long after I took up the vows of the Brotherhood of Briar, only to throw it out after a few smokes. It tasted of badly cooked steak and I almost could not help retching. However, after recently getting into ropes in a big way, I decided to try another 25g pouch of this, just to see if I could get accustomed to it.

The rope itself, a peculiar black colour, slices quite easily and packs relatively well. It is a little damp so some drying is in order, but not a great deal. The taste has rolled back from its previous greasy spoon steak to something a little mellower, it's still got something meaty to it, some may call it umami, but its quite enjoyable. It also begins to vary and take its foot off the pedal by occasionally developing something else that I can't put my finger on, it might be something hay like or grassy, and I hesitate to say sweet but there might be little tinges of it. Very pleasant. Strength is a factor, I find it strong even though I have got used to Grandfather N after a string of plugs and ropes so be careful with this.

In summary, it's a very good little tobacco, if not for the fainted hearted. It is certainly not one to be smoked all the time, not yet for me anyway, but I am working on it. My advice to anyone wanting to try this one, though, is to give it a few years, and spend the time getting into some of the stronger flakes (Irish Flake or Filmore) before moving onto plugs (such as 3Ps, JackKnife Plug and Dark Plug) and then the brown ropes (Brown/Happy Bogie and Curly Cut Deluxe). Then, and only then, are you likely to be in anyway ready to smoke this stuff, even then I would suggest a sample or, at most, 25g. As things stand, this is something I am happy to keep in stock and smoke a few times a week, dipping into it as and when I please. Part of me does wonder if they should have called this stuff the 'Key to Ascension', because I wonder if, when you can finally smoke this stuff day in day out, you will have arrived as a pipe smoker and will have the keys to ascend to heaven.

Gawith Hoggarth - Black Bogie (unscented).

It's quite an attractive looking rope, I think: slightly squared (like a box-pressed cigar), jet black and shiny. Due to the shine I was ready for sopping wet coins once sliced, yet they manage to smoke without lots of drying time being a requisite.

The current description of 'a true, old fashioned, stout smoke' couldn't be any more correct! I quite like it, but I can see how many folks could find it too much: it becomes a bit acrid if it's not puffed with patience, which may turn a lot of people off. Providing a gentle technique is used though, I get a pleasant enough fire-cured, smokiness from it, with a slight liquorice flavour. It burns good, and that doesn't necessitate that the rope be sliced and fully rubbed out; slice coins and give them just a gentle ruffle. Something that I'm not impressed by is the aftertaste: it tends to linger for a long time.

For nicotine, the one term that sits well is 'heavy-weight', boy, oh boy, it's strong! The room-note's not a high point: tolerable.

Objectively speaking this scores full marks, but subjectively it's too much for me. With that in mind, I think three is a fair result.

Recommended.