Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Rum Twist

I'm a big fan of the twists and ropes put out by both of the Gawiths. Rum Twist is a favorite among a slew of favorites. It combines the robust qualities of this style of tobacco product—loads of dark flavors, abundant nicotine, cigarish overtones—with a very light rum topping. This stuff never fails to satisfy.

It's worth pointing out that if you're looking for a rum-topped aromatic, this is probably not a stellar choice. It is first and foremost a big, brawny twist and calling it “Sweet” probably amuses the heck out of the blenders at G&H. The rum is almost incidental and the flavor rarely makes it past the half-bowl point for me. I've been known to sprinkle in a little rum-flavored bulk tobacco on occasion both to lighten the twist and up the aromatic content.

The only potential negative I can think of to Rum Twist is the challenges it presents in getting it ready to smoke. A sharp knife is essential, as is ample drying time. I like to dry my twists to point of crispy because I find that if they're not sufficiently dry, they provide steamy, bitter smokes.

Yummy stuff.

The rope is moist and pliable and easily cut into coins, bits and/or shreds if you prefer. The dark fired and dark air cured tobaccos are boldly earthy, with a deep tangy dark fruitiness, wood, some tart and tangy citrus, and minor grass, spice, cigar, floral and acidic notes. The rum topping has a sweetly deep character, and though it may sublimate the power of the tobaccos a little, there's plenty of their intrinsic strength for your taste buds. Everything works well together in this product. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of medium to strong, while the taste is full. It requires a little dry time, but no matter how you prepare it (unless you dry it to a crisp, which I do not recommend), it burns slow cool and clean with a very consistent, mildly complex and sweet with a bold flavor from start to finish. No harsh or dull spots, and no bite. It leaves some moisture in the bowl, and only leaves dottle for a wet smoker. If you leave it fairly moist, you will need to stir up the tobacco a time or two. Needs some relights. The after taste pleasantly lingers a little, and the room note is potent. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Firstly, a brief disquisition on the various types of twists and ropes. I know this has been done elsewhere by others, but it probably bears repeating as guidance for those who are just discovering these tobaccos.

In the parlance of GH&Co, rope tobaccos fall into three categories. Firstly there are the Irish Twists, which are available in both black and brown, with various aromatic options. These are somewhat less than 1 inch in diameter. Next we have the Bogies. Again, these come in a range of different options but are differentiated from the Irish Twists by their diameter, which is less - maybe between one half and three quarters of an inch. Thus, although the same tobaccos are used, I find there is a subtle yet noticeable difference in flavour between, say, GH&Co Brown Irish Twist and GH&Co Brown Bogie. This is because the difference in diameter means a difference in the ratio between 'wrapper' and 'filler', just like in the cigar world. Finally, there are the pigtails. These are the thinnest of all and are primarily meant for chewing. Apparently you can smoke them too, but I've never tried.

So, that covers the GH&Co side of things. As far as SG is concerned, SG Brown Rope is the same size as GH&Co Irish Twist, and their Black XX is more akin to a GH&Co Bogie. SG also make pigtails, and again, I've never tried them. Clear? Good.

So, with all that out of the way I should point out that the Sweet Rum Twist that I have in front of me is actually a Bogie.

Have you smoked Rum Flake? Have you smoked Brown Bogie? If you answered 'yes' to both those questions then you already know exactly what this tobacco tastes like.

Personally, Brown Irish Twist is my favourite brown variety of rope, whilst Black XX is my favourite black variety. Nevertheless, I find this blend makes a nice diversion, and the flavouring works well enough.

It's not going to replace the Brown Irish as my staple rope, but it's a good blend and one I shall almost certainly buy again. I think I probably even prefer it to the plain Brown Bogie. Recommended.

I was very interested in trying this tobacco. It seemed so historic in the way it was processed, etc. Well, sometimes progress is a good thing.

Trimming the rope and rubbing-out the tobacco was easy. Packing was easy. Lighting was not bad.

The flavor, however, was too strong and one-dimensional. No spice, no VA sweetness, a hint of rum-casing. It sort of reminded me of a so-so Maduro cigar. Or for those of you who have smoked the inexpensive dry-cure cigars (Toscano, Pedroni, etc.), similar to that. It has its place, but not in my pipe.

The smell was fairly strong too. Definately more like a cigar and not like a pipe.

Really big nicotine hit. Downright unpleasant. And I'm a guy who can chew tobacco.

So while I was happy to try this, it does not work for me. You should still try it for kicks. You might like it.

The presentation: two shiny bits of rope, pliable but firm and uniform, overall fascinating to look at.

The smell: It is sweet and spicy, very spicy, spicier than any perique I've ever smelled. There's also some savoury undertone which I can't place my finger on but I know I've smelled before. Maybe similar to an Asian spice, or, and it'll sound odd, maybe a tannery? I appreciate most people won't have ever smelled that, but it's really not as bad as the internet would have you think. My wife said it smells a bit like stale Christmas pudding.

I cut a few coins as thin as I could, unraveled them and let them dry for about an hour. The smell developed into a much sweeter smell of fruits, possibly figs or raisins, altogether not exactly instantly pleasant, but somehow mouthwatering.

The smoke Caught fine, and burnt fine after the char, didn't need but a single relight towards the end, and burned all the way down to a few crispy bits. The taste is the spicy, sweet and savoury that it smells of, followed by tobacco. It doesn't taste like any other Virginia I had. In fact it's unlike anything I've ever smoked period. The taste stays consistent to the end, the first half of the bowl gives more of the spice while the second half gives a lot of tobacco. Not bitter at all, although it give a cigarish impression here and there. I know the brown ropes are supposed to be nicotine monsters but I didn't have any adverse events

This is really filling, it's now more than two hours since I smoked that bowl and the taste is still coating my mouth. It's almost as if I am still smoking it, I get whiffs of that spice and the tobacco firing some taste receptors. I want to smoke it again but I know it won't be today, or tomorrow. Maybe in a few days, but I will definitely be smoking it again.

The summary. This is a GLORIOUS tobacco. It seems like a brute in terms of strength judging by its lasting effect, but it is quite civilised to smoke. No bite, the pipe didn't get past warm either. Its taste is unique and lasting, and it makes me want to come back for more. I'll definitely be buying more of it, and will try the black rope soon.

P.S. I've never chewed tobacco, but did try snus for some time. I find the taste of tobacco in my mouth revolting, but I did try a tiny piece of this rope. My mouth was on fire pretty fast, this thing packs some nicotine.

P.S. after smoking through half of the rope I bought I can say it has been a great experience every time. Everyone should try a bit of this if possible, if only because if/when it's ever gone it's gone, I can't see anyone attempting to recreate this, or any of the black ropes.

As with the Sweet Whiskey rope smoking this in a clay gives me the hiccups. In a briar the rum flavor is a bit muted, but it gives more spice. I much prefer this in a cob where the rum flavor is nice and clear. The natural tobacco flavor is bold and for lack of a better word, generic tasting. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's just a bold, good ol' tobacco flavor. The rum does add a mild sweetness along with it's flavor. It's a stout and very satisfying smoke.

Body is medium to full. Flavoring is mild. Taste is full.

Nice tight brown "rope" with a nice subtly sweet aroma. I use an Inuit Ulu to slice coins. They rub out beautiful and are dry enough to smoke immediately. The smoke is smooth considering it is a wee bit on the bold side. Sipping and nose exhaling brings the flavors together. There is a minute Burn/tingle on the nose if exhaled nasaly. This can give niccups if smoked too aggressively.

Cutting coins from a twisted rope is yet another means of enjoying tobacco.....it's a nice change from the norm.

Worth a try.

I had long wanted to try G&H's famous ropes and was afforded a generous sample by a fellow smoker. I really enjoyed slicing coins off of the rope and rubbing out the coins completely. I attempted to smoke this without completely drying it out in the microwave without any enjoyment. When moist, it is very rough on the palate and refuses to burn. When completely dried out it is much more pleasant.

The smoke is cool and is medium bodied. The flavor alternates between that of a good cigar, spicy Virginia flavor, and the sweet rum casing. It is pleasant on the tongue and rather enjoyable with a cup of coffee. The nicotine strength doesn't bother me, but I find it to be best enjoyed in a small bowl. You will definitely get a nicotine fix from this tobacco.

The drawback to this blend is its burning qualities. The problem is that it doesn't burn at all. I can't get it to stay lit for longer than five minutes no matter what I try. As with every blend that I've had this trouble, I find it to be a great hindrance. Particularly since the flavor upon a relight is that of a cigar that has been smoked too close to its cap.

I plan on trying to use this rubbed out to add some strength to the milder VA's which I have become accustomed to. While I enjoy its flavor, I do not care to relight my pipe every five minutes. If you enjoy the stronger Gawith type blends, this is well worth a try. However, I find that this is one of those tobaccos that was fine to give a ride and see how it went, but I don't see myself purchasing in the future.

Gawith Hoggarth - Rum Twist.

Although the twist leans more toward the thinner side, I still use my coffee grinder once I've sliced it into coins, it's quite firm! Possibly because it's not too thick, it isn't full of water, so let's talk smoking:

I really enjoy it, even though I tend to steer clear of blends strong with nicotine, the flavour redeems it. There's only a slight touch of the rum, enough to liven it up, but the rest is a rich tobacco taste. It burns exceptionally well, but I guess that's got a lot to do with preparation; like I said, I use a grinder. The temperature of the smoke's cool, and I get no bite.

I quite like the room-note, although it's nothing great, and like I said: the nicotine's strong!

For stars for flavour!

Highly recommended.

It seems a shame that two guys with good reputations reviewed this 7 - 8 years ago and didn't like it...everybody else does. It's all a matter of what you like to smoke, not that this one or that one is a 'bad' smoke...it's just not what they like. Well, this is what I like. It's one of the blends that I've found that make smoking a pipe worthwhile...a grail kind of experience...a tobacco epiphany, if you will. Sure, English blends by good companies are worthwhile, Balkans can be a lovely experience, many Burley blends are close to the mark with some being dead on excellent...but these Gawith blends, the strong brown twisty ones...are to me precisely the very best stuff out there.