Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Brown Twist Sweet Maple

The strong, earthy Virginias have a bit of dark fruit, a light citrus and vegetative, floral grass, some wood, and spice along with a few cigar notes. The sweet maple topping and sugars tone down the tobaccos to a small extent, and hold on to the finish, though the maple aspect isn’t quite as rich as expected, perhaps because the sugars sublimate that particular characteristic. The strength and taste levels barely touch the full level. The nic-hit is a step past medium. Won’t bite or get harsh, but has a minor rough edge at times. No matter how you prepare it, it will burn slow, cool, and clean with a very consistent, mildly sweet and earthy flavor. Leaves a little moisture in the bowl. Requires a fair number of relights. Has a pleasantly lingering after taste and room note. Not an all day smoke, and I recommend using a small bowl.

-JimInks

Gawith Hoggarth - Brown Twist Sweet Maple.

Although this is called Sweet Maple the aroma from the twist doesn't really suggest maple as such. There is a very faint maple quality but there is also a sort of smokiness to it as well. The twist is rather chunky and sadly too moist so once I have sliced my coins I leave them to sit and decrease in hydration.

The flavour of the smoke is far more maple like than the aroma lead me to anticipate. It doesn't have that sticky/gloopy quality that sweet aro's often have but although the flavouring is quite mild it can still be identified as being maple. The nicotine I don't find to be over the top. It is fairly strong but not so much that you have to psych yourself up for it! At first the maple taste is quite mild but after the first ten minutes it becomes more dominant in the flavour reaching a medium amount. It burns well all along, seldom needing a re-light as just tamping seems to keep it in order but be warned, it does burn a little hot so go easy with it!

This is a flavoursome smoke that's definitely worth a try.

Four stars.

There are some days I like the quasi-brutal dark fired nature of Dark Flake and it's various subsets like Scented and/or Liquorice (a newly discovered vice). Other days I prefer the Brown Twists...usually the sweet scented varieties like Rum, Whiskey, etc. Today I'm watching Wimbledon and puffing on a tallish narrow bowl of Sweet Maple Twist. Really, really excellent. Sliced, as usual for me, into thin coins which fluff nicely and pack in easily. Today I gave the very fresh twist no drying time and it is still lit and now burns very well...sipping slowly...with care (as the twists are strong indeed).

So how sweet/mapley is it? It's not really very sweet at all and only very slightly maple in flavor. The essence just takes the harsh edge off the Brown Twist and adds a little sumthin sumthin. Deftly done. Just right. I keep it at a slow sip. Sidestreaming is elegant. Rich brown flavors pronounced with that hint of sweetness. Very cool. No gurgle. About perfect. Tamp it very lightly. Glass of cold water as a mouth rinse. Pipe bliss boyos!

A great twist which has a subdued sweetness and hint of topping. If you ever tried demerara flake then this has the same sweet trait but not so pronounced. The maple was instantly identifiable in the pouch and was a rich warm maple rather than sugar sweet maple.

I sliced the rope as thin as I easily could but it still gave a shaggy cut when rubbed out. I smoked this rather wet and It was fine and burned well. The nic hit is not mild more instantly satisfying. Taste and mouthfeel are both full also. Not a tobacco for the mild smokers or beginners.

first off do not take a big pipe and load it to the brim, a smaller pipe will be all you need. This is one of the stronger tobacco types for the pipe smoker so take it easy. By mid burn you will have a strong but smooth tobacco with a fairly sweet taste and some maple hints popping in and out. If you have not lined you gut then you will also be finding a hollow feeling growing and this is best avoided. A spicy pokey smoke enjoy.

A nice tobacco, a lot of flavour and full flavours. You get apricot, raisins, earthy wood coming through the most. Followed by a sweet after taste, the maple and a very delicate one which compliments everything very well. I would happily smoke this for the day but a small to medium bowl as it would render you useless in a nicotine spin. Very pleased.

If I had to do my own version of Tom Hanks in "Castaway, " this might well be my deserted island blend (or its cousin, Sweet Rum Twist.) Both are sometimes ribbed by fellow reviewers on the sweetness factor, but if you've ever chewed a plug of this stuff, you know that it is indeed sweet, and when smoked, the added flavoring smooths out the tobacco and tames the nic hit a bit, compared to straight Brown Twist. Why my island blend you ask? It is aesthetically pleasing, can be smoked or chewed (in case you can't get that fire going), strong enough in the nic department to last four long years until a boat arrives, might serve as rope to tie the raft together, and would hang well from a coconut tree! WILSON!!!