The nicotine isn't an issue either, so long as you respect it...in my case, a small bowl insures no palpitations. A 1/4 to 1/3 inch coin, rubbed out is plenty. I like mine fresh from the rope too...my one attempt at drying it out made for a barfy smoke.

This tobacco doesn't have the typical 'high notes' as you would get from a lemon VA, obviously. So don't try it with that expectation. This is subwoofer tobacco through and through.

Definitely a manly weed.

Four stars.

Black XX does require some preparation to make smokable, but no more than plug tobacco does. I cut it into coins with a sharp knife and then cut the coins before rubbing out. I still found that it smoked best outside with a mild breeze to keep the tobacco burning.

This stuff is a nicotine lovers dream. I found it a little overwhelming at first and it produced hiccups as I worked my way through the bowl. Tame puffing is required. When sipped outside, with a drink to periodically cleanse the palate, it's was great. If you're a heavy puffer, however, beware!

As mentioned, this tobacco isn't particularly deep. There is no complex transition of flavours as you make your way down the bowl. It isn't particularly sweet or refined. Just good old fashioned pure tobacco taste that can make you sweat.

Taste and aroma is primarily reminiscent of burning plastic. I've never gotten through more than about half a bowl. Ash is a dark, malevolent grey, and the room note is acrid.

I have to say the Brown Rope is far more pleasant even if it's stronger.

A wonderful dusky turd to be sliced and diced and enjoyed in a SMALL bowl...did I mention a SMALL bowl...

This is drug 'baccy, wonderful and addictive. Fantastic after a big, spicy meal...

Offers a cool and sweet smoke with a nice taste of tobacco. Yes, it is too strong, not suitable for every day smoke. I think I'll had a bowl of this on rare ocassions. Not the easiest smoke I've ever had, but it is a true pipe tobacco.

Which is counterintuitive, and hence a source of some confusion here. We think of white as pure and light, and anything labeled Black XX surely must be at the extreme opposite end of the spectrum. Except when it isn't.

Black Rope XX is milder than Brown Rope No. 4. According to SG, Black XX begins as Brown No. 4 but then "undergoes an additional cooking process which removes some of the stronger tar and nicotine elements, turning the rope black, and providing a milder smoke than Brown." It results in a denser, mustier, richer, but more accessible smoke.

I like this stuff. Neither Black nor Brown has a lot of flavor in the typical sense. What they do have is strength, which is not to be belittled. Black has less of it, but it's heaviness, or richness, compensates quite adequately.

Think of it like this: You cook (or order) a fabulous Indian curry for yourself and your wife. Her's is mild, yours is hot. Technically, they both taste the same, but yet there is a world of difference between the two. It's not the flavor, but the heat making the difference, but in the end, it's all part of the "flavor" experience.

Brown adds heat when you want it, Black not quite as much heat, but depth. I have other tobaccos that can give me what Black does, but there is nothing out there like Brown. Black is a fine tobacco if rich and hearty is your thing, and I recommended it.

But, Black is not Brown.

Brown exists in it's own galaxy.

P.S. If you become addicted to these ropes (as I have) but the novelty of all the cutting and rubbing begins to wear off, you can purchase both in a "sliced" version from Gawith Hoggarth.

I like it as a satisfying standalone and also as a mixer to boost more complex but less satisfying blends. This is a highly addictive treat that I could smoke every day. Black XX's pitbull appearance might intimidate but it's more of a kitten with claws.

I cut a few coins off with a pair of scissors, then carelessly cut the coins up before giving them a short rubbing-out. It separated nicely, and felt not so much moist as silky and smooth. I knew if I packed it too tightly it would be impossible to smoke, so I gave it just enough tamping with my finger to keep it in the bowl but still provide an easy draw. In other words, a very light two-layer pack. This may be the source of frustration for many who haven't appreciated this tobacco. It's all in the technique. I chose my bent Cristiano, which ended up a good choice for this weed.

The tobacco lit readily, and provided copious smoke. Imagine a really high-quality Virginia leaf but with the kick of three Ashton VSGs. There you have it. If you sip it, you'll get classic Virginia flavors sans a lot of the sweetness, but that's not quite enough to keep the fire alive, so my cadence turned into a heat-it-up smoke fest for a few seconds for a few mouthfuls of wonderful, rich, in-your-face strength, which admittedly heated up the briar a bit, then back to a couple minutes of delicious sipping during which the flavors were as mellow and wonderful as most high-quality leafs I've tasted.

After about a third-bowl, an occasional hint of Lakeland would show up, in a good way, but was fleeting. Not exceedingly complex, but a rich and flavorful smoke the whole way down. I virtually never feel nicotine, but tonight I did, even after a big Mexican dinner - you know, the kind where you fill up on chips and salsa before the meal even arrives, then you down the whole entree. Very glad I had a full stomach.

About two-thirds down, I very gently stirred and dumped the ash so I could keep it lit. The last ten minutes added some toastiness which was very nice. Not much dottle left, a mild but not unpleasant aftertaste, and a memory of an altogether wonderful smoke on the back porch at midnight.

I won't smoke this every day. Maybe once a week if I'm lucky, or whenever I need to be reminded of what a real smoke is like. At that rate, this little eight-incher will easily last me a couple months, but I intend to stock up on this stuff. I imagine it will become heavenly with a year or three of age. Highly recommended for those who need a reminder of what real tobacco is like.

Comparing like to like, the bulk version is only slightly, if darker than bulk Brown Bogie. The tinned is darker yet with an oily gumminess elicited from the bulk by compression. Brown Bogie doesn't have that characteristic to the same degree. Black XX is much smoother, less tangy with faint earthy barbeque smokiness, far more pronounced in the Brown Bogie.

Pardon s'il vu plait. I must resist being the troll judging detractors expecting some fairy dust blend like Penzance as incroyable pleurnicheuses efféminé-hommes mouche du coche qui savent tout. I must. Nevertheless, by now, even as a newbie, I know I have no business smoking some things. I will look for variety while reasonably adhering to my nicotinic raison d'être, the star of the Black XX show, soaring a cappella. While Brown Bogie's nicotine content is significantly higher, Black XX has a cleaner taste, is milder, smoother, and more easy-going.

I don't know what to make of this one. Clearly it's a top-quality leaf that provides a unique and fascinating smoke. There's something primeval about this one, something of the excremental -- no, sorry -- elemental terra. It's easy for me to see how one can either fall in love with it or detest it; conversely I don't see how anyone can be neutral or indifferent to it.

Make no mistake -- this is an in-your-face tobacco. It's got strength all right, as everyone here attests. And it's got flavor, that's for sure, but it's one that I can't quite put my finger on; it's a flavor that is, weirdly, simultaneously alluring and repellent, much like scotch to the unacclimated. It smokes very strong, warm, and bone-dry, with an odd smoky dark sweetness hovering in the foreground, though the smokiness is very unlike the smooth full smokiness of latakia: this smokiness is raw and rough around the edges and sulfitic, like burning flowers with a hint of coal cased licorice, or maybe it's licorice cased coal.

I do have a problem keeping this lit, even though I cut off coins with a cigar slicer and rub them out into shaggy ribbons. But when it eventually burns to the bottom it leaves a fine white ash like talcum powder.

Black XX Rope is the tobacco equivalent of the blackest porter you can imagine, or the muddy sediment of turkish coffee, or grain alcohol with a touch of ouzo in it. If you like the smell of freshly laid asphalt -- which I do -- you'll probably like this.

I expect I'll be getting to know this strange, intense tobacco more intimately since it's such an intriguing flavor, one I find difficult to resist, like a vamp I'm drawn to against my better judgment. Indeed I find myself reaching for it on an almost daily basis. I wouldn't be surprised if I increase my rating of this to four stars in the future, as this smoke just gets better and better the more I get to know it.

Recommended for those who aren't afraid to peer into the abyss.

UPDATE 10/16/10: I've been smoking this now for almost two years, and I still find it hard to keep lit. But it's worth the effort. I don't smoke it regularly, but every once in a while I just need to have it. It's flavor is like none-other. I think the most accurate description I came across recently was "burnt machine oil," which apparently is a flavor I like. (Though I still say it tastes to me like burning soapy flowers with a hint of ouzo.) It's one of those unique flavors I find to straddle the line between repellent and enticing, and it's uniquely satisfying when I crave it. It's not in my rotation, but I always keep some around when I need to satisfy some masochistic itch.

My wife marinates a thinly sliced pork meat that she threads on long, narrow gage wooden sticks. We grill it outdoors over charcoal. Black XX has a similar aroma. Grilled meat, lemon grass, garlic, soy sauce, charcoal. I am anxious to smoke this after eating that meat.

[I wonder if people who do Civil War reenactments include this for historical accuracy? I should go to one and ask. Maybe I should join in? How did it come to be, this rope form of tobacco? What was that first twister thinking? What other permutations were tried before settling on the rope? Are my teeth black now? My wife knows some old ladies that either smoke or chew tobacco until their teeth turn black. Its what they do. Would a 18th Century rope smoker think a modern filtered cigarette odd?]

By the way, this isn't something you need to tamp. You break off or chip away the top layer of the lava rock. Half way down I encounter a fleeting laundry note. Bleach? Oxydol? A long-used essence? Ah, Lakeland.

I am assigning four stars. It tastes good to this carnivore. It satisfies. An entire evening's worth of entertainment. It is fun to smoke, if somewhat funny. I haven't laughed so hard since the pigs ate my little brother.

07/27/09 UPDATE: I am revising some of my reviews. I have given out more 4 star ratings than anything else. That practice is probably not helping. So, I am reducing Black XX to 3 stars, not because I like it less than I did before, but because I am limiting 4 stars to fewer than 25% of all my reviews. One day I may use the 4 star rating to designate my top five.