When I opened the pouch and whiffed the contents I admit that taking a pass on smoking it was considered. The Coconut/Almonds smell was off putting. I switched to a pipe reserved for true aromatics and loaded up the first bowl. The first few drags did produce a heavy Coconut taste but the presentation switched quickly into a pleasant and familiar G&H Lakeland style smoke. The added flavoring (natural, I might add), stuck with me throughout the bowl but added rather than detracted from the overall presentation. Not something I personally would appreciate very often, but a unique and fun natural aromatic smoke for sure.

I would suggest taking your smallest pipe, slicing up the rope into thin disks, rub the disks out gently, let dry for 20 minutes or so to the desired dryness and pack your pipe lightly. This seems to work quite well and avoids a nicotine overdose that would push you over the edge from comfortable to sea sick. It certainly does have a fair amount of nicotine but I think this blend is still approachable as long as you take some caution and respect the potency of the rope. I might suggest that new pipe smokers get a little experience under their belt before chasing after this one.

On light up there is a nice blast of sweetness with only the faintest breath of something resembling coconut. The rope smells only slightly of coconut and I think it would be folly to think of this as an aromatic. Scented would be the right phrase. I detected no bite as I slowly puffed along and encountered a nice full bodied smoke that was sweet, dark, African Virginias along with a tiny bit of bitterness that can be likened to my previous hops/malt analogy. It's a bit monochromatic throughout the bowl but it never becomes tiring.

If you're in the mood for a strong smoke that's a cut above the rest then I would most heartily suggest this one.

Upon sitting back to enjoy a nice long slow smoke of this, I was very surprised that the coconut flavor did not really come through into the smoke. It really tasted much like a nice cigar with a rich, creamy, flavorful smoke, with a sweet overtone. Did not taste like an aromatic but more like a sweet VA but very rich and full. It is amedium to strong smoke but does not bite at all and there is none of the motor oil taste of other rope. A beginner could smoke this with no problems. I must state that if you accidently enhale some of the smoke, it is very strong and harsh. This one needs to be savored nice and slow. It has a great room note due to the coconut additive and it does leave a nice seet taste on the palette after finishing the bowl. It burns down to a nice dry dark gray ash leaving no gunk in the heal of the pipe at all. I have enjoyed the numerous smokes I have had of this and I higly recomment this blend. It would be a great introduction to ropes.

You have been warned!

A few months back an estate pipe arrived and after a double dose of pipe sweetening, reaming, etc., I fired up a bowl of some neutral Burley. And what did it taste like? Coconut. Being a suggestible soul, I developed an immediate craving for coconut. And after about 30 seconds of research, I ordered 8 oz of this blend. (Suggestible and impulsive and optimistic all in one, it seems). I've long been a fan of Sam Gawith's ropes and I figured that Gawith & Hoggarth must be equally adept at producing them.

And so they are.

When a twist arrives at my door, I tend to have at it with a big chef's knife. Most of it I cut it into segments about 2 inches long and stuff into jars. For immediate smoking, I just chop some roughly and toss it into a smaller jar. I rub it out further before I load and I find that drying to the crispy stage seems to work best for me.

Coconut twist is not an aromatic in the usual sense: there's nothing remotely goopy or bitey about it. It is first and foremost a powerful brown rope bursting with classic African Virginia intensity and depth. On top of that robust, cigarish tobacco flavor is a very subtle coconut quality that tends to diminish as the ash builds.

I often read how the various ropes are 'not for beginners,' but I don't think I agree. I think that anyone coming to the pipe from a different form of tobacco--cigars, cigarettes, or chew--might be best starting with these nicotine-rich, inspiring tabacs. It's true, of course, that some find these tabacs to be utterly vile, gruesomely potent, so be forewarned. But I think they're a great historical introduction to the pleasures of the pipe.

After the topping fades the unmistakable and mouthwatering brown rope flavor picks up and delivers a smooth, satisfying smoke that can burn for what seems like hours, even in a small bowl.

Like all ropes, tongue bite and harshness are nonexistent, even if you puff like a fat man running a 100 yd. dash. Ropes are generally more expensive than other GH offerings, but considering the extra labor involved in spinning them and the quality and performance of the product, I will continue to cellar them despite the extra cost.

Appearance: It?s a rope. It?s dark brown and oily, with a few blond strands in evidence.

Pouch aroma: My Good Girl sums it up best. This stuff smells just like an Almond Joy candy bar.

Preparation: I sliced off some coins of the rope with a cigar cutter. They were damp to the touch and very oily. I?m of the fold-n-stuff school where flakes are concerned, so I stuffed a few of the coins into a reliable flake pipe and left it to dry overnight.

First third: This stuff is dense, and so difficult to get going, but not anymore so than a flake. The first match brings a blast of the sweet flavor of milk chocolate and coconut, true to the pouch aroma. It?s very nice, and not at all artificial or cloying. That sweetness settles right down, though, and by the fourth of fifth puff the major player is the smooth and cool Virginia tobacco. It?s a little tingly, but this stuff burns so slowly, there?s not much of a chance of over-heating the pipe or dealing with any bite.

Second third: A re-light doesn?t give the blast of sweetness that the first light brings. What I taste here is the delicious flavor of a well-behaved air-cured Virginia. I always suspect Virginias of having a little Burley added for body, but I don?t think there?s anything here but the Virginias advertised. The sweetness, which is only that and now cannot be called coconut flavoring stays muted and very far in the background, greatly complimenting the VA flavors.

Rope tobacs have the reputation of having a high nicotine content, but in several bowls of this fine weed I haven?t seen evidence of this. Oh, the vitamin N is present, but no more so than, say, Samuel Gawith?s Full Virginia Flake.

Final third: The density of ash requires me to dump some of it for a final re-light. Virginia enthusiasts know that the last half of the bowl is the real pay-off, and this tobac is no different. This isn?t a highly-complex tobac, but it develops well, and the final third of the bowl is rich and satisfying. The tobac needs to be broken up with the pipe tool in order to smoke to the bottom. There is no dottle, only ash.

Recommendations: Highly recommended for the Virginia lover. Smokers of Full Virginia Flake, Dark Star and the like will enjoy this. Those who enjoy Samuel Gawith?s Chocolate Flake will feel right at home. Aromatic smokers will enjoy themselves and be treated to a fine Virginia tobac experience. English and Balkan smokers will find an enjoyable smoke that will bring no complaints from others in the room, and very likely compliments.