Inside the box was 4 oz. of Gawith, Hoggarth & Co.'s Brown Irish X. There was little use to resist the tempation - I had to give this brown Irish nicotene monster a whirl. Appearance wise, this is interesting stuff. I was raised on a tobacco farm in North Carolina, and it was gratifying to see a dark, natural, beautifully prepared leaf tobacco again.

Preparation? I was standing at the kitchen counter so I grabbed a pair of poultry shears. I pulled off one loose leaf intact and cut this into manageable ribbons, about an eight inch thick. This went easily into an old vintage briar that I had just received via eBay. I filled the bowl about 3/4 full, and after a little tamping, I ended up with a good half bowl, which was my goal.

Lighting? A bear! Light. Puff. Go out. Light. Puff. Go out. More tamping. The tobacco does take a light easily, and there is copious smoke. It burns cools.

Taste? Aaargh. Very harsh to begin. Strong is an understatement. Smoke in the back of my throat almost choked me. Thank goodness for strong black coffee.

Mid bowl? Interestingly, the tobacco taste mellows out when this gets to burning well. I found a creamy, salty, slightly sweet taste emerged. A strong straight tobacco taste. Very nice.

Nicotene hit? I used to smoke VSG and Opus X cigars back in the day, so STRONG tobacco suits my taste. This tobacco didn't give my any problems. I was waiting to turn green, but it didn't happen. No stomach gurgles, or a run to the bathroom either. I smoked this on a full stomach after lunch.

Summary: I find this tobacco to be a full bodied, rich, straight up, pleasing smoke. I love the saltiness, the creamy taste, and the overall power exhibited. This started out as Mr. Hyde, and turned into Mr. Jekyll, which is a pleasant surprise.

I was more than a little apprehensive about smoking this tobacco from all the reviews that I had read, but at this point, I can see a large bulk purchase in my future - if the stuff ever gets back into stock. Recommended for experienced, hairy chested pipe smokers who like a powerful straight up enjoyable experience. This is good, high quality tobacco. Good stuff!

Recommendation: Start with half a bowl. Puff slowly. Make sure you've eaten first. Enjoy! Repeat as necessary....

BROWN IRISH TWIST REDUX, the following day:

I ate a large late breakfast, and I decided to give this another try. Mistake #1. I cut up what I thought would be half a bowl, but it ended up being more than a bowls worth. I packed it anyway, and probably too tightly, and put the remainer back into the bag. Mistake #2 & #3.

I gave the ribbons that I cut about an hour to dry, but it was still tough going getting this to burn properly. I probably overpuffed the pipe trying to get it going. Mistake #4.

Results of my stupidity? Two urgent trips to the bathroom, and a little green around the gills. I had to but the pipe down. Relights after all the above waits resulted in a harsh vile taste.

As I sit here, sipping a bowl of Frog Morton's cellar out of a newly refurbished Jobey Dansk freestyle, I have to ask myself, "what's the point of subjecting myself to a super strong tobacco that pretty much only serves as a nicotene transfer system?" The Frog Morton is so much more enjoyable, whereas the Brown Irish Twist is pretty much Russian Roulette.

Rating reduced to two stars. YMMV.

Make noi mistake about it, this is a STRONG tobacco. If you think Irish Flake and 1792 are strong....you might not be ready for this Brown Irish X!

It has a pure tobacco taste and is very similar to Sam Gawith's Brown Rope #4, except that Brown Irish X is more refined (or sophisticated); smoother and more flavorful.

As is the case with all strong yet high-quality tobaccos, this is not a kick-you-in-the-face and punch-you-in-the-stomach strong. The nic will definitely manifest itself after you've smoked a bit....but it is not at all harsh; and despite it being about the strongest tobacco I've yet to find, it does not even require an accompanying drink.

I love the high-strength and the good manners...but ultimately, I like some of the other GH&C offerings better, simply because they have more taste and even more body (such as black Irish X)

If you're looking for a very strong yet good-mannered tobacco, with an understated old-world pure tobacco taste, give this a try.

As others have mentioned, it's best smoked with something in your stomach, IF you are not used to it. Just a word of warning: If you are new to pipe smoking, this may turn you green. If you are experienced with stronger blends, you will likely enjoy it on it's own with no problems.

The raw aroma, before and after cutting is wonderfully straight strong spicy tobacco with a smokey bacon note. Quite sweet and very woody, too. Upon 2nd light the flavor begins, and I pick up cedarwood, green grapes and the back end aroma and nose of many of the black cavs that I have smoked/smoke. Very nice. The first quick note off the top of the pipe smells very nice and sweet, too. The room note is quite pleasant. On the other-hand, if you were to go town on the pipe, it may ruin the room air. I always have a flow-through in the room, so it always smells nice.

You may want to let it dry out for a little while, or it will take a month of Sundays to get it lite. Actually, I like it cut and smoked straight off the rope; put it down from time to time to rest the pipe and palate. It tastes best when doing so, and who cares how many lites you take. For me all that matters is flavor, and several lites don't bother me because I use a Zippo. To purists, this may be sacrilege. To me, wood matches are a big mess; ruin the room note, and are far too expense. But, whatever floats you down the river. Regardless, it will eventually stay lit; burn slowly and evenly, but will tar out to a harsh dottle at the bottom. I cool the pipe and pop it out at that point because the flavor is long gone.

I tend to smoke smaller amounts. The smaller the bowl, the better. Also, choose a pipe dedicated souly to this rope, because it leaves a strong ghost in the briar.

For trimming a load off the rope, do yourself a favor and buy a pair of Fiskars Micro-tip Blade pruning snips. They are super sharp; easy to wield and are good for cutting all tobaccos; not just rope or twist, and will last a long time for only 10 bucks at Home Depot gardening. Suggestion: snip off some chips and let them stand for 10 or so. Rub. 5-10 more and rub out the remainder. It should be just right for dropping in and will lite easier and will stay lit.

The nicotine is nice, so if good nic and true full flavor is a part of your smoking pleasure, then this is one you may very well enjoy. The entire ago-old experience is one of tradition: from cutting, to rubbing out, to packing and smoking. For those less patient that are looking for light sweet quick smoking blends, this is not recommended, but those that are religious about the traditional pipe, it is nothing short of exotic.

One last thing gents: this is a super top-end for creating your own fuller blends. IT IS AN EXCELLENT ENHANCER, or medium base that adds wonderful complexity. Mix a third of this with lemon or orange Virginias, and some Cyprian Latakia or oriental; the sky is the limit, really. You will be blown away at it's versatility. For a quick toned-down smoke, I cut a little off the rope and add a pinch of Eastern Carolina Ribbon. It doesn't change the good spiciness of the Irish, and is a far more mellow smoke.

I purchased 50g in a loose pouch in a recent tobacco purchase binge(first time i have purchased loose bulk rather than a tin but i now have some kilner jars for jarring and aging).

Slightly darker and shinier on the outside and dryer than SG's, but the appearance is almost identical;a @3/4" inch diameter of twisted brown rope.

The pouch scent is mild like a light cigar and slightly spicy and not as manure-esque(dungy leathery) as SG'S #4.(i do like my dungy smelly shit)

For this taste trial i used a "the smoke" graduate shape pyrolytic liner pipe(those ones from the early 70's) I cut a few discs about the thickness of a british pound coin and tore and rubbed it into a pliant bundle and filled. Like SG ropes (or perhaps just ropes in general)it takes a few matches to get going but easier to burn than the black ropes(SG or GH).

Its been a while since i have a had a brown rope and its been an itch in long need of a good scratching. For the first ignition puffs i get an archetypal brown rope taste that i am already familiar with,and no surprises here(i wasn't really expecting any and didn't want anything too different either really) Reaquainting myself with an old friend under a different brand name and packaging,i began to wonder what if any difference was there between GH's brown irish and SG's brown #4? The taste was so simular that i could almost say it tasted like SG brown #4 made on a different day(which doesn't give me any complaints), but then it started to reveal a difference which pleased me because i still wanted it to have a little difference but not too different or unbrown ropeish.

Its slightly milder on the nicotine than SG, i could feel that even before i had worked out the taste difference yet. The diffence manifests itself during the bowl progression which builds up steadily to creat the finale experience(crecendo might be the word).

Basically irish twist has a savoury spice element akin to BBQ sauce or a brown spice sauce ala "daddies" or "hp brown" hint to it which is absent in the SG brown#4.

Near the end of the bowl the spice becomes quite a prominent identity of this rope which separates its persona from its simular identity twin SG #4 which has a creamier milky rubbery heavy cigarish finale. Irish twist is also slightly sweeter compared to brown #4(not that either of them are really sweet TBH)

Having two simular tasting ropes on the market is insurance against one or the other discontinuing its product in the future and also offers a choice of two slightly different tastes on a simular theme in the meantime while both are still available options.

I will definately keep some of this on hand in future,both this and SG#4 satisfy my brown rope urge within a nats cock of satisfaction,that as long as i have atleast one, i won't feel i am really missing the other that much but;at this time i think i give the edge to SG purely because of its nicotine punch(i am a masochist and feel that nicoteen is the decider rather than taste).

This was a trial that needed to be done incase i was missing out out on something better, but as it is i am not,but i am glad i know that they are both good ropes and i have now tasted the best contenders of the pure brown rope archetype/genre.

The burning performance and ash aftermath are the same as SG which is low maintenance,dry and no dottle.

I trim it into crescent-shaped bits around the circumference, and with no further ado, it goes in with a light tamp and smokes trouble-free with one or two lights. Maybe I'm just getting more adept at this pipe-smoking thing (?)

I can't resist saying that " if you're a cigar-lover, then try this baccy." It always makes me cringe when other people say it, but mixed with well-crumbled stogies ?? Re-cycling at it's absolute best. OK, so I'm a tight-wad, but us pensioners have to smoke on a low budget these days, and if the end product is acceptable ( which this particular trick is for me ) what the hell ??

Add this one to my "grave-Goods" when I go Dear. I'll smoke it when Old Nick gives me a break from the cess-pits.

O.K. Troops, here goes.

First off: Strength- What is the use in denying that this is a very strong tobacco? None, it is. This robustness does not bother me in the least and if the smoker treats it with the proper respect keeping this fact in mind there should be less problems with this aspect of the tobacco.

What to do? Well first off don't smoke a bucket-sized pipe bowl of it or it will kick your butt. A medium or even a smaller sized pipe will do the trick or has for me.Obviously repeat bowls one after another is probably not a good idea either because of the strenth of the tobacco and especially the price.

This is the only gripe I have with any of the non-aromatic Kendal tobaccos I've smoked. (I don't smoke any aromatics at all as far as that goes since I have yet to find one that doesn't fall far short of the taste bud tolerance levels I've set.)

Flavoring: I don't know what this flavor is but I suspect it it just the natural flavor of the constituent tobaccos and the result of the Kendal processing they are put through.God bless'em for it!

Room Note: A non-sequitur at my house so enough said about that. (For those poor beknighted smokers that do have to put up with the objections of less amicable opinions of wives,family,friends or acquaintences you have my sympathy since it is a strong smelling tobacco when ignited.But I say go ahead and smoke it anyway---you deserve it-- and just put up with the carping and whining if you can.

Taste: What can I say? Great and fully natural as far as I've experienced during my carrer of thirty-six years of smoking a pipe.The body is there and surprisingly the aftertaste is not at all that noticeable. I suspect that the "coated tongue and palate" experience with a lot of tobaccos is the result of the non-tobacco additives and flavoring agents slathered on oterwise good tobacco(or bad tobacco, for that matter) to make it more acceptable to a wider commercial audience. As far as I am able to tell this has not happened to Brown Irish Twist and hopefully never will.

For those that don't appreciate the pre-lightup ritual of dealing with a rope, twist,plug or any other non-modern form of tobacco preparation get yourself a sharp knife(box cutter with replaceable blades, poultry shears,tin shears, aviation snips, a straight razor or any other convenient tool) and chop it up into manageable-sized chunks and throw it into an electric coffee grinder( you can get one at almost any large store for about twenty dollars-go ahead and treat yourself to one it's worth it!) and process your whole supply. Let it dry a little then Mason jar it up. Simple! This method also helps with the ignition and the cruising down the bowl smoking tremendously.

For the fledging pipers tempted to try this tobacco I sugget either a very tentative attempt with a smaller bowl and a very relaxed puffing rate. Sitting down is also advised as well as a somewhat full stomach.Also mixing this blend with a bland non-aromatic straight tobacco might work so that the flavor of the stronger Brown Irish Twist might be somewhat attenuated but still appreciable. The exact proportions of the mix might be a problem at first so the recommendation is to start off with a ratio you consider safe.

For those that just can't hack the nicotine punch or body strength despite the alleviation of mixing it with another tobacco I'd say to just stay away completely and be content with wishing you could smoke it.

You might even try Black Twist by the same company which, believe it or not is not as potent as the Brown.

Do I recommend this excellent tobacco? Most assuredly so for those that can handle it. I do not recommend it as an all day smoke(mainly because of price considerations) but with a cup of Dark Roast French coffee in the pre-dawn morning after a mild prepatory bowl of some tobacco of your own choosing it is simply,truly unbeatable.

---------The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (smokin' and boggeyin' towards the Morn)

Well, if I recall he was actually referring to his chewing tobacco and whilst I cannot genuinely claim that smoking Brown Twist has done wonders for my love life, I can't help feeling that there is a certain degree of machismo involved in smoking a pipe weed that packs such an overwhelming nicotine punch.

Seriously though, don't let fear of its undeniable potency put you off. This is, to my mind, tobacco in one of its most unadulterated and traditional forms. That alone should be reason enough for every pipesmoker to give it a try at least once.

The flavour is fairly unique: slightly salty, slightly sweet and I agree with the spicy, cigar notes that others have mentioned. Whatever subtle elements might contribute to the taste, it's mainly all about tobacco and it's there in spades, making for a full and satisfying smoke. It is a little harsh at times, but for me that is just part of the charm of this old school tobacco.

The room note also reminds me slightly of barbecue sauce but I'm a vegetarian so what do I know?

Unlike some other reviewers I do find that it benefits from a couple of minutes drying time before loading the pipe, but not too much. Three coins, sliced off with a sharp knife, are sufficient to fill the bowl of my Peterson silver spigot and provide me with about an hour and a half of nicotine induced relaxation. The relights are more frequent than with some other tobaccos, but not onerous.

I try and save this one for a weekend treat, but the fact is that I enjoy it too much to reserve it for these occasions. I can concede that it probably isn't for everyone, but I think that many folks will be pleasantly surprised. Definitely recommended for everyone at least once.

This is British Lakeland tobacco in its original, raw glory, and it peels open relatively easily to show its formation of large chunks of tobacco leaf. It's a bit like stepping back two hundred years into the past, but all reminiscing aside, this is a swine to light up, requires many attempts at re-lighting, and continues to burn rather badly until the end. Quite a feat for something that seemed pretty dry. If you leave it to air, it burns much better, but the taste is even harsher on the palette than you get straight out of the bag. I expected much, much more from G&H, given the proud heritage of this particular tobacco, but one could be forgiven for thinking that the only thing to happen in those two hundred years we spoke about earlier, is that this little dollop of dung sat, festering in a pig shed.

Way too temperamental in every bowl I tried; I really can't really find a redeeming feature. Rough, harsh, and with a flat, monotone flavour that merely tickles and grates: it doesn't even try to be the flagship weed it's supposed to be.

It's strong (oh I see someone else has mentioned that already :-o) Niccups after half a bowl. And what I've come to appreciate as enforced breaks, when it goes out because my concentration flies out the window. Hmmm, perhaps I'd better just put the pipe down for a moment, like it is suggesting I do. This stuff talks to me. It says "reet there marra'" and then it makes its statement in a direct and succinct manner, straight talking. It's not being difficult or rude by going out. It isn't going anywhere. I think this stuff is quite easy to form a relationship with.

Pragmatism! That's what it teaches. Let's not beat around the bush nor wax lyrical nor go chasing after rainbows. Dry, bluff humour. Westmorland humour!

When I initially light this up it's usually quite caustic for a few moments but then it mellows a bit. Has a sort of tanning feel to the mouth. But dry and pretty cool really. There is a deep taste in there. Quite a clean aftertaste, no gloop at all.

And in these freezing temperatures the late night garage run amongst the hobgoblins and piskies is thankfully kept short with this one.

I like it, quite a lot, but I don't think I'll be making it a regular smoke. However, it is an intrinsic part of my stash.

I also use Brown Irish Twist to "fortify" other mixtures as it tends to blend very well. It's also good dried out, thrown in a coffee grinder and whiffed up the nose.

So: if you want a real nicotine belt and you like a pronounced cigar-type taste, this is the chap for you; otherwise, avoid it! My main moan about it is the number of relights it takes - but maybe that's just because I'm inexperienced with it. I don't detect any artificial flavouring; if this is cased, I don't know what with: just pure, eye-watering baccy.

Brown Irish Twist is a splendid, old-fashioned smoke if you're in the mood: a bit harsh if you're not careful with it, but cool, slow, full of flavour and with a wicked, bare-knuckle punch. Needless to say, it's an acquired taste and certainly not for the faint-hearted. I'm happy to recommend it as a straightforward, honest pipe tobacco, but with these reservations/warnings. You WILL feel your brain-cells dying and your lungs shrivelling.