Samuel Gawith Black XX Twist (Rope)

I have been revisiting this one over the years trying to gather my thoughts on it. This is a tricky blend for me to review. On paper this should be a slam dunk win for me. I love Maduro and oscuro cigars as well as heavy spicy dark pipe tobacco. But I just cannot get behind the Black XX Twist. I think my main gripe is the performance. I don't mind slicing the rope. Actually I kind of enjoy getting to use my S&W knife on it, pretty therapeutic actually. But it is way too moist. It needs all the dry time you can spare. It is very hard to light and keep lit, and needs constant attention. I do not appreciate bless that are needy. The way I see it is, I purchased the tobacco it works for me. The flavors are nice however, very dark, spicy, with some prune sweetness, and hints of coffee. There is one note that I think many people call a cigar note, but it's a unique damp earthy flavor that has a clay like character. Very nice flavor and I love that note. However the fussyness of this blend is a total turnoff for me. But is am not totally dissuaded from future purchases of this blend because I have found a use for it a blending tobacco. Slice it up dry it out a little and add it to some home brewed Burley based blend and it's a win.

This is a very very interesting tobacco, it's a case of "what on earth where they thinking" and "how can this tobacco work?!"

It's interesting to first note how it's made. Its life starts as a Gawith Virginia, rolled in a rope. So far so good. Then it is "drenched in olive oil, wrapped in greaseproof paper, cloth, and then bound by a cord, and pressed while being cooked with steam for hours". The result is an oily black rope which I don't believe was conceived for smoking, maybe for chewing by miners - though I haven't dared. I don't believe this...thing can ever go bad, or dry out on its own after having been cooked with oil. Tobacco, cooked with oil. What the hell where they thinking?

The smell is faintly spicy from the tin but not giving much in terms of what's in stock.

I found that cutting coins as thin as possible, rubbing out and drying helps a ton as this tobacco will. not. light. otherwise.

Initial taste on first true light is...terrible, really sticky, stale, fairly disgusting oil for me. In fact I dumped the first bowl I had after a couple of puffs. Wait, you say, I gave it four stars and midway through the review I say "disgusting" and "dumped after two puffs"? Well you need to soldier on with this, at least I did. I took me 4 bowls to actually like it, and every bowl was better than the last one.

The taste is actually pretty complex, very robust, deep, and dark. The initial taste is burnt oil, and not vegetable oil but actually animal fat dripping on coals, maybe specifically lamb fat. Under this you get the taste of top notch, big and bold aged Virginia, savoury, somewhat spicy, very lightly sweet, and very strong. Not as strong as brown ropes in terms of nicotine but its taste is very full, it coats your mouth. The overall experience is strangely not bad at all. The exhale brings more of the burnt fat as an aftertaste.

While the burnt fat taste is not pleasant for me at all, the underlying tobacco is really very good. The weird thing is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, somehow the oil smell synergises with the tobacco, and the whole thing works. Think I'll keep it!

Oh a couple of points to note, this tobacco doesn't just ghost pipes, it ghosts rooms, your clothes, your face, your whole person with the most horrible sticky, oily smell of burnt rubber. I wouldn't ever smoke it indoors, even smoking it outdoors the smell is appalling.

It's something everyone needs to try once, most people will hate it but for me, for the right moment it is lovely. Edit: downgrade to 2 stars, it's taken me a year to finish the tin, and won't be buying again. A good experience to have but plain not enjoyable for me in the long run.

By all means this is a peculiar blend. From its name to tin design, to its structure and mechanics. And then smoking it is another experience. The simple tin art gives nothing of the blend, but may relate since it will get your head gears going akin to the gears on the tin. And now when you open the tin, you are welcomed, or rather hit by a pungent smell. I will do my best to describe. It smells like a butcher house that has a grill. And you're making sausage, lamb sausage with herbs and spices while getting a smell of the grill as well. or it smells like manure as others have called it. But the image I had in my mind whiffing the tin was that image I spoke of. my tin had a large oily, nearly pitch black rope and a small piece, probably to complete the weight. Now to prepare this. it gets a bit tricky. As soon as you start cutting the rope to coins, they start breaking into some flakes that are drowning moist. And you get all that aroma on your hands and in the air. from there you can pack it however you want, but from trying a couple of bowls, try chopping this as small as you can. I tried it both dried out and moist. And here is how it goes. It is easy to pack once you slice it small enough, then the pain begins. This blend has to be constantly relighted. And by constantly I mean 2-3 puffs then relight. and so on, that of course when you smoke it moist. And you'll find that it will expand considerably in size while getting all that moisture out. And if you smoke it dry, you lose most of the body sadly. so beware. Now to the body of the blend, it is definitely a strong blend, quite potent in aroma, taste and room note. This one won't make you any friends and you may lose some as well. But the good thing is the room note doesn't linger for long. The taste of it is consistent throughout the bowl, it tastes like charbroiled meat with a tinge of freshly ground black pepper all over it. I tried smoking it fast, slow and in between but the taste profile never changed, and with that it never bites or leaves moisture in the bowl despite being nearly wet rather than moist. through the mid bowl the peppery taste reminds me of a simple cigar without complex taste, or one that has been lit, put off and rested for a while before relighting it. It burns down nicely and leaves a perfectly fine grey ash that falls down with a single tap of the pipe. It isn't an all day smoke, and can be annoying to maintain but in its virtue, it delivers quite a kick both in nicotine, flavour and body. I recommend it for those who want a simple, strong smoke from time to time and won't mind the constant relighting

Samuel Gawith Black XX sure is a unique experience regarding look, feel, smell and taste. The preparation is fun, I sliced it and than rubbed out the slices for an easy fill.

With first light the immediate impression was chicken, roasted old school over coal or a camp fire. Not my cup of tea when comes to pipe tobaccos, but I can appreciate the quality and uniqueness of this creation. The taste is full, deep, dark and rich. Smokable Beef Jerky anyone?

Personally, I find 1792 Flake to be very strong, but this one was okay at 10 am, with remarkably no bite at all. Maybe the strength varies from tin to tin. I preferred it in a corn pipe without filter, filled one third with meerschaum granules, for that espresso feeling.

For sure this is a tobacco not to be judged by reviews alone, so I recommend to definitely get a sample. Maybe try to share a tin with friends at the smoke club or Super Bowl. It'll be hell of an attraction on its own.

This tobacco with an erotic name, eschatological aspect and for some with a diabolical punch, you have to try it sometime. Opening the tin I found a 2 oz. Twisted cord. (50 grams), which gave off an unmistakable smell of leather, of a half-cleaned tavern table, with the vapors of the liquids that are consumed there filtered on the wood of the tables. It gives the impression of being a bit dry although due to the cut it is not so easy for me to assure it, since its touch is somewhat stiff but at the same time somewhat rubbery. It should be cut with a knife and formed into coins that crumble easily.

When you turn it on, it smells like grilled cutlet, it reminds me of the old smell of the kitchens of the taverns of the villages. During the smoke it seems to me closer to a cigar than to virginias with its characteristic notes of figs, raisins and bread in the baking process. It is robust, dense, certainly not to be smoked every day. It may be awhile before I try a second bowl. For some the nicotinic hit is quite strong and that puts them back when it comes to smoking it. I can't talk about that since coming from the world of cigarettes I have quite a tolerance to nicotine.

I am looking forward to trying the Brown nº 4 which looks very similar, as well as other cigar leaf blends to compare with this one. For my part and advising of the mentioned characteristics, I would recommend it.

I usually smoke it in a Rattrays pipe with a longer mouthpiece than normal (without being churchwarden), which softens the smoke a bit. Do not miss the opportunity to try it, even if you do not repeat it later.

2020/11/16: I am dropping a star. What a disappointment! I can't help but wonder, have I changed or has this tobacco changed? After a couple of months without smoking it I carried a pipe and the experience was so unpleasant that I couldn't get to the middle. Suddenly the ghosts of various comments I have read here appeared to me, about the smell of burned tires, dead badgers and various pestilences. I very much agree with Gestalt when he says that given the diversity of evaluations and comments on Black XX everything must depend on the state of the taste buds and I add "and the olfactory ...!". My partner also asked me "is there something that is burning?" while opening the window. The funny thing is that she too had smoked it once and although she wasn't enthusiastic about it, she didn't dislike it either. I'm surprised to remember that the first few times I liked it and now I don't know what I'll do with the rest of the tin. Mysteries of chemistry. I wonder if it is because the tobacco was a bit dry, that I had smoked other tobaccos before, that my taste buds have changed… I keep two stars to leave it in the middle between the first times I smoked it and this last one. Ah! but I doubt there is another review ...

Yes, it's strong, but there are other blends and ropes just as strong that I've enjoyed. For me, this was like smoking the burnt fat left on the grill. I can see how some could like that, but the taste just didn't appeal.

This was definitely a strong smoke but not overwhelming like some of the flakes (1792 and Brac) This was just straight forward, in your face, no nuances, strong smoke. I'm glad I tried it, but wont be revisiting it.

Nothing like a little Vitamin N to take you down a couple of notches. Wow. Proceed with caution. This is definitely a strong tobacco, and I love the smoky tin aroma. I've smoked it in my Peterson 314 and my small Peretti bent billiard. Wouldn't go any larger of a pipe than that. Burning rubbing, petrol and blazing plastic? Yup...I caught all that with the first few bowls. No wonder it was more available than the SG blends. So, the turd sat in its tin for a while, and a few weeks back,I went to attempt to acquire a taste for it again, but it was a dried out mess. I rehydrated it, so that the, um, wrapper had a nice sheen. Yesterday, I cut a few coins and rubbed it out and let it sit for a few minutes. I packed it my 314 and sipped it slowly. At first, I caught those rubbery, plastic, petrol flavors, but backed off and just sipped it and let the bowl settle. Soon, I was getting deep smoky tobacco flavors with burnt and slightly bitter malt and sugar flavors. I liked the long finish. The nicotine crept right up, too. I had rubbed a bunch out, so I put it away, and today, I mixed it with a little natural cavendish from Leavitt & Pierce, and that mellowed it out very nicely. It had a better room note, too. It sweetened it up, like a creamy and highly caloric Carmel Mochiatto from Starbucks. I don't know if I committed a sin by mixing in that cavendish, but I enjoyed it. Black XX just might be a good blender, that espresso shot in your coffee or the shot in a boilermaker. Happy New Year and Happy Piping!

A tobacco for seasoned pipe smokers, for the strength that is. Better balance between strength and flavor than Brown No.4. Smokes better when the tobacco is dry, on warmer days for a quick nicotine buzz. A few thinly cut disks in a small pipe, smoked slowly, will do wonders. Tastes like burnt onion skins with dark Virginia undertones.

Virginia lover