Samuel Gawith Black XX Twist (Rope)

Not for wimps. Black, oily, full, but not (quite) as horribly strong as it looks. Take a tour back in history and taste what generations past have known as real 'baccy. In a way it reminds me of real licorice with its unapologetic strength and simplicity. We are fortunate that Gawith is still making this magnificent blend so we can enjoy the legacy and for a few glorious moments travel back in time.

Update 2/11/2013: After enjoying an overly large bowl of this filled to overflowing I have updated my strength rating to 'Very Strong' for the nicotine. I need to remember to enjoy this one in modest volumes. Yikes.

This is my first twist tobacco. It looks like the momified finger of...a dragon ;o). It has a subtle smell of dried figs and raisins. After reading many of the reviews on this tobacco, I was a bit afraid of the "Black XX beast", so I smoke it with a trusted briar.

I cut it in thins coins, and cut the coins in half an rub it. I let it dry for 15 mins ( the tobacco layers were tighly packed, as if they were melted).

The smoke is smooth, creamy, with a dry fig, newly cut willow wood and Virginia smell, developing into a subtle homemade custardly smell ( custard made with milk, cornflour, sugar and vanilla pods, not the industrial custard ;o). It is a very nice smell and taste. By the last third of the bowl, I can feel the nicotine tingling in the back of my neck. It is a very nice, dry and smooth smoke. I love it .

I rate it with three stars because of the pre-work required ( you need some time to devote for preparing it) so it will not be one of my "default" tobaccos, but I will always keep it at hand.

I don't give any rating on room note ( I never do). Enjoy it.

A good tobacco if you want a quick hit of tobacco satisfaction. The rope has a mild virginia odour to it, but I understand African tobacco's are used in it's manufacture. I would descibe the favour as a richer more refined version of Condor, but with a pleasant leathery edge. I gut the rope in to 1/2" segements and then quater the segements and then rub out. Although he flours are refined and very pleasnt, this tobacco does have a serious nicotine kick so bear that in mind. The room note is not unpleasant, quite sweet but not aromatic. However the intensity of the room note can be offputting to some people. A great smoke to relax with, perhaps with a good Scotch or stout in your hand.

Well, here we are at the end of the Samuel Gawith blends I have on hand and like Rustica in the HH line, I've saved the strongest for last. I've heard a lot about this blend online. Some people love it, and some people hate it. It's a bit like Marmite really. After having Rustica, which I hope they decide to produce more of in the future, this isn't so bad in the Nicotine department but more on that later.

The tin is pretty interesting and not what I'd expect for this tobacco. There are some dark gears in the foreground probably harkening to the process used to make it. Once I removed the thick cardboard insert I found a thick dark rope tobacco that was back in color. If stick my nose in the jar I smell something similar to when you first light your barbecue grill and you scrape off the grates to start pre-clean. It's got a lot of those charred meat notes to it similar to the Gawith, Hoggarth and Co. Black Twist. Now this comes pretty wet and oily so some dry time is highly recommended. I found I had the best results if I used a Cigar cutter to cut some medium thin coins, then rub them out and fill my pipe and let it sit overnight.

Now patience is key when lighting this up, even at a smokable dryness. Though with the overall strength of this blend you may not mind all the relights. Now when this is lit it tastes, very savory. Deep, meaty, leathery, spicy, earthy. It has an oily mouth feel. Slow smoking will reveal the subtle Virginia sweetness in the background. Believe it or not, this does go well with coffee.

Now the taste is a Full. Not only is the smoke big and bold, but it has a tendency to stick with you especially if you smoke a bit too fast. Besides that the taste is very unique and as I said before you either love it or hate it. The strength is Strong. If you have a low N tolerance, and you haven't eaten Lady N will walk through your door and give you a good punch in the stomach. In my opinion it's not as strong as HH Rustica, or HH Bold Kentucky but it does rank among them. The room note will win you no friends. It's strong and when the wind blows in the wrong direction it stings my eyes a bit.

It's not a bad blend, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea. I shall try it again in six months time and see if age adds a new dimension to it.

I bought a tin of this blend at Jon David Cole's encouragement after a "pipe pilgrimage" to the Country Squire in Jackson MS, after hearing about it by reputation over a year of enjoying pipe tobacco. My initial attempts not only left me frustrated with the moisture (rilighting a dozen times) but also left me with near-fatal hiccups after a couple puffs. I was near disposing of the tin with prejudice, but convinced myself to try it one last time in a briar with some substantial dicing and drying. Quite pleased that I did - other reviewers mentioning the aged steak flavor are not wrong. The smoke can be incredibly creamy if you prepare and light it properly, and burns very cool. There's also an oatey, rye bread note for that dark Virginia smokers will recognize, with no real bite beyond the extreme flavor (which I've come to like as a dark fired fan) and significant nicotine kick.

My suggestion for preparing this blend, try dicing the rope down to 2mm-wide coins with a jackknife or cigar cutter; rub them out, dry for 30m, store in a jar for a month or two, and then prepare to relight it frequently if you don't have a rapid cadence. Also make sure your emergency contact information is up to date.

I've smoked two different samples of this. If I was told they were different blends, I would never have doubted it for a moment. One sample was 8 years old, the second sample was new. The 8 year old sample tasted very rich, full, and had a mild sweetness and creaminess that become a dominate aspect midway through the pipe. The new sample had a powerful meaty boutique in its aroma that wasn't nearly as prominent in the 8 year sample. The new sample felt like it wasn't nearly as full in flavor, weaker in nicotine, and didn't really develop any creaminess as the bowl progressed. I also detected less subtle sweetness in the bowl than in the older sample.

Considering that this rope contains a healthy portion of Virginia tobaccos, and trusting that SG is making this rope the same way they have for over a century, I'm attributing the stark difference in these two samples as an attribute of aging. I really like the aged sample, I'm not too excited about the new sample. That is well and good, I'm a patient man and my cellar has plenty of evidence of this. I'll continue to smoke the aged sample I have. I'm putting another 500g in the back of the cellar to get lost for 5 or more years.

This is another example of a blend where aging is the difference between amazing and mediocre. I highly recommend this when it is aged. Fresh, it's just a strong rope. For this reason, I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2 or 4. Fresh, it's a 2 star tobacco. Aged, it's a solid 4 star tobacco.

Tobacco Stake! Smells great both lit and unlit. Spicy and round, heavy on nicotine. Great for a quick chew as well. This was my first rope tobacco and I enjoyed it so much it got me started on some serious sampling of other ropes too. Still one of my favourite.

This twist/rope isn't a go-to for me. I reach for it very occasionally. The rope is easy enough to work with I use a cigar cutter to slice coins which can either be stacked or rubbed out. The strength is up there it has power, body, and a sedative effect that I enjoy. The flavor is not my favorite. The Virginia is ultra meaty in taste and aroma. I completely get the charred meat comparison. Motor oil is fair as well. Even though the taste is not what I like, I recommend this blend. It's VERY odd and unique and for a rope tobacco it's pretty good.

Everyone here is honest and correct... yet..... My experience is rather different from those of some of the other polarized views. I was introduced to this rope tobacco genre (20 years ago) while visiting a scientist. who was an avid tobacco connoisseur. While taste testing of his rare stock, and reading pages from his various books on blood and music , it struck me how unique and focused are his interests and tastes. He offered to add my "requirements" to his import list for "Kendal Twist" and such. This substance, I find to be as strong as Black XX . One expert reviewer and close friend for 40 years thought that XX was an awful smoking experience. We often crave a humanly improbable paradox. I refer to the quest for infinite intensity and complexity of taste, juxtaposed to sublime smoothness, subtle mellowness, and ideal burn qualities. Black rope is similar product to Kendal Twist and the other braided products of Samuel Gawith but perhaps a bit easier to understand and is available currently. After dabbling into both over a 10 year span, it occurred to me that other than Early music legend Arnold Gr....., no one would ask a bartender for a "bloody Mary" but hold the tomato juice, use a whole container of Tabasco sauce instead. That was one of his parlor tricks. Does that not beg: : what if Black XX were to be used as condiment for unflavored and disappointing tins that simply underwhelm? I have already abused over-hyped precious latakia, Semois, and Perique . Why make the same type of mistake , nearly ruining great pipes with tightly packed single leaf orientals ? Forgive if you might, this ramble, for myths abound in our realm. The fact of occasional use of this rope, does not hang you up or numb the senses to pipe smoking. I still enjoy some recipes that others find too weak, too this or that. Greatness can be found within a consistent and creative person or product. not just in strength or weakness. It is perhaps more a gift of illusion to the senses, than a rating list, when this gift is properly understood. Some carefully sliced bits of this say 5% added to an overly mild English as described might just bring out intrinsic depth rather than simply take over.