Samuel Gawith Brown No. 4

Lets start with the tin. I was expecting the twist, so that weirdness didn't surprise me, however the tin note did. Very fowl, in a good way. It smelt like a fine cigar. Very intriguing.

Now to pack it, I first cut medallions with a cigar cutter and put some of the looser stuff on top to light. I found that just stuffing the medallions in and lighting that works better. It did light well and smoke fair the entire time. Which was a long time with this blend.

The flavor was incredible. A lot like a cigar. Nothing like I have had before. I could see how it could be a bit much for someone who smoke just aromatics and such. The room note was reminiscent of the tin. Very cigar like, with a strong Virginia sweetness.

The strength was pretty high and I enjoyed it. It's not something I could smoke all day. But I sure would. Four stars, would like to try the other ropes they have,

Adventures in pipe-smoking 101! As of this writing, I've only been smoking a pipe for 2 months. I skipped right over the aromatics (Had tried them 30 years ago as a teen, and they put me off pipe-smoking for decades!) and started out with a few English blends. My next order was of some "strong" tobaccos- including Irish Flake; 1792, and of course, Brown Rope #4. First impressions: The tin note was quite pleasant and interesting- it didn't smell like figs or chocolate, etc.- it smelled like what tobacco should smell like: Tobacco! I chopped some up with a knife and packed it lightly in my Calibresi- it was a bear to light. Those first few puffs were memorable- Whoa! I felt as if I had swallowed tobacco juice! I started hiccuping- and really didn't detect anything too pleasant. I had to put a flame to the pipe with just about every puff I took. I was thinking of just putting the pipe down and trying again later....but I couldn't! I said to myelf "I'll take a few more puffs and then quit". But after every "last puff", I felt compelled to have more! The hiccuping stopped, and after just a few puffs, the tobacco seemed to settle down and mellow out quite nicely. I smoked the whole load (which, IIRC, was about 3/4's of a bowl)....and I still wanted more! The next night, I tried another bowl. Still hiccuping at first...but didn't experience the tobacco juice thing. It didn't seem to have much flavor- but again, I was compelled to keep smoking it. By my third or fourth time smoking this, I was used to it. No hiccups...and I was starting to experience some of it's subtleties and flavor. Brown Rope is still growing on me- having only smoked half a tin, so far. All I can say, is that everyone should give this 'baccy a try- and don't judge it by your first few puffs, or first bowl-full. As other reviewers have stated, persistence pays off with this one, wioth handsome rewards- one just must give it a chance and get acclimated to it. The smoke is rich and full; The taste seems to vary with each bowl-full- but I do get some "cigar taste" (which I like). It did not seem complex or flavorful at first, but the more I smoke it, the more I get from it- you truly must acclimate your palate to it. A very interesting smoke which pays dividends to those who are willing to put a little time and effort into it. I'm now to the point where I can keep most other 'baccies lit for at least half a bowl...but this one still requires a lot of relights- but that's O-K, because when I smoke this, it's not just "something to smoke", but an activity unto itself. As for nicotine content: It definitely has a lot- but quite frankly, I find Irish Flake to have more. Not an everyday smoke, but for when you want something special. I'll definitely be keeping some of this on-hand, always. Can't wait for a cold winter's day...as this will be just the ticket! It just gets better as you go along. After these "strong" tobaccos, I am no longer satisfied with my English blends. This is the real deal! Try it!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, after you get used to this tobacco (which happens very quickly) it kinda loses it's appeal and becomes a little boring. I wish every time I smoked it, it could be like the first few bowls.....but now....now that my tin has aged and I have grown used to #4, it is just a rather flat, bland tobacco 🙁

I'm using a cigar cutter to slice them thick and cut them in the middle , that's the way i think brings the best out of the rope. Lakeland aftertaste. Sure not for beginners .

I keep having conversations with Mr Kendal Brown. On some days he is willing to listen and converse with you in a congenial manner. Other days, he jumps down your throat and berates you, leaving you scared like a child. Either way this is interesting stuff. You know you are smoking tobacco. A MAN'S tobacco. There are no vanilla, caramel, fruit, or flowers to be found in this...at least not by way of added flavoring. I can smoke this in any shape pipe. First I slice a couple coins off the rope, then I dice them rather than rubbing into strands...it seems to help maintain the light. Despite its sometime heavy handed manner, there is great depth to this rope, and everyone finds something different when they smoke it. The only way to know if you like it, is to try it. I rate it at 4 stars, not for its mass appeal, but for its classic, true to history nature. Every pipe smoker needs to try this at some point.

Good God! I won't be buying any more ropes, or if I do, will do so only out of curiosity. They are cool, one must admit. Coconut Twist sounds interesting, but could anyone sense any flavoring over the overwhelming stench of this weed? I just can't do it-just as strong as 1792 if not stronger, and much fouler. I will save the rest as a curio and maybe bring it out if anyone I know who smokes a pipe thinks they've had strong tobacco. Don't go correcting me-I realize there are stronger ones out there, but I won't be sampling them. Actually, I think I could smoke this on a camping trip by the fire. The wood smoke would deaden my senses a bit, the tobacco has a most pronounced "rustic" nature, and I'm sure it would repel (or kill) mosquitoes.

Update: 12-20-09. Smoked a bowl of this for my last pipe of the day. The rope is pretty dry in the tin now. I started the day with Irish Flake, so maybe I was better prepared. This is not so bad if you take it slow. I love the reviewer who thinks this is not as strong as FVF-I do not take issue with him, but rather glory in the plethora of different tastes and opinions found on this website! I can inhale FVF, something I would not try with this weed. This makes a great nightcap, as the nicotine hit gets me ready for bed and satisfies me to the point that I will want no more tobacco until the morning.

1-09-10 I have cased the rest of the tin with dark rum and put it in a mason jar. God knows how it will turn out.

1-20-11 A year later, and I am smoking my cased #4. Can't taste the rum over the overwhelming body of this tobacco, but I like it more now. I may be able to smoke a couple bowls a year of this...

7-27-11 Smoked some in a Jobey Stromboli. This was harsh, I thought, when I bought the tin two years ago. I cased it in rum and put it in a jar more than a year ago, and it has really mellowed. Still, strong stuff, and I have no designs on finishing this one tin anytime soon, but rather will smoke the occasional bowl in this Jobey (my smallest-bowled pipe) to see how time treats it! I can't taste my rum topping at this point, but suspect it had something to do with taming the rough taste out of the tin. Now, it reminds me more of Dark Birdseye.

If I ever wanted to cut down on my tobacco consumption in general, and needed a tobacco that would give me all the nicotine I could possibly want from a couple of thin shavings off of the twist, this would be just the thing. I bet I could get 40 bowls like this out of a tin! Maybe more...

I get nausea (not serious, but nausea nonetheless) from tobaccos like this. They remind me of my limitations as a pipe smoker, but I love the occasional bowl anyway. Brown #4, Coconut Twist, GH Kendal Kentucky and Dark Birdseye, Irish Flake...

I'm pretty high right now...

Love it or hate it, I do not believe in the middle of the road on this tobacco. My frist small group 2 bowl from my 1lb. bag, strong, WOW what have I got myself into. Second bowl group 5 and I find that for me this tobacco has many different taste going on as the bowl size grows larger. Sweet, salty, cigarish, earthy. I love this tobacco. Get a tin and try it, smoke a few, 3, 4 bowls.

I was gifted a tin of this with a pipe I bought. After everything I had read about Brown Rope Number 4, I was prepared to be knocked for a loop by the nicotene. I don't know if it is because I have dipped Copenhagen fine cut moist snuff for years or if I have a naturally high tolerance to nicotene, but the nicotene whallop didn't happen. In fact, I've never gotten it from a pipe tobacco at all.

I prepared Brown rope Number 4 by using a razor blade to slice off thin "coins" from the rope, then rubbed them out and let them sit on a paper plate under a ceiling fan for about thirty minutes to dry. I noticed a peppery mouth feel upon lighting, which may have been the tobacco or may have been the nicotene. Either way, it was not unpleasant. The taste was a full pure tobacco taste, and it did remind me somewhat of smoking a cigar. I smoked most of the tin, but still have a couple of pipefulls of tobacco left. It was a good tobacco, and I would recommend it for someone seeking a strong tobacco with pure taste. However, I won't purchase it again (or any rope tobacco for that matter). There is just too much preparation involved in smoking a bowl for me, I would rather choose another good tobacco that I can just load and light my pipe.

Ok. let me try to be orderly about this.. . . . . First, Strength. Full Virginia Flake gives me a much bigger bang of nicotine. So does Dunhill 965, at least recently. To my grey matter, this is equal in strength to Balkan Sobranie, maybe a little less.

Flavoring, this is the unscented, the U/S.

Room Note. Not too sure. I don't smell it while I smoke it and it doesn't stain the room. My wife says it's not so good.

Taste is cigar-like. It does not taste like a cigar, but has the body and range of flavor of a good cigar. Not a great cigar, but a good one. And that is, in a pipe, a very Full flavor.

I recommend this because it is a good smoke. And, to speak well of the dead again, Brown rope reminds me of Balkan Sobranie. Doesn't taste a bit like it, but the two do share a campfire storytelling sort of soul. Tastes like smoke and a head full of night sky. Gotta go feed the kids, now. Smoke it if you got it.

Brown Rope is a very unique smoke. I'm not discounting the wonderful reviews good and bad, but this of course is a very subjective endeavor and very personal indeed.

I don't find the strength objectionable since I smoke it in a small pipe when I want a very strong smoke. Perhaps with a great Port wine or after a big meal. A little goes a long way. I smoke it slowly with small puffs and find it to be a bit more complex than the majority have indicated. It's not something that I would ever load into a big pipe though nor do I ever smoke the real strong stuff that way for both taste bud preservation and the nicotine.

The only way I smoke it is by slicing the rope into thin coins and then gently rubbing them out coarsely, which is quite easy. I pack it gently with a firm final tamp. My experience is that it requires some relighting even with light rhythmic puffing. Nonetheless, it never lets me down. I always know exactly when to reach for it; and more importantly, when not to reach for it.

Cheers, VC