Samuel Gawith Brown No. 4

Love it, I get baked bread, salty, caramel and a hint of floral perfume. Takes ages to dry, I still rate in under Irish Flake in strength though...top stuff.

Sometimes you just need this stuff. Brown Rope No. 4, should be sliced into coins two or three for a small filtered pipe. Rub out the coins and let them dry 15 or so minutes and load your pipe very loosely a little goes a long way, this is very strong tobacco. I usually have at least three or four relights no matter how carefully I pack the pipe. The aroma is reminiscent of rotting apples and burnt toast. The strong, full flavored smoke gently fills your mouth with sweet rich, nicotine soaked, tobacco lusciousness. I can't recommend you try this enough it's just so satisfying, from slicing of the coins with your trusty pocket knife, to rubbing it out and letting it dry, to getting the heater going, it's a total tobacco experience that's a must.

I choose a most interesting tobacco for my first review.

Yes it resembles poo, yes it can be a headache to rip apart, and yes it's way moist, especially when new but ... this tobac kicks butt, at all levels. Has a very deep, earthy, noncloying sweetness. Delivers the vitamin N in spades, if you don't like nicotine, lots of it, you will not like this. As a reforming smoker of unfiltered Camels, I love it; there probably doesn't exist a pipe tobacco I'd find "overwhelming", hence "extremely strong". I am completely insensitive to room note, so "unnoticeable".

Biggest gripe is the moistness, rip some apart and air it out as long as you like before smoking. Alternatively, buy a can, open it, try it, feel so-so about it, then let it sit for like 6 months, getting nice and dry - I don't mean a Denver afternoon, I mean Egyptian parchment. It will still be sweet, it will still be strong, and will be no hassle to bust up and smoke.

This stuff will put hair on your wife's chest. That's a big plus for me, but perhaps not for everyone. If Old Gowrie is a beautiful young child, Brown Rope #4 is a grizzled old man.

Well...this stuff smelled great in the bag, packed well after taking it completely apart, didn't want to play around with coins. I let it dry for about 45 minutes and then bagged it until after eating dinner. Adjounring to my car, with the heat on...lol...I started to climb the rope.

The tobacco lit well and produced a good volume of smoke. The aroma from the bowl reminded me of caramelized onions...something I have smelled before in their bracken flake. There was no sweetness to this bowl whatsoever. Though it was a very strong tasting tobacco, it was not harsh. It reminded me somewhat of Peterson's Irish Flake but without the soapiness. The nicotine content was considerable and I didn't quite finish the bowl...had a slight tickle in the back of my throat and felt some very mild, transient nausea...cleared up in 5 minutes though.

Over all the smoking qualities were good but the flavor was singular and even more disappointingly, it just wasn't to my liking. I think I'll fall back to a more flavorful, and milder smoke that I really enjoy...this was too close to overwhelming for me.

How to describe the brown turd coming from the tin? A rope of brown virginias wrapped in Kentucky (italian Ky- a pamphlet says - the same used for Toscano cigars). It's something of a kind, just rensembles Irish Flake due to the involved ingredients and the great strength they both deliver. My BR#4 (simply Brown No. 4 in the tin sold i Italy; subtitle is" Finest Kendal Twist") has been staying a long while in the open tin, sometimes I paid it a visit, and often it was not the right moment... it needs full commitment, stomach... and wife far enough from you. As long as it was young very very difficult to keep lit, regardless how thin the discs. Now it's dried out the right amount, and I still get half. Cutting the discs the wrapper separated from the inner twist, so that I can alternate in the bowl (now smoking it in a group 4 Dunhill County Bulldog) some ribbons of wrapper (Ky) to a disc of twist (Va). Doing so the smoke - always long lasting, clean and cool - alternates the faintly bitter cigarish note of the Ky and the faintly sweet notes of Va's, which is a very interesting experience to the palate and the nostrils as well. The body is absolutely remarkable and deeply satisfying. BR#4 deserves 4 full stars

I love this tobacco. When I first saw rope tobacco I was amazed, had no idea. I guess we are fortunate to have the internet to learn about things. So this is real tobacco. It smells strong in the tin, and looks, well, kind of strange at first. If it's too damp, you must dry it some, or it might torture you. For a while I was drying it to the extreme, lately not so much. I suggest cutting some and rubbing before drying. If you dry it under a lamp or in the microwave, it will exude a delicious sweet aroma. If you dry it a lot, it burns easier, maybe the whole bowl in a few lights. Lately, I slice some very thin coins or wedges, and toss them in a rectangular tin for travel. I simply stuff some in a small bowl, air pocket style. I need more re-lights, but I smoke it very slow. A small bowl will last me hours. It packs a nice nicotine punch, and has a rather strong flavor, though very natural. I like it because it does satisfy with several puffs, so I can set my pipe down to get some work done. It does remind me of a cigar, I think that's one thing I like about it. I notice a tingle in the nose, and a slightly sweet flavor, but with hints of pepper and some pungent notes. I also detect a very slight Lakeland essence. It becomes quite potent towards the bottom of the bowl, but is also somehow smoother. It burns to a fine white ash that is very dry and clean. I just bought another pound for good keeping, even though I've hardly dented the first pound. I made a bit of snuff from it, and it is delicious. My wife is not fond of the room-note, but I get away with it. If you like a solid, straight smoke, you should give it a try.

Brown Rope #4 is a twisted rope maybe a half inch thick. One must substantially cut, rub and possibly re-cut to transform the rope into something combustible. After all the work, the tobacco still doesn?t burn well! Brown Rope #4 has a sharp and pungent fire-cured Virginian taste. It has strong flavor but doesn?t easily produce the clouds of smoke one might call "full bodied"; moreover, it tastes very unpleasant when abused even if it doesn't bite the tongue. The room note is as acrid as anything I?ve ever smoked. I didn?t detect a really serious nicotine hit. Brown Rope's no lightweight, but it's far from the strongest tobacco I?ve smoked: certainly not as strong as Peterson?s Irish Flake for example.

I got this tobacco out a sense of curiosity and nostalgia. I feel adventurous to smoke this out of a clay pipe as an 18th century colonist or old tar might have. I?m happy I tried it. If you like this I'd recommend Gawith?s Brown Irish Twist: I found it more mellow flavored and less temperamental.

This is my favorite rope,taste is all natural with a very nice subdued sweetness,I like to cut thin coins and rub out fully to obtain long strands,then use the Frank method to pack.When at the proper moisture level this is a one match smoke that never bites and smokes cool,the last part of the bowl is the best,smooth creamy sweet and dry.Comments on the room note are always "Wow, that smells potent" Nicotine content is high but not overwhelming.One thing I find unusual is the ash is always jet black,looks like charcoal when your done.Go slow if your worried about the nico-buzz.

This is one of my all day tobaccoes. The rope has the appearance of cigar leaf wrapped upon itself, and is of high quality.

I find that the taste of this tobacco depends a deal on the shape of the bowl from which it is smoked. I find that an apple shaped bowl offers a much sweeter flavour than say a dublin which will offer a more spicey flavour.

The smoke is creamy and thick. No tongue bite whatever, and a great tobaccoe for the ex-cigarette smoker.