Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Brown Irish Twist

A delicious twist tobacco, and thanks god - it doesn't have this "burnt rubber and smoking bread crumbs"-thing to it, like a few of G&H's products had for me lately. My only confusion is, if it's the Brown Irish TWIST or Brown Irish X (which als has some Burley in it). Yet I tend to belive its this one, a straight Virginia, tastewise, albeit the core of the twist has some black speckles.

Unburnt tobacco smells of dark, fermented fruits, earth and very little sweetness. As usual the soothing fiddling with the Twist itself is a joy. A little drying and it's good to go.

It's a stout, powerful blend, but not overly so. The passionate smoker of bolder tobaccos won't be overwhelmed by its strenght. Beginners or smokers of mild tobaccos may start with smaller bowls to get a feeling for how much nicotine you're used to. Because it's really worth putting efford into this blend, it's tasty! Richly earthy, with stoved dark fruits lingering and dancing on the foundation of earthy and decently smoky goodness. Very little sweetness, but what's there enriches the tobacco not only with a mild caramel note, but also balances the stoutness to make it a blend that's smooth on the palate. Not a hint of the Lakeland thing... this tastes like pure tobacco to me! Whenever G&H takes some dark fired leafs something wonderful comes from it!

Yup, I'm most certain it's the Irish TWIST and not Irish X, the taste profile is screaming: "I'm dark fired Virginias". Delightful, soothing, but stout enough to wake you up in the morning, just like a pot of coffee. I got granted a ~20g sample, and wil definetly buy a few grams of this!

Gawith Hoggarth - Brown Irish Twist.

I can't argue with the description, it really is one full, stout smoke! I believe this could be a bit of a 'love or hate' blend for most people.

The rope is very thick but despite this it only requires a small amount of attention to get it set up for a good smoke; a sharp knife slices coins from the rope easily which are then relatively simple to roll and crumble. As others state it is a touch too moist, not horrendously so, a short airing period after crumbling up the weed seems to suffice.

Then it's time to pack the bowl and get started, I think they should re-define the dictionary meaning of the word 'stout', it should read "Stout: Gawith Hoggarth Brown Irish Twist"! It doesn't develop that acrid taste that I have had from some of the other GH ropes, I only get a full tobacco taste for the whole journey.

Something I find pleasing is the temperature of the smoke, it's lovely and cool and although it has a full flavour it doesn't become bitey at any point.

On to the nicotine now: yes, it's quite strong yet it's not anywhere near as potent as some of the ropes. Medium to strong is more than fair.

I like the room note, it has a slight chariness to it yet it's not too much.

A surprising smoke as I don't normally like rope blends yet I love this!

Highly recommended.

This was my latest challenge on my adventure into Rope City. It has been described as a thicker iteration of GH's quite tasty Brown Bogie, aka Happy Bogie, an attribute not completely without merit.

The aroma in the pouch aroma is very much the same as BB, no surprise there really. The thick rope, this is well thick, slice reasonably well and don't need a great deal of prying apart to turn into something packable. This is a little damp, to be expected of a GH rope, so some drying might be advisable.Even without it though, it is not that difficult to light and keep lit. The taste isn't too dissimilar to BB either, though it is perhaps a little sweeter and less earthy than it's slimmer cousin. Nonetheless, it is still a very satisfying smoke. I cannot say it is a particularly strong encounter with the old Vitamin N, but, as mentioned in other recent reviews, I have become somewhat attuned to this after a string of ropes in the immediate past.

Given my love for BB, it will be of no shock to your good selves that I find this an incredibly enjoyable smoke. Would I smoke it over BB? Not necessarily, one is equally as good as the other and there is only a modicum of difference in the respective flavours. You pay your money and you take your choice. I do have about 100g of BB in my so called cellar that now runs the risk of being smoked straight off the bat after trying this. This is definitely worth a repeat purchase though, and thoroughly worth four stars.

One the my favourites. Going right to the point, this rope is Strong but at the same time smooth and mellow (for my taste). The Rope cut (or twist cut for that purists) requires a ritual for to start the smoke, the flavor are bitter and are not for all types of the smokers. Maybe this tobacco can not be for you dear reader, but, if you like of the strenght this is your tobacco.

Half the fun is in looking at it, smelling it and mostly preparing it for a stout and surprisingly tasty smoke. A few hours of settling some slices, that are rolled and crumbled, into a small pipe and it's on.

This natural dark fired Virginia has a caramelized, malty, beef jerky flavor. There's also some spiciness when puffed too hard, it definitely has a cigar like characteristic . Smooth and not biting, provided it is smoked slowly and on a full belly. Perfect for the cliche ''for experienced pipe smokers only''.

Virginia lover

I ordered 50g of this, being a fan of twists & ropes in general, I thought I would probably like it a lot, I wasn't far wrong. It's a good solid smoke.

The appearance straight from the pouch is what is to be expected, we've all seen it before, it looks like a badly made cigar in many respects, the thick wrapper leaf tends to start to unravel before too long, giving it an appearance of a length of thick cigar that has become frayed out at the end. The opening of the pouch releases a rich dark, powerful aroma so typical of these types of tobacco. To me it is reminiscent of the smell of the countryside with perhaps hits of dark strong tea on a crisp morning about it.

I have heard that some people unravel the leaves from the outside & slice them up. This is not a way I would smoke it, nor would I recommend it. The best way to prep this tobacco is to slice off slim disks, and then either stuff them or rub them out to load. I rubbed these out fairly roughly the reason for this being that in the centre of the disks, there was dampness, whilst towards the edges, it was dry. Rubbing out allowed them to combine & reach a good humidity level for an even burn. It packed and burned easily when rubbed. The burn rate can be adjusted to your own preference by cutting the ring very thin & rubbing until it's like shag, or a bit thicker & less thoroughly rubbed for a cooler smoke.

Upon lighting there is an explosion of rich flavour from this tobacco. The pouch note gives away what it will taste like. It has a very full mouthfeel, and is a luxuriously thick oily taste. Very pleasant indeed. I lack the ability to verbalise how I feel about the taste of pure dark Virginias, suffice to say I like them very much.

The room note is fine & inoffensive.

The nicotine strength is moderate/strong, which surprised me somewhat, I was expecting it to be very strong, but it's no bad thing as it means a larger bowl can be savoured of this delightful blend.

It pairs well with dark drinks, Stouts or Porters are my recommendation. The only bad thing about this is that the flavour doesn't advance much, and it can burn too hot if pushed. 3 stars from me, very nice & an absolute must if one is a lover of these types of tobaccos.

Since this is a thicker version of Happy Brown Bogie, I'm copying most of my review from that since I really can't distinguish between the two in the pipe.

Brown Irish Twist and Happy Brown Bogie are the strongest of the G&H ropes that I've tried (they are the fullest and strongest tobaccos I have ever tried for that matter). This tobacco was very moist when I cut it. I took a cue from pipestud and used my coffee grinder to chop up a chunk and then microwaved it for about 20 seconds first which did wonders for it. All the favor remained but the gurgle was gone. The flavor is full, rich and deep as others have mentioned but it's not sharp or overwhelming. The nic level is high - higher than most pipe tobaccos. If you have smoked cigs in your past it probably won't bother you but if you haven't, or are nic sensitive then go slow. People have said this is cigarish, which I didn't get at all in the taste but oddly I did get a very cigar aroma from it briefly at first. It does have the same warm, earthy richness of a cigar but this doesn't taste like any cigar I have ever had.

This is a great tobacco if you enjoy this particular niche style. They say not for the inexperienced but I'd let a cigar smoker try this for the similar depth of smoke.

Stout tobacco, and plain. The brown pigtails, bogies, and twists are not cooked, so they're punchier than the black ones. This is straight dark-fired Virginia tobacco with no bells and whistles, and it tastes like it. It's more cigar-like than anything I've ever had in a pipe.

Preparation is simple, but lighting takes a long time. I slice coins and loosely break them up. Gravity fill seems to work better for me than packing - this stuff will expand a lot. Patience is necessary when lighting. Just take your time, it'll get going.

None of the twists are going to blow you away with complexity, just honest tobacco. In the brown line, I prefer the Bogie for selfish reasons - it's the right size to chew if I feel like it, where Twist is a little too big for that. They both smoke the same.

I'd recommend Brown Irish Twist to a smoker who has no interest in the occasional chew but wants a strong, unique dark-fired Virginia.

What a tough smoke,specially conceived for the most rustical people,like the humble smoker writing now this review.Though tough as is really,it´s nevertheles of very fine quality and well matured leaf.To be sincere this is not for everybody,strong flavour and well loaded with N vitamin.Beside that not friendly with ladies pretty noses and mosquitos,because this I like smoking at summer nights outdoors.In short,high grade leaf in the strong way.I´ll not say the strongest because there are other ropes supposed to be tougher and I´d yet not tasted. I use to cut fine roundels with scissors and to keep then in a jar.Prior to smoking drying and rubbing.One must cut slices when it´s in the original very moist presentation.If you dry it too much it would lose complexity and it will appear a background of cigar like aroma that I don´t like into my pipe.

This rope is pretty much in line with the rest of the ropes Gawith Hoggarth is known for. Quite floral and sweet, it is somewhat reminiscent of cigar leaf. The taste ranges from medium as you light up your pipe, to full the more you progress with your smoke. The last quarter of your bowl gets so strong that has a little bit of a bite. Also, it seems to be packed with a fair amount of vitamin N. To be able to do this review I have packed a bowlful with it, but I'd rather use it for blending other tobaccos with. I have tried to chew it as well, but even though they sell it as chewing tobacco, it doesn't promote salivation, so I'd not recommend it for that particular purpose. All and all I'd say this is a good smoke, but I am not sure whether I shall buy it again.