Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Dark Bird's Eye

There's not much to say on packaging as it comes in bulk, or if you are very fond of it you can buy the 17oz green bag of it. When I first looked inside, I saw a very nice dark brown shag cut tobacco. When I stick my nose in the jar, I smell Mesquite Barbecue, earth, hay, and wood. A very nice smell. It came at the perfect moisture for me and it was easy to pack and light. Just a side note but in my experience the tighter you pack this the easier it stays lit.

Dark Fired Kentucky has a lot of natural oils so as soon as I light my pipe I have plumes of luscious white smoke. The first thing that hits me is the soft, but somewhat spicey barbecue notes from the Dark fired Kentucky. It has a nuttiness, and cigar-like floral qualities. The Virginias add depth, hay and body. The Lakeland is just enough to let you know it's there without making this into any iteration of an aromatic. A nice, bold, real tobacco flavor.

The taste is a medium-full. A nice lingering dark fired aroma. The strength is strong but not as strong as HH Bold Kentucky, more like Old Dark Fired. Right where I'm happy with Lady N most days. The room note is Burley forward so keep that in mind. A very good blend and an easy smoke that is smooth, strong and consistent.

A wonderful, stout blend in the manner of Kendal Dark and Kendal Kentucky! The scent of the unburnt tobacco is smoky, hearty and earthy and somehow I perceive a whiff of cinnamon, which I find most pleasant!

Lovely, yet rather coarse cut, but packing isn't too much of a magic trick.. from the first puffs you get a full-bodied, smoky and earthy aroma. Woodsy smokiness, earthiness and a cool, dry smoke. There's a whisper of Lakeland Essence, yet so mild that I think it wasn't applied to the tobacco but got "infected" with it in the production hall. It's not unpelasant and disappears quickly. Not complex at all, what you smell is what you get! Smokiness, earthiness, woodsy notes, with very little sweetness. Perfect for a quick, powerful and satisfying smoke. Tickles the nose pleasantly on retrohale.

Recently I tried quite a few G&H blends (and those produced by them for others) and most of them turned me off.. a few taste of burnt rubber and burnt cookie crumbles, some have too much of the 'old grandma perfume'-Essence... but whenever G&H grabs dark fired leaf, especially Kentucky for blending something wonderful comes out of it! Stout tobacco goodness, that gives me this "back in the old days"-feeling, of old fishermen and sailors that puff this weed in their pipes while working.

Do you really think that your most precious and most craved early morning pipe must be a light sourish Oriental with a whiff of Latakia? That rather will sooth you back into your bed. Take the Dark Bird's Eye - and it will instantly cheer you up for the new day!

Fast-burning potent stuff with pleasant smoky aroma and hints of sweetness is ideal for those still battling their cigarette addiction (like me) and craving a fast nicotine fix in the morning. Not overwhelmingly strong, not sharp (like Kendal Kentucky might feel sometimes). I even dare to inhale it to get that awesome tickling sensation in the throat with no bitter consequences. I would highly recommend this manly tobacco to former heavy cigarette-smokers.

Summary: a strong, comfortable smoke that varies the sweetness of Virginia leaf with spice and mid-range flavors.

Among the codger blends, the shag cuts often tend to be both the most unassuming and the least likely to take prisoners. This dark shag reveals its origins in smoke curing which transfer the sweetness of Virginia leaf into a broader range of flavors and gives it a smoky tang. The odious Lakeland essence, a cousin of AIDS and funeral home rosewater, burns off quickly and leaves a strong dark smoke with undertones of sweetness and earthy flavor. This is a great all-day smoke for people who enjoy being outdoors.

This is a stout and moderately spicy tobacco that also smokes smooth, balanced and full of flavor. The evenly cut shag practically guarantees a steady burn with very few relights. At a slow sip the strength is firm but not overwhelming. The flavors are dark, bittersweet and smoky. From time to time I’ll detect a subtle floral note in the side-stream, but for the most part, Dark Bird’s Eye represents the pure tobacco flavor constituent of Gawith & Hoggarth’s stable of blends.

I agree with those who have mentioned how well this stuff ages. The Dark Bird's Eye that I stashed away has definitely sweetened and smoothed out nicely over the last three years. It’s not an everyday kind of smoke for me, but it’s always good.

The fine cut helps with packing and keeping it lit which is good because you will need to seep it in order to get the most of it and also to help you with the potency of this tobacco. A small pipe with a long stem is in order as you will not need more than a 20 minute rendez-vous with your pipe.

There is a caramelized burnt onion taste than I find interesting, a smoky and pungent flavor that remains constant through the entire bowl. A stout, old style pipe tobacco that is good after a meal or late evening.

Virginia lover

I (somewhat) recently added reviews of Kendal Dark and Kendal Kentucky, so it remains to round those out with an impression of this related shag, Dark Bird's Eye.

It shares much in common with the other two, but the nose is less woody compared with KK, and less floral than the KD. Moisture is smoking-ready, and a tight pack will do you well.

The taste is astringent - dry, a bit of that rancid chocolate found in KD, and prickly on the tongue - and it leaves my mouth feeling like a good espresso recently passed through. This stuff will enervate ya, lots of taste and nicotine. I prefer it in smaller bowls, but it does well in bigger pipes, too - just takes more 'sittings' to consume.

One of the things I appreciate about DBE is that you can leave a half-enjoyed pipe and come back to it hours/days/weeks later, and in about 3 puffs, it is right back where left off, albeit knocked up a notch.

KK is still my fave of the 3, but this is an easy recommendation for those who like strong shag cuts and the general G&H flavour profile.

A whirlwind tour of English colonial history in your pipe.

What a nice tobacco, guys !

DBE has just come to Italy, alongwith some five GH’s blends. I had to try it, even at an outrageous price. It’s worth I did it.

It reminds me of Kendal Kentucky, maybe this one has a slightly different proportion of Virginia, but not that much. We are talking of dark fired leaves, at the end. Nice it is the definition of the friend at TR, that this is the espresso (or double espresso !) of tobaccos. As an Italian I should say: SI, CERTO ! (Yes indeed!) Burns like heaven, cool & smooth offering clouds of smoke. The flavour is simple, of true tobacco (no Lakeland scent). The strength builds from something past the medium to a strong mark, but nothing unbearable.

I prefer this into medium bowls. Large bowls… it’s a bit too much.

Good good good. Also in the morning… with a double espresso.

I just finished a two-month stint of smoking a quantity of Dark Birdseye, Kendal Dark, and Kendal Kentucky in rotation at various moisture levels, times-of-day, etc. in an effort to decide which one to start buying in bulk. In the end, although they seem quite different when smoked back to back, I can honestly say that if only any one of the three were available, I would lay in a large stock of it and be thankful.

The middle part applies to all three:

The cut is what I would call an "ultra-fine ribbon." Just wider than a true shag, but handles like a shag. I like how it dries out. I like packing it into the pipe. I like how it burns. It can burn really really fast if you truly pay no attention at all, and with tobaccos of this strength it can be unpleasant, but I am lazy and like how easy it is to get these ribbons to smolder compared to larger stuff. Just let it dry until nearly breakable, squeeze it, light it, and puff easy.

Nicotine. There's a lot in here. It awakens the senses, calms the mind, and coats the mouth.

The flavor of these is decidedly dark and strong. Meaty, tangy, oily, a little sweet, fermented, a little smoky. Smoking these is not a multi-dimensional experience like a symphony. More like Sacred Harp sing--4 notes, wild and good and loud. Full on dark tobacco taste. For real. Rough around the edges, raw, old-timey. I have nothing to compare it to, really. I can only say that I really like it and will keep something like this around at all times.

Dark Birdseye is my favorite. It has a much more pronounced fermented "funk" than the others. It reminds me of the Drum tobacco of my youth, when it was still really, really good. It is a really deeply wild tasting tobacco. Also it has some sauce. Adding to the fermented funk is a musky, exotic, incense funk. It is very faint, but I would describe it as exciting, enticing, pheromone-like, and a powerful compliment to the raw dark tobacco power packed into this weird old-timey leaf.

EDIT: I just got a new half pound of this. Apparently some Euro busy bodies forced a change in the cut. Now it's a fairly standard medium ribbon. Tastes the same, more difficult to light, makes me curse the decline of western civilization every bowl. Still 4 stars.

EDIT: Thank God, the "ultra-fine-ribbon" is back. The world is good again.