Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Dark Bird's Eye

This was a good blend. It was heavy so I would recommend smoking it with a full stomach. It was nice and nutty. It also paired well with an Irish breakfast tea.

The taste of this blend reminds me of the smell of the smoke from an oak log fire. It brings me back to my younger days of visiting my mountain kinfolk who burned oak in their potbellied stoves during the winter.

Some have compared this blend to Five Brothers, but they are analogous only in strength and texture. Dark Bird's Eye has much more flavor, to the point that the only blends I can mix this in with is weak latakia mixtures. Otherwise the dark-fired tobaccos in this blend overwhelms other blends. With latakia, the blends seems to complement each other.

By itself, Dark Bird's Eye has a semi-sweet, woody, and (on some occasions) a slight floral taste bolstered by a nice hit of nicotine. The smoke has a bold texture, almost that of smoked meat. I find the room note pleasant, but I'm sure that no nonsmoker would find it even tolerable. That's their loss.

As a stand-alone smoke, Dark Bird's Eye is by far superior to Five Brothers (and that is reflected in the price), but it isn't nearly as valuable as a mixer. I can't imagine this as an all-day tobacco, and for most it is not even a once a day smoke, but it is packed with flavor and nicotine. Dark Bird's Eye is a pleasant, memorable diversion.

Recommended.

I purchased this with Kendal Kentucky and while I absolutely love the KK, I’m not so keen on this. Like others, I notice quite a strong rubber/cigar taste that I find really displeasing. I get no fruit, no sweetness, a hint of smokiness and a ton of rubbery cigar. In saying that, I’ve enjoyed trying a tobacco that is very different to many others I’ve tried and I think I could grow to like it more as my taste matures. It’s worth a try.

Update: Having smoked this more, I feel the need to increase the rating I gave, as I am enjoying it more each time. The last third of the bowl becomes a little unpleasant for me so I recommend a small bowl. It compliments a strong coffee superbly.

G,H&Co Dark Birdseye is an unabashed, throwback tobacco, plain, simple, and proud of it. It comes in bulk, shag cut, ready to stuff and puff. Forget about ripe fruit. It smells like a mild, earthy cigar, and it pretty much tastes like that, too, and it lights and burns down like a champ. If it’s packed firmly it lasts longer than many other shags, long enough to get a buzz. Strength is strong. Tastes are full. Room note is disgusting. Aftertaste is cigar-ish, along with some VA sweetness. There is the vaguest hint of Lakeland essence.

Simple tabac like this demands a short review, so I’ll close by saying there’s “more” to house mate Brown Irish X, or Tabac Manil's Le Petit Robin, but neither hits the spot quite like Dark Birdseye, especially on a short break. 3 stars; not quite 4. Don’t like it? Smoke something else!

I purchased eight ounces of this from Mars Cigars in hopes that this would be my Sherlockian Shag; it very well may be, perhaps I am not the man he was and cannot tolerate a tobacco this strong, at least before breakfast. On researching this legendary tobacco I read that some thought that this resembled Drum rolling tobacco. The product I received is certainly not Drum: it is a broader shag and not the same long, stringy cut as the aforementioned cigarette tobacco. The scent of the unburnt tobacco is earthy, brown. As a Virginia smoker I find it possible that there is some burley in here, perhaps as Kentucky. Don't quote me. I really am not a master. Loads very easily, as you'd expect from the cut. Upon lighting you are made blatantly aware that this is no-nonsense tobacco. I smoke a fair amount of strong tobacco: Peterson Irish Flake, SG Bracken Flake, GH Sweet Rum Twist, etc. but this one hits me the hardest. The smoke is voluminous and creamy, with some woody notes. It tended to dry my mouth out a little and I was grateful for my tea pot sitting by. It burns well, leaving little moisture and minimal dottle. However, I am slightly afraid of this stuff. It's cool-burning and full-tasting and reliable, but I think I found my superior in strength. I used to think I was capable of smoking the most mighty of offerings. Perhaps I am not Holmesian enough to fully "get" this. It is obviously of amazing quality--don't mistake me--but I may not be entirely up to the challenge. Those fishermen were surely men that lived a harder life than mine! If you are curious about trying this, by all means do so. It is unique in the field of pipe tobacco. It is also slightly ancient in its preparation, which allows a certain reference to our modern times. This isn't a PG-soaked wad of near-tobacco. This is pretty much the real thing. One really should try this once, and, if you're a better man than I, enjoy this in quantity. I, for one, would be impressed.

BTW: If you were looking for real Edwardian pipe shag and bought McClelland's Black Shag and were wondering, "Really?", then this very well might guide you into the dingy rooms of 221B a bit better than McClelland's.

UPDATE 09/26/2009: A few months of aging in a Mason jar does wonders to this tobacco! Being timid of Dark Bird's Eye, I canned my supply for 4 months in two separate jars. Growing curious about DBE again I opened one jar and discovered a sweet Virginia scent in the jar I never noticed in the original bulk plastic bag...and the sweetness was noticeable also in the tobacco itself- very balanced and easy-smoking, more fragrant and easy to smoke. I now more fully understand the miracle of aging Virginia tobaccos. So, to sum up: if you found this a touch rough and unpleasant, seal it in glass for a few months and viola! great tobacco.

Recently purchased 4 ounces of this in bulk from a popular online pipe store.

The gawith blends seem quite difficult to get and I figured why not.

This is a shag cut, the smell reminds me of the tobacco I used to put in my grandfathers tubes and press when I was a kid. 50 cigarettes got you 1 German Mark. Id usually do about 200 cigarettes.

It was a good time to be a kid, as it usually followed with a trip to the local candy store.

This blend smells earthy and full, just as the taste is. This blend while not the nicotine king as some people like to mention however is strong and has a slight cigar taste at times.

The Virginia tobacco is toasty but not sweet or bready, and the kentucky brings a little spice but more earthiness. This blend can smoke a bit hot if pushed and will burn relatively quickly.

This is what KBV mycroft should have been.

GH Dark Birds Eye is another nice dark fired blend. When compared to ODF, DBE is more dark fired forward, more earthy and floral also and less sweet. It also has more strength so must be smoked in a smaller pipe. The tin note is musty, camp fire and earthy with the slightest Lakeland essence. Very nice. I also really like the shag cut. It lights up nice and fast. No Bite.

I just finished a healthy sample of this I received a while back. I found this one to be very similar to Kendal Kentucky in all respects. I would probably like this and the Kendal blends much better if they had a wider cut. This keeps me from giving any of them 4 stars, but this one and the aforementioned Kendal blend do deserve more than 3 stars.

It is tasty and a taste I do enjoy even if it comes in a cut that I do not. I find this to be slightly soapy and slightly cigar like. It is strong, but not overwhelming; at least to me its not. While the blend has a lot of backbone, it is pretty easy to smoke. Like all GH blends I have tried so far, this one won't bite no matter how hard you try.

this one is a wild stallion.. if you are a fan of stronger tobaccos like 1792, irish flake, royal yacht, etc.. give this one a try.. it has a pleasant subdued dark fired sort of flavor but also has a dash of lakeland essence to it.. very strong, very satisfying.. 4 stars for those who seek nicotene punches.. 3 stars for me, its good stuff

Returning to it.. July 2018.. this is what a Lakeland cigar would taste like.. unassuming shag like cut that packs the punch of a rope.. but burns fast.. slow puffing cadence brings out the best experience.. the Kentucky and Lakeland essence are the stars.. somewhere in the background just the most subtle Virginia sweetness.. Not my favorite style.. but I bet it would age well.. bringing a little more sweetness to the front.. maybe toning down the essence.. but then it wouldn't be what it's intended to be.. I would like to have this around if I wanted a cigar but couldn't afford one.. definitely hits that spot for me.. but the fast burn rate makes it sneak up on your heart rate.