Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Rum Twist

I bought four ounces of GH&C Sweet Rum Twist about three and a half years ago, put it in a small mason jar, cellared and forgot about it. This week, I brought it cut and the rope into thin disk, most of which immediately fell apart. The unlit tobacco had a mildly sweet, dark-fired tobacco aroma.

Day 1: I loaded a large briar with a healthy amount and lit it, or rather, tried to light it. It was so moist that it took numerous charring lights before I could get it to burn. So, the first point is that this tobacco needs considerable drying time. The flavor once lit was fairly sweet and quite pleasant, with no bitterness, harshness or bite, but it was also not very strong tasting. I did not detect any rum, just sweetness. The sweetness lingered nearly to the end of the smoke, and the flavor remained fairly constant. So, the second point is that SRT is a one-dimension tobacco blend. The nicotine level was less than I expected, given the other reviews. Given its high moisture level, it needed a lot of relights.

Due to the blend's moisture level, I left the jar open for a day and then smoked it again in a similar sized briar.

Day 2: After drying, SRT was a totally different blend; in some ways better and in some ways worse. Unsurprisingly, it was much easier to light and keep lit. Flavor-wise, it lost all of its sweetness but had a more pronounced dark-fired tobacco flavor. It also had a considerably higher level of nicotine, I presume because it burned faster. I liked the flavor of the blend better when it was moister, so point three is don't dry it too much as the moisture level affects the flavor considerably.

I would rate SRT two and a half stars for taste but, given how much work is involved in getting it to burn, I'm giving it a final rating of two stars. It is a pleasant enough smoke, but there are many others that are better.

I didn't know if I'd like this. Enough that I ordered some years ago and forgot about it. Having just found it over Christmas, I wish I hadn't waited. It's delicious with an abundance of flavor. I don't get the cigar notes others seem to get which is good as I am not a big cigar fan. As for nicotine it would be past medium Warm, deep, rich tasting. It doesn't change a lot throughout the bowl and it doesn't need to. Not much rum taste which I can't tell is a result of age or if it is just a result of it imparting a richness to the tobacco.. Either way, this one works for me. 5 Stars. Little wonder this has been around for centuries.

Note - This review may be more appropriate for the all Virginia Sweet Rum Twist but I'll leave it here until I can work it all out. I have never tried a twist before and was curious as to what it would 'bring to the table' and so I ordered a 25g piece to try out. Whilst waiting I researched the best way to prepare and smoke this tobacco and was ready to try it out as soon as it arrived. The day has come and I opened the package. Smelling the twist I was reminded of a meaty bbq aroma which somewhat startled me but I soldiered on and cut five slim coins and teased it out. What surprised me next was that it felt perfectly ready to smoke. I have read that this twist was wet but my sample seems perfect and as I do not tend to tightly pack a bowl I carried on, packed my pipe, and lit up. Well, surprise number three. A very, very pleasant aroma and taste erupted on first draw of rich earthy and sweet Virginia with a subtle background of clove, creamy vanilla (to my palate) and rum. The room aroma is fantastic and reminded me of the aroma one is treated with when entering a traditional tobacconist (leather, tobacco, sweetness all intermingling). There then came, about half way through, a subtle rose water like taste (this must be the 'lakeland' essence I read about). Overall it reminded me of when my grandfather would stay with us and when he came out of the bathroom in the morning his smell of shaving soap, 4711 cologne, tobacco and tweed He always wore tweed). This was not overpowering but it was there in the background and is wonderfully comforting. In summary, I really, really like this tobacco and it will be, moving forward, permanently stocked in my cellar. As for the vitamin N hit. Many say this is powerful stuff. My experience, now after several bowls, I find it perfect and not overwhelming. Highly recommended. Just don't let the initial aroma of the unsmoked twist, or its reputation, put you off for at least trying it out. You may just become a convert when you do.

Wonderful....this is superb tobacco. I used a group 2 sized bowl, cut off a couple coins and rubbed them out a bit. The rich flavor of fermented tobacco hits you immediately and continues throughout the bowl. The rum is more of a molasses aftertaste than any alcohol flavor, it’s quite enjoyable and doesn’t distract from the rich Virginia and Burley tobacco flavors at all. This blend tastes old fashioned, as it is supposed to, I could see men smoking this 200 years ago. The nic strength is stout, but very manageable with a gentle cadence. Very highly recommended.

This is the Brown Irish Twist with rum and maple sugar added to the filler leaf. The strength is similar to Brown Irish, so stronger than the black twists. The underlying flavors are quite similar as well, as is its ability to burn extremely cool and clean.

The rum flavor is quite sweet, but that's in the context of Gawith Hoggarth twists. It is not what I'd consider an aromatic in the sense that we use that term in America, at least. I think more of old stories of sailors saucing their leaf with rum and then twisting it. At no time does the rum flavoring overwhelm the taste of tobacco.

I love how clean Rum Twist burns. I often smoke it in the same pipe I'll use for the Happy Bogie and the Brown Irish, and it never ghosts.

In the G & H ropes, I have also tried Black Irish and Sweet Maple. All of the them are quite easy to manage and prepare for smoking. I have to say I enjoy this kind of tobacco a lot (besides the Black Irish which is too tasty in the Dark - Fired department). The taste of Rum Twist is very rich and deep, earthy, and a tiny sweet. The Rum essence is more of a toppping than a casing; it is present on and off throughout the pipeful. You must have the patience to wait until it's sufficiently dry to smoke it; if you slice a coin from a moist rope and just let it dry, it will be tricky for, once packed and lit, the moisten tends to arise again, making it a lot difficult to enjoy as it trigers a lot of relights. So you're better off waiting for the all the rope to have lost most of its moisture. It will smoke much better. I cube cut then rub out part of the cubes for smoking and it works very well for me. It takes a bit of effort to get it nicely going but it burns really well once ignited. Rum Twist offers no surprises, nor is it a complex tobacco. It's good, deep tasting VAs and dark-fired leaf with a nice Rum aroma. Not as good as Sweet Maple, but still an excellent topped rope. If you like Lady Nicotine, she will make you happy with this one.

Strong but smooth, lightly sweet, slow burning. Of the various ropes and twists, this is my second favorite after its Sweet Rum Pigtail sibling. Best smoked in a smaller pipe, there is just a touch of rum in this version, just enough to sweeten the tobaccos. Like all ropes/twists, it takes a bit of time to cut up and rub out correctly. If left too chunky, it can be difficult to keep lit; if rubbed out too far it can be a bit rough.

Well, alright.... Ordered an oz. of this to try out as it was finally available on smokingpipes. I've tried the happy bogie and the cherry twist and have liked them. I really like strong tobacco, always have. In my other reviews of the aforementioned twists, I have referred to them as drug tobaccos because that's exactly what they are. No BS. Nicotine delivery, good, classic tobacco flavor. Wonderful.

Had some trouble with this at first, initially I sliced it into appx 1/16th thick disks and teased them out and dried for just a few minutes prior to smoking. The twists themselves are somewhat bendy and resilient, and it doesn't seem as if they are all that moist when you are cutting them. What was happening was that even with some air drying, sometimes for an hour or more, I was getting a wet smoke, with a little bite that wanted to go out and required many relights. The rum flavor was nice, but seemed to get somewhat muddled into the steaminess of the smoke. I let the next few bowls worth dry out a little more each time, tried a few different packs, even sliced a little thicker and thinner, but still didn't get a great feel for how this was to be smoked...

Then the happy accident. I sliced up appx 2 bowls worth thin almost a shag cut, teased it out, then left it on my "tobacco drying paper plate" (ironically a childrens cake plate with a cartoon elephant printed on it) in the china closet. Wife and toddler got sick, my office was a zoo with the local flu going around, and I didn't even get a chance to throw the tobacco into a baggie later that evening, let alone smoke a bowl of it for at least 4 days. When I returned to it this evening it was (as expected- with subfreezing temps outside and the heat turned up high) dry and (almost) crispy. I winced, thinking that I had ruined it. I nonetheless packed it into a nice small bowled bent belge, ramming it down until I had an appropriate draw and stepped out onto the porch to smoke.

Believe it or not, dry and almost crispy seemed to be the right way to do this. Not a light smoke by any means, but without any of the residual moisture mucking things up the smoke was sweet and the real tobacco and excellent rum flavor really was able to sing. I got a little nicotine twinge in the throat about halfway through and slowed down, but it certainly was a pleasant dose and helped my prior meal of chinese food settle nicely. I was able to finish the bowl before getting just too damn chilled and knocking it out and going back inside.

All in all, a favorable experience. I think that next time I'll cut the disks thin and let dry but not tease them out, I'll try to replicate the Macbaren twist cut medallion cut as best as possible and will try to load them intact into a slightly wider bowl. I won't let them get AS dry, but I think that this is definately one of those ropes/ twists that needs some considerable drying prior to smoking.

YMMV, but I like these twists. Probably will order a few ounces of this as well as the happy bogie.

So many tobaccos, so little time!

My first smoke blew me away. I was not expecting the Maduro like flavor. I was expecting a little more rum and sweet/acidic Va feel. Wrong...it was the strong I was looking for. I thought Latakia was what I was looking for, after a few smokes, I was entranced by its qualities. I would say it's not just strong but bold. The vitamin N kick is great, it's smooth yet in your face. I can barely detect the rum unfortunately, it is extremely subtle. It was real fun to cut it into little coins. However, drying is a necessity and a sharp knife is a must. I first did it right out of the bag with a semi-sharp knife. To say the least, I made a mess. All in all, it's really a neat baccy. I recommend to the adventurous type.