Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Happy (Brown) Bogie Unsliced

Are you the kind of person who takes the words "all you can eat" as a challenge? Do you order the hottest hot wings or vindaloo just to see if you can take it? If so, this might be for you. More of a rite of passage than a pipe-tobacco, Brown/Happy Bogie will test your limits. I could feel the nicotene burning my nose as I smelled it in the tin; an indication of things to come.

"Bogie," my fellow Americans, is not (just) a golf term, it is the British version of our word "booger." That's right, a tobacco named after something you'd find in your nose. But one look at it, and you'll see why that's by no means the worst thing you could compare it to. Looks to me more like something your dog leaves in the grass. But I digress. My method of preparation: Slice it into thin coins and then dry the coins out, then partially rub it out and it's ready to smoke.

The smoke will knock your socks off. Strong, bitter, and often harsh. But that is mostly only in the initial light-up. Then it settles down, smooths out, and is nice and coffee/cigar-like. To be enjoyed in small doses. Not an all-day or even every-day smoke, just a once in a while, or once in a lifetime smoke to teach you not to fear lesser tobaccos.

Who would have thought that such a tiny rope could have such strong and bold flavors. This stuff took me be surprise! It has a very distinct dark roasted flavor that I've never experienced before I was schooled on the GH&Co. blends. I'm a big fan of the Indian leaf they use and this is indeed a very strong blend, I do not recommend this one for beginners. I don't detect any flavorings added and there's nothing but good natural tobacco flavors here. Simply essential.

Rope and plug tobbaco are my favorites. Always brings back memories of my childhood and watching my grandfather and great grandfather smoke with the family. It seems to special the extra care that is given here. It is raining this am and I pulled out...Happy Bogie. This is a very strong tobacco. When fixing for a smoke you can smell the wood, smokiness and spices. If not rubbed correctly tends to go out. Slice very thin and rub out to small flakes. Lights easy and needs to be smoked slow. I would say a seasoned pipester tobacco

Having tried Black Bogie a while back and been very disappointed I've been very reticent in trying rope again. However, after trying a string of rather strong plugs, some of which tasted like a remind of it, I decided to have another go of the stringy stuff and plump for 25g of this stuff.

The note in the packet was one of earth tones with a hints of mustiness and cigars. Cutting and rubbing out proves easy thus making packing a doddle. A few relights are required, though this is easily got round with a little drying. The smoke itself is just gorgeous, the earth notes come to the fore and the cigar flavour proves stronger. It's a slow smoke too so no need to pack a big bowl. The nicotine is strong but not something I haven't had worse with other tobaccos.

Before I bought this, I would have said I would go nowhere near ropes. Now, though, I have a rather nice spanner in the works. It's an absolutely gorgeous smoke, probably best saved for the evening due to the strength. Question is, do I try other ropes? Yes, I think I will, I might even venture to give Black Bogie another go, to see if age and experience have changed my tastes. This stuff isn't for beginners, I'd recommend at least a couple of years good hard smoking before trying it. But when you get to a point where you're ready for it, this is as good as anything out there.

A strange brown rope arrived in the mail rolled up and held together with two nails. I cut the rope with a sharp knife into coins, pulled apart the coins a bit and stuffed them (not too tightly) into a largish pot style briar. The reward was a nice cool flavorful smoke. This tobacco doesn't have the overpowering sweetness of some virginias nor does it have the bite. There's a hint of a cigar-like flavor but it barely comes through and doesn't stink up a room like a cigar. Pleasant flavor from beginning to end. Burns to a nice grey ash.

If you find yourself confused, as I did, with all of these ropes, here is some help: In Gawith Hoggarth parlance, ropes come as Pigtails, Bogie, or Twists. The only difference is in the diameter of the rope, with Twists being the thickest, and pigtails the thinnest. Samuel Gawith has the thin pigtails, and Rope, which is the diameter equivalent of GH Twist. Generally, pigtails are intended for chewers, and Twist & Rope for pipes, with Bogie in the middle. But one can smoke them all, and with the current spotty availability of Lakeland tobaccos, that is important to know.

The ropes come Brown or Black (well, they also come flavored with cherry, rum, and such, but I dislike such flavorings and will thus ignore them). Brown is light, clean, crisp and very strong. Black is rich, oily, tarry, and not as strong, but still strong.

Both can be purchased pre-sliced, which can be a nice convenience, particularily with the Black. The Brown slices up nice as you please, but the black not so much. All the tar tends to gum up the cutting implement, and the process can become tedious. I plan in the future to buy my Black pre-sliced.

It's great fun to buy this stuff a pound (500g) at a time. The large coil of rope you receive is wonderful to contemplate, complete with a 4 penny nail hammered in to hold it together. Conversely, buying these tinned makes for a rather poor first impression. These tobaccos are quite dense, so 50g is only a few inches of rope. Thus, upon opening the tin, the first impression is that it is half empty, and the other is that it resembles (well, you know...).

For how these taste and smoke, see my Black and Brown reviews under Samuel Gawith, and happy smoking!

Yet another blend that I most likely would never have known about. Thanks to TR I have another favorite. This rope is a very full flavored, all tobacco blend. While it is quite strong (I like) it is oh so smokeable. Some may find it is boreing to deal with ropes, but to me it is enjoyable to sit and cut, and rub this blend out while I'm puffing my pipe. My method for this one is to slice off thin "coins" with my cigar cutter, let dry for a short while, and then it rubs out easily. The pack, light, and burn are excelent. This may become a "desert island" blend.....also a great blender. Rate * * * *

Of course, this has Lakeland essence in it, and it must be straight Virginia.

Now, it’s been a few years since I’ve had the chance to smoke Brown Bogie, but it’s obvious isn’t it? That unusual undercurrent of dank floral notes also accompanies Kendal Kentucky and Dark Bird’s Eye. This is a Lakeland tobacco. Why restate it? Well, I had the fortunate (or rather unfortunate) opportunity to smoke many high-end tobaccos like this one early in my piping journey. Casings can be deceptive at first. Does this have Burley in it? No, I don’t think so. Regardless, I also don’t think my opinion otherwise has changed. This is Brown Bogie:

The high nicotine content is mitigated by the heavy flavor content. This is a rich smoke to be savored, with a musky sweetness that lingers long on the senses. It might be called a booger and look a bit like feces (or pig intestines, as a friend of mine once commented,) but those who enjoy the taste of a good cigar and like a smoke they can really feel in their heads should treasure this. My only complaint might be that it’s hard for me to wait for it to dry after I prep it. There is a certain sweet spot after the rope is cut, which of course varies with the thickness of the slices. It’s well worth the inconvenience. I must also add that calling the room-note pleasant is relative to where I go. My house smells nice, but I’m also a smoker. People in public are more discriminating.

An excellent offering from Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. This twist/rope tobacco was not as thick as I had thought it would be when I received it, however that was not a problem. The rope smells quite extraordinary, quite similar to the GH Rum Flake I have too, but rather than that rich fruity smell of raisins this is a far more earthy leathery aroma.

This was my first rope tobacco and I will say I think it's a very good way of packing/storing tobacco. Especially if you want to cellar tobacco or store it in bulk for whatever reason as it's very space efficient. As well as this it gives you freedom to cut the tobacco to ribbons or chunks of your liking. My suggestion is that you cut a nice thin slice and pull it apart completely as packing a solid block into your bowl can make this tobacco overpowering.

This brings us to the strength, and yes it is strong, but not harsh or overpowering provided you smoke it right; packed properly in a small bowl and sip slowly. In the right conditions this is a dream to smoke, a lot of depth and various flavours that come in and out and last a very long time without relights or need for tamping.

My caution would be this, if you don't have the patience to go through with preparation and packing correctly, or self control to sip on this slowly you will probably have a bad experience. However if you enjoy the overall process surrounding pipe smoking, like having to clean your pipe and pack it, you'll enjoy this tobacco, especially if you like very strong, robust tobaccos.