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

Another beautiful rope from G/H, i highly recommend trying all of G/H Twists & Ropes, they are all really good, i smoke them everyday and always get a good smoke from them,as long as you give the tobacco the respect its due you'll enjoy them.

There is an episode of Star Trek TNG where Data (the Android) has his first drink. He drops the shot neat, grimaces like mad, and says "I hate this! Revolting!"

Then he immediately says "yes please!" to another shot.

Bogie is like that. All the reviews (4 star and 1 star and inbetween) are true: it stinks. The nic hit will send even the experienced smoker into Aztec visions.

Then you'll want more.

The rope I had was dry to crunchiness. I rehydrated it a bit until it could bend a little without shattering, then cut it into coins and rubbed them out.

It is very fragrant before being lit -- fermented, ancient, with the rot and magic of opening a Pharaoh's tomb, or a wood cabinet in which one-sided 78s RPM records have been stored since the 1930s.

1/4th of a bowl was plenty. The aftertaste was delicious. It burned slow enough to make that limited amount worthwhile.

If you enjoy strong tobacco that tastes like tobacco, then Happy Bogie is a great smoke. I I can't for the life of me find any top note, but for the smoker this is delightfully, naturally aromatic. Flavor, after all, is determined in the nose as well as the mouth; aromatic here simply means that there is a huge amount of flavor to be enjoyed on the retrohale, as well as in puffing with an "open" nose. I've no idea what the room note might be, and am codgerly enough to not worry about it. All of the GH ropes I've tried so far have been similar in the base tobaccos, but Happy Bogie is a departure from the others. My palate isn't nearly well-educated enough to be coherent on this point, but my best guess is that the base tobacco here is dfk, rather than the dark virginias that seem to predominate in the other twists. There is a surprising sweetness through the top third ofthe bowl that never disappears, but as you progress deeper into the bowl the sweetness settles down and a rich, chocolatey tobacco flavor starts to really shine. This is an after supper, dessert sort of blend. I'm not sure what would happen if I tried to smoke Happy Bogie for the day's first pipe, but there's no doubt that Lady N would smack me down. So when I recommend this rope, it's only with the caveat that you have some experience and perhaps a good meal beforehand.

Strong, smooth, and not at all harsh to me. Throughout the experience I had the taste of lightly sweetened strong black tea. Pleasant room aroma, and a good deal of nicotine top off the experience.

I can see this becoming a favorite (in moderation).

Happy, indeed.

Supposedly a tobacco for the "experienced" smoker. I find it to be one of my absolute favourites. Great full tobacco taste which is earthy and strong. Lots of nicotine, which can leave me more than a little light headed if smoked in a hurry. It has absolutely no tongue bite whatsoever, and burns very cool and slowly. I like to smoke it at a medium pace, and find a medium bowl at this rate lasts me a couple of hours. It definately needs a lot of preparation before it can be loaded into your pipe. First I cut it into coins with a cigar cutter about 1.5-2mm thick. I used to cut it with a really sharp knife blade, but found that after 5 or 6 cuts the knife was covered with a thick sticky tar like resin, which made neat cutting hard to do, and required lots of blade cleaning. The cigar cutter does a better more consistant job, but it's still extremely heavy going, and hard to cut. I keep the coins in a sealed glass jar, and to prepare it for my pipe I cut the coins into quarters then eighths and lighly rub it out, packing the pipe fairly tight. A firm favourite for me, but not one for the morning or on an empty stomach, or my head is buzzing for a couple of hours after it's finished.

Need a nicotine buzz? Here it is. This is a good one to have a bowl of when you get home from an especially long or hard day at work, or just before bedtime.

Very sweet-cigarish in taste and extra stinky room note, instantly my mouth is burning from the nicotine and my saliva thickens up. A nose blow yields a wasabi-like sensation. The gag reflex is trying to kick in and I feel the hiccups coming on. About this time the bowl goes out. I take this opportunity to grab a drink and allow the initial nicotine inrush to decline.

Once you relight the bowl it's a bit more mellow. You've had a few moments to adjust and while still potent, its now more manageable. To me this tobacco has a really pleasant sweet cigar taste which hangs in for most of the bowl. It's too powerful otherwise for me to smoke a bunch of, but I will clip off an occasional sliver when the mood strikes.

I think Brown Bogie is a fine tobacco for what it is. It'll make a man of you for sure. I realise that it won't be everyone's taste, but I'm giving it four stars because I actually rather enjoyed it's extreme strength, taste, and experience, and have no complaints or regrets.

It's a bit of an animal this 🙂

A full rounded flavour and strength, much like the rest of the brown ropes from G&H and SG...they all share a family resemblance as you would expect. Much the same as Dark Birdseye..in fact the same baccy but in rope form. Bogie is a full on tobacco for those who love Lady N...I'm one of them.

Highly recommended. Dry it out a bit before you smoke it.

As others have noted, this is very strong, and probably not an everyday type of tobacco. But that doesn't prevent it from being an occasional delight.

I do have to admit that even though I'm growing fond of the stuff, it looks and smells disgusting in it's natural state, but if you can get past that, it's a bracing and unusual treat.

I cut it into coins with a cigar cutter, then rub it out. I kind of like the fact that you can control the thickness of the cut. I cut it thin and use a light hand when packing it, and it fires right up, almost without needing a second light.

The flavor when it's burning is fairly unusual, a bit like a cigar, a bit "meaty," with an elusive salty and sour taste that's hard to identify. Although I quite enjoy the room note, I don't imagine that it would be too popular with non-smokers. It has a lot in common with 1792, but without the tonquin.

All in all, a very satisfying smoke.

---------Update September 3, 2008

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I've gone through more of this and I'm going to bump it up to four stars. The more I smoke of it, the more I like it. I've taken to slicing off a week's supply of coins at one time using a utility knife.

Has a medium peppery taste on first light that subsides as the bowl burns down but stays throughout the smoke. Brown sugar sweet throughout the bowl that strengthens somewhat as you get to the 1/3 and last third. A nutty, hazelnut taste that is very slight but adds to the overall flavor profile. Doesn't burn hot and leaves very little moisture at the end. If you smoke too fast you may get the burpies. Stop, have a sip of water, and perhaps a few saltine crackers and wait for the burpies to stop. Slow your cadence down. This is a very rich and enjoyable tobacco. Smoke is rich and deep. Not an all day smoke. I enjoy it most in the evenings before bed. Has a pleasant room note and a nutty aftertaste. Four stars.