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

I was gifted about half a pound of this tobacco and what a gift is it. This is the strongest of the G&H ropes that I've tried (the others being Rum and Cherry Twists). Despite being 12 years old, this tobacco was very moist when I cut it. Last night I cut up roughly at 5 o'clock and then left the bag open for 6 hours and it was still the wettest smoke i be ever had. Today I had a couple more bowls but microwaved them for about 15 seconds first which did wonders for it. All the favor remained but the gurgle was gone. The flavor is full, rich and deep as others have mentioned but it's not sharp or overwhelming. The nic level is high - higher than most pipe tobaccos. If you have smoked cigs in your past it probably won't bother you but if you haven't, or are nic sensitive then go slow. People have said this is cigarish, which I didn't get at all in the taste but oddly I did get a very cigar aroma from it briefly at first. It does have the same warm, earthy richness of a cigar but this doesn't taste like any cigar I have ever had.

This is a great tobacco if you enjoy this particular niche style.

I picked up a bulk order of this when I found it available early 2018. It's one of those blends that seem to sell out quickly, which supports the belief that there are many who turn to this blend as a favorite.

My initial couple of bowls of this had a definite "Lakeland" essence that tasted like some old foral perfume to me. Not a flavor I enjoy at all. I decided to cut some from one of the other ropes in my order and was pleased to find that I could not detect any of that Lakeland essence in the other ropes. I think that, for whatever reason, there might have been some of this batch accidentally exposed to the Lakeland flavoring Gawith, Hoggarth & Co uses on some of their other blends.

As for the smoking, this blend is rich and strong in every way. I wouldn't recommend anyone smoke this in a kingsize pipe. Sure, there are a few who could handle it, but the nicotine is heavy with this one and most people will turn green. I find that this is a perfect blend for when you only have time for a small bowl. A small bowl will leave you feeling like you had a much longer and larger smoke than you might think.

For me, I like to smoke it as a nightcap on the front porch just before bed. I typically choose one of my slightly smaller medium sized pipes and I take my time with it. When smoked slow it is a nice rich no nonsense tobacco flavor with no chance of tongue bite. The flavor gradually develops into an increaingly rich smoke as the bowl proceeds, but doesn't really change in flavor. Supposedly this is a blend of Virginia and Burley tobaccos. Judging by my tastes, it is about equal portions of each. Typical grass, citrus, and hay notes of Virginia tobaccos won't be found here. I pick up a bit of nuttiness from the Burley, but mostly just a rich tobacco flavor. It's a one-trick-pony, and that's just fine. While it isn't my favorite rope tobacco, I do like it enough that I consider it a highly recommended blend. The occasional hint of Lakeland essence is the only thing that turned me off. I'm not sure if that flavor is an accident or intentional. At the moment, I'm assuming it isn't intentional.

There are occasioins when a pipe smoker wants to have a super strong smoke. I've found that rope tobaccos almost always fill that niche quite well. The nice thing about this blend is that it fills that niche without tasting like pure tar halfway through the bowl. If you've ever smoked some of the American made twist style rope tobaccos you will know what I'm talking about.

I have almost no sense of smell, so pouch note and burning aroma mean nothing to me. Having said that, if your looking for a good honest tobacco taste, with a good dose of vitamin N, without being overpowering, you'll enjoy this one. I tried this several years ago and remember quite enjoying it but for whatever reason, I didn't buy more, most likely the wrong season for me, not a hot weather tobacco, although I must admit I am finding this to be a very smooth biteless tobacco.

I bought several tobacco's over the Christmas period that I'd never tried before and a couple that I hadn't had in a long time, this being one of them, when it arrived, it was oily, too oily to smoke even after some drying, after cutting and slicing it was like trying to rub out plastercine, or play doh to our American colleagues. However, now spring is upon us and it has had time to dry and age a little in the plastic pouch it arrived in, it behaves much better, smooth and creamy, it takes to the match with ease, will not bite but will provide a good honest tobacco taste, no flavourings or chemicals, a little monochromatic for some, but then you shouldn't have bought an unscented one, should you !!!

I can see this going into rotation along with Dark Plug. So if your looking for a good, honest northern English tobacco that's been around since Adam was a lad, you can't go far wrong with this.

I am a Burley lover, and in fact, only smoke (strong) Burley blends. Years back I used to smoke all strictly non-aromatic ropes from Gawith Hoggarth, however, I gave up after a while as I found the C&D Burley Flakes (1 and 4) which became my favorites. Still, once in a while I try new blends, and I was decided to try again "the Bogie". What a surprise! Such a wonderful smoke, rich, flavourful, exciting to the end. It needs drying out for about 30 minutes, but it pays off immensely. Highly recommended for the lovers of full Burley tobacco blends or who just are tired of wimpy smokes! Warning: smoke on a full stomach, because the vitamin "N" will leave your head spinning. Enjoy!

This is an overdue review... Despite the higher cost and a bit of fussy preparation, Happy Bogie has become my Virginia of choice. There's just nothing out there that I know of that can deliver the fullness of flavor that this great stuff does. Bag note is a sweet bacony Virginia with not even a hint of floral (thank you). I tend to be a bit lazy, so instead of the usual slicing, dicing and drying, I just drop about 3/8" for small bowl, or 1/2" slice for medium bowl into my coffee grinder and give it a few seconds time. I prefer an older twist that has dried out a bit, but still enjoy a fresh twist but I do dry it thoroughly, sometimes in the sun before smoking. Even dried, the charring light is persinckety, as is the relight. Paper matches will get the job done, and once well lit, this stuff behaves very nicely in the pipe. The flavor is deep dark caramelized Virginia so good that it will spoil you. Happy Bogie smokes good all the way to the bottom of the bowl, and it is a long, strong smoke. Very satisfying!

Potent. Delicious. A bit peculiar.

Recieved an ounce of this along with another GH twist. Have tried and liked SG Black XXX twist, so I had to try a brown twist. Yes, it looks like a turd.

Sliced into 1/16 inch disks and rubbed out. Really pissed off my wife by using a "good" cutting board and one of the Henkels knives. Let dry on table overnight until dry but not crunchy. I expected it to be potent, so I packed it into my smallest bowl- a small filtered prince.

Nice, true tobacco flavor from first light. Even, clean burn. Substantial bluish smoke. Smooth and biteless. Wonderful nose notes- almost maduro cigar scent. Reminds me a bit of a Parodi or DeNobili dark italian style stogie. Then the nicotine hits after about 5 minutes (and I'm not a nicotine lightweight), wow! Cottonmouth, throat tightens and a bit of heartburn. Put the bowl down! Sipped on a pint of iced tea and watched the rest of the Bigfoot show. Lit it up again- this time the flavor is SO much nicer and even delicately fragrant. Once again about 5 minutes into it- cottonmouth and a little N rush that I haven't really felt since chuffing down Lucky Strike Unfilterds in the boys room between classes in high school...

I like this stuff. Drug tobacco for the masses. Probably would be great for a night of drinking hard spirits or dark and bitter beers.

Even this little bowl is a bit to big for this stuff-just too much drug delivery- will try it in a corncob pony or maybe one of my small clay pipes that get too hot. Or perhaps I'll dig out thos chunks of pipe shaped cherry branches that I've been hiding in the garage and actually fashion a 1/2 inch diameter deep bowl pipe that I'll use just for this stuff...

I'll definately be ordering more of this. Definately a primo choice for those doing the cigarette to pipe thing. Jeeze, this might me the only tobacco that I hide in my marsh shack next to that bottle of bourbon for end of the world use...why not.

Certainly recommended...

Same as Brown Irish X (Brown Irish Twist). Extremely excellent strong stand alone, or as a top end blending agent. It's a helluvalot more convenient for prep because the rope size is 2/3 less the width. The positive consideration for the aforementioned fat lovely rope is that it's width allows for moisture retention that will age nicely in glass jars for at least 30+ years, and like fine wine, ONLY GETS BETTER! Providing you and I live long enough to enjoy the outcome. At that point, we could only hope that family members/friends have the good fortune to inherent such a curious thing, and the knowledge that would allow it's privileged pleasure.

Anyway, I love this stuff. It is for the experienced smoker. See my review for Brown Irish Twist, and you'll have my review for this super little twist.

Package note of barbecue, earth and mild ripe fruit. The wet 1/2-inch-thick rope is brown and darker brown and needs slicing into thin coins (with a razor or thin sharp knife) and rubbed out to get the fastest drying time. Burn is slow and requires numerous relights. The strength is very strong and nic is strong. No flavoring detected. Taste is full and consistent, with notes earthy spicy cigar, wood, leather, slightly sweet, wisps of coco powder and floral. Dark fired leaves leading more Dark fired leaves supported by dark air cured leaf, if I didn't read the "contents" above, I'd say burley was the lead component. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

Happy Brown Bogie is like having a Bull in a china closet in that you know what is going to happen: It's a strong earthy rope tobacco that gives plenty of Vitamin N and is very predictable. I imagine this is what my forefathers smoked and chewed back in the day.

The tobaccos used for this rope are clearly of superior quality and distinctive in flavor but if you are seeking the lighter side and nuance, this is not the blend for you. This is Graduation day stuff and everyone should try this blend to get to know the "Darker Side" of pipe tobaccos. All this being said, it's still not as strong as most cigars and about 100 times more flavorful.

I REALLY enjoy this stuff but not in regular rotation, rather as a treat or to extend a foul mood or maybe to run my wife out of the neighborhood.... It will need some serious drying time.

A fairly solid 4 stars from me.