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

An interesting tobacco, from a historical point of view. I enjoy smoking unusual tobaccos for the fun of preparing them. This was no exception, but the smoking characteristics were less fun. It was very strong for a start, and rather harsh. I put the pipe down for 15 mins as it was so strong, but on relighting the harshness was 10 times worse. It wasnt bite so much, just a harshness that irritated my mouth and throat. The flavour was very natural, woody, nutty, slightly smokey, but the harshness made it unpleasant to smoke.

I've heard of this style of tobacco that miners would chew while in the mines, then put the chewed quid in their pockets. Later, when it was a bit drier, they would smoke it, and kept some of the ash for their wives to blend with their snuff. Perhaps by chewing it first it gets milder. I'm not too enthusiastic to find out, but in the interests of historical research I suppose I should. Ill save it for a rainy day, but will report my findings when I do.

-------Update 2019-------

So I never did bring myself to chew this, but did smoke it again, if only because I think it's the very strongest tobacco I've found, and wanted to check if my tolerance has increased. It has, and I can now smoke a Falcon full of this stuff and survive... But it still stands as the strongest weed I know of. The harshness I complained of when I first tried it is I think a nicotine tingle, which grows as you progress through a bowl of this. The flavour is otherwise mild, astringent and nutty, and there is no tongue bite as such. The main issue for me is that its hard to keep lit, rubbing it out well and packing loosely helps with this bit make sure you have plenty of matches.

Handy weed for a high speed nicotine hit from a small pipe, but not the sort of tobacco to settle down with for an hour or so. The unusual presentation and heroic strength makes this one any nicotine fiend should try. I'd be interested to know if anyone knows of a stronger tobacco...

Thinner than the twists, the bogies can be chewed like the pigtails or cut down and smoked in a pipe. G&H brown twists, bogies, and pigtails aren't cooked, so they are stronger and more direct than the black twists.

Brown Bogie has the same flavor as Brown Irish Twist, the primary difference being that it's 15mm instead of 20mm thick. It's pretty interchangeable, but if you like to chew this is the one to buy.

I still recommend the rum twist for smoking, a little flavoring goes a long way with strong, raw tobacco like this.

I chew this like plug chewing tobacco when I cant smoke but I don't enjoy it very much in the pipe. I dipped Copenhagen snuff for 16 years and I am trying to stop, when I have a craving I don't buy Copenhagen I just chew a small cut of this rope and find it satisfying.

Like all twists, this is very inconvenient unless you actually like all the fuss and foreplay that has to happen before you can smoke it (though you can buy it sliced up for you). Also, it's a little like going on one of those scary rides at amusement parks: some people enjoy it and can't get enough of it; others stagger around groaning and vomiting and looking green. The vital thing here is to smoke slowly: as slowly as you can (careful preparation is therefore especially necessary; otherwise it will just keep going out). If you do, you will get a strong, full, traditional tobacco flavour and a smoke that will last for a good deal more than an hour in a middle-sized bowl. If you don't, you will immediately join the fraternity of those who stagger around groaning and vomiting and looking green. It's very, very strong in nicotine terms, and very harsh if you rush it. Personally, I don't like it, because I'm a wuss. If you do like old fashioned, uncased, strong, Popeye-the-Sailor tobacco, this'll do you nicely. I give it two stars - I recommend it, but with a warning that you're in for a fight if you try it. This is definitely not one for the faint of heart, and definitely not for the novice.

Well, I have arrived. In my quest to smoke the tobaccos of my ancestors, I don't think it gets any more oldschool than this. This is the unadulterated, balls-out, no bullshit tobacco of soldiers, sailors, fur trappers and gunslingers. If they were of the inclination to partake of the leaf, men of all walks of life would've puffed this 200 years ago. From prolific, credentialed men of fine art and literature, like Mark Twain and Ulysses S. Grant, to simple farming and mining men like my great great grandfathers, they were united in their love of a good smoke, and after a bowl of this, I can see why many of the manly men of days gone by generally didn't live to see old age. This stuff is for men of a different constitution. Men of grit and nails. The kind that worked hard, drank harder, and had beards and moustaches.

Its presentation is antiquated. And not terribly appealing to look at. Looks like rope. Or old, dirty, clothwrapped wire. Or possum shit. This is tobacco that requires knowledge and a little elbow grease to prepare, as well it should. If you're even considering smoking this, congrats, you know a thing or two about tobacco. Or woe to you, because someone's bustin' yer chops. Treat it with the reverance that you would treat the first stiff drink you have with your father figure, older brother, or that special uncle in your life. It is to be savored. Enjoyed. Pondered, and most importantly, respected. Do NOT overindulge, or slam it too fast, or you'll rue the day you breathed your first. This is stiff. Rugged. Toothsome. Hefty. Grizzly. Buckle up.

It smells rather strong and oily in its unlit form. Like wet autumn leaves and earth, with a heavy presence of pitch and tar. Must. Mildew. Leather. Ammonia. But the refined smoker will notice subtle tones of dried fruit, even cocoa, with woody, spicy notes like cedar and cypress. There's a bready, almost honey aroma, that suggests the presence of natural sugars, and a prominent sizzle of nicotine, which this has in abundance. There's a funk to it as well, that I can only think to describe as being akin to compost, which makes sense. This is, after all, aged, dead leaves, twisted into a length of rope, in hopes that its own natural oils and juices might preserve it through fermentation and air-curing.

The taste is stout, to say the least. Slightly bitter, savory, and meaty, with grassy, hay-like flavors, and a truly leathery mouthfeel. Very one dimensional, without much evolution throughout the smoke. Thick and rich, this smokes, smells, and tastes like a hefty, full bodied cigar. Pure, high qualty tobacco in all its naked glory, with no condimental leaves or casings to shroud its...hairier parts.

I've encountered many rich, full flavored tobaccos, but to date, this is the only one that I could describe as "high gravity." It's literally filling. I couldn't finish the second half of my already modest bowl, but the first half gave me a satisfying enough smoke for the next ten. The nicotine here is serious, and not to be trifled with. It's tangibly present in the thick, and full bodied smoke. Despite being pretty grizzly, it's very indulgent and rich. Not an everyday smoke by any means, and might be a once a year affair for me, if that, but I can see how folks could get into this.

If you seek a symphonic, artisanal blend with nuance and subtlety that evolves as it's smoked, look elsewhere. This is not the zenith of refined artistic craftsmanship in pipe smoking. This is tobacco that laid the groundwork for that. This is the stuff shipped in barrels and crates and casks, that went to the guys who built the barrels and crates and casks that would carry it, along the roads on which it traveled (that those guys also built), and to the ships (they built these too) upon which it was shared with the world. This is fuel for hard working men, who appreciate a hard working smoke. Enjoy with caution, and get something done.

Once you get past the smell, you've got it licked.

Once sliced, rubbed and dried a bit, it lights easily and produces clouds of white smoke and a good nicotine hit. It just doesn't seem to taste like much.

It does make a fine chew, and I think I may grind some into nasal snuff.

Like all Gawith Hoggart tobacco there is an obvious and fast quality degradation with this tobacco, it lost its intensity and amount of nicotine. I think it should be a problem with the crop or the process of tobacco leaves as it fade out. What I don't like is the fact that this company deny it totally and the prices increase. My review is over 25 words..lol

I received a few inches of this twist from a friend, to sample. I sliced some and found that it needed an overnight drying to smoke without too much effort. The taste was rich and satisfying but after half a bowl I got an unpleasant buzz and thought I tasted cigar leaf, which I avoid like the plague. Perhaps that is the wrapper. This blend is tasty but I would recommend it only to those who can handle the cigar-y nicotine buzz. I could not.

First impression; it looks like turd. Thankfully smells like tobacco, hopefully will smoke better than turd.

Not an everyday smoke this one but as an ex-cigarette smoker I get the nicotine hit I need with this stuff. Sadly I only get the nicotine; no flavour. It's just (for lack of another word) harsh as others have said before.

Preparing this stuff can be tiresome at times; cut into coins, cut some more into cubes, rub it out or just load it as kind of cubes into the pipe of your choice. Don't forget to dry it a bit as it will be difficult to smoke as it is. Even cutting this stuff is difficult; your knife will be covered by oily stuff.

Recommended to those who needs a quick nicotine fix not to those who wants flavour.