Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Cherry Twist

Based on some of the poor reviews here it is my guess that some folks thought that they were buying, in today’s vernacular, an aromatic tobacco with lots of sweet sugary casing. The confusion comes from the very slight, and I mean slight addition of dark cherry essence to GH’s Brown Twist. As with the other scented brown twists and ropes, this is strong tobacco with an essence and not a flavoring as one would find in their favorite cherry aromatic blend. Lovers of the very good GH Brown Twist will enjoy this if you happen to like the light cherry essence. Personally, I could barely find it. But, I am one that enjoys GH twists and this is no exception. I do agree that this can be a challenge to prepare. Personally I prefer to use a coffee grinder, but a sharp knife will do too. I using a knife, I try to cut it like a cube cut Burley and then let it dry. Once cut, I generally let it dry for a few minutes under a desk lamp. If you like GH’s twists and ropes, this might be to your liking. If you are looking for a cherry aromatic, which I enjoy on occasion too, you might want to pass on this one.

Black Cherry Twist Unsliced;

Star Rating = 3.5;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 9;

Room Note = 9;

Flavor = 9;

Bite = 9;

Burn = 9;

After Taste = 9;

Raw Score = 54;

Rated Percentage = 90%;

Comment = Smooth, Medium Strength, Full Body Natural Tobacco Flavor (but no cherry flavor), this blend has a slight After Taste.

If you are one who likes to “play” with your tobacco, by all means get this “Twist” form of tobacco, you can spend countless hours “Slicing, Dicing and Drying” this “Twist” tobacco before it is ready to smoke. I admit I am a lazy pipe smoker so I didn't find this necessary extra preparation exercise to be of any value to heighten my pipe smoking enjoyment. You had better have a sizable ignition source on hand because you are going to need a lot of BTU's to get this “Twist” tobacco to light. Once you achieve the first ignition you will need to have your best “Tamping Tool” at the ready to handle the endless re-packings and re-lights that this “Twist” form of tobacco requires. Perhaps you have detected that the “Twist” form of tobacco is not my “cup of tea”.

G, H, & Co. Black Cherry Twist has a jar note after a couple of months that is black cherry, earthy and sweet. The smoke, however, is quite different from the jar note. It is very earthy as the Brown Twists typically are and woodsy, smoky, grassy, slightly herbal, and slightly floral, a little nutty with a spice note that comes and goes. The black Cherry topping is very lightly applied. I could barely taste it in the second half of the bowl and nothing at all until then. Unlike the jar note, the sweetness does not translate into the smoke. This is not a sweet aro by any means. This was an enjoyable smoke nonetheless. The nic hit is at the med-strong level and the overall strength is at the top of that category. The finish is rather short, and after finishing a blow the black cherry flavor does find its way into that finish. Smokes very dry for an aro. Recommended for those who like the bigger blends and want just a hint of black cherry in the smoke.

I bought this hoping to taste some cherry. It's good tobacco, but i taste zero cherry. I also taste zero Lakeland essence, for what it's worth. The fruit is so entirely lacking, that i imagine this must be intended to be chewed, and the flavor must come across somehow in that format. It was pretty much the same with the rum rope, tasted nothing of rum. Again, good tobacco, but i can't recommend it for anyone looking for the stated flavors. If you just want a decent brown rope, the alleged flavorings aren't going to get in the way of that, and i could recommend this tobacco to you. Slightly bitter, earthy, leathery, very strong, just plain brown tobacco essence. Nothing fruity, nothing green or fresh.

Package says, "Sweet Black Cherry Twist" vice "Black Cherry Twist", also has a package note of light cherries, mild fermented fruit and mildly smoky. The wet, three shades of brown, 25/32-inch (20 mm) fat rope 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 medium to strong and nic is mild-medium. Flavoring is mild with a faint note sweet cherries. Taste is medium to full and mostly consistent, with notes of earth, smoky wood, simi-sweet dark fruit, mild lemon grass, mildly floral, cigar, and a very spicy retro. It's like Dark fired Virginia is wrapped around more Dark fired Virginia and a small amount of dark air cured Indian burley, lightly flavored with inverted sugars and black cherry, spun into a rope, rolled up, and cold-pressed overnight. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is good.

I find this rope to be delicious. Lightly flavored with cherry and the earthy virginia leaf hits the spot for me. Giving it three and a half stars because the only flaw was difficulty in preparation/lighting. Once its going, its a treat. I figure i will get better at smoking it as i get thru this five hundred gram length of it i just ordered

I have smoked this for a couple of years now on a regular rotation. This is your typical Virginia twist tobacco. You get the earthy, smoked apricot flavours come through during the smoke. This is then finished off with a light cherry flavour. It is not cherry in proper sense. It is more like candy cherry flavour like cherryade. It is very pleasant and reminds me of sweets when I was smaller... or now everyone is partial to some sweets or cherryade.

It is very moist and quite sticky when you cut it and rub it out. It takes a little longer to dry to a usable level but it is worth it. It is a pleasant smoke, a bit like a dessert smoke. It has the usual high amount of vitamin N and can require some relights if it’s not dry enough. It does not bite.

I couldn't agree more with Warwick it's nothing like coconut twist. I sliced and dice it and let it dry for couple of hours I think that's where it's mistaken.. shouldn't let it aired that long maybe I'll try in my next bowl. I got no cherry or just figs at the very end of bowl and all I got from it was Cigary smelling taste and aroma. I might edit this review after trying different times of letting it dry and let see. But for now it's just 2 starts.

Like the coconut variant of GH brown rope, this one does not actually taste like its named flavor. Instead, the flavoring only serves to contour the robust brown rope's natural flavor. Even exhaling through the nostrils, I cannot discern black cherry or blackcurrant - only a full, rounded heartiness ever-so-slightly-sweet replacing the usual leathery brown rope flavor, yet retaining the occasional cigar-like inflections. Its a combination that works pretty well.

The only way I have found this to burn reliably is as follows: slice off thin disks; chop them up coarsely; set them out to dry; once bone-dry, pick up a bunch in your hand and crunch the crisp strands into tiny pieces (between dust and 1/4"). Doing this, the blend will light easily and will burn at a steady pace with the occasional puff.

I usually prefer Sliced Black Twist for its convenience in preparation and flavor profile, but this will be a nice occasional change of pace. I daresay I might even prefer this over unflavored Brown Bogie/Brown Twist.