Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Coconut Twist

My only previous experience with a rope tobacco is Samuel Gawith Brown #4 and while I enjoyed it I felt there was something lacking in the blend. It seemed just a little too bitter in the sense of a cigar. Not in a bad way but just too much of it for my taste (this is coming from a formerly exclusive cigar smoker so take that as you may). G&H Sweet Coconut Twist succeeds where Brown #4 failed for me. There is just a notch up on the sweetness level that plays perfectly with the dark notes of the rope and balances out with the bitterness of the wrapper. Much like a balanced beer that has a good interplay between the bitter hops and sweet malt.

I would suggest taking your smallest pipe, slicing up the rope into thin disks, rub the disks out gently, let dry for 20 minutes or so to the desired dryness and pack your pipe lightly. This seems to work quite well and avoids a nicotine overdose that would push you over the edge from comfortable to sea sick. It certainly does have a fair amount of nicotine but I think this blend is still approachable as long as you take some caution and respect the potency of the rope. I might suggest that new pipe smokers get a little experience under their belt before chasing after this one.

On light up there is a nice blast of sweetness with only the faintest breath of something resembling coconut. The rope smells only slightly of coconut and I think it would be folly to think of this as an aromatic. Scented would be the right phrase. I detected no bite as I slowly puffed along and encountered a nice full bodied smoke that was sweet, dark, African Virginias along with a tiny bit of bitterness that can be likened to my previous hops/malt analogy. It's a bit monochromatic throughout the bowl but it never becomes tiring.

If you're in the mood for a strong smoke that's a cut above the rest then I would most heartily suggest this one.

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Sweet Coconut Twist.

Because Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. are based in the Lake District, U.K., there's usually a plentiful supply of their blends available from the U.K. dealers I use. However, for some strange reason, S.C.T. couldn't be sourced, so this meant I'd have to run the risk of an import surcharge from the government on a Smokingpipes.com order! Any-who, I got hold of it!

If it's a twist/rope tobacco I always just stick some in my coffee grinder. Despite the girth of S.C.T. it only takes a fast blast to reduce it to a coarse looking mixture which has equal parts of light, medium, and dark brown. Like all flavoured twists it has a stronger aroma of the flavouring once it's been prepared.

The coconuts are much milder than in the unlit aroma. They're notable, but only in a mild supporting capacity to the stout Virginias. These are very flavoursome: rich, rugged, earthy. As well as the Virginias and coconut I notice a sweetness kicking in after a quarter bowl. One of my quibbles with it is it can be a little too warm.

Nicotine: just touching on strong. Room-note: not too good.

Sweet Coconut Twist? Quite nice but nothing spectacular. Somewhat recommended:

Two stars.

OMG! Now I know what they mean when they say Earthy/Nutty full bodied taste I found in this particular rope tobacco! and I enjoyed every sip out of the bowl and Yes every pipe tobacco is meant to be sipped like a fine wine! Oh man that occasional whisp of cocoa flavor I couldn't control but to laugh like a child... Yes I like it that much! a truly full bodied Virginia smoke with a satisfying mid nic hit and after smoke pleasant taste in mouth. Well done again GH! a true pleasure!

A nice thick, tightly wrapped, moist and oily brown rope with a light coconut flavor. The added flavor is nicely done and fits well with the Virginia's. This also makes a great chew.

After the topping fades the unmistakable and mouthwatering brown rope flavor picks up and delivers a smooth, satisfying smoke that can burn for what seems like hours, even in a small bowl.





Like all ropes, tongue bite and harshness are nonexistent, even if you puff like a fat man running a 100 yd. dash. Ropes are generally more expensive than other GH offerings, but considering the extra labor involved in spinning them and the quality and performance of the product, I will continue to cellar them despite the extra cost.

About a week ago, a well known and respected member of our pipe club brought in some bags of tobacco giveaways and laid them out on the table. I saw this one and just had to try it. It was a good 8oz of rope that I somewhat greedily snatched from the table. After realizing my lack of manners, I insisted he take 10 dollars (all I had in my wallet) to at least ease my guilty conscience. Yes, even us pipe smokers are not perfect at times. A few members read my posts as I am not completely anonymous so you can take this as my confession of sorts. Now that the smoke has cleared on to my review and experience dealing with rope. I like the art and craftsmanship that goes into making these, wish I could actually watch it in progress. The dark brown rope is about the diameter of a dime and I got out a disposable cigar cutter and clipped off about an inch. This is a really dense, thick rope and I had to really use some force to cut this. I took the wrapper off to use as kindling and broke the dime size piece up with a knife on my tobacco cutting board. Yes, all rope smokers should have one. I loaded it into my cob and placed the wrapper on top to help with the firing process. After 10-20 matches and almost as much time in minutes, I finally got it going. I now understand what the previous owner said with it being too much trouble. I also did have to relight quite some after letting my pipe rest. I am sure there are pro’s that could do a better job than me but no big deal. With the name “sweet coconut” I expected more than the wisp detected by my jaded sense of smell nor could I taste it either. A slight essence but I swear I think that was my mental telepathy willing the coconut oils to come through. If I had not been told I would never have guessed there was coconut. Several reviewers have alluded that this is probably Brown Twist #4 from Samuel Gawith with a mild topping. I have not tried brown twist but they may be on to something. The tobacco itself sans the topping is actually quite good and I have enjoyed what I smoked. Besides, the rope looks cool stored in my pint jar, unfortunately cut into 4-inch ropes to fit. I am looking forward to having more down the road. So, other than the boss lady saying it looked like something the dog left behind in the yard I can honestly say I liked the experience and will be smoking more in the future. 2 stars for lack of coconut, 3 for craftsmanship and the excellent Virginia tobacco.

Coconut Twist is a very pleasant surprise. It's the last variety of the G&H twist family I've tried. I've tried all the brown and single black twist that are available in the states. I like them all but the browns more than the black. It turns out this is my favorite which I find somewhat amusing and ironic.

It is true that all of the flavored twists' initial aromatics fade away quickly but they do change the room note. Coconut twist's aromatics last longer and they are prevalent in the most pleasant way. The irony is I don't like Fruity flavored tobacco, most of which are drug store goop or most commercially available Burley-based aromatics. The first part of the bowl was fruity and earthy spicy. That goes very well with the coconut and the room note was the nicest of all the varieties.

It's also a tad less nicotine potent than the others; I can smoke more before I cry uncle.

Tobacco wise, as always, a deeply rich sweet, spicy and earthy experience. Never bites. Hats off to G&H for over two centuries of mastery and tradition.

Moisture wise I like it straight off the rope, separated out and tossed around to air it out. You get the max aromatics that way. Yeah, it takes more lights. That's why they invented butane. 8>)

4 stars.

I aim to have this in my private stash forever.

If you've tried the unflavored ropes, you've tried this one. The bag note has a slight coconut odor to it. I loaded up G&H Coconut Twist in an Astley billiard. Apparently it’s made with a magical coconut flavored topping that you get exactly one whiff of coconut from but then just disappears after the charring light never to be heard from again.

Here is the thing, G&H ropes are fantastic if you like the genre. But when they say Cherry or Coconut, do not expect a Cherry or Coconut aromatic. I'm not sure what they put on the Cherry or Coconut but it certainly never lasts beyond the initial lighting that I have experienced. From then on, it's just great, rich tobacco. Maybe they wave a coconut over this at the factory or are just thinking about coconuts when they make it but it has no coconut flavor and no coconut aroma. Maybe have a Pina Colada or some Malibu Rum if you want some coconut while you smoke it. Actually, that might be good.

Coconut would be a very cool flavor to replicate in a smoke, so will it? The initial aroma from the uncut rope was an unassuming, dull, and lightly sweet. Once cut, I left the room and came back to what I guess could be considered faint coconut with a pleasing "natural" bouquet.

Get a sharp knife, or expect the discs to have big leaf pieces that pack like shredded cardboard and suffer a quick burn rate. Dry the pile out for a few minutes, as it may take an extra match to get going, but once lit, the product burns evenly. Like other flavored ropes I have had, the casing gets lost in the smoke, yet there was always a hint of coconut lingering to lighten things up. Thankfully, things never got too cigar like, even by the end.

When I order something labeled as coconut, I would expect to spend a day in tasting the tropics, so similar Aromatic fans may will want to look elsewhere.

Simply, ghastly. What an unspeakable tragedy it is that Gawith Hoggarth & Co. took their glorious rope tobacco and applied this horrendous topping to it. I love GH&Co tobacco and Lakeland blends in general but Sweet Coconut Twist is retch-inducing.