Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Coconut Twist

I just finished off a two bowl sample given to me from a forum friend and fellow TR reviewer of this and I loved it so much that I just ordered some more today. My experience with strong blends made by a company by the name of Gawith have not been to favorable. I despised 1792 and BRN4 also slightly repulses me.

So I approached this blend with some trepidation. I was expecting the heavy industrialized nasty diesel like taste that I associate with those other two blends and was pleased that I didn't get any of that. I also didn't get a heavy aromatic tanning lotion coconut taste. What I got was a very pleasant smoke with a lot of nicotine.

I think the coconut topping in combination with some Cavendish keeps this one an easy smoker. Anyway, I know I haven't smoked a lot of it, but FWIW this is my impression. If someone wanted to try one of these ropes this is the one I would recommend trying first.

If I was asked to recommend an aromatic with a nicotine punch, this would be it. I don't find this rope too strong nicotine wise, but you can feel the affects after a full bowl. Great coconut aroma in the bag, that transfers to the smoke without being sickly sweet or cloying. A bit moist fresh, but a 20 minute rest after slicing into coins and rubbing out works for me. If you are searching for an aromatic that can lighten your head, give this one a spin. Pun intended.

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.

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.

I can't really add much to the previous review-it nails this tobacco perfectly. Just like Strongirish, I found that the strong bag aroma of coconuts does not translate to the actual smoke beyond the first few puffs, and that this tobacco is very cigar like. But if all the cigars I've tried tasted like this, I might smoke more of them. Really good stuff, and I will be glad to have some around. I will update when I have really gotten to know this rope, especially after it has started to age. I have it in a jar already. From the picture on the retailer's website, I expected it to be a blacker, thinner rope, but it is the size of S. Gawith Brown #4, and only a little darker.

I frequently hear people saying that a lot of ropes taste like motor oil. I like to smoke ropes and I know what they mean but I liken it more to the flavor of a maduto cigar versus a Connecticut type wrapper. When I was sent this rope to sample and review, I was expecting this type of flavor, but my expectations quickly changed. This is a very pretty rope, nice and soft and looking like a very nice cigar. The coconut flavoring that is added makes it smell great in the bag, and I expected to find here a very strong aromatic. I sliced this into coins and set it out to dry for several hours but also took some right out of the container and rubbed it out as is and smoked it right off. I think after smoking several bowls of this both dry, medium dry and as is and it is better without drying. It is a medium brown color and slices quite easily. It rubs out to nice thick ribbon rough cut flakes of varying colors of brown. I was easy to pack into my pipe but did take several lights to get it going but once lit, it sustained a nice slow burn and did not require more than one relite to the bottom.

Upon sitting back to enjoy a nice long slow smoke of this, I was very surprised that the coconut flavor did not really come through into the smoke. It really tasted much like a nice cigar with a rich, creamy, flavorful smoke, with a sweet overtone. Did not taste like an aromatic but more like a sweet VA but very rich and full. It is amedium to strong smoke but does not bite at all and there is none of the motor oil taste of other rope. A beginner could smoke this with no problems. I must state that if you accidently enhale some of the smoke, it is very strong and harsh. This one needs to be savored nice and slow. It has a great room note due to the coconut additive and it does leave a nice seet taste on the palette after finishing the bowl. It burns down to a nice dry dark gray ash leaving no gunk in the heal of the pipe at all. I have enjoyed the numerous smokes I have had of this and I higly recomment this blend. It would be a great introduction to ropes.

I've got a real thing for the amazing twists from the Gawith twins.

A few months back an estate pipe arrived and after a double dose of pipe sweetening, reaming, etc., I fired up a bowl of some neutral Burley. And what did it taste like? Coconut. Being a suggestible soul, I developed an immediate craving for coconut. And after about 30 seconds of research, I ordered 8 oz of this blend. (Suggestible and impulsive and optimistic all in one, it seems). I've long been a fan of Sam Gawith's ropes and I figured that Gawith & Hoggarth must be equally adept at producing them.

And so they are.

When a twist arrives at my door, I tend to have at it with a big chef's knife. Most of it I cut it into segments about 2 inches long and stuff into jars. For immediate smoking, I just chop some roughly and toss it into a smaller jar. I rub it out further before I load and I find that drying to the crispy stage seems to work best for me.

Coconut twist is not an aromatic in the usual sense: there's nothing remotely goopy or bitey about it. It is first and foremost a powerful brown rope bursting with classic African Virginia intensity and depth. On top of that robust, cigarish tobacco flavor is a very subtle coconut quality that tends to diminish as the ash builds.

I often read how the various ropes are 'not for beginners,' but I don't think I agree. I think that anyone coming to the pipe from a different form of tobacco--cigars, cigarettes, or chew--might be best starting with these nicotine-rich, inspiring tabacs. It's true, of course, that some find these tabacs to be utterly vile, gruesomely potent, so be forewarned. But I think they're a great historical introduction to the pleasures of the pipe.

Well, I did get this as a free sample, though mine was brown and not black, as OSR mentioned. (hope I'm reviewing the right rope here!) Somehow, this rope really hit me right. I got a load of free samples to start a box pass from a kind soul in a forum.....most of what I tried were ropes, and this one did the trick. To me, it was just like a normal brown rope with, well, a coconut twist. Maybe it was aged, because it sure was smooth. The smoothest rope I've ever smoked. I've just located a place to get it online, marscigar, and I'll update this when I've smoked some more. If you like ropes, this is a strange, but good choice. 4 stars!