Synjeco Holker Twist

This is Oxenfisl with seven percent perique. The Virginias are dark stoved, dark and light brown, with a little bright, and are much more earthy/muddy than grassy. The sweet flavors are predominately fermented dark stewed fruits with a mild citrus and some tanginess. The perique has as much spice as it has raisins, figs, and dates, though you won’t notice the spice in every puff because of the Virginia sweetness. There is a very minor floral Lakeland essence, but it doesn’t sublimate the natural tobacco taste to any extreme, and I think it comes from the blend being in the same area with Lakeland blends rather than it being a topping. It does weaken as you go along, and isn't often present. The perique helps to lessen the Lakeland effect, too, compared to Oxenfisl, so it is less obvious here. The twist may need some dry time no matter how you slice it. And depending on how you pack the bowl, the flavors, especially the citrus, will vary in how often you notice them. I prefer to thin cut the twist and stack them as coins, leaving a few loose stand on the top and bottom of the bowl for easier lighting, and less clog at the bottom. The tobacco strands are very thin, so I don’t recommend drying them too much. Burns slow, clean and cool, with a fairly smooth flavor. Has a mild to moderate nic-hit. No bite and no harsh or dull moments. Leaves virtually no moisture in the bowl and will burn to the proverbial fine white ash. Needs some relights. Has a full after taste and room note. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

Synjeco’s Holker Twist, which I believe is made by Samual Gawith (although it could be Gawith Hoggarth), looks like a Madero cigar in the pouch, but is more tame than most other ropes I have smoked. The outer leaf is dark while the filler appears to be that of a typical VaPer. I favor cutting the rope into very small pieces. HT is pretty much pipe ready from a moisture standpoint. At first light, there is no doubt that this is a Lakeland style Virginia in flavor, but I believe that to be a result of processing or the origin of the leaf rather than a topping or casing. There isn’t any of the typical floral or soapy flavors found in Lakeland style blends. The Virginias here remind in of those found in Bright CR Flake by GH. But unlike Bright CR, there is a healthy dose of Perique in HT that offers more of a pepper component rather than a fruity one. Strength wise, I think that most will find this to be medium or medium to strong, rather than outright strong like many ropes. Fans of this genre will find this to be an excellent VaPer twist. I can’t wait to see how this one ages. Highly recommended!

Esoterca's Dunbar awakened my palate to the pleasures of perique. I had been enjoying perique in blends like Old Gowrie and Marlin Flake without knowing it. Rather like the bourgeois gentilhomme, M. Jourdain, I had been speaking prose without realizing it. Anyhow, Dunbar started an engagement with perique, and though the pleasure came relatively late in life, it came strongly. Since then i have explored the deep tasting experience of perique in blends such as Anniversary Kake, Haddo's Delight, Momoyama etc and rediscovered Navy Rolls and Escudo.

Synjeco's Holker Twist takes its place along with the best of virginia-perique blends. According to the site it is made for Synjeco by Samuel Gawith. The virginias in the blend have all the virtues of the Gawith steamed virginias - cool and slow smoking, delicious sweet taste and a full mouth feel. The perique tastes of dry fruit rather than pepper, and is felicitously married to the virginias. Though there is hardly any tin - bag, really - aroma, the room note is very attractive. Burning qualities are excellent though some relighting is necessary at the end of the bowl. The twist form means there is the added pleasure of playing about with the tobacco. I found it worked best in medium to large sized bowls.

An obvious choice for the virginia-perique lover, but straight virginia smokers may also find it a pleasant smoke. Highly recommended, without any reservations.

My absolute favourite, if you like vrirginia try this , if you like Perique try this..

Quite easy to prepare, just slice of half a centimeter, pluck apart, dry for a bit, stuff your pipe and enjoy!

I dont know why I didn't review this blend when I bought it two years ago. Back then, like with Synjeco's Clegir Rope, I was somewhat disappointed, but like that one, Holker Twist has benefited amazingly from two years in a jar. It is now one of the finest Va-Pers I can think of. Very pure, very clean tasting, and with an extremely elegant interplay of Virginia and Perique. It doesn't get any better, really.

In terms of appearance it is a very thick rope, dark brown and oily, inside there are bright and brown tobaccos, with a few bits of black which must be the 7% Perique. It does not smell like a VaPer in rope form, it smells more like the other Gawith ropes.

I cut a few coins for each bowl, 5-6 paper thin coins or 4 thicker ones, and left to dry overnight each time. They did not dry to a crisp, needed 4-5 lights to take, but then needed far fewer relights than expected, and did not smoke wet at all.

Taste is interesting, interesting because it doesn't have highs and lows, it's sort of middle ground. For me it tastes a bit like DLNRs, 633 or StBernard Flake, quite sweet in fact with limited spice. Some grass here and there, as well as whiffs of Gawith's powerful earthy, oily, dark Virginia used in their brown ropes, I'm sure it is the wrapper leaf so there's very little of it, it does show up though.

Overall it is not strong in nicotine, but the taste is very good and full, Perique spice is limited, if anything this tobacco is stewed fruity-sweet, the spice only became obvious for me at the last third of the bowl. I didn't pick up any "Lakeland" from the smokes I had, just straight up, honest, sweet, smooth and cool-smoking VaPer. Will be getting a lot more of it.

Edit 30 Oct 2021: spending a month with it I have fallen in love, the magic giving it an edge over so many others is the dark oily wrapper giving it body and substance that can be missing in lighter VaPers. This could be it.

I agree with SteelCowboy's review. i have smoked Ht both fresh and aged 6months. fresh: Ht can be a bit harsh when smoked fresh, the taste is great but the components havent fully merged. After 6months: this baccy ages very well, the harshness i found when i smoked it fresh is all gone and instead i found it more mellow with a warm impression with a perfect peppery flavour from the perique, also the natural sweetness of the Va is more balanced now. I think i need to buy some to store for a year or more because i believe that this baccy will be even better when aged for more than a year!

I perfectly agree with the reviews has been said before, it is a must try tobacco. Beautiful composition, amazing taste....highly recommended!

This is one of the greatest tobaccos I have ever tried. Flawless presentation, full and smooth smoke without the slightest danger of bite and a simply magnificent taste. Holker Twist has just the right amount of natural sweetness and the added perique fits in perfectly. If you have an opportunity to get this tobacco you should really try it.

I bought this tobacco thanks to the good advice of Mr.Daniel (the gentleman behind Synjeco). He knows my cup of teas are always Virginia related and the Perique (if in small amount) is welcome. As the other Briar-brothers described, is a beautiful twist slightly oily and wet. Those characteristics don’t diminish the whole potentials. It's really a superb baccy! I prefer to cut it in paper thin slice and then crumb them with my fingers. I smoke it both immediately and after 15/20 minutes of dry-out. No big variations, honestly. I tried it in any kind of bowls (from small to large) and the more I smoke the more I like it. Needs some relights. A top-notch all day smoker for my taste. Way recommended.