Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sweet Maple Twist

I have been curious about rope tobaccos for quite a while, I must say. I also have a strong preference for G & H offerings over SG. They are quite easier to manage and prepare for smoking. A fellow member on a pipe forum was kind enough to send me a generous sample of Sweet Maple when I showed interest for it. Well, I have to say I enjoy this kind of tobacco a lot. The taste of the VAs is very deep, earthy, tasty. The maple essence is more than a toppping but not quite a casing, as it is present on and off throughout the pipeful. As this tobacco came very moist, you must have the patience to wait until it's sufficiently dry to smoke it; if you slice a coin from a moist rope and just let it dry, it will be tricky for, once packed and lit, the moistness tends to arise again, making it a lot difficult to enjoy as it triggers a lot of relights. So you're better off waiting for the all the rope to have lost most of its moisture. It will smoke much better. I listened to my fellow member's advice and cube cut the rope for smoking and it works very well. I also tried part cube, part rubbed out and it works well as well. No surprises, no complexities, just good deep tasting VAs with the gorgeous, delicious maple aroma. Of the three I have tried so far (Rum and Black Irish) this is my favorite rope because the maple topping is just awesome. And, boy, the nicotine contribution is splendid.

Presentation is rope - brown, between nickel and quarter diameter. Looks and feels dry, but oozes oils when prepped. To prep, one must slice thin coins with a sharp blade and then rub out the coins. Needs some drying time.

The maple flavor is pretty good, quite accurate, but not terribly intense. This actually reminds me of REAL maple syrup more than the artificially flavored pancake syrup you get at the grocery store, so I think they got the flavor right. That said....it is sweeter than the whiskey twist, but I would have liked a bit more sweetness. I'd give it higher marks if it had a stronger dose of sauce, but I like it quite a bit.

This is brown rope...if you don't know what that means, here's what you need to know - prep is a bit of a pain, it takes a while to get it lit and it needs a higher than normal number of relights, and (most importantly) it is very very strong in nicotine. I'm not exaggerating - this is some of the strongest stuff out there.

I started smoking a big-bowled pipe of this and just had to put it down for a while because of the strength of this tobacco. This is definitely the "Copenhagen" of pipe tobaccos; meaning it is as strong as Copenhagen smokeless tobacco in terms of nicotine. I sliced it into coins with my cigar cutter and then rubbed out the coins to get a fairly consistent pile. Then I let it air out for a few hours to get it at the proper moisture level. The maple flavoring is very subtle for me; I can just now taste it on my lips after having put the pipe down for the last 10 minutes or so. In smoking, it is not goopy or wet like some other aromatics. This is my second go with this tobacco. The first time I tried it I didn't let it dry enough and it was difficult to keep lit. This and some Black Irish X was generously gifted to me by OnePyroTec from CigarBum.com some months back. It is an enjoyable smoke and a pleasant change of pace from most other types of tobaccos that I have tried up to this point.

I recently finished a half pound of this. It is good, but I still prefer the unflavored brown ropes from GH and SG. This needed considerable drying time or it wouldn't stay lit. Good flavor but wanted to bite me a little. If I could no longer obtain S G Brown #4, GH brown twist or similar, I would likely keep on hand one of these flavored ropes.

I sent am email to TR to add this tobacco hoping to be the first to review it, but since it took me so long to finish the 2oz I like to smoke to review a blend, Blackhorse beat me to it! However, great job on your part!

Maple here is very subtle, but there. Not a cloying sweet like PG soaked aros, but a high quality maple extract. A perfectly spun rope, which is easy to slice and rub out. I do not find this over the top strong, but enough to know you are smoking a G&H rope. None of that strong motor oil quailities some ropes possess. If you are looking to venture into the world of ropes, don't forget to give this one a go!

Like other twists and ropes this is challenging to prepare but worth it for the rich flavor. The bold Virginia leaf is earthy and alternates between bitter and sweet. More than a few instances throughout the bowl it tastes like a bold cigar. The topping is a Lakeland style maple note. It is similar to the floral maple sugar topping in Rum Flake rather than the straight maple syrup of Autumn Evening. I use a big ring gauge cigar cutter to slice thin coins. It takes a significant amount of drying time to avoid a thousand relights. A bit of a hassle to smoke but tasty.

GH&C Sweet Maple Twist requires a little more preparation than usual (slicing off and rubbing out coins) and benefits from a half hour or so of drying. After that, it lights easily and burns cleanly, leaving only a light gray ash in the pipe.

SMT doesn't have much aroma. Taste wise, dark, molasses flavors predominate over grassy and floral flavors, although the latter become more apparent in the last third of the smoke. It has also a bit of a cigar taste. I couldn't detect any maple or even much sweetness until the very end of the smoke. I didn't think the strength was much past medium.

I'm glad I tried SMT but don't plan on buying it again.

UPDATE: Well, I tried this tobacco again and, too my surprise, after a bit of aging and drying out (in the microwave for about 15 seconds) it is a totally different smoke -- and a much more delicious one. The depth of flavor is amazing. It reminds me of a fine maduro cigar but sweeter, with lots of chocolate and coffee flavor, some bread and hay undertones and just a hint of Lakeland essence. I don't taste the maple flavoring but assume that the topping contributes significantly to the tobacco's sweetness as, it become progressively less sweet as the flavoring burns off.

The first half of the pipe is better -- more complex flavor. Towards the end of the bowl, it looses some of its complexity and tastes much more like a nice, fire cured Virginia. I still rate the nicotine hit in the medium range.

I will definitely buy more of tobacco, if I can find it.

This is a copy and paste from my review of the Coconut Twist. I am not an aromatic fan, but I am a huge fan of G&H ropes and twists. This one is not cloying, although the flavor is present throughout the smoke. If definitely subsides significantly, leaving the majority of the bowl with a solid, familiar G&H twist character. It's an interesting changeup once in a while, but it's not one I would smoke regularly.

Package note of barbecue, tart fruit and mild maple. The 3/4-inch-wide rope is brown and darker brown. Tobacco is wet, prep entails a razor or thin sharp knife and cutting thin coins for rubbing out, finally drying a bit. Burns slow with a more than a few relights. The strength is medium to strong and nic is medium Flavoring is very mild maple. Taste is medium to full and consistent, with notes of simi-sweet, earth, wood, dark fruit, mildly lemon, floral, cigar notes, and a spicy retro. Dark fired leaf is supported by dark air cured Indian leaf with maple flavoring lounging in the background. Room note is tolerable, and aftertaste is great.