Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Irish X Unsliced

Wow what a fantastic twist this is, its so meaty and very tastey, i love this stuff, its in my rotation 4++++ from me one of the best tobacco's ive evr smoked to be honest.

I've always wanted to try this style of twist, but was intimidated by reviews, despite my having smoked pipes for about 30 years, and chewing tobacco since I was 12. Finally I bit the bullet & bought 500g online, figuring I could divy it up among others who wanted to sample it as well.

Sliced it and dried it about 30 minutes before launching. Made sure I had a full stomach & was well hydrated to avoid a nasty nic kick. Tentatively lit the pipe as if I were dealing with ordinance, had the phone at hand lest I need to call for assistance and drew in the first puff.

Jumpin' Jehosaphat! What is this beautiful smoke drifting through my oral cavities! Strong flavors of Dark Fired Va reminiscent of a campfire grilled steak. A slight natural sweetness, but nothing sugary or artificial. Smoke so strong you can almost chew it, and the closest to a cigar flavor I've ever got from a pipe. While the nicotine is definitely present, it never assaulted me, and all my preparations and trepidations were in vain. This stuff ain't going nowhere, except into a big mason jar.

My only disappointment was that this won't double as a chewing tobacco for me. My normal brand is Red Man Sugar Free, and I've chewed many plug tobaccos, but this just didn't hit my tastes. Too rough and somehow bitter.

I give this the highests ratings, but with a caveat it probably isn't suitable for folks not well acquainted with nicotine.

Does anyone actually love this stuff on the first bowl? If so, I wasn't one of them. Like a lot of other tobaccos I wasn’t sure of, I gave it a few tries. And one day it clicked. But I can still see why this isn’t for everyone and not an all day smoke even for those who like it. It is an outdoor only blend for me. I suspect my wife would say it smells like a burning tire or a coal fire. The taste is certainly unique. Bbq meat comes up a lot but it isn’t sweet or smoky/salty like a Latakia blend. More like the fond left from a steak cooked in a cast iron skillet. I also get hints of citrus, like the smell of flamed orange peel. I highly recommend giving it a shot, maybe three or four before you pass final judgement. Try it mixed with something like Carter Hall if it is just too much at first.

Lot's was written here already, and most of that true in my opinion. Even negative ones, but in my case it positives. Like riding a motorcycle, you know - if you love it - almost all "negatives" become "positives" for you, or you even not care much about them.

Im writing this to say that it worth trying anyway, because if it "clicks" - you will discover a real treasure.

Summary: dark fired and air-cured Virginias, pressed and lightly stoved, create a rich full-flavor blend.

GH makes this rope by wrapping together several types of Virginias, mostly dark-fired, and then stoving the result. The result decreases sugars and somewhat reduces Nicotine, which is lower than in their unstoved "Brown Irish." When sliced and rubbed, this blend resembles cigar leaf, but burns well with a strong and rich flavor and high nicotine. Little if any Lakeland essence (funeral homes and old soaps) makes its presence known, and the leaf burns completely with a powerful flavor to its ember much like a campfire roasting meat in an old forest with a thick ground leaf layer. Blissful and excellent.

This here be the Rolls-Royce of pipe tabbacer. Thar aint none finer. Tell you what, you find one that is and I'm gone hit me with a hammer!

After reading the reviews of this tobacco by the members here, I ordered 500 grams and just finished my first bowl. Wow! Strong, nearly heartstopping when I first lit it, before getting it going nicely, but after it began to burn evenly, I've decided that I like it a great deal. I should also note that this is the first tobacco I've smoked in a few years, having given my pipe up for awhile. I burned mine in an extremely well broken in 4 dot, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Yes, it smells like roasting flesh, and yes it's an incredibly strong smoke, but I like very strong tobaccos, and never mind a stinky tobacco if it smokes nicely, and this one does. It smokes nice and cool (though the nicotine on your tongue is enough to make keeping something cool to drink handy a necessity), is extremely satisfying, and best of all, it not only ran my wife from the room, but entirely out of the house. Based on that alone, it's a keeper, even if tasted like burning pitbull turds.

HIGHLY recommended, but caution is advised.

P.S. The brown rope is much stronger, though it does have a better room note.

P.P.S. Date: July 13, 2010 Well, gents, I'm giving up smoking entirely now. I'll miss it terribly, but I suppose it's time. I may pick it up in another 15 or so years (if I manage to live that much longer), but for now, I'm going to call it quits. I haven't smoked (cigarettes) at all for a few weeks now, and just feel that if I keep my tobaccos, I'll never really be finished with it. So, I have a few hundred grams of Black Irish Twist if anyone wants it (not selling, giving). I hate to get rid of it, but I think it's best. Just contact me at mike.allen.phillips at gmail dot com and I'll send it out. First come, first served, of course. But please don't ask me to send this to you if you aren't actually going to smoke it. I hate to see it go to waste.

Regards

This tobacco I save for capping off the night before bed time. It is dark and formadable but that is half the attraction. It is pressurized removing a lot of the nicotine to produce a medium to full smoking experience. Great taste. My grand father and father used to mix these "Rat tail" tobaccos with inexpensive tea leaves because they were poor. Tobacco was hard to come by for them. This tobacco has a salty taste to it. It lights easily and stays lit. I smoke this tobacco in a Pipa Croci Dublin. A little goes a very long way. It is a great outdoor smoke on a rainy or wintry day. Cut in 1/8th inch pieces with a pocket knife and put through an inexpensive tobacco grinder and smoked straight will have you dreaming of the wee folk in the hills of county Kerry, Ireland.

I'll do this as a "First Impressions" since so much has already been written.

Firstly, it comes in turd-like ropes. It smells smoking--like burnt hickory and barbecue sauce. This must be the Dark Fired.

I used kitchen scissors to cut dimes off and then cubed and rubbed out the dimes. Five slices filled my #3 Stanwell Billiard.

I dried it out for 15 minutes. It could have used slightly more drying time as it smoked slow.

After reading all the comments about this being the "Tobacco of Death" I was careful about how I packed it and extra careful about how I lit it---which I did about 10 times. It could have used more drying time.

After getting it lit, wow. This is not a tobacco for novices. It smokes slow, cool and has a strong barbecued flavour. Dark fired Kentucy dominates. To my palate, Dark Fired is Latakia without the bite and incense flavour. Hickory and meaty barbecue. I was waiting for the nic-hit. It was not as strong and harsh as other blends. It took me 90 minutes to smoke and I had doddle left. Next time, I'll dry it out and that should do the trick.

This blend is not for everyone. But if you enjoy a cool, strong, heavy flavour it's great. One reviewer wrote about the "mouth-feel". He noted it was cool. Yes. For something this strong and flavourful you don't get a nasty taste in your mouth afterwards.

It requires a full stomach, careful drying and preparation, patience in keeping it lit, patience in slowly drawing on it. It is not the devil's blend but it is definitely a stand out.

UPDATE: After smoking this a few times I love it. It's strong but has no bite. It has a lot of real tobacco flavour. The smell is strong but not as "stinky" as I thought initially. The flavour is "hickory" wood. It does require around 30+ minutes of dry time or it becomes impossible to keep lit the further down the bowl you go.

This has a very traditional, masculine, hearty, strong flavour and smell.