Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Irish X Unsliced

I bought this to give it a try. Also bc I like strong tobacco forward blends.

The rope looks oily and black. It smells smoky and rich. I used a cigar scissor to cut it into coins. I’ve cut them thick and thin, and it changes the character of the smoke pretty dramatically. I prefer them about the thickness of a nickel, and rubbed out. A bit of drying time is needed. Even still, it does take a good charring light to get going. The result is a slow smoking, strong tobacco flavor. The flavor is dark fired kind of smoky, dark and earthy. It also has a kind of gentle maple sugar sweetness that pops in. In the same way that dark chocolate or molasses is not very sugary but noticeable. It has a bit of a bbq vibe to it. It can get a bit damp if it’s smoked too fast. It’s manly to say the least. It has a good nic hit too.

It reminds me a lot of a good strong cigar in some ways. It has a good presence and is hard to ignore while smoking. It’s not very complex, but it is thought provoking. The rope is fun to work with and playing with the cut is an interesting game. I like it with coffee. And it’s probably good with a smoky scotch.

First time I went to Namibia I met Biltong: dried meat in long dried ropes. At first bite I almost spit it: disgusting! Then, forcefully, I tried a second small bite (the Namibians around me were laughing). Well, not bad. And then again and again. I ended up enjoying Biltong a lot. The first time I came across Black Irish (many years ago…too many, gosh) my approach was exactly as with Biltong. Nowadays, I’m a big fun of this old powerful stuff. The other pipe brothers (with a huge palette of taste) described it none the better. For me is simply a wonderful baccy, strong but not overwhelming, meaty but not queasy. Definitely not for beginners but a must for any serious VA, VA/PER lovers (no Perique here, be sure). I love to buy it in long twists, cut when I need it in thin slices (as thinner as possible), crumbing it a bit and…dream. Is a real medicine, good for meditation and to stuff an already stuffed belly. I try for now and then , the 'leftovers' of previous evening I never had dizziness or other drawbacks. I started smoking Black Irish in small pipes but I’m comfortable even in medium bowls. As far as ghost is concerned, not an issue for me. My pipes rotation is big (huge according to my wife but who trusts wives?!) and never appreciate its taste after changing tobacco. Mr. Nik O'Teen is present but not massive. For me a daily evening good chap. Don’t try it if you’re'a vegan' but if you like Braa (Namibian meat roast) it’s a must.

Am I really giving this one four stars? Yes! But why? When I first throw this to a bowl I was convinced this is a one star tobacco! The first impression was awfull! The burning sausage aroma was too much for me to try again I thought. But as a latent masochist as I am I usually go over myself to try to get that kind of mysterious plesure hidden in those actions. And this is what I found. I totally get those people marking this precious baccy with just one undeserved star. Especially when you are a vegetarian or worse a vegan! This is a strange tobacco. A little confusing? No! It is really schizophrenic to state the definition. Until you get it under your skin. But here I am to help a bit. Just let it sleep in the tin after opening for, lets say, three months or more. Til it is totally dry. Then moisture it back. The burning meat is not gone then but it is a little less pronounced now. Then pack it a little more moist than you are normally used to. Pack the pipe loose. Lit. When it is too sharp just tamp it - carefully! carefully! - to get a nice burning, creamy sweaty mellow smoke. Now you have a PLEASURE! Still a little confusing but now an interesting palette of feelings. Reminds me of a festival (not the Solani tobacco) in the spring or autumn. When there are those candyfloss and grilled sausages aromas mixing in the air. I am there like I was when I was a little child.

The taste is sweet the aftertaste is even a bit sweeter. I wish this taste for all those vanilla, choco, caramel or coconut aromatised tobaccos. To undone a little more of the aroma you can try retrohale it since then the maple-ish sweet topping would step forward and the burning meat aroma changes to more "smoky" and less "meaty". It is even better with Bellows to retrohale this one. For me the retrohale is comfortably doable after about a half bowl when the tobacco settles a bit since the dark fired tobaccos are the biggest chalenge for me to retrohale them.

Smoke and drive: Make sure the environment is calm and peacefull. This baccy needs almost a meditative state. Do not smoke this when drive 🙂

The Pu-erh of pipe tobacco, funky and delicious. Burnt marshmallow, burnt tires and sileage. I get why some people hate this. It's an acquired taste. Not as strong as Brown Irish X. Not as harsh either

This tobacco is spun into a rope. I used a cigar cutter then separated each "coin" into ribbons, then tore the ribbons into manageable strips,

The tin note is mild, pleasant tobacco perhaps slightly roasted. Light it in a pipe, however, and there is nothing mild about it. One first notices a savory, meaty flavor which very much appeals to my carnivorous instincts. Just as the smoker begins to enjoy the experience, he is hit with burning rubber reminiscent of an eighteen-wheeler suddenly braking to a stop.

It is essentially two smoking experiences unfortunately combined into one. Would that I could grasp only the former and not the latter. Perhaps it would become more palatable with age, but I am not optimistic.

Just came back from a Med cruise. This year there were four pipe smokers, including me. One old chap from Yorkshire only smoked one brand, obtaing it from his indoor market. I asked if we could swop a bowl of tobacco so we could try the others blend. He said he didn’t like to try anything else smoking his blend for years, but he would give me a bowl of his gawith-hoggarth black-irish-x-unsliced, it was a chewing tobacco. Great and very strong, but not as good as E A Carey’s Sliced Black Twist. The brotherhood of pipe smoking, you can’t beat it. Nice to try this tobacco. And what a nice guy.

premium all around smoke so happy to have 500 g.shall have a great winter smoking fun enjoyable season. very complex with some fruit as well a little salt on the back side. pared it with 111 proof Makers Mark so very befitting. none of which is for the faint of heart. need your big boy puff on for this wonderful treat. this is one for me .really enjoying it right now. hope to take time to present a full review at a later date. nothing like fettling with the plug to suit my fancy and this rope is no different so fun and pleasurable to prep for a wonderful puff

I basically do endorse 1000% the words of Laserboy.

... just, I don’t feel this black rope is strong to that point and, as he said, it’s all about the self controlled conduction of the pipeful. In comparison to the Sam’s black rope, this one is just… sweeter. The combination of charred meat and sweetness is something love or hate. I just love it.

Of course this is far from a daily smoke, but one does not need some rare alignment of stars to enjoy a bowful of this. In my experience the best results came from loose packing in a medium bowl.

And, may I suggest: please try to add a couple of pinches to some 20gr of a full latakia mixture, and see yourself what happens.

The same flavors as Brown Irish Twist but more subdued and with a very fibrous, burnt onion peel taste. The nicotine is also lighter but it's still a stout smoke. Like BIT, not an everyday smoke but one that hits the spot in colder temperatures.

Virginia lover