Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Irish X Unsliced

If there is any doubt that a person's personal chemical makeup plays a large role in one's flavor impressions of a certain pipe tobacco, then read all of the reviews of Black Irish Twist. Some esteemed members here say it is an all-time favorite while other esteemed members say it is an all-time worst.

Strong and oily with an all tobacco taste, pure and simple. With G&H Black Irish Twist in your pipe, the cares of the world will quickly fade from your immediate thoughts. All of your attention will be focused on trying to get through your bowlful of the stuff . Of secondary concern (well, for me anyway,) was what to do with the rest of the tin? I finally decided to bury it in my neighbor's back yard. Please don't tell.

(I swear to God) Last Update: after journeying twenty miles to my nearest serious tobacconist in Newcastle-Under-Lyme I was chatting with the owner about his stock. Black Irish Twist, he told me, is his biggest seller by far - all the local farmers smoke it. I said I was amazed at this and he said, 'Well, once you've smoked this stuff for a while, nothing else comes anywhere near in terms of strength: there's no going back from this stuff'. A cautionary tale, then.

FURTHER Update: I have become a hopeless Peterson's Irish Flake junkie since writing the reviews below. However, my local 'bacconist has a bad memory and 'forgot' my recent order of Peterson's finest! Alas! So, twitching and gibbering on a Sunday morning with nothing stronger than St.Bruno Flake to hand I turned again - with considerable reluctance - to this stuff. Now, it's dried out a fair bit & it still tastes pretty damn bad BUT, it DOES give you a satisfactory fix of that evil vitamin N. So, thank you Black Irish Twist, for that. A little like drinking a bottle of Listerine to keep from the DT's when the champagne has run out (actually, Listerine might be a good idea after this stuff..).

Update: I think I was, originally, too taken with the sheer, bizarre, novelty value of a tobacco that tastes exactly like a greasy carbonised steak. Beyond this admitted novelty, and the sheer nicotine punch, I really can't see any reason why I'd ever want to smoke this again - since this same punch can be easily found with many, many tobaccos that are pleasing to smoke.

Original Review: If you were to put a steak under a high grill - after basting it with some kind of dark, Tabasco-laden barbecue sauce - and then, distracted, leave the kitchen only to remember a half-hour later and run back - you would find the atmospheric conditions there to be very similar to those produced by this remarkable tobacco. It's slow to burn, very moist and slightly fiddly to prepare. The smoke achieved however is rich, dense and surprisingly cool; a good deal less intimidating on the tongue than its smell might lead you to expect: a bold and spicy leather, really. It packs a fair nicotine wallop, yes, but not an overwhelming one: it produces more a thoughtful reverie than a head-spinning rugby-tackle of a punch. A good one to keep you mollified if you have to catch brief outdoor smokes between a series of long train journeys!

This looks positively evil, and looks are not deceiving in this case. The color is absolutely black, and it has the appearance of something your least favorite cat left for a present. The smell is quite strong, fermented way beyond St. Bruno or Bulwark. After slices, dicing, rubbing and airing, the taste was overwhelming. So was the nicotine content. It was difficult to stay concious long enough to finish a small bowl. For those who enjoy this twist, I will not compete for the limited supply. A man should know his limitations, this exceeds mine.

I don't understand how anybody can smoke this stuff! It tastes like burning trash and only got worse the more i tried to smoke it. If you are looking for a trash fire with lots of spunk than this is for you. I don't even know what to do with this horrid tasting chunk of hell i purchased, other than toss it out.

The overall impression given by this tobacco is of something that has been burned. Burned steak, burned marshmallows, burned onions, burned oyster sauce, with hints of diesel exhaust. The burned ambiance tarnished every flavor, making one think of a great meal that has been ruined. There was no change in flavor or experience throughout the bowl. I was relieved when I had finished.

The smoke felt thick and oily on the mouth and never went far from the pipe. It's pretty strong, but not as strong as Irish Flake or a maduro Hoyo de Monterrey Sultan. It left me feeling fuzzy and out of sorts, as though I'd woken from a too-short nap. I like strong tobacco. I like Peterson's Irish Flake, for example. But at the end, this tobacco was as enjoyable as a toothache.

I had "flashbacks" throughout the day, not unpleasant, but not particularly welcome either. My pipe stank, really stank, and I put it through the alcohol-and-salt treatment. I would probably smoke this tobacco again if it were the last tobacco on earth. Until that bad day, however, there are tobaccos I enjoy much, much, much more. I'll use the rope to make insecticide.

Why? Oh, why? I really wanted to like this. It's oily and moist. Hard to light and keep lit. The other reviews are correct, it smells like the BBQ pit when some beef fat falls into the charcoal. Not an entirely unpleasant odor but not necessarily what you want in your pipe. It is not complex, like I'd hoped. It was straight forward meat and nicotine. The room note was the same. You can imagine a burning BBQ pit in your living room. I think it's quality stuff, just not for me. I'm not giving up. I'm smoking the rest of my rope before I give up on her.

It must have been meant of chewing at some point. It looks like it would be much better for chewing.

This stuff will rape your sister,steal your dog and piss in your flower garden. To strong for my likes.

I bought this one as an attempt to dip my toes in the pond of rope tobacco. Sadly, I think I made the wrong choice of tobacco. The smell in the packet is reasonable enough as is the aroma from the bowl, but the pipe taste is akin to the smell of a steak badly cooked in a very dirty pan right after you've eaten way too much food already. I can understand why the previous reiewer's friend decided to seek a refund on his breakfast. I have tried and tried to like this tobacco after several smokes but just can't seem to acquire a taste for it. If you are a fan of strong flavoured tobaccos, this will probably not disappoint. As a fan of lighter flavours, this one is not for me.

I was quite intrigued by this dark rope tobacco so decided to give it a go. I'm quite electic in my tobacco tastes leaning towards English blends but I found this a horrible smoking experience. The taste is dominated by the flavour of burning meat and that isn't something I want to taste in my pipe thank you very much.