Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Brown Irish X

Nice strong rope tobacco which is sure to be appreciated by lovers of twist although it may knock the socks off the uninitiated...

The rope is moderately tight, although the wrapper leaf peels lose a bit. Looks like brown, plain tobacco and that's what it is. It's easy to carve up with a sharp penknife, and works well as thin shavings, or thick coins rubbed out well. It takes a light with ease, doesn't bite, and isn't harsh unless puffed too enthusiastically. Aromas of tea, leather and plain old fashioned tobacco in the rope, and that's what comes through in the smoke. I agree with the suggestion that there's a cigar note here, but it's a strong cheap cigar... Mid way through the bowl the tea character becomes very apparent, rather like a strong cup of breakfast tea that has gone a little stewed, with not quite enough milk: astringent. It can also make the lips tingle with the nicotine...

The aroma is tolerable, plain tobacco. This has no flavorings or casing that I can detect.

The nicotine hit is robust, but not in the outrageous territory of happy bogie. Perhaps I've just got more of a tolerance these days. I smoke it in a Falcon bantam of course, and wouldn't advise filling up a big pipe for a first try. You can smoke it down to a pinch of dottle, after which it risks getting a little harsh on the relight. Not much subtlety or development, but that's not why you're smoking twist... Enjoy!

I had decided to not smoke a pipe today, or at the very least, to smoke sparingly. As soon as USPS arrived with a box from my favorite tobacconist, that resolution went out the window.

Inside the box was 4 oz. of Gawith, Hoggarth & Co.'s Brown Irish X. There was little use to resist the tempation - I had to give this brown Irish nicotene monster a whirl. Appearance wise, this is interesting stuff. I was raised on a tobacco farm in North Carolina, and it was gratifying to see a dark, natural, beautifully prepared leaf tobacco again.

Preparation? I was standing at the kitchen counter so I grabbed a pair of poultry shears. I pulled off one loose leaf intact and cut this into manageable ribbons, about an eight inch thick. This went easily into an old vintage briar that I had just received via eBay. I filled the bowl about 3/4 full, and after a little tamping, I ended up with a good half bowl, which was my goal.

Lighting? A bear! Light. Puff. Go out. Light. Puff. Go out. More tamping. The tobacco does take a light easily, and there is copious smoke. It burns cools.

Taste? Aaargh. Very harsh to begin. Strong is an understatement. Smoke in the back of my throat almost choked me. Thank goodness for strong black coffee.

Mid bowl? Interestingly, the tobacco taste mellows out when this gets to burning well. I found a creamy, salty, slightly sweet taste emerged. A strong straight tobacco taste. Very nice.

Nicotene hit? I used to smoke VSG and Opus X cigars back in the day, so STRONG tobacco suits my taste. This tobacco didn't give my any problems. I was waiting to turn green, but it didn't happen. No stomach gurgles, or a run to the bathroom either. I smoked this on a full stomach after lunch.

Summary: I find this tobacco to be a full bodied, rich, straight up, pleasing smoke. I love the saltiness, the creamy taste, and the overall power exhibited. This started out as Mr. Hyde, and turned into Mr. Jekyll, which is a pleasant surprise.

I was more than a little apprehensive about smoking this tobacco from all the reviews that I had read, but at this point, I can see a large bulk purchase in my future - if the stuff ever gets back into stock. Recommended for experienced, hairy chested pipe smokers who like a powerful straight up enjoyable experience. This is good, high quality tobacco. Good stuff!

Recommendation: Start with half a bowl. Puff slowly. Make sure you've eaten first. Enjoy! Repeat as necessary....

BROWN IRISH TWIST REDUX, the following day:

I ate a large late breakfast, and I decided to give this another try. Mistake #1. I cut up what I thought would be half a bowl, but it ended up being more than a bowls worth. I packed it anyway, and probably too tightly, and put the remainer back into the bag. Mistake #2 & #3.

I gave the ribbons that I cut about an hour to dry, but it was still tough going getting this to burn properly. I probably overpuffed the pipe trying to get it going. Mistake #4.

Results of my stupidity? Two urgent trips to the bathroom, and a little green around the gills. I had to but the pipe down. Relights after all the above waits resulted in a harsh vile taste.

As I sit here, sipping a bowl of Frog Morton's cellar out of a newly refurbished Jobey Dansk freestyle, I have to ask myself, "what's the point of subjecting myself to a super strong tobacco that pretty much only serves as a nicotene transfer system?" The Frog Morton is so much more enjoyable, whereas the Brown Irish Twist is pretty much Russian Roulette.

Rating reduced to two stars. YMMV.

A relatively dry plug of rope in mottled shades of brown. It reveals a rather sour and nutty pouch aroma, and is a lot more brittle than some other pressed rope/plugs on the market.

This is British Lakeland tobacco in its original, raw glory, and it peels open relatively easily to show its formation of large chunks of tobacco leaf. It's a bit like stepping back two hundred years into the past, but all reminiscing aside, this is a swine to light up, requires many attempts at re-lighting, and continues to burn rather badly until the end. Quite a feat for something that seemed pretty dry. If you leave it to air, it burns much better, but the taste is even harsher on the palette than you get straight out of the bag. I expected much, much more from G&H, given the proud heritage of this particular tobacco, but one could be forgiven for thinking that the only thing to happen in those two hundred years we spoke about earlier, is that this little dollop of dung sat, festering in a pig shed.

Way too temperamental in every bowl I tried; I really can't really find a redeeming feature. Rough, harsh, and with a flat, monotone flavour that merely tickles and grates: it doesn't even try to be the flagship weed it's supposed to be.

Yow! After the boiled, baked & bar-b-q flavour assault course that is the Black Irish, this strikes me at first as a slightly more civilised way to get an almighty nicotine whump. It's reminiscent of the Black but - despite being stronger N-wise - seems to have a very bold meaty, spicy chilli & cigar-like flavour that's marked and idiosyncratic rather than overwhelming, bizarre and unapproachable. You couldn't say it was smooth, no-one will be queuing up to kiss or cuddle you after smoking this and it certainly does seem as though it'll bite you if you're not very cautious with it. It's both a little reluctant to burn at first and then rather too keen to burn when it gets going. But with the N-power that this has under the hood it seems no bad thing at all to keep your wellie off the pedal a wee bit.

This with a glass or two of Maker's Mark would be rather splendid, I think.

This tobacco is a blast from the past. Back in the old days the twist form of tobacco was quite prominent. I had not come across twist tobacco since I bought some twist chewing tobacco, while in Kentucky. The twist that's made for chewing is known as a pigtail in the southern U.S. and the smoking version (a bit thicker)is known as a rope. Gawith & Hoggarth make a variety of excellent twist tobaccos and the most robust is Brown Irish. When smoking this one I prefer to slice the rope to 2-3mm thick per slice. Then I cut each slice into 4 quarters and rub it out thoroughly. This yeilds a smoke that burns quite consistantly the entire duration of the bowl. I smoke this stuff straight-up and blended, as I have mentioned in the other reviews of G & H tobacco. When smoked solo, the tobacco gives of a nice spicy-floral aroma that is both pleasing to the smokers and those in his or her company. This tobacco is a gem from the olden days of top-knotch natural tobaccos. I would encourage all smokers to give this tobacco a try and ignore its classification as being brutal and relatively unsmokable. I love it.

It is said that this is the uncooked version of the black rope. I guess it could be, but there is a profound difference in the flavors of the two. Brown Twist was much more harsh and had a cigar-like taste to it.

If this is indeed the heaviest hitter out there, nicotine-wise, I guess I have nothing to fear from any tobacco. Yes, I noticed something, but not the 'knock you for a loop' power I had heard about.

I have to comment on the appearance... I was out of town when the box arrived. My wife opened it and thought that a practical joker type friend of mine had sent some 'ropes' produced by his dog.

Labor intensive tobacco, the taste does not justify the effort of preparation. I can't see this as more than a novelty smoke from time to time - a throwback to the old days.

As tobaccos go, this is a straight-up single malt scotch or a small-batch bourbon. Good flavor and lots of it, with a nice kick added. If your tastes run to the soft and mild, you will not like it. It is a powerful, sweet, tobacco-ee blend of long leaf. The twist invariably comes fairly wet, so you will need to cut off disks and let them dry before smoking. It has a huge flavor and a lot of power. If you have been accidentally inhaling tobacco smoke, you will immediately realize it with this blend. Do not operate heavy machinery while smoking. I am not joking. I have found that this smokes better in a clay pipe than in a briar.

This tobacco is made in England from the finest Virginia tobaccos. It is a twist/rope cut like the name says. When it is "fresh" it is really moist and compact so it needs to be dried before loading it to the bowl. It is easy to cut with a sharp knife to small discs and then rub it out to smaller pieces. The twist is really good looking and the aroma of the fresh tobacco is really wonderful, you can enjoy this tobacco by just watching it and imagening how it will taste. This is a strong tobacco, so I recommend it to be smoked in a small to medium size bowl and at least in the beginning it should be smoked after a good meal or it might make you feel sick. Lighting is easy and the first few buffs tell you that this tobacco has potential to knock anybody down. The aroma of burning tobacco is sweet from the beginning and stays like it to the very end. After a few smokes the taste settles down and tobacco starts to smoke so smoothly... just close your eyes and ejoy it. The burning is really good and it forms an even white ash. After 30min. of intense smoking I can feel the nicotin affecting, I feel like I would have taken a few drinks. Wow! When the tobacco has burned to end all I can do is to sit and wonder the amazing affect this wonderful smoke has made into me. Without any hesitation I can recommend Brown Irish Twist to anyone who likes natural strong virginia tobacco.

This stuff Is awesome. Got this with a big shipment of new-to-me-tobaccos in the day after I realized I had Covid because my taste started going. I’ve been enjoying this one as the flavor is full enough that it pierces through my dulled palate. I leave a better review when I get my taste back.