Tobaccos Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Curly Cut Deluxe

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2076)	2014-04-29		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Curly Cut Deluxe.

The unlit aroma resembles Petersons Sherlock Holmes for me. The curly cut is very appealing to look at, being of a good mixture of sizes and it is of a great moistnes, making it perfect to light up.

The smoke has a superb and full Virginia flavour with a floral note and slight nuttiness to it. The smoke contains a good nicotine amount, making it a pleasure to inhale if chosen to be. No bite from this one for me, but for that we all vary! The burn is really steady and even, staying lit very well without many re-lights. When the smoking is finished the pipe remains gunk free, so this would make a superb all day smoke.

Would be a good regular smoke.

Pipe Used: Altinok Lee Van Cleef

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Smoke King

10 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	JimInks (3022)	2014-01-15		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

As is the case with many blends from this company, there's a floral Lakeland essence, although lightly added. There's a grass/hay-like taste with some citrus, a hint of dark fruit, and a little earthy taste from the high quality Virginias. It's a decent smoke with very little complexity. The nic-hit is mild to medium. Won't bite or get harsh, but has a light rough edge. Burns at a reasonable pace with a consistent flavor. Leaves little moisture in the bowl, and needs an average number of relights. Has a decent after taste. Not really an all day smoke.

-JimInks

9 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Wibblefishofdoom (139)	2015-10-30		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium	Unnoticeable

I got 50g this one only two and a half days a go to continue my string of new ropes, pardon the pun, and I'm already down to the last quarter or so. That last, and first, sentence alone speaks volumes about this tobacco but indulge me as I avail myself of a review.

Upon opening the pouch I was greeted by a sweet earthy smell not too dissimilar to Brown Bogie, an encouraging start. The tobacco itself was light brown with flecks of gold and more of the consistency of broken curls than coins or curly cut. No matter, it packs and lights as well as any other. The initial taste is a sweet, nutty one and as the smoke progresses it becomes more savoury as it develops into something more earthy. There is also something queer about this stuff, I can't put my finger what it is but it is nice. It somehow reminds me of that iron medicine I used to take for anemia when I was a kid, queer but nice and completely like anything else I've tasted. As for nic-kick, this is not particular strong and not particularly light, it's all Goldilocks, just right.

To be honest, this tobacco is unlike any other I've smoked. That transition from the sweet to the earthy is strange and bizarre as that queer taste I keep picking up, and just as nice too. It reminds me of one of those films, Inception spring to mind, where you're thinking twenty minutes in "What the hell's going on here?" and you come close to turning the darned thing off, yet when you get to the end you sit in your chair giving the TV screen a wide-eyed "Wow!" It's definitely the queerest tobacco I've had and definitely amongst the best. Actually, while writing that last line, it strikes me that it is a little reminiscent of the most bodacious Strang, and considering this lacks the burley and perique that the most excellent latter holds, that's no mean feat. Thumbs up to the Kendal Massive!!!!

This is

Pipe Used: MM Cobbit Churchwarden Elf

Age When Smoked: Fresh from the pouch

Purchased From: MySmokingShop

Similar Blends: Strang.

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-01-09		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Curly Cut Deluxe is a very nutty tobacco to my tastes. Cashews to be specific. My experience with the first few ounces has been very positive. It burns well, cool if you aren't aggressive and a sufficient taste. I found it to be durable, that is to say I smoke it when I'm doing activities that are sure to cause me to relight a lot, and it never seems to resent it.

Its nutty qualities are singular in nature - read that not complex but very consistent and enjoyable. I know just when to reach for this. I have rubbed it, just grabbed it and even folded the coins. Every method has proven to smoke well. I'm not giving it four stars since a number of tobaccos in my estimation, have achieved what this does, but nonetheless its good quality.

Cheers, VC

7 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipestud (1829)	2015-02-20		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant

Beautiful disc cut Virginia that has one of the mellowest and smooth flavors of any strong Virginia that I have tasted. The "Lakeland taste" does come through quite heavily with this one and I liked it! I think this is how the old Murray's version of Dunhill Elizabethan would taste without the Perique.

6 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2006-03-11		Medium	None Detected	Full	Very Pleasant

I believe CCD is either all VAs or VAs with some Burley in there. It's a combination of leaves, some of which are dark fired, and processes. Imagine a rich VA steamed, pressed, twisted, and sliced. Nice!

The dark-fired leaf is similar to what you'd find in traditional ropes. Its flavor reminds me of baking cinnamon bread in a walk-in humidor lined with Spanish cedar. The dark portions taste a bit like Brown Rope #4 but are slighter darker than that ? but not nearly as dark as Black XX. Also, the nicotine is easy, unlike the ropes. I feel the nicotine overwhelms the flavor potential in the ropes.

I also taste some of the earthy, grassy notes from brighter VAs, the richness of slightly darker VAs -- sort of like what you'd find in Full VA Flake -- plus a little nutty flavor here and there, which may be Malawi Burley or other wacky Burley the Lakeland houses tend to use. I love the Curly Cut tobaccos because, to me, they combine the best parts of Full VA Flake, Brown Flake Unscented, and a hint of the flavor in the unscented ropes but without the huge nictotine hit associated with those foul beasts.

5 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	DrT999 (317)	2014-07-05		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

This is mostly a medium straight VA blend, with a bit of fire-cured added to make in interesting. This is a good blend for straight VA smokers to try if they want to get a hint about VA fire-cured without being overwhelmed by it. It packs easily, lights fairly easily, and smokes evenly. It comes apart easily as well, for those who insisted at rubbing out disks and flakes. This is not an exciting blend, but it isn't bland, either. A good, solid, straightforward blend.

Not a hint of Lakelands in my sample, and this is about as 'unsweet' a blend I've had. Since I know there are many tobaccos out there I would rate a 4, the question arises would I rebuy this particular tobacco, assuming my tastes don't change much more. In this case, the answer is probably not.

Pipe Used: cobs, briars, and meers

Age When Smoked: opened on arrival

Purchased From: smoking pipes

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Paddy (127)	2004-09-10		Medium	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

The tobacco comes in dark brown spun disks, similar in appearance to Regular Curly but with the addition of modest amounts of very dark strands. This tobacco has less bite than Regular Curly, and it has some light sweetness and a bit of flavor. In my opinion, this is superior to Regular Curly but has very little to recommend it. Paddy.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Karam (59)	2021-12-30		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Tolerable

I got this on a whim, saw "Escudo" and supposed it is a VaPer - it is not, but it somewhat tastes like one.

Visually, it is made up of coins at various stages of disintegration, but the intact coins do hold up in time and have been sauced with something which at least keeps them together. The coins are mostly brown to dark brown, with a few very dark strands that look like Gawith's dark fired Virginia used in the brown ropes, but I don't get much of that resinous/oily flavour at all from this blend. There are some bright yellow strands here and there, but not in all coins, and likely had some age on it as the coins were pretty crusted.

The smell, which very consistently translates to taste, is sour/fermented, not very sweet or grassy, some spice.

Part of the reason it took me smoking through 50g to write a review is that its taste does not remind me of other straight Virginias. It has a sourness that makes me think of Perique, and it is a bit tangy, maybe it has a bit of red Va in it. There's some bread, very little grass, little sweetness, some nuttyness, pepper and spice, and the underlying fermented sourness which is always there. There may be a hint of Lakeland, but it is very very minor. The taste is rich, full and harmonious, the sweetness is just right for this blend in my opinion, more it would mask the rest of the nice flavours going on, less would make it harsh.

I note a few of the reviewers mention tongue bite, I got none from this blend.

Smoked through 50g fairly fast, and each bowl was very consistent and pleasant, making me think this is a good candidate for cellaring.

Needs some drying, incidentally, the best bowl I had was once where I was in a hurry and put a few coins on a plate and stuck it in the still hot oven right after cooking for 5 minutes.

Purchased From: Steinmanns Basel

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Simon.c (20)	2019-09-02		Very Mild	None Detected	Mild	Very Pleasant

I'm not much of a straight virginia smoker but this stuff is nice.

Right out of the pack it's too moist for any pipe other than a Falcon imo. But even with ample drying it's still a bit bitey.

Flavor wise, there's definitely a bready note that others have mentioned, a nice naturally sweet Virginia, grass and some sharp fruit. The flavor progresses more to the bread the further down you smoke.

All in all good stuff.

Pipe Used: Falcon

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: GQ

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	strongirish (249)	2009-01-27		Mild to Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

The first thing I noticed trying this blend is that unlike other virginias, this one had flavor and taste from the start, and it continues all the way down. No way this does not have some burley in it though as it had too much nuttiness in it but it was very rich and dark and musky and I enjoyed it with hot tea and a good book. It needs a smaller heavily cake bowl to keep it tame as well as a slow relaxed smoke. It could hurt you if in a rush. The first few bowls of this I kept thinking this blend reminded me of something I used to like and finally it dawned on me. It tastes a lot like Amphora Brown which I smoked for years before they quit importing it to the US. Therefore I can see me keeping some of this on hand. It took a few lights to get it lit and then it burned all the way down to a grey ash. It has a sweet virginia sugar flavor and I never found myself trying to smoke it too fast to get taste like a lot of other virginia type blends. Add perique to it and it is delicious! I tend to like this makers tobaccos anyway and I have to say I enjoy this blend. Not four star because it is not their best blend, Rum Flake would be that. It is my favorite right now.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-08-24		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Full	Tolerable

My bulk bag arrived full of large, moist, almost sticky, wheels of brown tobacco. I let mine dry out for a day and it seemes about perfect now. The bag aroma is somewhat like raisins and freshly mown grass. It is fairly easy to rub this out into whatever consistency that you prefer. Overall, it looks like very high quality tobacco.

A charring light, tamp, and a couple relights is usually sufficient to get this going. Patience is rewarded as attempting to get it going by incinerating it with a torch ligher is a sure path to a scorched tongue.

This blend has to be smoked slowly with good Virginia smoking technique. It is quite bitey and vigorous puffing will leave your mouth positively sizzling. It burns somewhat hot so I would recommend using a tall narrow bowl with a good cake already in place, and smoke as slowly as possible.

Taste is exceptional. It is sweet and tangy, reminiscent of citrus, and leaves a wonderfull taste in your mouth. Mostly high and middle notes from the Virginias. I think this is a classic pure Virginia with all its associated nuances. A great example what a Virginia should taste like. If you haven't noticed from above, WARNING EXTREME TONGUE BITE HAZARD!! Even still this stuff has such an intensely good flavor that it its just wonderfull. Your mouth will probably be sizzling with super virginia zest the whole time you smoke this, but its all part of the fun. This is like flirting with disaster, yet somehow it is irresistable. The fantastically awesome flavors will make you brave this stuff again and again. I've never smoked a straight virginia with this much punch, and I've tried a dozen since getting this weed. I'm down to about a gram or two but I haven't found any straight virginia that comes close to the intensity of flavor provided by these wheels of danger.

My wife says it smells like burned marshmallows from a camp cookout. This isn't one of her favorites but she doesn't mind it. Personally I think it has the "classic old world tobacco smell" and I love the room note.

I have upgraded this to four stars after trying several other straight virginias. This stuff is simply top notch. Dangerous but awesome.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2005-03-21		Medium	Medium	Medium to Full	Very Pleasant

A high quality tobacco and wonderful smoke. Starts out tangy-sweet and smooths out towards the end--to me, this is what a VA should do: grab your attention, stay sweet, but not be cloying throughout. Good fresh but also ages well. Looking over the other reviews shows me how much taste differs. I truly don't understand why this doesn't have a higher overall rating.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-11-03		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable

The tin aroma is that familiar GH, almost-cinnamon scent. It shares some of the characteristics of my beloved GH Brown Flake (cinnamon, vanilla smoothness, steamed flavors) though in much smaller amounts. The critical difference is the fire-cured tobacco here that gives this a sharp edge.

For my taste, though, this tobacco is one-dimensional. If you loves ropes, this could be a nice choice for adding some non-rope flavors, but I don't like ropes. This is probably closest to Esoterica Stonehaven, which I give slightly better marks. This is in the general range of Three Nuns, Escudo and SG FVF, but all three of those have more flavor and diversity, so I won't be returning to GHCCD.

3 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Stah (139)	2021-09-17		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant

I bought two 100-gram pouches of this tobacco at an aged tobacco sale, barely making it in time. This blend is popular in Russia, and it sells out very quickly in its fresh form, despite the fact that its price range is higher than most of the SG/GH assortment. Both packs had markings from the seller indicating that the tobacco came to him in 2015. I don't know how different a fresh blend is from an aged one since, due to its high popularity, I've never had time to buy fresh packs.

Appearance: uneven " coins" the color of medium roasted coffee, each about a millimeter and a half thick. Some of the coins have crumbled, and certainly this sliced "twist" is very far from STG/Dunhill, McConnell or Mac Baren coins. The color of the tobacco is even, with no flecks. The tobacco dries fairly quickly, so there's no need to dry it out, you have to knead and stuff it without delay. I dropped a few coins out of the bag to examine and smell them, and within 5 minutes the tobacco was already dry.

The bouquet of tobacco scents is uncomplicated: hay, fresh grain wheat, a slightly sweet scent similar to cinnamon, a little bit of aged fruit. I don't know if the cinnamon note is a slight introduction of Lakeland, which SG is so fond of, or if it's the tobacco's own scent. Either way, the smell is simple but harmonious.

I picked up a medium-sized Peterson System pipe, kneaded the tobacco, stuffed the pipe, and smoked it. In the process of kneading I came across twisted leaves the size of a pinky fingernail in the cut, which again confirmed the sloppy cut that the English manufacturer is so "famous" for.

The initial taste of the tobacco is quiet, but clearly recognizable bread, with some sweetness, to which there was a malty note. The flavor is completely uncomplicated, but pleasant enough, if it weren't for the slight harshness. I like simple Virginia, and this was also very well fermented. The tobacco doesn't bite, but it doesn't really get soft until the middle of the pipe, turning into the usual mix of different Virginia. Towards the end of the pipe there is a subtle tang, similar to orange zest. It smokes cool and quite slowly. The strength is about average, but the nicotine hit passed me by. The tobacco has very little tar and moisture, burns into a smooth fine ash of medium gray color.

The smoke from tobacco has almost the same smell, and despite its lightness, it is quite persistent - when I walked the dog and left the room to air, I came back an hour later, I could still smell the tobacco.

What can I say, overall? First of all, I'll leave the second bag alone for a few years. Natural Virginia, not treated with any "preservatives" like propylene glycol - like a good whiskey, the more it lies, the better it gets. Even if the hermetically sealed bag dries out, the moisture can always be restored. Also, I haven't given up hope of buying a fresh bag of this tobacco to try so I can appreciate the difference that has happened to it over 6 years. As for a specific evaluation... In terms of evaluating mono blends, this tobacco is certainly inferior to such a bright representative as Capstan. However, it is very good.

Pipe Used: Peterson De Luxe System 11FB

Age When Smoked: 2015

Purchased From: Online

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	hrhf (38)	2021-06-30		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

As with my other reviews, this remains a work in progress and is as much for my own future reference as anything.

Smoking my first bowl of this in the final hour of Tuesday, June 29. As with most days, I’ve already smoked a great deal of tobacco today, so my palate isn’t as sharp as it tends to be earlier in the day. But here we go...

I received this generous sample of circa-2010 Curly Cut Deluxe, along with quite a few more decade old samples, from my new friend Jeff in Arkansas.

This is some nice stuff. This tastes like Newminster Superior Round Slices quite a bit to me, although a classier, more refined version. I imagine the lengthy cellaring played a part in this last part. I have a feeling it may also be similar to Three Nuns, although that’s one classic I have yet to sample. I’ve seen others compare the Newminster product I mentioned to Three Nuns. Therefore... you know.

One reviewer mentioned cashews, and I can absolutely see that. It’s definitely got a creamy, almost buttery sort of vibe. I like it a great deal, and honestly wish I had more of this vintage.

Another reviewer mentioned that it’s a great option for “auto pilot” (my term) smoking. Meaning, smoking while you’re focused on other matters. Well, I AM composing this while finishing my first bowl, and still enjoying it immensely.

Will I buy this in the future? Probably. I’ve been buying a LOT of tobacco this year. I’ve finally reached a point where I have enough socked away, so I can now be a little more deliberate in my purchases.

But Gawith Hoggarth product tends to go fast when it’s released, and I love a LOT of GH blends, particularly the flakes. Is CCD the first GH blend on my want list? I don’t think so... it’s too soon to say for certain.

But I’d definitely recommend it to Virginia smokers and especially those who find they like Lakeland blends.

This one may be a sleeper hit, folks. The years have been kind to this one.

Edit 9 July 2021: Okay, having finished my sample of Curly Cut Deluxe, I can safely that it WILL be at or near the top of my list the next time GH drops. But it’s not because of the way it smokes when fresh.

Not long after writing my initial review, I noticed on one of the pipe smoker forums that someone was offering a small quantity of CCD for trade. I jumped on the offer, and received it yesterday.

I can safely say that fresh stock CCD is not ready for prime time. I had my newly acquired not quite two ounce stash in a jar before finishing my first bowl.

There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with it... it just wasn’t the senses pleasing “smoking a bowl of roasted buttered cashews” experience I’ve fallen in love with.

So I’ll try it again around Thanksgiving or Christmas and report back. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take a whole decade to make it in the neighborhood of what I seek. I know from experience that Luxury Bullseye Flake starts improving nicely in as little as three months of cellaring.

As usual with my reviews ... stay tuned!

Pipe Used: Various

Age When Smoked: 11 years, also new stock

Purchased From: Gift

Similar Blends: Newminster - No. 403 Superior Round Slices.

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	incognitopoet (37)	2016-02-10		Medium to Strong	Extremely Mild	Medium	Tolerable to Strong

As with many tobaccos reviewed on this site there have been a lot of really good descriptions of this blend. I will, therefore, just add a few of my own subjective notes.

I love straight Virginias, and this is a good quality blend that offers a mild flavor profile with only a little heat. I have been smoking this blend in 8 Peterson System pipes. My mouth is already accustomed to Virginias, and in the Petersons there isn't any bite at all. This is another blend that I love to smoke while I work. It isn't sweet or cloying on the palate, and it doesn't have a sticky aftertaste. I tend to puff too fast while I am concentrating on work, and this stuff doesn't have so much nicotine that I get nauseous. Sometimes there is a little tinge of flavor at the bottom of the bowl, from the dark leaf. I don't get that from every bowl, but it is pleasant when I do. As I have read in other reviews of 'unscented' Lakeland tobaccos I do notice a hint of Lakeland essence. It is mild (and often unnoticeable ) but it is present. Overall it adds a wonderful dimension to the flavor.

Pipe Used: Peterson 302, 303, 307, 313, 314

Age When Smoked: fresh

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	SteelCowboy (685)	2014-04-14		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Curly Cut Deluxe has the potential to be a tobacco that I could fall for, but just seems to barely miss. It burns cool, there is the usual GH quality. The mixture of ribbons and coins is inviting and after a bit of dry time it smokes really well. It has a bit of an edge to it, but in itself it isn’t a deal breaker. But since it has been compared to Copes Escudo without the Perique, I don’t really see the comparison. CCD lacks the refinement of Copes (or A&C for that matter) and the complexity too. The steaming along with whatever GH does in processing is apparent, as it shares some of the similarities to other GH Virginias. However, I don’t taste any floral or soap in CCD. Maybe some age will make the difference, but I am not sure if I want to make the space in the cellar and my wallet to find out.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Smoke_Ring (158)	2013-07-24		Mild	Mild	Mild	Pleasant

Curley Cut Delux Sliced;

Star Rating = 3.5;

Rating Scores - 10 is the Best and 0 is the Worst;

Pouch Note = 9;

Room Note = 9;

Flavor = 8;

Bite = 9;

Burn = 9;

After Taste = 9;

Raw Score = 53;

Rated Percentage = 88%;

Comment = Smooth, Mild, has a Danish type Flavor like Amphora Regular.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	zulujerk (146)	2012-06-25		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Tolerable

There is a nice, soft Virginia flavor to Curly Cut Deluxe...and it's beautiful to work with. Spun lightly, the disks fall apart as you handle them, producing a wonderful, soft bed of tobacco. The note is less grassy and slightly acidic, somewhat reminiscent of a good McClelland Virginia. It tastes perfectly natural, without any added casing, very much like its sister blend, Curly Cut, which lacks the "Deluxe" name. The two are so similar in cut and taste, they are difficult to tell apart, and I have to really wonder if they deserve separate titles. With that, I took the two one ounce samples I had purchased and threw them together in a single mason jar.

And now to the dark side...this is by far the worst biting blend I have ever sampled. It is so terrifying to smoke that I all but gave up--with trepidation loading up a bowl every now and then to see whether anything has changed. It never does. Through innumerable variety of pipe, packing, and puffing, they all fail to tame this tobacco. The bite will hit you immediately, and it will not relent, through the course of an entire bowl. And aging does nothing to settle this blend down. A year later I can barely take a puff without cursing the gods. This alone kills any redeeming feature that Curly Cut possesses. It's unsmokeable.

I still have a substantial supply remaining, and decided to undertake a few blending experiments. My first was a disaster. I added about 25% Perique, thinking it would cut the bite. And then I made a huge error. I decided my new blend required a topping, so I doused it in Grand Marnier, an orange flavored liquor. It sounded great, and I waited patiently for the tobacco to dry in anticipation of a tasting. Well, it turns out that the bite was even worse! I couldn't even puff the stuff, it was murder. This was obviously stupid, in retrospect, knowing that Grand Marnier is a sweet liquor, of which the sugar would only further contribute to the bite.

I'm now on my next big experiment here--I figured I could drown out the bite with a few low sugar components added to the mix. I put together equal parts Latakia, Curly Cut, and Smyrna, with less than five percent Burley and some GH Dark Flake, to boost the strength (I'm all out of Perique). I'll have to let this settle a bit before trying it out, but you can see what I've resorted to here, trying to get rid of this Curly Cut mess.

Of all the various GH blends I've sampled over the years, this is by far the worst. I'm not certain what they did to this leaf to have it bite so ferociously, but it's not worth the trouble. It's a rare miss from Gawith Hoggarth. Keep away from Curly Cut and Curly Cut Deluxe, unless you are some kind of masochistic smoker who enjoys a bit of punishment. There's got to be a few of you out there, yeah?

*

It's been a good two years. The bite is all but gone, and I'm left with a wonderful Virginia. To be honest, I'm not sure it was worth the wait, but if you're patient, you will be rewarded. I'm not certain whether the blend simply needed to settle or whether my chemistry has changed over the years but it's only fair to revise my review. At its present state this is a three to four star blend, but I have to take into account the path that led me here, so I'll give it a two. Now that I'm left with only an ounce to play around with I'm a bit saddened, though not intrigued enough to wait another two years for another batch to mature. If you like waiting, go for it, you won't be disappointed.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	BingCrosby (161)	2011-10-02		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Tolerable

Nice 'old time' flavor, a little nutty, maybe just a touch of lakeland essence, just an all around smooth pleasant smoke. dont expect anything too strong or exciting just a nice mellow virginia with perhaps some burley (?).. seems to be lightly flavored

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Effluvinator (60)	2009-11-29		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

I first tried this 2 yrs ago, finding it bitey and rather peppery-tasting. I sealed it in a jar for a year and found it much more mellow but not too exciting. Sealed again and left for another year my assessment has not changed. Comparing it to Escudo, I would say I most definitely prefer Escudo over the Curly Cut Deluxe. It is drier and better behaved with some age, but just not that tasty to me. I found it rather bland and one-dimensional--overall a bit boring.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	RCUSElder (244)	2004-12-24		Medium	Extremely Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

12-24-2004 An excellent "Breakfast" Blend

Appearance and Aroma: When I first saw this blend, I was put off by the "coins" similar to Escudo and MacBaren's (so-called)Latakia blend. The former made me sick, and the latter burned my tongue no matter how I smoked it. After considering the quality of GH's other blends, I decided to give this one a whirlanyway. It smelled earthy and slightly perfumed, not at all like the previous blends mentioned.

Packing and lighting: I enjoyed staking the "coins" and rubbing out just a little on top. The blend had been sitting at my tobacconist for some time, so it was fairly dry. Lit 2-3 lights max.

Initial Flavor: Surprise! Mellow and earthy, yummmm. Reminded me of "Old Gowrie" but with a little more depth.

Mid-Bowl: The perfume is noticable at this point, but very much in the background. Similar oatishness to OG. This is a tasty tobac!

Bottom of Bowl: A slight increase of strength, the perfume recedes even more. You are left with a clean aftertaste. The ash is fine and light gray.

Overall: As I mentioned at the beginning, this is a good first pipe of the day blend. I prefer it to Old Gowrie or Picadilly. Tongue-bite is not a problem, nicotine is low too. The flavor of the tobac is complex for a mid-strength tobac and is in the mid to low end of the flavor spectrum. The room note was particularly liked by the ladies at my office, which was a surprise. While this one won't replace Marlin Flake or Blackwoods Flake, I will definitely keep some of this around for the mornings.

Ratiing: 4 out of 5 Points, enjoy...

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Mr. Dottle (162)	2004-12-14		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

Well, if you are like me, there are some tobaccos you like from the get go and your opinion of them never wavers. Then there are others that you know you don?t like before finishing a bowl. There are still others that you initially like but later discover you don?t care for and tobaccos that don?t initially impress but grow on you. CC Deluxe fell into the latter category for me.

I was ready to give up on CCD after a couple of bowls but to give it a fair trial I finished my stash. It does have the classic Lakeland soapy/floral flavor but it was not overwhelming nor was it always present. I grew to enjoy this taste as a change from other, all too similar VA blends. The only negative I found is that the charring light and relight can be a bit acrid and harsh, typical of many VA blends but very pronounced in CCD. But once there is a good ?fire in the hole? and an even ash, this tobacco blooms into a nice, flavorful sweet smoke to the bottom of the bowl with nary a bite. As such, I call this a ?storm before the calm? tobacco.? I aired it out a bit as it was too moist for me. I won?t smoke it all the time but for a nice change of pace it will be a go to blend.

I rate this tobacco 7.9 out of 10

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	mainspring (27)	2004-07-16		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Tolerable to Strong

Curly Cut Deluxe takes a little bit of persuasion to get lit and burns a tad wet for me. It has a nice,"dark", sweetness similar to the regular G&H Curly Cut. Personally, I do not like this near as much as I like the regular G&H Curly. The description says it's the same stuff as the Curly Cut only in a larger rope. The Deluxe is not as smooth a smoke nor does it taste quite the same. I will buy more of the Curly Cut but NO more of the Deluxe!

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2004-02-15		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

A friend of mine gave me some of this to try and I must admit that I am impressed. This seems to be a very high quality virginia blend. I have never tried the regular curly cut so I do not have that as a base in which to compare this with. When I first lit this I was a bit dissapointed in that the light was rather harsh. About an eighth of the way into the bowl it cooled down a bit and realy started to smooth out. By quarter way into the bowl it was realy alive with flavor. The virginias had a nice natural tasting sweetness that was not overload on the taste buds. There seemed to be some floral and malty overtones in which I very much enjoyed. I am going to experiment with this blend in differant pipes and at differant humidity levels to see what the potentials are. For right now I highly enjoy this and would highly recomend this to virginia lovers

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	NEWMAN (305)	2002-10-03		Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant to Tolerable

I'm not sure what makes this the 'deluxe' since I've yet to try the GH regular curly cut. I will, for comparison, with my next order. This blend is available only in bulk. Either by the manufacturing process or in transit, since I ordered it via the net, most of the nickel to quarter sized disks from the spun rope slices became unraveled into wide but long ribbons. Quite different from the tinned presentation from MacBaren in their Roll Cake. Since I prefer not to rub out my flakes or plugs, this resulted in difficult, uneven packing and burning. The tobaccos are straight VAs from golden to dark brown with no detectable casing that smoke cool and without bite. Quality tobacco, but it is just too tangy/spicey for my all day tastes and this was accentuated in small bowled pipes or during quick smokes @ work. Only the first several puffs from 2"+ high bowls didn't exhibit this tendency. Other ~ blends are more enjoyable.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Greekpipesmoker (201)	2019-06-19		Mild to Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

During summer time i prefer virginia blends and this one was my next choise.once the tin opens a nice citrus smell combined with some lightly applied lakeland noted comes out.the brown and black coins seem appealing.the blend moisture is medium with a nice texture,easy to rub and drying time doesn't help so much with the moisture.packs easy and lighting needs effort with several religits needed.while smoking the flavours is what you expect from a straight virginia blend.lots of citruses,grass and hay notes are combined with some lakeland notes in a nice but one dimensional way.rare some smokey notes pop out.generally i found the flavours pleasant.burns quick and medium hot in total ash if rubbed well.room note is bareable with a lot moisture left at the filter.tongue bite is present if pushed and nicotine level is almost medium.an all day smoke.generally this is a decent all day blend.

Age When Smoked: Fresh

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Gentleman Zombie (729)	2016-07-13		Medium	Very Mild	Medium	Pleasant

A slightly lighter and brighter version of CC Regular. To my taste the light Lakeland flavoring fits in extremely well here complimenting the nutty, woody, hay- like Virginias. This is an enjoyable, relaxing smoke. I loved CC Regular, but I think I like this even better.

Medium in body and taste. Flavoring is very mild. Burns nearly perfectly.

Pipe Used: MM Marcus, Little Devil Cutty, Little Devil Acorn

Age When Smoked: fresh bulk

Purchased From: smokingpipes.com

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Skando (203)	2015-10-23		Medium	Extremely Mild	Mild to Medium	Pleasant

Reviewing this from a good sample (approx 20grms) received from a friend. I don’t know had loosened some discs of this, since it came as a somehow mix of ribbons and broken disks. I’ve smoked it basically in medium bowls, well loose.

It’s very mellow and smooth, nutty & bit honey-sh, medium in strenght, not prone to bite. Of course it can turn hot, like all Virginias, if rushed. Delivers a great room aroma. Feeling some lakeland scent in the far distance.

Well, the only comparison I would make is with the Capstan Medium of old, or maybe the Rich Dark Honeydew (Gallaher’s).

Very good quality tobacco, when craving for a medium Virginia.

Pipe Used: Radice, Castello, Dunhill

Age When Smoked: aged one year

Purchased From: received as a gift

Similar Blends: Capstan Medium of old.

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	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Emeritus Account (30125)	2011-11-01		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Pleasant

I bought this tobaccos in bulk many years ago, first tried it a while ago after having it remoistened.

I really like the taste of this. Very clean and honest. Lovely spiciness but with just the right level of fullness to be bring satisfaction. It works all the way down the bowl, but with increasing strength.

The only problem I have with it, as with similar blends is that its rather harsh when exhaled through the nose. And I really like to do that without the harshness.

But the mouthfeel is great, surprisingly so since the accidental (well...) inhalations are quite a bit harsh to the throat.

I will buy it if I find it in a shop when I visit UK next time, although I wont bother ordering it to Sweden. There are not many blends that are worth the high extra cost.

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