Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Curly Cut Deluxe

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.