Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Curly Cut Deluxe

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.