Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Rum Twist Unsliced Rope

The rope is moist and pliable and easily cut into coins, bits and/or shreds if you prefer. The dark fired and dark air cured tobaccos are boldly earthy, with a deep tangy dark fruitiness, wood, some tart and tangy citrus, and minor grass, spice, cigar, floral and acidic notes. The rum topping has a sweetly deep character, and though it may tone down the power of the tobaccos a little, there's plenty of their intrinsic strength for your taste buds. Everything works well together in this product. The strength and nic-hit are in the center of medium to strong, while the taste is full. It requires a little dry time, but no matter how you prepare it (unless you dry it to a crisp, which I do not recommend), it burns slow cool and clean with a very consistent, mildly complex and sweet with a bold, rugged, mildly sweet flavor from start to finish. No harsh or dull spots, and no bite. It leaves some moisture in the bowl, and only leaves dottle for a wet smoker. If you leave it fairly moist, you will need to stir up the tobacco a time or two. Needs some relights. The after taste pleasantly lingers a little, and the room note is potent. Not an all day smoke.

-JimInks

I have never tried a twist before and was curious as to what it would 'bring to the table' and so I ordered a 25g piece to try out. Whilst waiting I researched the best way to prepare and smoke this tobacco and was ready to try it out as soon as it arrived. The day has come and I opened the package. Smelling the twist I was reminded of a meaty bbq aroma which somewhat startled me but I soldiered on and cut five slim coins and teased it out. What surprised me next was that it felt perfectly ready to smoke. I have read that this twist was wet but my sample seems perfect and as I do not tend to tightly pack a bowl I carried on, packed my pipe, and lit up. Well, surprise number three. A very, very pleasant aroma and taste erupted on first draw of rich earthy and sweet Virginia with a subtle background of clove, creamy vanilla (to my palate) and rum. The room aroma is fantastic and reminded me of the aroma one is treated with when entering a traditional tobacconist (leather, tobacco, sweetness all intermingling). There then came, about half way through, a subtle rose water like taste (this must be the 'lakeland' essence I read about). Overall it reminded me of when my grandfather would stay with us and when he came out of the bathroom in the morning his smell of shaving soap, 4711 cologne (or maybe Old Spice), tobacco and Harris Tweed (He always wore tweed). This was not overpowering but it was there in the background and is wonderfully comforting. In summary, I really, really like this tobacco and it will be, moving forward, permanently stocked in my cellar. As for the vitamin N hit. Many say this is powerful stuff. My experience, now after several bowls, I find it perfect and not overwhelming. Highly recommended. Just don't let the initial aroma of the unsmoked twist, or its reputation, put you off for at least trying it out. You may just become a convert when you do.

The rope came a little moist, and I sliced it into thin coins on a cutting board in the kitchen. The pouch note is a sweet tobacco with a whiff of rum. The rope is a pretty uniform dark brown with a few flecks of tan in the cross section.

I rubbed out coins and was careful not to pack them to tightly due to the moisture. I did not dry it any. It took some BTU's to get it burning, but it smoked well and did not require an unusual number of relights.

I did not get much rum in he flavor after the initial light. The flavor in general was very good - an earthy, full tobacco flavor with a bitter edge when puffed. There was a heavy slightly overripe citrus flavor as well. The flavors intensified a little as the bowl progressed, but otherwise stayed constant through the bowl.

There is some nicotine in this, but it is not overwhelming. I tried mixing a rubbed out coin with some Prince Albert, and this is a very good combo for more routine smoking.

This is a high quality and tasty rope. I recommend it unless you have a nicotine aversion and stick to lighter fare.

The retrohale on this is absolutely stunning. Spicy, earthy, dark cigarish... the rum is there but fits right in, doesn't stand out above the tobacco. Aromatic is kind of a stretch of the term as most people have come to know it.. there is strength here... but ropes are what small pipes are made for. I wouldn't recommend a very large pipe unless you have superhuman constitution.. the real strength is in the flavor. Kind of espresso like. Not sure if I would smoke this often, but it hits the spot at the end of the day.

I was gifted two small ropes and one coin of this some months ago. This has been cellared since Nov 2002. The smell is still incredible when you open the jar and the rope is dark brown on the outside and jet black on the inside. I took the coin, crumbled it up and put it into my Peterson Dublin Poker. This is one really condensed rope and some real talent went into making this. The chunks in my pipe took me about 12 matches to get going, like I said this is some condensed tobacco. Smooth, mellow with a slight rum taste that never goes away. The second bowl, I cut a smaller size coin off with a knife and rubbed it out a little finer. Not sure if it is the age but what a masterpiece this smoke is. A little effort to prepare but definitely worth it.

Unsliced Rum Twist is strong in every sense. I slice into thin rings, then I pull these apart and cut up. The tobacco should be moist and lightly packed into a small bowl. There’s deep leather base notes with abundant nicotine, so take it slow. Will not bite. I recommend a full stomach and something to drink.

Aged 24 months in twist form. Definitely has improved with age. The previous review was so well written that I can only comment on ratings such as:

Strength: Stronger after aging. Or perhaps it burns so much better now that I intake more N, regardless it is a perfect amount for true pipe somkers.

Flavoring: Just as mild perhaps a bit milder than when first purchased. I think the mason jars and rope construction maintain all flavoring. Perfect for dedicated merschum pipes. Not Lakeland in the most thought of sense.

Taste: Medium but delicious.

Room note: Very pleasant without the overwhelming Lakeland note you typically get.

Rating: Highly recommended for true connosuers with ability to age 2-5 years. Minimum quantity to age in mason jar is 4oz due to the size/density of the ropes. You could age with only 2 ounces but cut the ropes down and age in a smaller jar.

Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Rum Twist Unsliced Rope.

As usual with ropes/twists it's a little moist inside. I like mine rubbed rather than just stuffed inside the bowl in coins so I slice, let it breathe, and crumble.

The flavour from RTUR isn't as harsh as one might expect from a rum tobacco. The rum sweetens the smoke with a touch of molasses but the alcohol doesn't impede. The tobacco gives the leading flavour, stout and robust. It burns well to a pure white ash, giving a bite free smoke all the way.

Nicotine: strong. Room-note: strong.

A nice enough smoke but I'll rate it with two stars:

Somewhat recommended.

The smoke seems a bit rougher than regular GH ropes, but is still pleasant and very smokable. The rum is present, and adds to the complexity, as the underlying tobacco is very straight forward. Perhaps it is because of the time lapse, but this seemed a bit less sweet than the sweet rum pigtail. The rope is easy to cut up with scissors and then to rub out. Fans of other GH ropes should give it a try.

RE: rating, I'd place the strength right at the edge between medium strong and strong.

20230315: Definitely wouldn't choose this over the unflavored ropes. The flavoring is so mild as to be non-existent, but if all you can find is a "flavored" rope, they're very good. Just disappointing if you're looking for the advertised flavor.

Bag note of tomato-based barbecue sauce, a bit smoky, translates to taste in the smoke. Can't say I detect much rum, or other aromatics. Very strong nicotine hit (I have low tolerance). A fairly simple but pleasant smoke, though flavor seems to wane and become less interesting near the bottom of the bowl. I'll probably be picking up more of this, still undecided; may try other ropes to see if there are any I like more.