Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Sliced Black Twist

I ordered two ounces of this a few weeks ago because it sounded interesting. I put it into a small jar, and have smoked a few bowls here and there. This stuff is... Interesting. It is a dark tobacco, ranging from deep brown to black. It comes in long (4"-5") thin ribbons with some flake still intact. It was slightly more wet than I like when it first arrived, but 20-30 minutes of drying time was sufficient. The tin (jar) note is earthy, leathery, and spicy with licorice and an underlying musky vanilla note. At moments, it reminds me of cigar tobacco.

Packing can be a problem with this tobacco, due to the long length of the ribbons. I've found that tearing the tobacco prior to packing yields better results.

The charring light shows some chocolate, followed by an overwhelming musty flavor. Further lighting provokes black pepper and licorice. The main flavor is a rich, ripe, and spicy tobacco. It does come across as musty, as I previously stated, but I kind of like it. I believe it stems from the way the tobacco is aged. It may also be the tonquin, though it is an ingredient that I have not experienced before.

As the bowl progresses, it begins to remind me of cigars again. By the midway point of the bowl, it is just a rich, spicy tobacco with a hint of licorice and cocoa. The room note reminds me of old leather bound books.

I need to relight numerous times per bowl every time I smoke it, though that may be caused by my problematic packing. It burns cool and there is no tongue bite. There is a substantial nicotine content, so be wary if you are only an occasional smoker.

Overall, I really enjoy this tobacco. It certainly is unique, and pairs well with a strong cup of coffee. It also works well to enhance blends that are lacking. I threw some into a burley blend that I wasn't crazy about and I am happy with the result. I am only giving it three stars because it is not for everyone, so I don't feel comfortable giving it a "Highly Recommended" rating.

Wow but this is good stuff! Does need a good amount of drying (I leave mine open to the air for a day or so before smoking). Jet black leaves are quite easy to break apart but pipe filling takes a little more care than a ready-rubbed blend. Takes a few re-lights to really combust, but then the taste.... Remarkable and unique, I get salted ham, black tea, ozone and oil (the original ropes are cured in olive oil). Overall the taste is meaty and very satisfying. I can imagine sailors smoking this in charred nose-warmers during a force nine gale. Perhaps its the saltiness that reminds me of the sea. A very reflective and comforting smoke particularly when the wind and rain is hammering at your front door. Easily became my favourite tobacco.

20230313: Taking a star because the rope form is strictly better, I think.

Second smoke: I dried a bowl's worth until it no longer clumped together when pinched, and loaded up my pipe. Much less steak fat char, but still strongly present. Could have dried it even more, but at least I'm not struggling to re-light every 30 seconds. This time I get more sweetness (still by no means heavy), a lot of leather, alongside a tiny bit of VA grassiness. A very, very strange experience. I wouldn't call this an inherently pleasant tobacco, instead difficult, and more an acquired taste. Later in the bowl, the strangeness does tone down, and it becomes more VA-like. Not a ton though, if I'm being honest. Still got to call it highly recommended because there's nothing else like it.

First smoke: Out of the 80 or so tobaccos I've worked through so far, this is entirely unique. It's smoky like charred steak fat, and it's kind of blowing my mind. Maybe a little sweetness way in the background, maybe a little anise/licorice somewhere back there if I'm not delusional, but mostly savory -- when it isn't reading exactly like slightly bitter steak fat char, which i wouldn't even call savory. Certainly not sweet in any case. I've stubbornly refused to dry any of my overly moist GH blends up until this point, and it's worked pretty well. This though is sopping wet, and I'd never smoke it again without some dry time. This has got to be 4 stars, but i can't imagine it occupying anywhere near a majority of my bowls. It's just so unlike what i normally love about tobacco, but there's nothing else like it. You need to try it at least once.

Got this one bc I enjoyed the rope version.

It’s very black. Oily, shiny and feels damp to the fingers. It does have some coin like pieces, but it is mostly very long ribbon strands. Almost a shag, and it handles like one. It takes a few lights to get it going. It burns slow and cool, and has very similar characteristics to the rope version. It does however have some differences. Most noticeable is some sort of an essence, but I’m not sure what it is. Maybe clove? It makes a slight numbness on the tongue for me. It is slightly sweet and very smoky. It’s not great, and has a funny aftertaste to me.

This looks like their black twist just all sliced up. It has that Gawithy, Hoggarthy, black ropey smell to it in the bag. It needs some drying time. 15 seconds in the microwave made it feel ok but still it smoked slightly wet. Next time I go for 20. At first light, it's actually rather bland and disappointing. Like the virgin bride said to the groom, "just give me time baby!".

By about 3/4 bowl she's found her stride. Like their ropes, the warm, woody, nutty, leathery, full, and deep goodness of it all kicks in and it just stays there wonderfully throughout the rest of the bowl without much variation. I find this one and the rest of the the GH&Co. ropes to be delicious and the preslicing does nothing to the taste as you would expect.

To me really the biggest difference is the black ramps up to its sweet spot where as the Brown is there from the first light as is slightly stronger. If you've found the Brown ropes to harsh, give this a try. As SpinalTap would say, those go to 11. This one only goes to 10. Nic is still strong, just not as strong as the brown. If you are nic sensitive, go slow. 4 out of 4 stars if you like the genre.