Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Pigtail

This is a badass tobacco from Gawith & Hoggarth, so don't smoke it on an empty stomach: its nicotine content will knock you off your tail. The added flavouring is rather mild as opposed to GH's brown pig tail, which is quite apparent from the very beginning. GH is selling it as chewing tobacco, so it is quite moist and needs drying before being able to smoke it. The best way I found to achieve this is by slicing in it up with a sharp knife and let it dry after you give it a good rub. Something you will notice is that this blend will stain your knife, so don't use a kitchen one. For this task you can pretty much use the one that comes with your tamper or pipe tool.

I am finding many similarities with GH's brown pig tail. For one thing, it reminds me of some cigars and the Virginia in it tastes more or less the same. Also, it burns quite fast in your bowl but, surprisingly enough, the smoke is quite cool. I know this tobacco has a topping of rum and maple syrup, but I cannot detect any other flavourings apart from the Virginia. GH does not recommend this tobacco to beginners, but I think it would be quite suitable as it won't bite the tongue. The tin note, which is quite fragrant and flavoursome, sort of foretells what it is going to taste like in your bowl. Because of its nicotine content levels, I think this tobacco would be more suitable for small bowls as it tends to fill you up very soon. Less than an hour with this tobacco will probably leave you satisfied, so choose the size of your bowl wisely. I am thinking this tobacco would be more suitable to make small size cigars because of its intrinsic characteristics.

This is in the same ballpark as GH's Black Bogie Unscented, so almost everything I wrote about that baccy applies to this one as well. With the following exceptions:

This twist has a smaller diameter than its Bogie cousin. Perhaps because of its greater surface area to volume it comes drier than the Bogie. Still, giving it a little air time won't do any harm and will deliver a less trouble free smoke if you do.

It is said to be unsweetened, but it does strike me as sweeter than most of the other GH ropes and twists I have tried. Not sweet in a citrus or fruit sort of way, but sugar. And not molasses or demerara sugar either but simple sweetness, like white sugar. This has some benefits for the flavour because it brightens the tarry, fire cured notes, and that strange coal-like smell these black ropes and twists have.

I'm not a fan, generally speaking, of these ancient style tobaccos. There's a reason their production is restricted to a handful of companies worldwide. It's a niche product, at least for pipe smoking. Might be different for the baccy chewing community.

The upside is that properly aired it's a well behaved tobacco. It does burn cool and it doesn't bite. But you'll probably be in a minority if you genuinely enjoy the coal tar aroma.