Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. Black Pigtail

Gawith Hoggarth - Black Pigtail.

Firstly, if you buy this be prepared to give it a while to abate the water content a touch! The Pigtail itself is a thin twist in build, and when I take a sniff at the beginning I can tell straight away that this will be a hearty smoke; it seems to exude total strength! Because this is quite delicate in thickness it is fairly easy to prepare, I use a pair of scissors to divide it into small slices which can then be rubbed simply into a great consistency to smoke.

Lighting this up is surprisingly straight forward, surprising because mine was still a little moist, I hadn't let it air long enough! The first puff attests what I suspected about the strength, oh my goodness this is a bad boy! That said, it can be enjoyed without rancour by not inhaling deep puffs! The flavour is actually a touch inimitable: there's a good and full Virginia taste but what is more unusual for a straight Virginia is that in the background there is an almost liquorice taste which is heightened if the smoke is retro-haled, but if sucked too hard it can become a little acrid. The smoke from Black Pigtail is one of the cooler in temp' that I have had, and you don't have to suck that hard to get a good mouth full of smoke. It stays lit well, but I guess that depends upon the preparation quality and as it burns down this leaves behind a pure white ash.

I feel that the flavour from Black Pigtail is a good, but the reason this doesn't get 4 stars (for me) is the strength: you would have to have a stomach of iron to have this as your regular smoke!