Tobaccos Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Black Irish XXX

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	StevieB (2081)	2014-10-28		Very Strong	Extremely Mild	Very Full	Tolerable

Gawith Hoggarth - Black Irish XXX.

This is a VERY STRONG tobacco. Right from opening it up I can tell immediately how powerful this is gonna be. The aroma is a real potent one, not your stereotypical Virginia one, yes it is definitely Virginia at the forefront but there is also a certain smokiness to it. As I often find with rope tobaccos, it's a touch damp so the best way to go (I think) is to cut the rope first and then allow it some time to air. Mine only requires a few hours to reach a better level of hydration and I fill my pipe asap to get started! First few puffs? As I had anticipated this is a whopper with strength! Mind you, as I find it too difficult to inhale the thick smoke without a coughing repercussion I don't find the N amount too disagreeable. As it says in the description on here, the smoke is cool in temperature. There is a slight smokiness to the Virginia taste but also there is a leathery/liquorice flavour that, to be fair, becomes a touch unpleasant after some time, actually giving my mouth a sticky feeling. As XXX burns down it leaves a pure white ash. Whilst I am mentioning the burn I would also like to point out just how steady the burn is. On a number of occasions I have left my pipe sitting for enough time that I feel the chances of it being extinguished are unequivocal but to my astonishment it is still burning. The room-note is a really full one, perhaps too full for some people! I feel that there are some excellent qualities to this blend, i.e an excellent burn, cool smoke and a smoky taste but sadly I can't score it higher due to the acrid stickiness left in my mouth. But conjecture says if you are a very 'hardened smoker' who loves nicotine then this will suit you!

Two stars.

Pipe Used: Rattray Six Friends

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: G.Q Tobaccos

8 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	tomobedlam (16)	2016-01-17		Medium to Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Extra Strong

I am a big fan of strong tobacco. This was pretty lousy. I don't really understand the 'burnt steak' metaphor others have used. It just had a poor flavor and an evil smell, like burning rubber... I love a lot of the G&H offerings, but not this one. I bought a pretty large bag of it and I'll probably compost it. Avoid.

Similar Blends: Burning tire fires..

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	gladi8tor96 (143)	2015-06-12		Extremely Strong	None Detected	Extra Full	Extra Strong

Beautiful rope again...looks like somebody could bite off a bit and chew it. A friend of mine actually did so and said it was like 'redman'. Anyhow....this rope is a bit 'smoother' than the black/brown irish X rope. It still is like BBQ meat and smokey, but is a bit less harsh on the mouth and throat than the brown rope.

It's a good tobacco, but not one I smoke often.

Pipe Used: Bent Billard, Dublin, Egg, Acorn

Age When Smoked: New from store - 1-3 years

Purchased From: Smokingpipes.com

Similar Blends: Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Black Irish X Unsliced.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	najanaja73 (4)	2015-05-19		Strong	None Detected	Medium	Pleasant to Tolerable

Thick piece, strong earthy smell. Will need to be rubbed or sliced. Slightly over-moist. Slow burning with persistent ember, cool, smooth smoke. Medium-high strength tobacco. Deep-bodied slightly earthy taste. No distinct flavours, but holds other flavours well. Musty room note, not unpleasant or over-powering.

Overall: Good medium-high strength full-bodied slow-burner. Solid and fairly neutral tasting, perfect for mixing with light fast burning aromatics.

Pipe Used: Bent Egg

Age When Smoked: new

Purchased From: Black Swan

Similar Blends: Brown pigtail.

4 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	cobster (3)	2018-09-26		Very Strong	None Detected	Mild to Medium	Extra Strong

This is very strong indeed. Sliced as thin as possible then rubbed out is the way to go. The flavour is oily, leathery, grassy - almost muddy. It's smooth and is a pain to keep lit. But it's a very nice change of pace - hiccups and all.

Pipe Used: Cobs

Age When Smoked: 4 years

Purchased From: My Smoking Shop (online)

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Deckard Cain (39)	2016-04-20		Extremely Strong	Extremely Mild	Overwhelming	Overwhelming

So i tried the rope from gawith and hogarth tonight. It is vomitus rubbish. I have never been so thoroughly repulsed by tobacco in my life.

Its rank flavor still lingers on my hands. Its only use could be as a cruel initiation, or some sick joke.

All true lovers of tobacco must avoid this soul shattering statment of hatred for mankind.

I have been used, and made the plaything of some malevolent force. That STILL laughs at my well meaning curiousity...as i cry myself to sleep.

Update: 4-23-16

I really don't understand how any traditional pipe smoker can give this a good review. I think this happens from over analyzation, and exposure. We smoke so many types and read so many opinions that the lines between good and bad become blurred. We forget that there is some real garbage out there and we dont have try to interpret it as good, simply because its expensive or has a lot of nic.

If you smoke cow manure long enough you'll start to form some opinions about better and worse varieties. But why subject yourself to it?

I love strong blends, and I love acquiring a new taste. But this stuff really is JUNK.

UPDATE: 5-9-22

This stuff is still just as bad as the first time I ever tried it. I gave myself a few years. Thinking maybe my palate had changed. But this stuff still has a terrible greasy smoked flavor. It really does taste like barbecue gone wrong. Like if someone took a piece of rubber tire tread, dipped it in bacon grease and attempted to cook it on the grill. That is the flavor not the smell. The strength of the nicotine hit doesn't really matter. This is terrible. Most seasoned pipe smokers I believe, will ultimately conclude that there is something wrong with this tobacco. Spoilage, chemical contamination, ext, ect.

Pipe Used: Cob

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: P&c

Similar Blends: There is no other blend like this. That however doesn't mean it is worth trying. This well respected tobacco firm, should be ashamed of this product..

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Pipeologist (27)	2015-08-20		Extremely Strong	None Detected	Medium	Tolerable

..This looks like something my dog left in the garden (yard). I use it to get to sleep at night , as it has inherent somnambulistic qualities. Hmmm! Anyway, it tastes dirty with not much bite, but, wow, does this have a huge nicotine kick .Yeah man it sure does. You know what ,I like it😀in a perverse kind of way. Needs a load of relights and tamps, but it really is a good fun tobacco and I'm going to give it a good score, so there!.The chances of you getting any of this is remote, but, if you do ,omit the J.D. For evenings only or I swear, you will get a ticket. Just having a bowl tonight and I'm sure this is the stuff that won the battle of Trafalgar, chewed, of course. Another bowl. Not tonight, Josephine. If any of you have had suicidal tendencies, and who hasn't, then this is for you.Instead of doing the worst, just have a few glasses of what you Americans call whisky and a pipeful of this stuff. It's probably about the same thing, but, at least, in the morning you'll still be alive to repeat the following evening.

Pipe Used: Jepperson

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: Gq

2 people found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Sir John Moore (29)	2021-05-08		Mild to Medium	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Strong

This was a difficult one. It is made from good tobacco but it is such a niche flavour in the sense there's a strong barbecue note forward with a surprisingly sweet edge supporting what is in my view a mild smoke. That barbecue smell is in the pouch and room note too. Dont mistake the colour for that of a Maduro cigar leaf the steaming of the Brown Twist mellows this rope profoundly. Unique in its form and flavour I found this needing several relights even when cut into thin coins so leave plenty of drying time. Smooth creamy and consistant this is a smoke not without its charm. There is indeed a fine white ash.

Pipe Used: MM Cob

Age When Smoked: New and Jarred for months

Purchased From: The Black Swan Shoppe

Similar Blends: Gawith Hoggarth Brown Irish Twist.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	PitmanPipe (4)	2020-05-03		Very Strong	Very Mild	Full	Tolerable

Have been smoking this on and off for 7 years or so. Always been OK, but now I have to change my view. It may be a plain baccy from the County next to mine, but it's gorgeous. Easy to prepare and light. Keeps burning well. Taste is unique. Never taster oil, petrol or creosote, but that is what comes to mind. High in Nic but am used to thar. Lots of lovely smoke. Suppose those around may not like aroma. But on me own so don't know. No tongue bite. Cumbria tobacco firms are the best. I recommend, but have summit to eat. 😷🤧

Pipe Used: Chacombe Carbone Billiard

Age When Smoked: Had a few years

Purchased From: Cuban Cigar Club

Similar Blends: Unique.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Christine (2)	2019-12-09		Strong	None Detected	Mild	Unnoticeable

Fairly strong nic hit, but mild tasting to me. Maybe I needed to dry it a bit more but it needs a bit of nursing to keep lit. I'm smoking my first ever bowl of it as I write this, so early days yet. I usually like RR tobacco ie. Royal Yacht & N. Cap. and the odd bowl of 1792 flake, but I'm enjoying this stuff and the odd thing is I don't know why ! Will update after a few more bowls.

Pipe Used: missouri meerschaum corn cob.

Age When Smoked: new from tin.

Purchased From: Online from GQ Tobacco.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	AJS2323 (32)	2019-09-28		Very Strong	None Detected	Overwhelming	Extra Strong

This is a unique tobacco. I can appreciate the history of it and the fact that smokes very cool, it is very cool regardless of pipe. It is somewhat overwhelming with flavour which is a bit odd. I would say BBQ that is wet. You get smokiness, earthiness and bitterness from it. Nice on the retro hail. I first smoked this with some orange juice (squash variety added water) and the taste and everything else became too much and it was not enjoyable after 15mins. So I didn’t give up, to enjoy this tobacco you need to have a bitter or at very least none sweet drink. I have smoked it with black string coffee and I have smoked it with Leffe Brun which is a very stout beer from Belgium (I think)

Not a regular smoker but it can be enjoyed. It is nowhere near as strong as the brown version in terms of nicotine.

Pipe Used: Basket pipe, morta and cob

Age When Smoked: New

Purchased From: The bear shop Cardiff

Similar Blends: Gawith, Hoggarth & Co. - Black Bogie Unscented.

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	Steerpike (156)	2018-09-16		Very Strong	None Detected	Medium to Full	Very Strong

Very strong, somewhat harsh traditional rope tobacco. It's a thick oily black twist, and trimming pieces off with a penknife is fun. Takes a light OK but you'll need a few relights. After a few of these it tends to become rather harsh and ashy.

The flavour is meaty, like smokey bacon when it's good, overdone barbecue towards the end of the bowl. There's an engine oil note here, decidedly like used engine oil... No tongue bite, the harshness is at the back of the throat and may cause hiccups. It's got nicotine in spades, although less than happy bogie owing to the steaming.

A decade in a tin didn't smooth it out at all. What you get is what you get. Good for playing at being a pirate or olde worlde miner.

Smoke it in the depths of winter, chill air may take the edge off it. The rope will survive camping trips well in your pocket, I think that's the point of it. I prefer the slightly more refined plugs, and will have my burnt meat for dinner rather than as the post prandial smoke.

Update 2023

Loaded a clay up with this as a chaser to a few too many pints at the pub, it's been a heavy week. Golly it's strong... And needs a lot of relights... And golly it doesn't half last...

Potent stuff, leathery tarry and a bit burnt rubber... Somebody must love it... Will I ever be man enough?

Pipe Used: Peterson Zulu, clays, Falcons

Age When Smoked: New, and a tin I stashed a decade ago

Purchased From: Various tobacconists

1 person found this review helpful.

	Reviewed By	Date	Rating	Strength	Flavoring	Taste	Room Note
	benhughes2552 (8)	2020-12-01		Extremely Strong	None Detected	Overwhelming	Extra Strong

The trick to this one (and all the twists) is to shag cut it. There is definitely some fermented tobacco going on here, but any subtlety is lost amongst the overwhelming tobacco taste. Not for the faint of heart or the empty stomached.

Pipe Used: Nording Shorty

Age When Smoked: 10+ years

Purchased From: Just for Him

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