Gawith Brown Pigtail E/S & Sweet Rum

[Blackhorse]

Brown Pigtail Sweet Rum and E/S

After GQ Tobaccos' forgot' to send these two items in an order I reminded them and they sent them along without further delay. Interesting. But they did arrive and promise to provide a unique experience.

The Pigtails as done by the Gawith boys are about half the diameter of the Bogie and a quarter that of a Twist...in other words, thin. I understand that the Pigtails are designed primarily as a chew, but are also commonly smoked. Since they are primarily intended as a chew they are reported to be prepared with a higher level of sugars and flavor essence than the twists and bogies.

The E/S I guess stands for Extra Scent (?) and is primarily Maple. The Sweet Rum is, well...Rum. But I get the distinct impression, reading descriptions and such, that it's not quite that simple. It's like both items have a bit of each flavor but the degree of which varies. I might know more once I try them out, maybe, maybe not. We'll see.

Taste/smoking trials will commence tomorrow. If anyone else out there has actual experience with these, please chime in. I'd be very pleased for your thoughts (DrT999?).

So, mes amis, until tomorrow.

 

[Puff Daddy]

I have a few hundred grams of unscented brown pigtail. It is a fine amd strong smelling tobacco, and must be smoked in small pipes, slowly. Quite powerful, but very good. The maple sounds interesting, might have to look some out.

 

[DrT999]

I found the GH sold for chewing a bit sweeter than the US versions, and the smaller the diameter, the sweeter it is (I think most of the topping goes on the wrapping? If so, that would explain it). My presumptions on this are open to correction!

 

[Blackhorse]

Interesting. Not sure where the scent is. I know these two pigtails have a VERY rich brown aroma...tinged with that sumthin sumthin extra.

 

[Blackhorse]

First up...the Sweet Rum Pigtail.

OK, I'm totally screwed. I love it. LOVE it! In my Tinsky kit Briar (3/4" X 1 1/4" bowl), very heavy bowl with plateaux top with a total shank + stem of 5" (straight), which is my preferred geometry for ropes, twists, bogies and Pigtails...this stuff is pretty nearly heaven on earth. The deep brown VA base comes through loud and clear. Then the scenting which is mild, presents as just a little moreso than the typical sweet flavored top. In the larger girth twists it's just enough to be noticed...in this Pigtail version it's more noticeable. Just enough to take it past really good to perfect. The Rum is one of the most popular flavors, being an ideal match for the brown base. It's sweeter since it's meant primarily as a chew. But it works beautifully as a smoke. I cut thin coins off the Pigtail and rubbed them loose...dried about 15 minutes it packed and burned wonderfully well. Pack it lightly to start and tamp ever so lightly. One cleaner mid bowl to keep things clean, not so much for any gurgle, was all it needed...plus the standard relights which are inevitable for the genre. A glass of cool water to rinse away the slight bitterness as always. Water so as not to skew the flavor profile. The result was fine...very, very fine.

I think a standard size bowl of this kind of dy-no-mite would be way too much goodness, strength wise that is, as it's loaded with N. I have maybe three briar pipes with what I consider appropriate dimensions plus a few small MM's. The little ones.

This blend places in my top five Gawith tobaccos. My highest recommendation...if you like the genre. Experienced hobbiests only need apply.

50 gm goes for $15 via GQ Tobaccos in the UK without the VAT.

http://www.gqtobaccos.com/pipe-tobaccos/gawith-hoggarth-brown-bogie-sweet-rum/#.V5ZBKuhlBpU

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Oh man, that sounds great!

Off we go! Thanks for the heads up........


OMG DUUUUUUDE!!!! They have Bob's Chocolate PLUG?


Oh wow, there's more.............

 

[Blackhorse]

He has found "the candy store".

 

[RDPipes]

It'll rot your teeth out!

 

[Blackhorse]

So...the E/S this morning.

Sliced into dime thin coins. Coins stuffed into another of my Tinsky kits pipes, this one with a heavy bodied bowl with Prince geometry and a 13/16" diameter...shallow profile. The coins not rubbed out, but topped with a well rubbed starter. This pipe sports a Forever Stem with a green swirl collar...festive as it matches the forest green Briar stained using Feibings dye. Classic. Shank and stem measure 6" total length and it has that very slight Prince bend I love.

It's scary how well this stuff burns. This one with fresh undried coins burned well once kindled.

The flavor is slightly less noticeable than the rum. A bit less sweet, for whatever reason. Could be the blend, could be the pipe. Whatever. Lots of brown base flavor, edge taken off by the sugar and spice. Lovely. But less so than the rum. Tamping needs to be very carefully done, with a light touch. A rinsing of clear water sipped alongside helped. No bite. Burned very slightly warmer than the rum version. Again, might be the bowl geometry. It was done rather quickly due to the shallow bowl.

Again, very highly recommended. I did, however prefer the Rumjust a bit. This one is claimed to be Maple /Rum. I got no distinct flavors though.

 

[Blackhorse]

Revisited the Brown Pigtail Sweet Rum this morning. Same experience as before. This is my favorite new blend in a long time.

Pros:

Sweet Pigtail burns very well and completely.
Excellent deep brown VA flavors.
Perfectly de-edged by the use of sugars and rum spice.
Rum essence is ideal mate to the brown base.
Easy to prep via cutting into coins & rubbing.
Short drying time helps but not obligatory.
Also works by stuffing unrubbed coins into bowl lightly.
Works well with very light tamping down the bowl during smoke.
Profound level of Vit. N. Take care.
Arrives fresh & moist...smokes well as received.

Cons:

Cost. Only available via GQ Tobaccos in the UK. 50 gm is $15 but shipping is quite high.
Make shipping more 'reasonable' by not ordering small amounts.
It's too good not to reorder. A must have tobacco.

There ya go. To me, it's the best of all the rope, twist, bogie & Pigtail genre.

http://www.gqtobaccos.com/gawith-hoggarth-brown-pigtail-rum/#.V5jpcuhlBpU

 

[Blackhorse]

Wanted to top this by adding a little PS.

Today I sliced up some standard Gawith Sweet Brown maple twist. A very fine offering.

I kept thinking back to bowls of the sweet Pigtail and how the Twist expressed the brown base flavor more sharply and the Pigtails were so much smoother. Both good but different.

 

[JimInks]

Really good reviews. I haven't had any of them, probably never will since ordering overseas is out of my finance range, but I'm glad to see them reviewed.

 

[Blackhorse]

Jim - I doubt very much that any of these are "out of your finance range". I see about twenty reviews of yours on all sorts of blends every day. Even a small fraction of funds directed in those directions, redirected to these items should easily put them in your cabinet. What we're really talking about here is 'preference'...right? For me, the purchase of 50 gm of one of these, delivered to me, is about $20. Sure, Gawith bought in the UK is about twice the price of Gawith purchased in the USA...so I give up a tin of something else to 'afford' it. That's what I prefer. It's all about discretionary funds. I choose to direct my funds in this direction...you do not. It's just that simple.

:lol:

 

[JimInks]

Jim - I doubt very much that any of these are "out of your finance range". I see about twenty reviews of yours on all sorts of blends every day. Even a small fraction of funds directed in those directions, redirected to these items should easily put them in your cabinet. What we're really talking about here is 'preference'...right? For me, the purchase of 50 gm of one of these, delivered to me, is about $20. Sure, Gawith bought in the UK is about twice the price of Gawith purchased in the USA...so I give up a tin of something else to 'afford' it. That's what I prefer. It's all about discretionary funds. I choose to direct my funds in this direction...you do not. It's just that simple.

:lol:

Most of what you have seen lately have come in trades, or in the case of the recent G&H reviews, a gift of samples from a friend who was clearing the deck of a few open samples. That made me laugh considering the amount of open samples I have. No, I'm not hurting for tobacco, but on my budget, I can't justify spending $20 on 50 grams. In fact, I'm not buying tobacco currently, and when I do, I have to choose cheaper options or else cut back on how much I smoke.

 

[Blackhorse]

Ouch. Well, since GQ is goin' down, these two items have turned into unobtainium.

For me...I weep. What turned out to be two grail blends is now impossible to restock.



I met her and fell head over heels
then after one glorious weekend she was gone
like smoke on a gentle breeze
leaving only memories
and her subtle scent on my pillow

 

[JimInks]

Ouch. Well, since GQ is goin' down, these two items have turned into unobtainium.

For me...I weep. What turned out to be two grail blends is now impossible to restock.

G&H were making some blends for him only. That is true loss. I feel badly for Glynn, who's a very good fella and of course, a heckuva blender. That's a worse loss for all of us, him included. Glynn did a lot for the tobacco world, and I'm sure this is hard for him to deal with.

 

[Blackhorse]

The winter of our discontent.