GH Brown Bogie

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saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
This is supposed to be the intermediate diameter of the GH ropes, and it is indeed smaller than the Brown Irish X, but I've smoked the Pigtail, the smallest, and from what I remember it's maybe only a few millimeters smaller. I never smoked all three back to back but I can't tell the difference. All of them come in at about 50% stronger than Dark Flake, and Dark Flake is plenty strong.
Other than curiosity I can't remember why I started smoked high voltage tobacco, but when I did it came in full force. Before long most of what I smoked was at a higher level of electricity. After a few years I figured out that limiting my tobacco to this genre was indeed limiting. There's only so many full-bodied weedages and a world of mild and mid-level blends, so I brought them back into the fold. Today I don't think much about needing full-body for a satisfactory smoke, but old habits die hard and they are about 50% of what I smoke, most notably Dark Flake. I avoided the scented version for years, thinking it would be a full-blown Lakeland, but that isn't the case. I think about getting some but never do as the unscented suits my purposes.
The GH brown ropes are noteworthy as above but also for their deep, at times spicy tobacco taste. Dark Flake, I suppose, is heat treated/stoved, but not so the brown ropes, which I would say are au natural. Theirs is not a complex taste but instead more like a maduro. What the cigar folk call a natural wrapper would be the closest analogous thing.
I"ve read many accounts of plug and rope preparation, but I've always just diced them. Pease's plugs require more care as the inner layer of tobacco is often where he puts the Virginia. However much you cut needs to take this into account, otherwise complexity suffers. Other than his plugs, you can cut as you please. I've read that a lot of guys like to take thin slices off a plug/rope and smoke them whole. I prefer dicing to keep it lit.
You have to like high-octane to like rope. You might think strongly about eating a full meal before lighting up, and if your stomach starts feeling queasy, I would advise putting the pipe down immediately, otherwise you will fall prey to the Sirens of nicotine and will more than likely bound out of your chair to the comforting depths of your toilet:).

 
Mar 31, 2014
385
1
A pleasure to read! Hell, this is basically an article :)
I tried Brown Irish X and was definitely put off by its one-dimensional flavor. I now see my mistake, I smoked it straight! Maybe I'll pick up some rope and use it to spike some of the tobacco in my rotation...

 

mcitinner1

Lifer
Apr 5, 2014
4,043
24
Missouri
Not sure I'm ready for something that powerful, but I'll try it sometime. I've looked at the HG stuff at

Noggins but they should get some photos up.
tinner,Stan

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
I think my remarks above attest to the quality of Dark Flake, unscented and scented. Other high-nicotine blends are:
Dark Birdseye is a good deal more complex than either Dark Flake or Brown Bogie.

Black Irish X should be bought in small quantities, in case you don't like it; there are many who frown on the chemical/metal/creosote flavor. I like it once in awhile and tune

out the flavors I don't like.

Kendal Dark (Specify Thick Cut) is also good.

Irish Flake is a no-frills natural blend.

SG Bracken Flake is good, but over the years I've run into version problems.

 
I haven't tried a rope yet, but I love the few strong blends that I have tried. I'm smoking the DF unscented now. I only smoke these when I am in my chair with the bowl of small dark chocolates and a warm fruit juice. I have problems going to sleep on most nights, so an hour of quiet thinking and playing with the balance of nicotine and chocolate is my favorite smoke of the day. I like a pinch of perique added to my Dark Flake to give it a depth. But, I really like perique. I go right to deep sleep after a Dark Flake.
I am anxious to try a rope now.
I have been getting worried about finding some of the stronger leaf. P&C has stopped carrying Dark Flake. I know there is still Smokingpipes, but I hope this isn't a trend. If someone hasn't tried Dark Flake, but they want to try it. It's a wonderful deep rich flavor, like what a cappuccino is for coffee. There are other strong blends, but this one has a unique strong but natural tobacco flavor. Worth a try.

 

groovesmith75

Starting to Get Obsessed
Jul 29, 2014
117
1
brown bogie takes great, its sooth dosent bite. but o yes it is strong.I cut 5 thin pieces with a cigar cutter and things started to spin I think i felt it the rest of the night and went to go eat something to see if it helped. it didn't.

 

cortezattic

Lifer
Nov 19, 2009
15,147
7,637
Chicago, IL
For me, all the ropes are too strong, too full, and lack the clarity I enjoy from light(er) blends.

I never smoked cigars, but it seems to me that the ropes would make a good transition for ex-cigar smokers.

 

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
Thanks to Charlie (Trailboss), I recently got to try this rope.
I sliced it into thin coins and then cross-cut it into cubes.
This is one no-nonsense smoke! Deep tobacco flavors with some peppery / smokey attributes.
The second bowl I tried, I cut the coins again but rubbed it out with some dry time.
Using this method provided a slightly sweeter flavor with a little less harshness.
Overall, this tobacco was quite enjoyable but will be limited to SMALL bowls at the end of the day. :puffy:

 

weezell

Lifer
Oct 12, 2011
13,653
49,163
500g: $63.83 @ Smokin Pipes, One Hell of a lot of Kick Ass Smokin that will last you Quite a while! I'm buying it up and jarring it away...

 

papipeguy

Lifer
Jul 31, 2010
15,778
35
Bethlehem, Pa.
I too was gifted a nice size sample of Brown bogie. I used a cigar cutter to lop off thin slices and then diced it with my Bowie knife. My wife freaked out when she saw the rope on her cutting board and had to send a picture to our daughter. I didn't feel the need to explain it to her or the history behind this product.

Anyway, I loaded the diced rope and went for it. A nice satisfying smoke. Strong stuff to be sure and not recommended for a beginner but a whole different experience.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
The ropes are really spicy when they're fresh, but after a few months they soften a bit. The smoke is almost sweet, but fragrant like a cigar.
Any rope aficionados who can say what kind of tobacco is in the ropes? I always thought they were VAs, but lots of times they're listed as burley based.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
Thanks, boss.
I'm confusing Brown Bogie with Brown IRish X, which is listed as burley and Kentucky.

http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/558/gawith-hoggarth-co-brown-irish-x
I was under the impression that all the brown ropes from Gawith were basically the same recipe, just in different sizes.

 

saltedplug

Lifer
Aug 20, 2013
5,194
5,097
Burley and VA are two broad tobacco classes. Whether one or the other, wherever its grown produces a tobacco widely different in taste and potency that it little resembles what we commonly use these labels for. If the same VA seed is grown in Maryland, it produces tobacco different than that grown in North Carolina; and by the time it gets to Africa, with different soil. air and climate, it is vastly different. Witness the difference that it makes to grow a KY in that state and in Africa, a difference well-expressed by GH Kendal KY.

 
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