I Smoked My Grandmother's Bathroom Floormat

jmatt · Sep 25, 2016

I'm not exactly a newbie. My records at tobaccocellar.com suggest I've smoked 58 different blends in the last two years. I'm mostly a red virginia flake guy, but I've tried a little of everything. From plug and twist, to shag and loose, and from aromatics to Orientals and English.
But I've never smoked a Gawith & Hoggarth blend......until today.
I stopped by my (kind of) local tobacconist, and didn't find anything I haven't already tried. Until I saw bags of bulk Gawith & Hoggarth Brown Twist Sliced and Black Twist Sliced on the wall behind the cash register. So I figured "give me about an ounce of each please." I read the reviews, and Brown Twist Sliced was suppossedly a pure tobacco taste - almost cigarish - with one heckuva nicotine punch. So I loaded one of my smallest pipes with some brown twist sliced, and lit.
Pffft...ack....gag...pttt.....
Holy mother of.....
No one even talks about the floral taste of this blend. Yet here I was, smoking floral soap. I couldn't get memories of my grandmother's bathroom out of my head. And when I was young, my grandmother was already old. She was 73 when I was born, so my most vivid memories would be of her in her mid eighties. And let me tell you - old lady bathroom smell is NOT what you want to smoke.
I think I ghosted my whole mouth.
And the nicotine.....
A completely different level of nicotine punch. Peterson Irish Flake? Whatever. Pease Jack Knife Plug? Big deal. Samuel Gawith Black XX Twist - whatever. In my smallest pipe I had to set it down halfway through the first bowl - which I started immediately after eating a full meal.
And allegedly there's pipers among us who LOVE this? Whoever you are, you are sick, sick people.
p.s. - I have about an ounce of Brown Twist Sliced and an ounce of Black Twist Sliced I will gladly trade for one tin of nice red virginia. Maybe a Christmas Cheer. Or an Astley's.
And I'm going to try a recipe we used to get skunk smell off my dog to get this ghosting out of my mouth and nasal passages.

warren · Sep 25, 2016

Yup! Great stuff! Not for everyone though. In fact I had to develop a taste for it. And that is rare as I usually toss any blend I do not enjoy on the first smoke. Something about it made me keep at it. I'm guessing the nicotine was what made me come back to it.

dottiewarden · Sep 25, 2016

Thanks for the heads up, jmatt!
I do want to try a Lakeland blend one day, but that nicotine punch could likely kill me. Let's just say Irish Flake is a heavy one for me.

ophiuchus · Sep 25, 2016

Pffft...ack....gag...pttt.....
Holy mother of.....

:rofl:
Not saying the stuff is bad ... I've never developed a taste for G & H Lakelands, either.

pagan · Sep 25, 2016

So detailed in you review, love it :rofl:

texmexpipe · Sep 25, 2016

Hope you didn't like that pipe, as that ghost ain't ever going away!

andrew · Sep 25, 2016

I wonder if you got a mislabled batch of something else, I just got brown bogie and there's not a trace of lakeland flavor in it.
Pipestuds review

Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note

Pipestud (1454) 2009-04-28

★★★★

Very Strong None Detected Very Full Very Pleasant

Dark, a little bit sweet and full of strength. This one will water your eyes and give you a tingly feeling all over. It looked quite foreboding, but rubbed out into an almost shag like cut. Despite the moisture content (a little on the high tide side), it burned cool and easily stayed lit.
G&H makes a lot of fine Virginia dominant tobaccos but this one may be the best of a great bunch. Thoroughly enjoyablel and I will certainly order more.
5 people found this review helpful.

Jiminks

Reviewed By Date Rating Strength Flavoring Taste Room Note

JimInks (1568) 2012-11-05

★★★☆

Very Strong Extremely Mild Full Strong

This rope turned to coin cut has a little cigar taste that I enjoy, partially because I enjoy good cigars, and partially because it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the flavors. The Virginia sweetness is somewhat present, but is sublimated by the strength of the tobacco. Its earthiness is more obvious. It burns decently if you dry it a little, but expect some relights. Not very complex, but has a bare hint of spice at various points, and almost has a "roast" taste to it. It gives a strong nic-hit to your senses which is filling more than overpowering. I doubt you'd want this for a regular smoke unless you like your tobacco strong, but as a change of pace, I have found it rather enjoyable. You may want a nice hot tea or coffee to round out the experience.
4 people found this review helpful.

Also give the black twist a chance but let it dry to crispy before you smoke it, it's actually quite pleasant but when there's even a bit of moisture I find it tastes like motor oil or something.

cossackjack · Sep 26, 2016

Both are good smokes for me. I've smoked quite a bit of both, usually the unsliced ropes.

Strong taste, yes.

Strong nicotine, yes.

Floral, soapy Lakeland essence, no.
Maybe they were in the B&M too long, or otherwise became cross-contaminated.

paulfg · Sep 26, 2016

both brown and black twist come in scented and unscented versions.I guess you got the scented one

http://www.mysmokingshop.co.uk/index2.php?mod=mancats&nm=Gawith%20Hoggarth%20Twist%20Pipe%20Tobacco&ns=Aromatic%20Sliced%20Brown&man=211&sec=2670

huntertrw · Sep 26, 2016

"I Smoked My Grandmother's Bathroom Floormat"
Under the new Food and Drug Administration Deeming Rules this is not permitted. Had it been your Grandmother's husband's floor-mat it would have been, for it would have been grandfathered.

bigpond · Sep 26, 2016

So I loaded one of my smallest pipes with some brown twist sliced, and lit.

I see the problem! This scented version only really comes alive when smoked in your biggest and most expensive pipe.

iamn8 · Sep 26, 2016

Buy some cotton bowl! I've never heard the Lakeland presence in this blend either... interesting.

hawky454 · Sep 26, 2016

<p>Yeah that's strange! I've not tasted any Lakeland flavorings on my Brown Bogie or Brown Twist Sliced and I have never seen an option for these as scented tobaccos. What store did ya get it from? I might just call em up and order some as what you're describing sounds delicious to me.

mso489 · Sep 26, 2016

For those who smoke for the nicotine buzz alone this is the cut and the blend.

georged · Sep 26, 2016

I wonder if you got a mislabled batch of something else, I just got brown bogie and there's not a trace of lakeland flavor in it.

Absolutely, 100% this. ^^^

sthbkr77 · Sep 26, 2016

it would have been, for it would have been grandfathered.

Hunter, I like you, you're my people.
I have some dark flake scented as I hadn't had a true lakeland previously. It's definitely not something I reach for regularly but I do appreciate it for what it is. Like Warren said, I think it's the vitamin N that keeps me coming back to it.

pitchfork · Sep 26, 2016

I doubt if you got a rope that was scented, but they do taste strange to me. Just plain weird, but nothing like any of the famous scented Lakelands, which I actually enjoy.

crashthegrey · Sep 26, 2016

I think I ghosted my whole mouth.

Best quote of the day. I had no idea there were scented versions, so that's good to know for the future. Quality information here.

pitchfork · Sep 26, 2016

What I meant to say is that the regular, unscented ropes taste weird. As they dry and air, they tend to mellow out a bit.

deathmetal · Sep 26, 2016

No one even talks about the floral taste of this blend. Yet here I was, smoking floral soap.

The curse of the Lakelands! It is unwise to speak of this during the hours of darkness, as you may awaken the most feared of supernatural events, The Lakeland Ghost!

I Smoked My Grandmother's Bathroom Floormat

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