Black Irish Twist Vs. Brown Bogie

[blueeyedogre]

I've tried brown bogie before and while it had a nice kick to it, it also had a deep thick taste to it that I really enjoyed. Today I tried black Irish twist and was expecting something similar but couldn't find it. The black had almost a burning smell as apposed to a "roasting " smell I normally find when smoking. Literally like the smell of scorching wood and I was smoking a meer! It didn't have the deep musty Virginia smell or taste that I got from brown bogie. Am I alone in this experience between these two twists?

 

[oldreddog]

Your not alone ogre. I really enjoy brown bogies sweet earth tones. Black Irish reminds me of treacle, I assume as it's cooked longer the sugars turn to tarmacadam

 

[blueeyedogre]

Just did some reading and found out that Brown Bogie is a mixture of Burley and Kentucky while Black Irish is a straight Virginia. I guess that could explain the significant difference in flavor.

 

[oldreddog]

I assumed the GH ropes where all straight VA's and the different flavours are as a result of stoving time. Interesting to know the happy bogie has burley, although it's hard to pick out in such a flavour powerhouse. I'd recommend the rum twist if you prefer your rope on the sweeter side.

 

[beastinview]

Both are the same twist; the only difference is stoving.

Just did some reading and found out that Brown Bogie is a mixture of Burley and Kentucky while Black Irish is a straight Virginia. I guess that could explain the significant difference in flavor.

This is wrong, but I know why you are confused: I posted a thread on this a while back. Many of the websites list the ingredients inaccurately. Here is a link to a thread where we sorted out this confusion: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/gamph-twists-made-of-va-or-burleyky
The Brown Bogie and Black Irish Twist are the exact same twist except 1) the Bogie is smaller 2) the Black Irish is stoved.
But stoving a tobacco affects its taste quite a bit! They are both the imperial (Indian/African) Virginia leaf, though.

 

[beastinview]

Just to further clarify: GH has 6 basic varieties of twists--brown and black twists presented in three sizes each. They all use the same leaf, African and Indian grown Virginia:

All our twist tobacco varieties are manufactured by the same spinning process using dark fired wrapper leaves. The filler is again, predominantly dark fired leaf with the addition of a small percentage of dark air cured Indian leaf.

There are three diameters of ropes: pigtail, bogie, and Irish. Pigtail is the thinnest, Irish, the thickest, and bogie is between.
These three diameters are then subjected to two different processes. The brown ropes are merely left as is, but some of these ropes are cooked, resulting in the black variety.
Lastly, there are some other aromatic variations (mostly with the brown ropes) where flavoring (rum, maple, and coconut being the most common) are added on top of the rope.
As the thread I linked to demonstrated, the descriptions on various websites are quite confusing because they reference everything from Kentucky to Burley to Virginia to Cavendish! But if we go back to G,H & Co's own descriptions, we can clear things up.

 

[oldreddog]

Thanks beast for the clarification. I remember reading similar to your post some time ago. Good to have the memory refreshed.

 

[deathmetal]

Both are delicious, but the extensive roasting on the black rope makes it a very strong flavor that requires a specific audience.

 

[blueeyedogre]

Which of the twists is the least potent? I loved the taste of the brown but the black seemed milder to me.

 

[deathmetal]

By my recollection, the black is milder, but by a hair. If you mix Brown Twist Sliced with a mild Burley, it ends up being a gentle and flavorful smoke.

 

[blueeyedogre]

Hmmm might have to try that. I love the idea of a twist or plug for fishing and hunting trips as they are the easiest to pack around.

 

[deathmetal]

I support this version. I found the Brown Irish X to be the gentlest and perfect for such ventures.
One other option is a smaller pipe. When I get one of these flakes finally going, it seems to smoulder well for hours...
Hope you have fun on the fishing trip. I have gone fishing many times but I end up catching beers more than fish.

 

[blueeyedogre]

On our trips beer is for breakfast! Drink or be gone. Lol

I'll have to add some brown irish x to the next order. I have a very tiny meer but it's only good for about 10-15 mins and two bowls of brown bogie in it was sublime. I was all a tingle.

 

[ltstone]

I just ordered Gawith Hoggarth & Co.: Brown Irish X Unsliced and Gawith Hoggarth & Co.: Sweet Whiskey . How does the nic hit compare to Nightcap?

 

[beastinview]

I just ordered Gawith Hoggarth & Co.: Brown Irish X Unsliced and Gawith Hoggarth & Co.: Sweet Whiskey . How does the nic hit compare to Nightcap?

For me, nic hit of these ropes is heavy. I can't tell a difference between the flavored ropes and non-flavored: it's just the same rope, so I don't think flavoring affects nic content.
Now, I have a high nicotine tolerance, but I can't really detect a nic-hit from Nightcap most of the time--every once in a while I get a buzz. But in my experience these ropes are quite a bit stronger than Nightcap.

Which of the twists is the least potent? I loved the taste of the brown but the black seemed milder to me.

By my recollection, the black is milder, but by a hair.

Glynn Quelch has also suggested that the thinner twists are a bit more potent because you get more of the wrapper leaf. I might have been able to detect this with Bogie vs. Irish, but I'm not 100%, since it's quite difficult to compare them objectively under the exact same circumstances.

 

[pitchfork]

Yeah, I love the brown ropes, but the black ones taste like burnt, oily meat (without salt). Blech.

 

[hawky454]

Yeah, I love the brown ropes, but the black ones taste like burnt, oily meat (without salt). Blech

Yup, I agree 100% with this. Don't like the black ropes one bit, an acquired taste I suppose.

 

[beastinview]

Ah, you guys are scaring me now, as I have a tin of SG XX on its way right now. It kept being sold out, but I finally managed to snag one. Fortunately for me, I have this against-the-grain attitude that makes me like blends that I hear bad things about. That said, if you guys are brown rope fans and don't like it, we'll just have to see.

 

[deathmetal]

One important thing to remember:
Neither of them are bad.
I enjoy the black ropes as well. They have a meatier, oilier (think cigars) and darker taste. You will acclimate to it after one bowl and thoroughly enjoy it.
Heck, I wish I had some on order. Glorious stuff.

 

[hakchuma]

Bought a 12 0z of brown bogie and the rope is wound up into a cylindrical shape so it fit perfectly into a wide mouth mason jar. Picked up 7 tins of the XX.
I like them both. When I smoke a bowl it makes me want to shoot a cow, slice me steak and grill it over a fire while drinking a cup of red-eye coffee! YeeHaaaw!