There have been plenty of reviews and opinion of H&G ropes here but not many regarding the sliced versions. On a whim I ordered a couple of ounces of H&G Sliced Brown twist to see how much, if any, different it is compared to the rope form. Frequently a RR form of a flake will display the same characteristics but in a muted form. This does not appear to be the case here. If anything BTS is even more potent, both in flavor and strength, than the rope. The bag note is intense, incredibly redolent and aggressive, very reminiscent of classic English blends such as Condor, St. Bruno, and Mick McQuaid. And so is the resulting smoke but with the strength turned up to eleven. Came in the bag from P&C quite moist taking several lights to get going but eventually it settled down and played nice, burning to the bottom with no drama and a mottled gray ash.
This is one of those by God tobaccos that one can easily imagine being the stalwart friend of a weathered old sea-dog or grizzled grumpy landlubber. The flavor doesn't "develop" at all but stays aggressive, sour, and funky all the way to the bottom. That is not a criticism. I can see folks loving this stuff but a newbie would likely flee in terror and I wouldn't blame them a bit. It is freakishly strong. Kick your sorry butt strong. Even if you smoke this in the smallest pipe you have woozy head spins will likely be your fate. This is also a well known characteristic of the rope version but again seems intensified here, presumably because it burns easier. It is, to put it mildly, an acquired taste but once acquired will make smoking a nice bowl of straight burley seem like hardly smoking at all. No idea about the room note but I'd be willing to bet it would be a very good way of clearing a room.
This is one of those by God tobaccos that one can easily imagine being the stalwart friend of a weathered old sea-dog or grizzled grumpy landlubber. The flavor doesn't "develop" at all but stays aggressive, sour, and funky all the way to the bottom. That is not a criticism. I can see folks loving this stuff but a newbie would likely flee in terror and I wouldn't blame them a bit. It is freakishly strong. Kick your sorry butt strong. Even if you smoke this in the smallest pipe you have woozy head spins will likely be your fate. This is also a well known characteristic of the rope version but again seems intensified here, presumably because it burns easier. It is, to put it mildly, an acquired taste but once acquired will make smoking a nice bowl of straight burley seem like hardly smoking at all. No idea about the room note but I'd be willing to bet it would be a very good way of clearing a room.
