I recently had a generous forum member send me two twists—G&H Happy Brown Bogie and Coconut Twist--after he read how much I enjoyed the Rum and Maple Twists. (He shall remain nameless unless he outs himself—I think that’s how it’s generally done?) Anyway, I was very excited to try both these twists, so here is my review on the Happy Brown Bogie.
The brown twists--Irish, bogie, and pigtail—are the same leaf, but just varying sizes of twist. In his video on rope tobacco, Glynn Quelch remarks that one difference in the smaller twists is that you get more of the outer, wrapper leaf, which produces a slightly stronger smoke.
From the first, I noticed the Brown Bogie had a bit stronger tin note than the rum and maple twists—just a tad more cigar like. This may have also been due to the absence of any sweet topping.
Preparation and Smoke:
I slice about 10 coins at a time with my twists these days, rub out, and let dry. I have had to experiment with packing a bit and reconcile myself to relighting a few times especially at the beginning. Once going, however, the twist smokes beautifully. One thing I’ve noticed now that I’ve been smoking ropes almost exclusively for some weeks, is how nonexistent the tongue bit is. In the past I didn’t notice tongue bite, but I went back and smoked an aro and a Va/Per this week and was surprised at the relative bite in these blends. There is none of that with the twists.
Flavor: I love the flavor of these twists. Without any topping and more of the outer leaf, this twist has a deep, rich, spicy flavor that evokes images of an old, British library full of leather-bound books. The taste is bracing—I can perceive the nicotine, and so I can equally picture a hardened sailor chewing this on a creaky old ship. As with the tin note, I did feel it was slightly stronger than the rum and maple version of the bigger Irish twist.
Nicotine level: Strong! I’m generally reluctant to compare nicotine content of blends, as there are so many variables, and I experience different effects even from the same blend depending on when I smoke, etc.—but in one post-dinner smoking session, I became quite light-headed, finished the bowl, took a break with a bowl of a mild aro, and then went to Royal Yacht. I thought the RY might be too much nicotine cumulatively, but I actually recovered from the nic-high while smoking RY, which makes me think that Brown Bogie is quite a bit stronger than Royal Yacht. Since RY used to be firmly in the top tier of blends as far as nicotine kick goes this side by side comparison indicated the Brown Bogie is quite strong indeed.
In Summary: The Brown Bogie combines everything I like about cigars and pipes. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it tastes like a cigar--though several of my friends remarked that it did when I left them have a puff of it. It is smoother, deeper, and richer, but without some of the bitterness I associate with cigars. (Don’t get me wrong—sometimes, I like that bitterness, but it’s more something I enjoy on occasion.) This is a great, relaxing after-dinner smoke--my favorite kind. I will definitely be purchasing some in near future.
I have fallen firmly in love with the dark, African Virginia leaf. There’s nothing quite like it.
The brown twists--Irish, bogie, and pigtail—are the same leaf, but just varying sizes of twist. In his video on rope tobacco, Glynn Quelch remarks that one difference in the smaller twists is that you get more of the outer, wrapper leaf, which produces a slightly stronger smoke.
From the first, I noticed the Brown Bogie had a bit stronger tin note than the rum and maple twists—just a tad more cigar like. This may have also been due to the absence of any sweet topping.
Preparation and Smoke:
I slice about 10 coins at a time with my twists these days, rub out, and let dry. I have had to experiment with packing a bit and reconcile myself to relighting a few times especially at the beginning. Once going, however, the twist smokes beautifully. One thing I’ve noticed now that I’ve been smoking ropes almost exclusively for some weeks, is how nonexistent the tongue bit is. In the past I didn’t notice tongue bite, but I went back and smoked an aro and a Va/Per this week and was surprised at the relative bite in these blends. There is none of that with the twists.
Flavor: I love the flavor of these twists. Without any topping and more of the outer leaf, this twist has a deep, rich, spicy flavor that evokes images of an old, British library full of leather-bound books. The taste is bracing—I can perceive the nicotine, and so I can equally picture a hardened sailor chewing this on a creaky old ship. As with the tin note, I did feel it was slightly stronger than the rum and maple version of the bigger Irish twist.
Nicotine level: Strong! I’m generally reluctant to compare nicotine content of blends, as there are so many variables, and I experience different effects even from the same blend depending on when I smoke, etc.—but in one post-dinner smoking session, I became quite light-headed, finished the bowl, took a break with a bowl of a mild aro, and then went to Royal Yacht. I thought the RY might be too much nicotine cumulatively, but I actually recovered from the nic-high while smoking RY, which makes me think that Brown Bogie is quite a bit stronger than Royal Yacht. Since RY used to be firmly in the top tier of blends as far as nicotine kick goes this side by side comparison indicated the Brown Bogie is quite strong indeed.
In Summary: The Brown Bogie combines everything I like about cigars and pipes. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it tastes like a cigar--though several of my friends remarked that it did when I left them have a puff of it. It is smoother, deeper, and richer, but without some of the bitterness I associate with cigars. (Don’t get me wrong—sometimes, I like that bitterness, but it’s more something I enjoy on occasion.) This is a great, relaxing after-dinner smoke--my favorite kind. I will definitely be purchasing some in near future.
I have fallen firmly in love with the dark, African Virginia leaf. There’s nothing quite like it.
