Genuswine Lump Charcoal nakedwhiz.com       Home       Lump Review Index       Quick Stats Date Of Review: March, 2003 Purchased From: Donated by GenuSwine Cookers, LLC Date Purchased: March, 2003 Price: $10.96/bag $270/pallet of 30 bags Weight: 20 pounds Burn Time: Ash Production: Type of Wood: Hardwood Strange Material?: See review of Cowboy charcoal. Scrap Lumber Pieces?: 80% or more. Smell: Mild pleasant smoke Country of Origin: USA Quick Links Other Information: Click Here Unusual Or Unique Statements: Click Here Statements From The Bag: Click Here Lighting Instructions: Click Here Photos of Contents: Click Here Other Photos: Click Here Photo of UPC Code: Click Here Contact Information: Click Here Rate And Comment On This Charcoal: Click Here Commentary We contacted GenuSwine to see if they would like to contribute a bag of their lump for us to review. They we very kind to send us a bag. You may have to hunt around on their website to find lump charcoal, as it can only be found by taking the link to their "Sauces" page. GenuSwine was also very candid and told us up front that this is Cowboy brand charcoal packeged in GenuSwine bags. We figured that this would be a good opportunity to take another look at Cowboy lump charcoal. Our first review was 9 months ago and we were pretty young and snooty then. (We suggest you read the review of Cowboy Charcoal for the details.) Since then, we have discussed charcoal on the various forums and probably could take another look. When we opened the bag, it pretty much looked and felt just like the Cowboy charcoal we had reviewed previously. It is almost all, if not totally, scrap from the lumber mill and from flooring and molding operations. However, nothing looked like it had finish on it. You can see below a piece that was very shiny, but it didn't appear to be any sort of finish. I hit it with the blowtorch and it sparked and popped off in little flakes, whereas varnish when hit with the blow torch will flame a bit and then be gone. The wood is not terribly dense and thus is tremendously easy to light. This lump lit with a single sheet of newspaper in the chimney starter, whereas most lumps take 2 sheets. However, it won't last as long as denser lumps like Wicked Good Charcoal. The distribution of piece sizes in the bag was pretty consistent. We'd probably like to see more larger pieces, but the amount of small stuff was relatively small. When it burns, it has a mild, pleasant smoke which might please some people who prefer less smokiness in their cooking. There were several pieces of wood which were not converted to charcoal, but not enough to matter. Certainly not the worst we have ever seen. Burntime was low compared to other charcoals and ash production was very low. So all in all, this is pretty acceptable charcoal at a fair price if you can buy it locally. We give this charcoal our above average rating. Oh, and by the way, we don't give points for artwork, but if we did, these guys would get a few. We love the logo! To the left is the rating that our readers have given this charcoal. Now that you have read our review, if you have used this charcoal and would like to rate it and leave your comments, Click Here To view reader ratings of all brands, Click Here. Other Information This charcoal is Cowboy brand charcoal, repackaged for sale by GenuSwine. Unusual or Unique Statements None. Statements From The Bag "Easy lighting!", "Great Flavor!", "100% Natural Lump", "Works great with: Grills, Rotisseries and Smokers" "The 'Genuswine' Barbecue team has competed in hundreds of competitions across the southeast. One thing that never changes from contest to contest is our choice of charcoal. Only 'natural hardwood lump charcoal' is used to cook our championship barbecue. Learn why... and experience the difference!" "All Natural, 100% charcoal, no coal, no filters! (sic)" "Easy lighting, starts in half the time of briquets!" "Great Taste! No starch or petroleum off-taste or flavor!" "Charcoal can be added to the fire without smelly fumes!" "All Charcoal means less ash; clean up is minimal!" "100% Charcoal for 100% Great Taste", "Buy a bag and cook like the champs do!" Lighting Instructions None. Photos Of Contents This is the contents of the bag. Those are 1 inch squares on the measuring bar. Here is a closer view. Here are the larger pieces we found in the bag. Here are the contents of the bag sorted into large, medium, small, and too small/chips/dust. Some of the pieces of wood were not converted to charcoal. A few of the pieces were shiny. This is no doubt sap and not varnish. Other Photos This is how the bag was packaged. GenuSwine indicated that if you ordered one or two bags, this is how it would be packaged for delivery. Photo of UPC Code Here is a photo of the UPC code on the bag: Contact Information GenuSwine Cookers, LLC 205 N. Main St. PO. Box 68 Hornbeak, Tennessee  38232 1-888-565-0520 www.genuswinebbq.com Also, there are several email addresses available on their "Contact Us" page.