Ask G. L. Pease September 2012 (Volume 17)
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Kevin Godbee - Sep 24, 2012
- 9 min read
G. L. Pease
Dr. Tobacco, resplendent in his perfectly pressed white lab coat, log-log-decitrig slide rule and antique pocket protector, yellowed from years of smoke-filled rooms, and stuffed with medium point Biros and pipe cleaners, has returned to his underground lair to explore new and exciting things to do with the his newly patented Smokinator, tanks full of highly classified rocket fuel and small rodents, so it’ll just be me, back at the keys for issue number 17. He does send his regards, however, and wants his readers to be assured that any resemblance to Dr. Heinz Doofenshcmirtz is purely coincidental. (Where’s Perry?)
Franz writes: Recently I bought myself a vacuum machine for home use. I want to experiment with a couple of things. 1) To preserve tobacco by evacuating the air completely 2) To let tobacco age, by letting a tiny rest of air in the pockets and cellar it. I can for example open a tin to let the mixture inside breath a bit and then close it again and evacuate the air to a considerable extent (but what would be considerable?) 3.) Experimenting with homemade blends – so for example to let ferment a mixture under vacuum or maybe better with some residual air (don’t know what would be better). Also for example to produce a kind of cake through the pressure inside the vacuum pocket.
What do you think about all this. I was telling some people of this idea and they were arguing that the evacuation could take flavour from tobaccos or that it could produce putridity (fouling).
A: Where to start? First, even if you have access to high-vacuum commercial sealers, you’re going to be leaving quite a bit of air in the bag. Typically, a high quality sealer will get the pressure down to about 35 Torr (1 atm is 760 Torr), so the bag will contain more air than an incandescent light bulb. But, that’s actually not a bad thing. Fermentation and the “aging” process begins aerobically, and there are also oxidation products that seem to be important to flavour and aroma. A friend of mine, some years ago, experimented with different packaging over a three year period, and concluded (as have I in similar experiments) that vacuum sealing is not ideal for long-term aging and storage. Minimal real aging takes place, and the membranes used for the typical food-grade bags are permeable to moisture, so even though the seal remains intact, the tobacco can eventually dry out.
The idea of using a vacuum seal to slow further aging of a tobacco that’s been opened may not be too far off the mark, but it’s not going to fully arrest further changes. Freezing the vacuum-sealed bags would further slow things down, but I’m not quite sure why anyone would want to do this. That said, it’s certainly not going to result in putrefaction.
As for using the vacuum sealer to create a cake, again, the pressures involved aren’t sufficient. Cake tobaccos are put under a pressure of several tonnes per square cm, and you’re not going to get close to that with the sealer. You’d be better off building a rudimentary press, and parking your car on it. If you search the web, in fact, I think you’ll find that others have made presses using different techniques, and have reported some good results! Whatever you do, experiment and have fun with it. You may make a wonderful new discovery.
Tony queries: Of course there’s always somebody asking questions about using matches as opposed to lighters and the fact that some things ignite the pipe tobacco at a lower temperature. Ok, matches win that one hands down and butane lighters, while not as nasty as a torch which in my opinion has no good use in a pipesters paraphernalia, ignite a bit hotter. My question is, “what is your take on Zippo pipe lighters; the ones with the hole in the side of it so that it pretty much hits the center of the tobacco in the bowl? Does it ignite hotter or is it just that one has to accept the taste of the fuel momentarily?
A: I like matches for a variety of reasons. Yes, the temperature is significantly lower than that of a butane lighter, but more importantly, it’s possible to use them with greater care and control. When lighting tobacco, a delicate flame is a must for improved flavour and decreased harshness. Teasing the flame over the surface with very gentle puffing is the best way to heat the leaf, and coax the pipe to almost light itself, as one would do with a fine cigar.
The biggest problem I have with Zippo-type lighters is the taste of the fuel, which taints the tobacco, and to me, that taint remains throughout the bowl. Whether or not this matters is, I suspect, largely a matter of personal taste, but for me, it’s just not worth it. I don’t use lighter fuel in my BBQ, either.
Besides, we’re pipe smokers. We need to cling tenaciously to our traditional, anachronistic ways, and these new-fangled gimcracks have no more place in our kits than velcro-fastened spats or clip-on bow ties. Matches rule.
Hunter asks: I’ve read that blends such as the original Barking Dog and others like it are today referred to as “American-English” types. In your estimation what is the proper definition of an “American-English” pipe-tobacco?
A: As far as I can tell, most people use this designation to refer to blends that contain some percentage of Latakia and oriental tobaccos as an adjunct to the more typical American-type burley blends, often containing an aromatic component like vanilla or maple. Some refer to this style as “Aromatic English,” or “Crossover English” mixtures. It’s one of those terms, like “Balkan” that has different connotations depending on who you ask. There’s no codified definition, so context will have to be your guide.
A few have written questions to the effect of: I’ve read a lot lately about “tin baking,” the cooking of tobaccos in the tin. I’m curious about it. What’s the story?
Stoving in the tin is certainly nothing new. I first learned the technique when I spent all my free time at Drucquers in the early 1980s. We had an electric pizza oven specifically for the task, and several of the blends were treated this way. It’s also a process I’ve used with several of my own blends since 1998, including some that are Latakia-rich. It certainly does interesting things to the finished product.
Some consider it an “accelerated aging,” but it’s not that. What it is is a rapid integration of the volatiles—a more complete and quicker “marrying” of the components. It can dramatically change the overall balance of a blend, sometimes for the better, sometimes, not so much. It will, in any event, alter the direction the blend will take in future aging, so beware if you plan on playing with tobacco you plan to continue aging.
But, it’s one of those things that’s fun to experiment with, and a few swear by their results. I recommend proceeding with caution, perhaps jarring some small quantities and toasting them for various lengths of time to see what you get. With virginias, I find that letting them sit, sealed, for a couple weeks after any heat is applied is definitely beneficial, as they can sometimes take on an unpleasant aroma and taste for a while when freshly cooked. And, be sure not to let the temperatures get much above 190-200˚F, or you may end up with a smelly mess to clean up when the container bursts, spraying the oven with an shower of tobacco.
Blackhorse wanna know: I used to live in Southeast Alaska (Ketchikan) and during my 8 years there (which only seemed like 200) was a fan of NPR…public radio. This was circa 1985. At that time one of the bits NPR used to run along with Prairie Home Companion was a thing called “Ask MISTER Science”…as a free standing thing maybe 5 minutes long. The tag line was, “I have a Master’s Degree…in SCIENCE!”. This must have been the forerunner of the Duck’s Breath offering you mentioned, as they seemed to have graduated him to PhD status. I guess it just goes to show that in a world where all the kids are above average and they’re willing to leave the light on for ya…even hammy radio shows can hope to finally earn their doctorate. Life is good, especially if you’re willing to wait for it. Which brings me to my question. I’m a knife maker, courtesy of my retirement, and love to use them to cut plug tobacco…my favored form. I love JackKnife, among and above other plugs such as Warrior, Honor Blend, etc. Are there any plans for future GLP plugs to which we can look forward?
A: Your memory is good, but there’s more to the story. The bit, produced by Duck’s Breath from the beginning, and originally known as Ask Mr. Science, first aired on San Francisco’s KQED in 1982, and was later broadcast on many public radio stations across North America. Some years later, Mr. Science (Dan Coffey) received a letter form an inventor who claimed a trademark on the term “Mister Science,” so he granted himself an honorary doctorate, becoming Dr. Science. The spot concluded with the disclaimer that Dr. Science “is not a real doctor,” and declaration from his sidekick, Rodney (Merle Kessler), “Remember. He knows more than you. He has a Master’s Degree … in SCIENCE!” It was always an irreverent spoof on silly science questions, and opinions were apparently quite polarized; people either loved the bit, or hated it. I’m betting you can guess which side of my crumpet is buttered. Mister or Doctor, he still knows more than you.
As regards a future plug for GLP, I think you just made one, albeit a bit sideways, and more than likely unintentionally, and GLP thanks you very much. GLP needs all the plugs he can get. (The back of his scalp is beginning to look sadly in need of a few plugs, as well. Probably has something to do with all the head-scratching he has to do to answer these questions.)
So, that’s it for this edition. Keep those cards and letters coming. My membership to the Hair Club for Men is counting on you.
SUBMIT QUESTIONS HERE
 Since 1999, Gregory L. Pease has been the principal alchemist behind the blends of G.L. Pease Artisanal Tobaccos. He’s been a passionate pipeman since his university days, having cut his pipe teeth at the now extinct Drucquer & Sons Tobacconist in Berkeley, California. Greg is also author of The Briar & Leaf Chronicles, a photographer, recovering computer scientist, sometimes chef, and creator of The Epicure’s Asylum. See our interview with G. L. Pease here. |
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 635. Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with James Ravenwood. James is the boutique tobacco blender of Ravenwood Blends. His blending started out as a fun hobby, and he now has professionally packaged commercially available products with some great tin art. Part of his interest in pipe smoking goes back to fond memories of a retired Navy Veteran that lived on his street while he was growing up that would sit in his driveway smoking a pipe all day. Later, in 2011 he began smoking pipes and soon after started experimenting with mixing different tobaccos. His other hobby, that he has been doing for 30 years, is photography. He takes wonderful photos of outdoor spaces, and still life pictures of pipes and tobacco. You can see them on his Instagram @thebriarfellowship. At the top of the show we’ll have an Ask the Pipemaker segment with renowned pipe artisan Jeff Gracik.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 634! Our featured interview on tonight’s show is with Warren Ertle. Warren is an extremely accomplished musician with a PhD in music. He started early as a percussionist in sixth grade. Later his grandmother got him a cheap Casio keyboard which he taught himself to play. He started playing in blues bands in high school, and has been a pianist with jazz big bands for years. Even though he was already a professional musician, he took his first real piano lesson when he enrolled in college with his studies in classical music. He is of course a pipe smoker. At the top of the show we will have an Ask the Tobacco Blender segment with Jeremy Reeves. Jeremy is the Head Blender at Cornell & Diehl, which is one of the most popular boutique pipe tobacco companies in the USA.
Soon now, supposedly, our neighborhoods will shift from grinning pumpkins, skeletons in various assortments, and zombies dashing about to pretty reindeer, angels, and flashing lights illuminating homes with sparkling stars and laughing, scurrying Santas. But, lest we forget, there is the turkey season, fancy pie aromas wafting from kitchens, and a national pardon of a big Tom Turkey. Remember, now, that only one of these holiday personalities is a pipe smoker. And that is the hefty, bearded fellow in a bright red suit sitting in a sleigh with a herd of deer hitched up and ready to streak across the globe, bringing tidings of joy and many presents. Ok, the scene is set for the next couple of months, right? So, before we get too far off the beaten path, let’s just take a deep breath of fresh autumn air, shall we? Ahh. That’s better, isn’t it? What’s got the Pundit in a snit is not all the Halloween spooks who came a-jostling for candy. Or the wild turkeys gobbling in the backwoods or all the fuss and feathers over the big one—Christmas. No, it is that we might need to take note of all the little things that mean so much to us. Like a good sunrise (seriously, Pundit has not gone all Pollyanna.) Mayhaps we need to appreciate more of what we have than what we have not. Or something like that. Like, a good pipe in the morning with coffee as the dawn brings us coolish weather now that we have flipped the calendar to autumn. But it also brings beautiful leaves that have become a spectacle of technicolor in the wind. It is the little things. The rereading of an enjoyable book and finding something you did not see or learn in the first go-round. Or a stunning phrase you commit to memory with the re-read, while smoking that favorite pipe. And you notice a superior puff that just seems to be different. It’s in the air and the seasons of meaningful little things. It’s aromatic! Or perhaps it is that sense of satisfaction knowing and appreciating you made it to another day. With the world in a kind of rinse-and-repeat history, reminiscent of a Shakespearean play, it is perhaps a good moment to remember some of Pipedom’s philosophers whose cogent thoughts brought light to clear a path in the mists of confusion and confounding opinions. Ok. No gloom and doom. Just some down-home thoughts. Think of times in the past when history was running off the rails. It took our pipe-smoking thinkers (the mind workers of the world) to speak of better pathways to more light. Think for a moment, with a pipe in hand, these wizards of the world and word: Albert Einstein, J. R.R. Tolkien, Mark Twain, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edwin Hubble, Bertrand Russell, C. S. Lewis, and Jean-Paul Sartre. All learned and enlightened. They offered wisdom instead of storms of meaningless roads to nowhere. All while smoking their pipes! Maybe especially with the help of their pipes in the art of thinking and philosophy. Recall the words of Mr. E=MC2 when he said, “I believe that pipe smoking contributes to a somewhat calm and objective judgment in all human affairs.” Amen and amen! Dealing with world-rattling events takes a calm and objective view of things, to the Pundit’s way of summing it up. You just don’t go messing around with quantum physics without a calm and objective approach, methinks. Or as the extraordinary physicist Robert Oppenheimer said after he and a team in the Manhattan Project at Los Alamos Labs developed a way to split atoms into bombs during World War II. “I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” said Oppenheimer referring to the development of the first nuclear bombs dropped on Japan. It must be pointed out that Oppenheimer was more of a cigarette smoker than a pipe smoker. Nonetheless, pipes were part of his personality. Now, if you have read some of the great authors of the past and present, their pipes were always nearby. Reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle can be a three-pipe problem at times. S. Lewis and Jean-Paul Sartre require time with your pipes to reflect on the existential problems and solutions these authors provide in learned novels and other narratives. Or take Edwin Hubble and Bertrand Russell, philosophers of another world. Pipes are required for reading. The quantum lode of ideas Pundit is attempting to sort out is that our pipes are relaxing and stimulate our thoughts and creativity. Especially in these last months of the year. Many times Pundit has had that light bulb flick on while smoking my beloved pipes. And friends in Pipedom, it ain’t easy to turn on the lights in Pundit’s rock pit head. Now it’s time for a quote from a Pipe Smoker of the Past. Shelby Foote was born Nov. 17, 1916, in Greenville, Miss., and died June 27, 2005, in Memphis, Tenn. A fact is not a truth until you love it—Shelby Foote. A parting thought: It is said that famed Southern author William Faulkner carried a packed pipe in a coat pocket wherever he went. That’s one effective way to deal with workday conflicts and confusion. A calm and objective judgment in our everyday human affairs, as the quantum man said.
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 633. Our featured guest tonight is Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and the accompanying online store. We’ll have JD and Brian talking about what’s new at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, Brian will discuss tobacco growing, what happens to the leaf, and provide updated information on where tobacco is being gown today. Tobacco production originated in the United States and we were once the #1 producer. It’s quite different now.
Well there’s nothing like a touch of the plague to usher in the changing season. Leaving the airport just when the first advertisements for all things pumpkin spice began to appear—lattes, muffins, shampoos, trash bags, and myriad other concoctions—so, too, my ability to breathe freely disappeared. The unfortunate side effect of losing one’s sense of taste and smell for weeks is the utter inability to enjoy tobacco. Not that I consider myself an expert on anything but my own tastes, but be forewarned that this review was made with mildly impugned sensory equipment. Just when a comforting pipe was most needed, its comfort was denied. Be that as it may, the road to recovery found me limping along on one lung this past month, trying to wrest the particulars of two blends on offer from Sutliff: the latest 175th Anniversary blend, Silver Quarter, as well as their spooky seasonal Maple Shadows II. Silver Quarter is a new style on offer from Sutliff, their first coin-cut blend. Naturally a Virginia-Perique, it is enhanced with a traditional core of black Cavendish. In the tin it holds much promise, with a lightly bready and very woody, if ever-so-slightly sour, aroma. After some time acclimating to air, the bouquet softens further and offers hints of the burley with some chocolaty notes wafting through the more dominant dry grassy aspect. The tin art is of a coin-style bas-relief bust, presumably of a founding Sutliff brother, à la The Old Boss On the reverse of the tin we find the blend’s description: Reflecting on Sutliffs 175 years of tobacco excellence, we came across a brand that embodies true value, SILVER QUARTER. This name pays homage to Sutliffs roots, the legacy of two brothers who popularized pipe smoking in the burgeoning mining society of San Francisco. We celebrate this heritage with a coin cut composed of the finest African Virginias, complemented by a core of Perique and Black Cavendish. The tin notes are, forgive the pun, on the nose for a good VaPer blend: mild tart sweetness peeking out from behind dried hay and slight chocolate undertones, with a lightly tannic finish of weathered oak. It is always a joy to prepare a coin cut, my preference being to put a few in my palm and vigorously warm my hands together to fully break them apart. These well-formed discs pack and light easily, and smoke with little prodding to the end of the bowl. For technical points it scores well—it smokes light, and it’s easy to tend the ember. While it gets sharp after a few quick bowls, pacing should be heeded to easily smoke down to the heel without inviting bite. Of the flavor, though, I am left a bit wanting. There are tart and high notes aplenty, but very little of the lemony citrus I would anticipate, as well as scant midtones; they tend more toward the red wine-vinegary and sour. The flavors are muted, also, lacking the sweetness and piquancy of other marques—the small measure of Perique tickles the nose now and again with peppery hints, and there is a smidge of a deeper sweetness to be found in the Cavendish from puff to puff, but overall it lacks some dynamism. The Virginias, to my palate, come off a bit on the dry side, and here they dominate the blend. The aftertaste and mouthfeel are neutral, again evincing more of the dry, woody, tartly tannic end of the spectrum. The blend has plenty of polish, but not enough depth or richness (*yet) to make it a standout. Here, comparisons are inevitable: Luxury Bullseye Flake has more sweetness, both from its Virginia as well as its Cavendish, and a better finish; Davidoff is similar but with a pronounced umami that is absent here; as for Escudo, I haven’t had any fresh tins lately so it would be unfair to compare. While it rates as a solid, fairly mild smoke, particularly to lovers of the genre, it does not surprise with any exceptional flavors. To be fair, all the boxes have been checked for the blend to benefit from some real aging, and it would be worth checking in on this after a couple of years sealed away. I’ve set half my tin aside to sample again in a month or two, in case I’m merely suffering from the lingering effects of parosmia, and will amend this review in that case. Maple Shadows II, on the other hand, made up for the weeks of sniffling and sneezing I’d endured. Offered in a full 8 ounce tin with delightfully spooky Halloween art, it’s (hopefully) enough to last through the season. Somehow I had missed this last year, so it’s a real pleasure to get some in my candy bucket this year. As the chilling winds of autumn draw eerie prattle from contorted, deciduous limbs, we find ourselves possessed by the spirit of the season. Bewitched by a dissonant charm, we’ve created Maple Shadows. In a season that is defined by the unlikely harmony of treats and frights, we’ve joined the enchanting sweetness of maple with the earthy spice of Dark Fired Kentucky for a smoking experience that captures the senses with an otherworldly fusion of flavor. This may be the best aromatic blend Sutliff’s ever made—and they make a ton of them. First off, it’s not overbearing in the least—quite the opposite, it is also one of the more restrained aromatics they’ve ever made, with a clear but very light topping that melds oh-so-well with their choice Kentucky added to the mix. Opening the tin, the sweet maple is up front and center, but so too is the must of fallen leaves, bready pie crusts, and a crackling fire in the hearth—a perfect invocation of Herbstdüfte in a can. Packing best in an open and capacious bowl, the flavoring is subtle, and recedes to the background while puffing. With a sweet coffee or tea to accompany, the aftertaste of the maple is reinvigorated on the palate […]
Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 632. Our featured guest on tonight’s show is the host of the Pipe & Tamper Podcast, Mike Murphy. Brian and Mike will have an extended chat revolving around the days before, during and after the Las Vegas International Pipe Show. We will hear about their travels to the show and the anxiety of Hurricane Milton bearing down on Florida at the same time while running a show and not knowing if your house is going to be there when you get home. In the end, the show went great and our homes survived, although many others in Florida were not so lucky. We’ll have clips from the show, and shoutouts to other podcasts and vlogs that were broadcasting from the pipe show.
A lot of information in this one. It was a very good read well done. I have been curious about some of these topics for a while now.
Thanks Greg for another good read. I always learn something new and I appreciate your efforts. I recently began smoking JackKnife Plug and am very impressed with it. It is definitely making it into my rotation and into my cellar.
Entertaining article as always! Wonderful writing Sir!
Several things you referred to reminded me of times past. I believe in jarring tobacco, but just get small jars and fill them tight, which limits room for air, but I leave it at that…. and time.
I use matches exclusively in the house, but use a zippo outside. You have to ‘draw’ on both which pulls the flame into the center of the bowl, not burning the pipe rim. I’ve never used a torch, which goes where you point it, even during a bad aim. And I’m no marksman three inches below my bifocals. As far as a fuel taste… well, it’s a give and take situation as far as getting a lite out on the lake or in the deer woods. Matches aren’t always convenient in wind or inclement weather. And I’m gonna smoke regardless!
Now, to cooking tobacco: This I have done, but not to enhance or change it. I did it to try and salvage it, knowing I had no way to get more. (Retired Marine). I’ve been reduced to smoking Red Man chewing tobacco on occasion, which was no treat! The only other choice was picking leaves from near by bushes, which weren’t acceptable toilet, Ummm products.
But again sir, wonderful and entertaining writing! Thanks!
Good article!
thanks.
Good article, thanks for the tips!
Excellent article and great photos! Slowly, I am beginning to appreciate your sense of humor — which gives me pause for concern. 🙂
Interesting, as always. I love the Blackhorse knife, what a beauty.
Just now sat down to enjoy the new article. Fine read as always. I let this one age a little; now the wait for the next one won’t be quite as bad.
Regarding Tobacco Pressing: I have detailed some of the experiments I conducted in pressing tobacco in other forums. Bill Ungar asked me to write it up for the Pipe Collector -NASPCs publication which I did, and should appear in the December issue. I have placed a copy(with photos) at the bottom of my website: http://mysite.verizon.net/seilerjp
I have a question. I am planning to mix in 50/50 proportions Dunhill’s Early Morning Pipe mixture with Lane’s BCA. Has anyone done this?
GLP! Thank you for your thoughts on Zippo. I had been wondering WTF I was doing smoking tobacco that is twice the price of OTC and tolerating the taste of the lighter fluid. Even after usiing the Zippo for about a year, something was seeming wrong about it for me. I seemed to start cutting back on it and using the old faithfull convenient BIC lighter. then about a month ago I was given a box of kitchen matches, they’re a bit longer that most other type of match. Man I’m really liking using matches like the old days. I read about the heat differences but never really noticed untill I started PAYING ATTENTION more. Wow what a difference! Along with the nostalgic feeling like 40 some years ago even owning a lighter was a luxury and plain old book matches were what we used. Today I’m a believer in using matches. Thank You
Hello… I am woodwright and have been comisssioned to.bud 7 unique pipez. Only queztion…..are there woods that i cannot use such as bloodwood or purple heartwood because of poisonous resins? I want to thrill them mot kill them! Looking forward to your reply.
Interesting concept of “tin cooking.” Thanks for the temperature, but how long do you cook it?