Aromatics, Toppings, or Non-Aromatics?

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toddryan84

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 2, 2017
134
1
What's the difference?
What are some examples of true aromatics? and what does it mean when a tobacco has a "topping" or "casing"?
I've seen tobaccos that are finished with a hint of rum, or bourbon/whiskey, and then I've seen tobaccos that have fruit additives.
I'm kind of confused and from what I've smoked that were said to be aromatics, I'm not sure I like them...either that or they were not very great.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,255
108,359
It still confuses the crap out of me. Nearly all tobaccos are cased and topped.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Here we go....
You can call anything with a topping an aromatic. What MOST people consider aromatics are specifically flavored things and are titled as such. Vanilla this or that... caramel, coffee whatever.
Categorizing things as aromatics simply because they have a top dressing applied is folly, though, in my opinion. Really categorizing things at all doesn't make a whole lot of sense. MOST tobaccos are cased and topped in some way, even if they aren't considered "aromatics" in the traditional sense.
This is a conversation that has been had MANY times on this forum. I recommend poking around and you'll find plenty of material on the subject.

 

toddryan84

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 2, 2017
134
1
I figured as such! I'll have a look around and see what I can dig up. When I first started smoking I basically though everything fell into either Aromatic Category or Non-Aromatic and that was that. Then I learned about English Blends, VAPER, Burley blends, etc. and my head started spinning lol

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,255
108,359
I smoke homegrown burley twists sometimes. No cardboard just earthy, and very strong. Good stuff!

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Tasting like cardboard is probably not an accurately universal description, nor is truckloads of chemicals.
Sugar water casing is probably the most commonly used, so we're still playing in "natural" territory most times.
We're not talking about boxed Mac and Cheese here.

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
My understanding is that all tobaccos are cased in the early production process. Apparently the leaf would taste pretty dire if this was not done.
As for topping, I believe this is the addition of flavourings (usually artificial though not always) to make what we know as aromatic blends.
Regards,
Jay.

 
Mar 29, 2016
1,006
5,540
If the topping or casing dominates the flavor over the tobacco it's an Aromatic. Strength is not relevant ex Condor Green or any topped rope. There's some great Aros but most are a sorry excuse for pipe tobacco.

 

toddryan84

Starting to Get Obsessed
Aug 2, 2017
134
1
If the topping or casing dominates the flavor over the tobacco it's an Aromatic. Strength is not relevant ex Condor Green or any topped rope. There's some great Aros but most are a sorry excuse for pipe tobacco.
Any recommendation on some really great aromatics that I can try? I'm not a fan of fruit or tropical flavors so flavors like "cherry, apricot, coconut, etc" don't appeal to me. To be honest the aromatics that I've read that sound kind of good are the ones from WO Larsen, but I've never tried them.
What would you recommend?

 

mawnansmiff

Lifer
Oct 14, 2015
7,385
7,295
Sunny Cornwall, UK.
"To be honest the aromatics that I've read that sound kind of good are the ones from WO Larsen, but I've never tried them. What would you recommend?"
I think you have answered your own question there. Try the Larsen ones and see how you get along with those. If they fail to please then seek further advice.
Regards,
Jay.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
I just hope this is just a myth...because if its true this would mean tobacco isn't ment to be smoked at all and I'll have to take consequences for my personal life, which would suck hard!
Not really. Any vegetable matter which is dried is going to burn harshly and have a vegetative flavor. Tobacco blenders learned to use natural ingredients (honey, lemon, anise, vinegar) to reduce those traits.
The real way to do it seems to be a combination of the above and crushing the tobacco so that chemical components can escape the cell walls and degrade or evaporate. This is why early smokers wrapped tobacco in muslin and cranked it with ropes.

 
Jan 8, 2013
7,493
733
We're not talking about boxed Mac and Cheese here.
Hey! What's wrong with boxed mac'n cheese?
To be honest the aromatics that I've read that sound kind of good are the ones from WO Larsen
Toddy, W.O. Larsen aromatics are indeed quite good. A good place to start with those would be W.O. Larsen Signature. There are actually plenty of good aromatics out there. If you look for a blend on Tobaccoreviews.com, if it's labeled there as an aromatic, it's safe to say it's an aromatic or at least has aromatic qualities. But then there are other's I would call possible or borderline aromatics that are not labeled as such. Often times if there is a flavoring, it will come through in the room note, and if the room note is pleasing to others then I'd consider personally consider it an aromatic...
...I'm just going to stop right there before I start confusing myself with all the different possibilities of what would or wouldn't be considered an aromatic. I try to keep it simple. If it has a sweet scent that makes people nearby hungry for chocolate cake, it's an aro lol.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Yeah, there is a sort of folklore party line on this, but when you look at individual blends, it is all blurry. I think of aromatic blends as those where you clearly taste a flavor that is not tobacco, whether it is a dominant flavor or just a light note. Non-aromatics are blends or single leaf where you basically taste nothing but tobaccos or a particular leaf. But when you begin to look at all the gradations, those guidelines are pretty weak. And then there is Cavendish, which is a process, not a tobacco, and Latakia and Perique which are processed in certain ways for special flavors. The categories do serve to get you to your preferred kinds of blends when you shop despite their imprecision otherwise.

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
Ok I'm getting into this discussion late.
How do tobacco's like PS Luxury Twist Flake and F&T Cut Virginia Plug fit in here? They aren't listed as aromatics but they do have flavorings added and both are delicious.
ToddRyan you should try both of those. They are both based on excellent virginia's with just a very light flavoring.
PS LTF for me smells/tastes like coconut and vanilla. CVP is very hard to get and is for me fruity citrus and vanilla.
I have a tin of F&T Cut Blended Plug that is also lightly flavored but I haven't tried it yet.

 
The term aromatic is mostly an industrial term. A casing is put on the tobacco very early in the process. Many tobacconist get the flue cured tobaccos or burleys with it already cased. Some may control the whole process from green leaf to tin. But, either way, the tobacco is cased. LNF is a cavendish, and they are still categorized as non-aromatics. It is not until the topping is sprayed or soaked onto the tobacco that it becomes an aromatic. Thus, blends like University Flake and Wallace Flake that taste like tobaccos are in the aromatic category because the tobacco flavoring comes from a topping that enhances the natural flavors, and coconut flavored LNF is not an aromatic.
Casings help normalize a blend that will fluctuate in crop flavors year to year, thus a blend will taste similar from batch to batch. Casing also allows the company to add a signature flavoring, like Astleys uses Licorice flavor and some others will add a slight appleish flavor, etc...
Also toppings enhances or covers up the tobacco flavors, and it is added late in the process. Many people confuse these two terms, Topping and casing, but they're not really interchangeable.
This is all from the industrial terminology. Feel free to call any blend whatever you want. Personally, I have my own catagories. 1) Virginias (which includes VaPers), 2) Latakia stinky crap, and 3) candy flavored stuff for the children and womenfolk. I like to keep it simple.

 

jitterbugdude

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2014
993
8
And to add to the confusion: "Case" has a different meaning depending on where in the manufacturing process the tobacco is. When a company receives their bales of tobacco they have to be put in to proper "case". This is just humidifying if too dry, or drying if too moist. Once that is done, the tobacco can be handled without damaging it.

It then goes on to be "cased" with whatever the manufacturer wants to add to give it his signature, special taste.

 

fitzy

Lifer
Nov 13, 2012
2,937
27
NY
Michael isn't the coconut/vanilla flavoring a topping that's added to luxury twist flake? So wouldn't it then make it a aromatic? Or are you saying it's part of the casing and because it's part of the casing and not topping that it's not an aromatic?

 
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