Black Burley...

zeedoctorae · Dec 23, 2017

Greetings all,
So, a quick question regarding Burley's. I'm interested in the effect different types of Burley have on a blend. What is everyone experience with Burley, especially black Burley in a blend?

mso489 · Dec 23, 2017

Maybe this is just me, but by black burley, do you mean dark-fired burley, black Cavendish made from burley, or a particular burley variant? Which blend or single-leaf are you sampling? Burleys can be smoked as a single leaf but are mostly smoked in both non-aromatic (non-flavored) blends with other condiment tobaccos or aromatic blends with flavoring. An example of a burley blend I enjoy is Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, which is a burley base with Virginia as a condiment and flavored with three liqueurs. In that blend, burley provides a nutty-toasty base played against the lighter grassy Virginia and the light enhancement of the liqueurs. At little more information on what you are trying, or might try, might help others respond.

cortezattic · Dec 23, 2017

Never heard of any tobacco referred to as black Burley.

zeedoctorae · Dec 23, 2017

So, a little background info.. a while back I smoked some Cornell and Diehl old Hollywood, which had been aged for about three years. It has a very unique "aged leather" taste which I had never experienced before. Then, today I received Wilkes Surbrug Bestmake, and I recognized the same taste, but a bit muted. It's the second time I've tasted that particular flavor and I really want to figure out which type of tobacco is creating it.

The ingredients for old Hollywood are: red Virginias, Latakia, red Virginia Cavendish, and Turkish and cubed Burley.

I wrote to Wilke tobacco company and they told me that Bestmake has "Virginia and Burleys mixed with a non aromatic black Cavendish and topped with Latakia". Mr. Brandt at Wilke specified that they use a "Burley black and it's blended with Virginia and Latakia". So, I'm just trying to figure out the cause of this elusive taste that I've not experienced with any other tobacco I've ever smoked. Any insight would be most appreciated.
-the Doctor

mso489 · Dec 23, 2017

It sounds to me as if this desirable flavor may come from black unflavored burley Cavendish. Cavendish is a process and not a specific kind of tobacco; it can be Virginia, burley, or something else, but it is usually those two. So sample around in small quantities in blends including Cavendish and that may turn up the desired flavor.

zeedoctorae · Dec 23, 2017

So, since old Hollywood specifies red Virginia Cavendish, and Bestmake specifies a non aromatic black Cavendish, would I be on the right track to think that it isn't Burley at all, but Virginias that are being prepared as a Cavendish to create the flavor?

PS- I'm still a bit unclear on what Cavendish is. Could you help me understand?

mso489 · Dec 23, 2017

Here's a link on the Cavendish process which involves heat and/or steam and pressure: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cavendish_tobacco
You're right, the flavor could be either Virginia or burley based Cavendish. I was guessing. But you probably will have to sample some blends to pin it down, and blenders don't always specify which leaf they use as the base for their Cavendish, so it might involve your guesswork and some detective work. With two blends to work with already, and another one or two, I suspect you can run it down. One of our member blenders might just peg it, just from your description. I don't have that expertise.

zeedoctorae · Dec 24, 2017

Thanks for the help, mso. So, am I then to understand that different variations of the same tobaccos, such as a red virginia and a bright virginia would produce different flavors when cavendished?

cortezattic · Dec 24, 2017

The thing that confounds this discussion, and your search, is that the term Cavendish refers to both a process (usually involving flavoring -- but not necessarily), and a cut -- which is a thin ribbon cut. Contacting Russ Ouellette could save you a lot of time and frustration.
BTW, the old leather taste is often associated with Latakia, not Virginia.

brightleaf · Dec 24, 2017

The Old Hollywood blend sounds really good. I normally associate the leather smell with Kentucky leaf. I would think the combining of the Burley, Red Va Cavendish and Latakia were all contributing to build the flavor in Old Hollywood. The Wilke Bestmake may have been muted because it didn't have the rich Red Va in it. The greater tar content in the Reds would've brought out a stronger flavor. I think you may enjoy something like Lakeland Dark, if not as a stand alone try it as a mixing component. Blending your own smoke is the way to go when the ones you like go out of circulation.

workman · Jan 8, 2018

In my very limited experience, latakia blends have a tarry leather note. Esp in the beginning.

blendtobac · Jan 9, 2018

There are two types of unflavored black Cavendish. In Europe, it's normally made of Virginia, but in the US, it's usually made of Burley, often Green River Burley. The leaf is cased and then toasted, resulting in a brown sugar flavor. So, I would think that it's a Burley-based black Cavendish with no top-flavor added.
Russ

Search

Search

Black Burley...

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

zeedoctorae

Might Stick Around

mso489

Lifer

cortezattic

Lifer

zeedoctorae

Might Stick Around

mso489

Lifer

zeedoctorae

Might Stick Around

mso489

Lifer

zeedoctorae

Might Stick Around

cortezattic

Lifer

brightleaf

Part of the Furniture Now

workman

Lifer

blendtobac

Lifer