My absolute go to tobacco for years has been C&D’s Gentlemen Caller. I cannot go a day without several bowls. A close second is C&D’s engine 382 which if you like Gentlemen Caller but are looking for a bulk blend is a very close comparison. I do not however like to smoke Crooner as I find it far to strong. What are your thought’s on deertounge tobacco, as I know it’s a love it or hate it additive, and also have you smoked another brand with deertounge in it and if so what brand and your thoughts.
Let’s Talk About Deer Tongue!
- Thread starter highwaycobbery
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A vanilla-ish herb where the flavor comes from Coumarins. It grows wild in coastal North Carolina. It was used by tobacconist to give tobacco a vanilla flavor from the beginning to tobacco until about the mid 70's when tobacconists pretty much turned to other sources of vanilla flavorings. There is still one blend that I know of that uses it, and it is nasty, IMO. But, it could be why vanillas became such a popular aromatic flavoring for tobacco, speculation. Coumarins really aren't very good for you, but then again, neither is tobacco.
More info at https://www.ncpedia.org/deertongue
More info at https://www.ncpedia.org/deertongue
I got an ounce of crooner about two years ago and found the deertongue weird smelling and worst tasting. At that point the herb was green, I burried the bag in the bottom of my tupper-cellar and revisited it last month do find the deertongue turned brown and blend was tolerable, almost pleasant. I finished the bowl and re-berried it. Call me old fashioned but I only like to add tobacco to my tobacco, for the most part.
I still have not tried it. I just never seem to move any of the blends up to the top of my list. Mild curiosity is just never quite enough.
I have never tried deertongue, but I have been told it is similar to tonquin. I like 1792 Flake a lot, but only as an occasional smoke. Once or twice a month. For a dayly smoke it is both too strong and too, I dunno, much. Too much.
From what I understand, deertongue severely ghosts pipes. Many recommend skipping briar altogether with it. Heh. Workman, I also enjoy tonquin but only occasionally, so that may be how I would feel about deertongue as well.
Deertounge tastes NOTHING like 1792. Imagine the smell of a new car with a leather interior and add a very pleasant lite vanilla aroma, not fake vanilla either. Cornell & D’s Gentlemen Caller is one of the only tobaccos I’ve tried that honestly tastes as good as it smells. If you haven’t tried it yet it is a blend that you really should. I would not start with Crooner though because as I stated it’s STRONG and you lose the deertounge flavor in the burley’s. Coumarin is bad for your liver but you would literally have to sit down and EAT a pound of it. I believe it’ s what they do or used to make blood thinners out of.
It really won’t ghost pipes. I smoke it in briars and Meers and once you run another bowl of something else through it the deertounge goes away,
Deer tongue has been added to pipe tobacco for decades back into the Twentieth Century, but I'd stick with the commercially prepared blends of this if you try it, so the proportion is correct. Under no circumstances would I experiment around with various other leaves or herbs in blends. Lots of plants are toxic, or toxic when burnt. I find cinnamon in blends prone to burn the mouth. Tobacco has its hazards, as we are often reminded, but other plants are toxic immediately.
Actually MSO, it goes back to the founding of the Carolina colonies. This is why I think it is where the idea for vanilla aromatics came from, because I am sure it was also used in Native American blends and medicines. The only deer tongue blends I have tried were some of jitterbugs homegrown from a few years ago, and I preferred them to traditional aromatics. And, no ghost for me.
Cosmic, thank you for the historical reminder. I'm a history buff, but not so much a pipe history buff. Native Americans in some nations had a culture of smoking, and not just tobacco. They knew what they were doing, especially before the Europeans, when their cultures had strong traditions and many elders to pass along knowledge. They smoked many different botanicals that I wouldn't try today. They were astute with herbal medicine. Who was it, Alexander Pope, who said, "A little learning is a dangerous thing...." That's my take.
My only deertongue experience was with Gentleman Caller.
I found the tin note pleasant, but for me the flavor was vile.
2 bowls of it ghosted the hell out of a pipe so I had to give the tin away.
I found the tin note pleasant, but for me the flavor was vile.
2 bowls of it ghosted the hell out of a pipe so I had to give the tin away.
It's amazing how different we all are. From it won't ghost to I won't smoke more than 2 bowls ever. I think I need to add Gentleman Caller to my list of things to try just because of how polarizing it is.
I have had Crooner, which is a ghost powerhouse, but I think that with a light hand and a mere dusting, it adds a pleasant vanilla note that doesn't overpower the tobacco flavor. It is easy to get turned off to the very notion of deertongue if used to heavily in the blend. It'll ruin you. But. if used sparingly, it can be very pleasant. A little goes a looooong way.
Damned skippy. I made two blends that originally contained deertongue. One contained 3 grams of deertongue out of 448 grams (approximately one pound), and the other contained 7 grams. It was decidedly noticeable in both blends.
Russ
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