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What constitutes an aromatic?

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randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
So I keep saying that I smoke an aromatic; but now I wonder now if I am. What makes an aro an aro? Added sugars and flavorings? Obviously a very cherry foo foo vanilla with a twist of lemon would be an aro; but what if it is a golden virginia black cavendish blend, or even a toasted cavendish black cavendish blend? For the record, I smoke the latter examples, and not the former.
Thanks for the info, I look forward to the explanations

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,459
Added non-tobacco flavoring, briefly put. Casings and toppings are somewhat debatable, depending on how much you actually taste them. Russ O. recently explained that the old OTC canned tobacco Granger is semi-aromatic on the basis of toppings that mostly affect room note.

 
fyfol

fyfol

Starting to Get Obsessed
Nov 3, 2015
101
0
My knowledge is the usage of a "topping" or "sauce" constitutes it.
Basically, they soak the stuff with an artificially flavored fluid to impart an aroma such as "whiskey", "cherry" etc.
Anyway, that's my $0.02.

 
cynicismandsugar

cynicismandsugar

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 17, 2015
773
4
Springfield, Mo
Okay, that was my poor attempt at a joke. As others have mentioned, an aromatic is usually defined by an the addition of a strong "topping" or "casing" (because most pipe tobacco contains some level of topping or casing) that imparts a clear and detectable flavor, outside of just tobacco. Some manufactures are dabbling in "hybrids" -- or adding mild additions to modify a tobaccos' flavor profile, while retaining the essense of tobacco taste.
When I think "hybrid" -- Frog Morton Cellar comes to mind.

When I think "aromatic" -- Captain Black... Oh, dear, LORD, Capt'n Black...

 
deathmetal

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
1. Any tobacco blend where the added flavorings replace or mostly replace the tobacco flavor.
2. In common parlance, as in "goopy aromatic," any blend soaked in sugar, humectant and flavorings to the point where its flavor and burning properties are entirely regulated by the additives.

 
randelli

randelli

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 21, 2015
914
5
So I guess it is possible that I have not had an aromatic then. What would Lane 1Q be considered to be?

 
davet

davet

Lifer
May 9, 2015
3,815
330
Estey's Bridge N.B Canada
1Q is definitely an aromatic. From SPC's glossary;
Like most blends, aromatics are lightly topped with natural flavorings to provide both added aroma and flavor when smoked. Unlike other blends; however, which utilize additional flavoring agents, such as whiskey, sugar water, and licorice to accentuate the flavors of the tobacco while leaving the natural aroma unfettered, aromatic is used to describe tobaccos which are heavily scented. Often these blends are more moist than non-aromatic blends.
Click to expand...

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,782
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
What we "think" an aromatic is, is something that covers the tobacco taste, but that's not "technically" what an aromatic is.

Almost all tobaccos are cased, to the extent that most probably have never had a non-cased tobacco. But, the casing can have a strong taste or flavoring and not be an aromatic, as in Dan's Liberty tobacco which is a Virginia with a strong fruit flavor. But, Liberty is not topped, therefore it is listed as a non-aromatic.

University Flake is a strong burly, with only a slight hint of plum. The plum is from a light topping; therefore, UF is an aromatic, even though most will say that it is not flavored at all.

I know, I know, it's confusing, and it defies what we know of as an aromatic. But, this is all according to industry jargon. When someone says that they don't like an aromatic, they just might find that if they look up all of the blends that they like, they may find an aromatic or two in their cellar that they didn't know was an aromatic.

What we "think" an aromatic is moot and beside the point. It's pretty cut and dry. Some cased non-aros have more flavoring than some topped aromatics. So, when you say that you hate aros, what you might better say is that you hate strongly topped aromatics and some heavily cased non-aromatics.

Don't hate the messenger :puffy:

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,782
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
The casing is the carbohydrate added to tobacco to cool the burn of the leaf. It is more fully absorbed into the leaf during or just after the cure.

Topping is sprayed on after it is fully cured and processed.

Many, many tobaccos have some sort of flavoring in the case. In looking at some pages given to me by Woodsroad that were submitted by English blenders, I was surprised at how many straight tobaccos have flavorings, such as Astleys 109 which is loaded with plum and licorish flavors, but I cannot taste them. I would have sworn there was no flavorings, but these companies add flavors to give customers consistency in their products, when crops may vary in flavor from year to year. Or, a company may add flavors to add their own branding to the flavors.

 
cosmicfolklore

cosmicfolklore

Lifer
Aug 9, 2013
34,000
75,782
Between the Heart of Alabama and Hot Springs NC
I know that it seems like splitting hairs, but this is from my readings on how to process my own homegrown tobaccos and stuff written by our favorite blenders.

It would be easier for US if it was as cut and dry as taste, but for some reason the industry divides it up this way. Maybe Russ or Greg will come along and further explain.

 
jeffboyrd

jeffboyrd

Starting to Get Obsessed
Oct 31, 2012
151
0
This will only muddy the water for you, but this just goes to show you that the question you raised can't be answered in absolutes...
http://tobaccodays.com/articles/don%E2%80%99t-smoke-aromatics-think-again/

 
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