Want to Learn to Blend Tobacco and Maybe Go Pro?
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Kevin Godbee - Nov 12, 2011
- 2 min read
PipesAndCigars.com Announces Fusion Lab
The folks over at PipesAndCigars.com have announced a great contest and fun learning experience for any wannabe tobacco blenders.
They have put together a great section on their website that provides information explaining the different flavors imparted by different types of tobaccos, and lots of other pertinent information for blending.
Many of you may know that Virginia tobaccos have a higher natural sugar content and are therefore sweeter – but there are many different kinds of Virginia tobaccos and additionally, different processing methods that change them even more. Then there’s the cut, which effects the burn rate. Some tobaccos work best as a base, and others are better as condiments.
The short of it is that you can learn how tobacco blending works, purchase different components to create your own blends, then submit them to PipesAndCigars.com to be entered into the contest, and if you win, your blend will be produced for sale … and you win a trip to Richmond to tour the Altadis factory.
Details from PipesAndCigars.com are below. UPDATE: January 5, 2012 – The New Blends Are In – Click Here.
Here’s how it works.
- You visit the Fusion Lab page at PipesandCigars.com.
- You order the components you’d like to have in your blend. (Russ has written brief descriptions of what each component brings to a blend and why he uses those components when he’s in development to assist in the initial search)
- We ship those components in the quantity you order to your doorstep.
- During your project you have email access to Russ for general questions regarding where you’re at in your blend and, if you get stuck, what he would do at that point.
- Once you are satisfied with your work you then submit the recipe to Russ along with your Blend Name and Description. He will then blend it to your recipe here at P&C on a larger scale and have it listed on the website for all to see.
- Once your blend is listed other pipe smokers will have the ability to purchase it and communicate with you regarding their experience.
All Fusion Lab partners who sign up prior to December 1st will be entered into a contest.
- Their blend must be submitted to Russ prior to Jan 1, 2012.
- We will track the blends popularity by number of ounces sold from Jan 1, 2011 – April 1, 2011
- The blender with the most popular blend will win an all expenses paid trip to Richmond, Virginia for a weekend with Russ and a full day at the world’s largest manufacturer of pipe tobacco. The Altadis Pipe Tobacco world headquarters.
** A complete listing of the guidelines will be available for download on the Fusion Lab Page during the launch.
Written by Kevin Godbee
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Many thanks to PipesMagazine.com for providing its resources to promote this wonderful development in the luxury pipe smoking pastime! For as long as I’ve been smoking a pipe I have wanted to create a blend that perfectly reflected my epicurean ideals; but I was limited by my lack of access to component tobacco varieties and knowledge of their characteristics. For a time, I dabbled in tweaking existing blends (who hasn’t?); but each attempt ended in failure, frustration, expense and wasted tobacco.
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The Fusion Lab is a brilliant idea! With professionally selected leaf, thorough descriptions, Russ Ouellette’s active support, and a unique networking scheme to facilitate feedback from other pipe smokers, one’s chances of finding that ideal blend have improved significantly. If this isn’t the golden age of pipe smoking, then whenever will it be?
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What’s next? I suspect that educational support and supplies: for toppings, stoving and flake pressing, will be in demand in the near future. Well, one can hope anyway! Again, many thanks to PipesAndCigars.com, and to PipesMagazine.com for promoting and supporting the luxury pipe smoking hobby.
Hey Russ…I was wondering if there is a good website or book that could tell a person what flavors they get when combining various tobaccos together? Basically a blenders primer…
Thanks
Bob
I haven’t come across a book, although there probably are a number of out-of-print books that I’;m unaware of. I’ve put together some rudimentary information that you can find here: http://pipesandcigars.com/ruoutoun.html. I hope these short articles help you.
Russ
New blends are in – http://pipesandcigars.com/fulabbl.html