Much Ado About Flavoring: Part One
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Kevin Godbee - Jan 1, 2012
- 8 min read
By C. R. S. Lyles
Imagine the scene if you will.
It’s Christmas time, the bitter chill of the wind has driven all warm bodies into the glow of their light-strewn and Santa Clause-d houses, and as the youngest daughter of the family crawls up onto her grandfather’s lap to hear “The Night Before Christmas” for the very first time, Grandpa strikes a match and brings the flame down to the bowl of his pipe.
Now, while the various nanny-state and health crusaders of this country might portray this portrait as picturesque up to the point that Grandpa lights up, Paul Creasy, current Chairman of the Pipe Tobacco Council and General Manager of the Pipe Tobacco Division of Altadis USA, explains why this scene remains as Norman Rockwell as it gets from beginning to end.
“[When it comes to pipe tobacco], you can usually make the argument that ‘Look, do you really want to ban Grandpa’s pipe?’, and normally, people will say “Well no, that wasn’t the intent of this law — we were really going after something else.”
Which is a viewpoint that Creasy and the Pipe Tobacco Council are looking to change.
Creasy, who has been with Altadis for 21 years and acted as Pipe Tobacco Council Chairman for the past five, explained that this very attitude is what is posing the greatest threat to pipe tobacco today.
“One of the things that we’re concerned about constantly in the pipe tobacco business is being regulated out of existence by accident,” Creasy said.
Which is a legitimate concern when looked at in the context of the “flavoring bans” which were enacted in New York in 2009 and a similar bill brought before the 2011 Salt Lake City Legislature calling for all “flavored tobacco products targeted at children” to be outlawed. “What they were really targeting were things like [manufactured] flavored cigars — that was the main target,” explained Creasy about the New York flavoring ban. “There’s this idea that’s gotten into people’s heads, which is completely wrong, that somehow ‘flavors’ mean that you’re trying to appeal to kids — which is not true.”
Creasy went on to explain that, in most circumstances regarding tobacco and politics, political motivations often prove to be the primary cause for the attacks on lump-sum tobacco.
“It’s a feel-good issue for people who don’t know any better so that they can say, ‘Oh no, we don’t want tobacco products appealing to children,’ and so that’s when they pass things like the flavoring ban in New York City,” Creasy said. “They’re not even considering pipe tobacco. Our lobbyists were up there trying to talk to them about it, and they were saying that they weren’t specifically targeting pipe tobacco, but you’re never going to get people to be in your corner, to make an exception, especially in a place like New York.”
Recent meetings with the FDA regarding the distinctions between the different types of tobacco, though, prove that, though the difficulties that face the cause are great, at least the Pipe Tobacco Council is going to be proactive in what their opponents view as their futility.
“I did a presentation to the FDA on behalf of the Pipe Tobacco Council back in mid-October [2011],” Creasy said. “It was more of an educational presentation to the FDA just so that they were aware of what pipe tobacco is, how it is marketed, how it is manufactured, what some of the issues with pipe tobacco as it relates to the whole tobacco industry are, etc. The main reason we did that was that we’ve always been more concerned about pipe tobacco being regulated out of existence — not directly, but by accident.”
Though Creasy stated that the meeting with the FDA went well and that his message seemed to get through, he still warned of the dangers that the inadvertent acts by the FDA and ambitious politicians pose to the pipe tobacco industry.
“Eventually, all tobacco products are going to come under the jurisdiction of the FDA due to the Tobacco-Control Act,” Creasy said. “The FDA wants to treat all tobacco products equally, not knowing that they are allowed to distinguish between the fact that chew and snuff and cigars are different than cigarettes, that they are not just different categories of tobacco products.”
And the fervent zeal of do-gooder politicians extrapolates this effect.
“Somebody will pass some big law about tobacco, not necessarily targeting pipe tobacco, but because of their ignorance of the way pipe tobacco works, we could get swept up as collateral damage,” Creasy said. “We kind of felt that it was a good idea to at least make the FDA aware of how the pipe tobacco industry works and what some of the concerns that we have are.”
Some of which, primarily, are distinguishing pipe tobaccos from cigarettes to avoid the “logistical nightmare”, as Creasy puts it, of a rotating health warning label.
“In the cigarette business, there are approximately eight rotating health warning labels on cigarette packs,” Creasy said. “In the pipe tobacco business, it would just be a killer to have a rotating health warning like this, because you’re dealing with volumes way smaller than small. If you’re going to have a rotating health warning on every pack of tobacco product, then you’re going to have to have eight times as much inventory as you do now, and there’s no standard size for pipe tobacco products.”
Creasy went on to explain how something as simple as a common misconception lies heavily at the root of the fight to free tobacco from extensive regulation.
“Everybody assumes that tobacco is big, but pipe tobacco is less than 0.1% of all tobacco sold in the United States,” Creasy said. “The scale of this compared to the rest of the tobacco industry is much, much smaller, and to a large extent, approximately 95% of all pipe tobacco, depending on how you determine what ‘flavor’ is, is flavored in some way.”
Which, again, is what lies at the heart of the issue here.
“‘Casing‘ is flavoring, according to the FDA — anything that’s non-tobacco flavored,” Creasy said. “If you’re adding sugar, licorice, things of that nature, which are fairly common casing elements and are all used, even in pipe tobacco, then you don’t necessarily have to have a distinguishing characteristic. That’s just what makes it pipe tobacco, as opposed to cigarettes.”
So, with all this talk of “flavoring” and “casing”, what exactly is it? What is the process through which a harvested tobacco leaf is cured to become your pipe tobacco?
Creasy explained that, too.
“You bring in your raw leaf at the beginning of the process,” said Creasy, “and the vast majority of it is cased in some way, and you make up your casing sauce, which tends to be non-characterizing flavors like base casing sauce — sugar, corn syrup, honey, molasses, things of that nature — which basically are added to improve the smoking characteristics of the tobacco without actually giving it a specific flavor or taste.” [Editor’s note: More on Casings and Toppings Here]
The next step, Creasy said, involves taking the cased leaf to the “blooming” department, where the “top flavors” are added, from cherry, to vanilla, honey, whiskey, etc.
And while this generations-old process may give Grandpa a little extra enjoyment when he brings out his pipe, it conversely paints a target on the backs of tobacconists for those who believe that adding flavoring to tobacco is meant to entice children into smoking.
“Pipe tobacco’s been flavored for generations,” Creasy said. “That didn’t just come about, and it’s not some sort of evil plot to make it appealing to children. It’s just what makes pipe tobacco, pipe tobacco.”
Erik Stokkebye, President of Villiger-Stokkebye International for the past six years, lent his opinion to the arguments facing pipe tobacco flavoring.
“Obviously, for both cigars and pipe tobacco it’s not a good thing because both historically and throughout the generations they have been flavored,” Stokkebye said. “Particularly for pipe tobacco, as far as I’ve seen and recall, flavored ingredients have played a part for a hundred years plus.”
“It’s all part of this generalized, creeping nanny-state issue where tobacco’s an easy target, because nobody defends that,” Creasy added. “But again, you’ve got doughnuts and vodka and salt — it’s the same issue.”
Creasy added in closing that the restrictions and regulations, such as the New York City ban, facing flavored tobacco today are not the end of the argument, but the beginning, that this zeal for attacking what the self-righteous deem to be “evil” and “corrupt” will not end with tobacco, even if tobacco were to be illegalized.
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“It’s just simply a matter of time before where we go, everyone else will go, too,” Creasy said. “It’s going to be the food companies, too, because already you can see very clearly that this story has been created, that artificial flavoring in food is somehow why everyone is fat, and so therefore, eventually, someone’s going to have to do something about that. ‘A’ follows ‘B’, fall follows summer, and you can very clearly see it all lining up. The point of the argument’s going to be that enhanced flavors are causing problems, when the reality is that enhanced flavors make things taste better. That’s why people use them.”
So, when Grandpa’s done reading Little Susie “The Night Before Christmas” and your family gathers around the table this holiday season, take a good look at all the flavorings (natural and/or artificial) collected on the table in some form or another, and imagine a world in which the government condemns your feast as illegal, all for the sake of the greater good.
 Carter R. Lyles is a student at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, FL and at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He is a journalism/psychology major, and in addition to his work at Pipes Magazine, he has contributed articles to Cigar Chronicles, The Alligator, Thursday Night Magazine, and The Fine Print. |
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When I first started with the pipe as a quirky and precocious teen, the only tutelage I had at my disposal were scenes from old movies in which a well dressed chap would stick his pipe into a pouch, scoop tobacco into the bowl and press it down unceremoniously with his thumb. Then, with great flourish, he’d strike a match and light the thing with all manner of cinematic excess, puffing up vast clouds of smoke falling just short of completely obscuring his visage. While it may look good on film, it’s a terrible approach to actually enjoying the thing. Somehow, though, this “technique” seems to have survived in the contemporary vernacular, at least to some extent, even with bit-loads of information handily at our fingertips that should dissuade us from the practice. But, at the time, this misguided approach was all I had; it’s no wonder my early days of puffing were fraught with difficult lighting, harsh, bitter smokes and tongue bite, all culminating in a fireproof mass of ye old soggy dottle in the bottom of the bowl. Ultimately, the resulting frustration made me give up the pipe, at least for a while. While the idea of it was still very appealing, the practice of it was not. It wasn’t until a few years later when, still full of curiosity and romantic notions of pipe smoking, I wandered into a real tobacconist’s shop, and learned my “method” was a long way from the techniques that would bring me to any sort of pipe smoking bliss. So, after my poor start, and under the guidance of someone who actually seemed to know how to do it right, I was given the opportunity to approach the process anew, this time with much greater success. 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Welcome to The Pipes Magazine Radio Show Episode 604. Our featured interview tonight is with Jon David Cole. JD is the Owner/Tobacconist at The Country Squire in Jackson, MS, and he is the former co-host of the podcast, Country Squire Radio, which ended their 10-year run last year. We’ll have JD with the “From the Country Squire” segment talking about all the new things happening at the store and in the business in general. At the top of the show, we’ll continue our audio tour of Brian’s pipe collection.
Before we begin, I should tell you: this tobacco review is being written by an A.I. Not the fancy new GPTs or their ilk; no, this is last century’s meat-and-bone, all-organic model. To be fair, a large part of what we call knowledge is merely the accumulated perceptions and impressions gathered from a life wandered through, synthesized into a spongy mass of what-it-is-that-we-think-that-we-know. The algorithm for this prompt is simple enough: pump thousands of bowls of smoldering plant matter into a gaping maw, cross-reference the chemical sensations with all other matter previously ingested or inhaled, sieve it all through the diffuse and fractal twin lens of memory and emotion, and churn out a panoply of adjectives that attempts to convey the sensations to someone who hasn’t experienced it yet. Odds are that a diligently trained monkey could succeed half the time; if this reviewer nears fifty-one percent then that would qualify as an unrivaled success. There must have been some similar musings perambulating through the mind of Per Jensen when he began his mad scientist routine at Sutliff with the Pipe Force project, which brings us to the current mixture under the microscope—Sutliff’s Pipe Force: Episode I. Here again are the unusual ingredients that engendered the series, with the stoved Rustica being the defining voice in this composition. From the tin: The Latakia-forward English mixture offers plenty of smoky flavor from the fire-cured leaf, which is artfully harmonized with floral, earthy Stoved Rustica. A mixture of high-grade Virginias imparts a natural sweetness. Katerini, the sole Oriental component, offers herb and spice notes bringing complexity and nuance to the flavor profile. It’s certainly Latakia-forward, with the stoved Rustica doubling up on the rhythm section like a second bassist. A first whiff from the tin releases the aromas of shoe leather and hide glue in a base of clay soil with a campfire wafted over it like last night’s beach party. Once it’s been accustomed to oxygen again, subtle hints of sweetness poke through from the Virginias: lemon rind, light milk chocolate, the dregs of a peaty Scotch, and muddled cherry. Old regulars like fresh-sawn oak and tilled earth are there, of course, with distinct notes of truffle, creosote, damp peat, and pine bark mulch. As an aside, I’ve been re-potting my camellias and the similarity of aroma to the ericaceous soil mix is notable; the Katerini really brings the unique depth of its vegetal complexion when supported by the Rustica and afforded more voice in the mix. The smoky Cyprian Latakia, in turn, is backed by equal earthiness from the Rustica, which overall exhibits a profile similar to dark-fired Kentucky; it leans more toward the woody and vegetal end of that spectrum, echoing and amplifying those traits of the other constituents. The tobacco is presented pressed and cut into a couple of thick, hearty flakes in the tin, lightly moist and easily crumbled to prepare—I prefer mine with a bit of drying time. The out-of-this-world tin art for this episode in the series is Major O’Meara smoking a cavalier. In the absence of confirmation, I’m going to hazard a guess he’s of the Ithklur species. The first taste from the light is sweet, with hints of that milk chocolate dancing around the edges. The Virginia leads the smoke through the top of the bowl, and orchestrates it well. Thoroughly smoky with lemony, grassy highlights from the Virginia spectrum, it soon segues into the mid-bowl profile: heartier, smokier, with the flavor leaning to the mildly acrid and tangy tinge that is the campfire-esque signature of English blends. Caution advised, it can turn overly bitter if pushed—this is where one’s sipping technique is required to maintain the fullness of flavor through to the heel. I did tend toward a lot of relights, though it may have as much to do with technique as with the blend. Pacing is also important as the nicotine starts to manifest; though the Rustica’s contribution has been tempered well by the stoving, it can certainly upend an empty stomach. At the end of every bowl, the mouthfeel somehow gets better. The balance of sugars in the tobaccos would seem to be spot-on in this regard. I started out my tasting in cobs, then cut short an unpleasant bowl in a meer, and finally landed on my best instrument with the lovely Dunhill 4427 pictured, a quaint group 4 shell briar with a gentle curve and Cumberland stem supporting a perfectly executed acorn bowl. It surprised me here, as I’ve learned through the years that I generally have the best experience with English blends in large, wide bowls. With this blend it seems that to get the best out of the Katerini’s somewhat diaphanous influence the smaller bowl fared much better. Room note is very English, so the company you keep will either love it or hate it, and it doesn’t linger too much. I find it paired best with a strong coffee; Sumatran beans complement the flavors well, as do Ethiopian if a lighter brew is preferred. Overall impressions of the blend are that it’s a curiously interesting take on the English genre, almost a reductive reconstruction of the theme using the unique components. This blend, if nothing else, expanded my vocabulary of sense perceptions with the uniquely treated leaf. While the average human can distinguish approximately one trillion (1,000,000,000,000!) different aromas, multiplied by seven basic tastes, and wholly dependent on variables from body chemistry to atmospheric conditions, our overworked and underpaid simian brains can’t effectively catalog them all. Our pet adding machines are exceedingly good at this, however, and someday soon they’ll be the ultimate and unequivocal authority on what something tastes, smells, looks, or even feels like. Until that time, friends, revel in the moments that can be stolen to savor over a bowl of Pipe Force: Episode I.
Excellent article describing the unintended consequences of, and the slippery slope created by, the politicians and control freaks who think they know what’s good for everybody else. Some day we’ll all be eating only seaweed and plain tofu — because food’s only purpose is nourishment.
You know, there are a lot of pipe smokers that are a) retired, b) well-to-do, or c) both. It is time for those guys to step up, put their time/money out there, and save pipe tobacco and pipe smoking. Credit the guys at the Seattle Pipe Club doing just that when they tried to amend Washington’s vague law that ended up outlawing the import of pipe tobacco. And despite the fact that I have two kids, full time job, etc, I still take the time to write my legislators and visit their offices whenever tobacco related legal issues arise. Credit to Kevin and PM staff for keeping us aware of these things between babe photo shoots. We all need to help. You can no longer happily puff on a pipe or cigar on your front porch and lazily assume you’ll be able to do it forever. Get off your arse and do something.
Great info and read…
We should learn from the Tea Party: consistent email campaign to educate and advocate makes a difference. After this great article and others I understand the issue. Help us with the details of the target and we will get it sent.
Every time I read one of your articles I envision a distinguished world traveler and raconteur of about fifty some odd summers. You’ve packed a lot of living into your few years, and it makes your articles good reads.
Kill all the cows because butter is bad.
I don’t understand how cotton candy vodka sold at my local liqour store is perfectly fine, and these morons have a problem with some flavored tobacco.
Children are no longer allowed in vehicles. It’s way too dangerous.
Nevermind, NO ONE is allowed to drive! Everyone is crazy for thinking driving is safe and I must protect them!
I hope I live to see when America wakes up. I’m hoping my generation kicks these know-nothings in the teeth. Figuratively speaking.
Okay… maybe not 100% Figuratively.
Great article as usual Mr. Lyles. You should run for some kind of office. We need more citizens like you. I hope you impact America, it’s political malarky, and tobacco for the better. Best of luck to you.
Thanks for the comments guys. I’m quite pleased with Carter’s work myself. He is working on Part II right now.
I’m not so sure that these types of laws are really “inadvertent” in their effect on pipe tobacco. I think the ultimate goal, really, is simply to ban ALL tobacco, and something like this is really just a step down the road to that larger goal.
Great article. Its unfortunate but true that tobacco, of all kinds, has become a favorite point-scorer of politicians of all stripes. I think, as pipe smokers, we need to be more public about our pipe smoking, our advocacy of pipe tobacco culture, and the differences between pipe tobacco and cigarettes. I really cringe when I hear fellow pipe smokers say they are embarassed to smoke in public, which is an attitude I find prevalent among the younger set of pipe smokers, such as myself (30). If we are invisible, and unwilling to engage friends, family, and the public at large, then we will rightly be treated as if we dont exist, because to the vast majority, we wont. Im a transplant to NC, and I drive through tobacco fields every day, yet encounter people all the time who say they have never known a pipe smoker. Im confident, through my own interactions, that if more people knew what pipe tobacco was about our issues would be greatly diminished.
Spartan believe me the same folks that don’t like our pipe tabacco have issues with booze to, this is a resurgence of the temperance movement. The alcohol industry has a bigger lobby and right now they are trying to eat the elephant one bite at a time. Look at the political landscape and the religious fundamentalism that’s going on, we’re now back to arguing about birth control. I suggest one learns about growing curing and flavoring their tabaccosand because that’s all we’ll be left with.
Just for a disclaimer I have no issues with people following thier own religious beliefs, my problem lies when they think thier beliefs are better then everyone else’s and need to foist them upon everyone.