Am I About to Smoke Cow Dung???

[Seeker81]

Please don't take the title of this post too seriously. Although, I took a race down to my local B&M today and was determined to buy a VaPer. Top of the "to-try" list in that category for me were S&G's Cabbie's Mixture and Peterson's (formerly Dunhill) Elizabethan Mixture.
Since today I also bought a tin of Peterson's (formerly Dunhill... <sigh>) My mixture 965, I decided to go with the cabbie's mix to mix it up a bit (accidental inescapable pun).
I've been anticipating trying this blend for a while now, and also a proper VaPer too. So I opened it up...
It smells like a barn. It seems like hay. But there is no denying... It smells like a bit like cow shit.

I am drying it at present, as it is quite damp imo. Aside from a twist (namely brown pigtail), which is (continuing with the S&G farm-life theme) a completely different animal, this is the first S&G blend I will have had.

Where does this smell come from? I'm not complaining btw. It's not overly offensive. Makes me a bit nostalgic tbh...
Can anyone shed (or barn ha ha) some light on where this cow smell comes from?

A more sophisticated piper might detect horse.

 

[trouttimes]

Just try it. It will be a moooving experience. ? Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[Seeker81]

haha very good...

I'm right in the middle of my first bowl right now. It is fregging awesome. Loving it ha ha

 

[Seeker81]

I won't look at cows the same way again!

 

[danimalia]

Oh really? Gawith Va-based blends smell very, very tart to me, which I love, but I've never noticed anything like you mention. I'd smoke it. Dry the shit out of it, and then smoke it, I mean. I'm usually not one to pay too much attention to tin note, though.

 

[danimalia]

Just sniffed some tins. Dont have any Cabbies. SJ and FV flakes, didn't notice anything weird. The Lakeland Dark, though. That definitely has an earthy smell you could call barnyardish, though i just associate that smell with African dark-fired leaf whichI have come to love.

 

[Seeker81]

It's totally wet barnyard hay and dung to me ha ha. More horse than cow when I think about it.
But yeah, I dried it for a good few hours, then eventually got impatient and put it on top of my laptop to help the drying along even more...
Packed the pipe I had decided to dedicate to VaPers (a lovely Lorenzo Stresa), and I'll tell you, I do not regret buying it today. I think I have a good'un. Could maybe have done with even more drying. Got a bit messy toward the bottom. But I recommend it alright. Sweet, citrussy and sharp. A refreshing smoke. If all VaPers are like this... I must get some more. Although I've heard cabbie's mix is supposed to be a particularly good one.

 

[Seeker81]

I get the tartiness you mention from smoking it btw... Kinda makes the taste buds tingle. Like eating some kinds of cheesecake ha ha. If that makes any sense.

 

[Chasing Embers]

Where does this smell come from?

Fermented dark Virginias. You're going to have fun with Brown Bogie, Brown Irish Twist, and Black Irish Twist.

 

[Seeker81]

Fermented dark Virginias. Sounds nice.
Fermentation gives us such wonders... Here's another one to be grateful for hah

 

[goldenmole]

We have a popular TV show in Denmark with a hunter and a cook who travel the world and shoot and cook animals (more entertaining than it sounds). They both constantly smoke pipe and in one episode they try to smoke dry Elephant shit... I think while hunting Kudu in Namibia...

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I don't really get it from SG Virginia's (which I smoke frequently), but the term "barnyard" is oft used to describe Cameroon wrapped cigars. I'm a fan of those in particular and I savor the barnyard element.

 

[sisyphus]

cat pee and cow manure smells from tobacco can be attributed to fermentation. Most will tell you that the tobacco needs more time when you smell them. In the case of nasal snuff, I love it when snuff is ammonia-y and barnyard-y

 

[condorlover1]

Wasn't there a thread on here about vinegar smell and St Bruno a year back? I've never smelt anything bad from any of the twists but I tend to jar them up for a few years. I have a few tins of XXX Black Twist kicking around and when I have finished up my latest group of open stuff I might give one of those a run and see how they smell.

 

[cortezattic]

Embrace the funk.

 

[danimalia]

Embrace the funk.

Hell yeah!

 

[BROBS]

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Not that much difference between hay and tobacco. I grew up in the country and spent more than my fair share of time around farm animal dung. While I think some tobacco tastes like shit, I've yet to smell any that was similar. Hay or barnyard, yes. Animal shit, no.

 

[BROBS]

Latakia smells just like a cow pie.

 

[augiebd]

I enjoyed some kudu stew in Zambia but it was before my pipe smoking days so didn’t have a chance to smoke the dried elephant dung.