Hi folks,
Are you longing for some Christmas cheer in july?
Does tasting what’s essentially the same tobacco over and over again sound appealing to you?
Do you find condimental tobaccos mere distractions from the main event? (The main event being a rusty slice of leaf with flavors that @JimInks might describe as “tangy, dark fruit with a lot of earth and wood, grass, bread, vinegar, floralness, natural sugar, tart lemon and citrus notes.”)
If so, let’s smoke some red Virginia tobaccos together in a blind tasting.
Why?
It’ll be fun.
@buttersidedown did this last summer with Latakia blends and it was a hoot. I got to participate and I’d like to pay it forward. Plus, these kinds of events are fun to read. Here’s looking at the forum tastings @ashdigger organized over the years and @woodsroad’s recap of the RYO showdown earlier this year.
I can’t promise the blends in this tasting will match the prestige of what those fellows have offered before, but I think it’ll be a good time smoking and comparing notes. You might find a new tobacco you enjoy in the process.
What do you mean “red Virginia” tobaccos?
We’ll be tasting tobaccos that are advertised as being straight red Virginia. As I’ve been told, red virginia is ruddy-colored flue-cured leaf from the upper stalk positions on the tobacco plant. It’s got a distinctive flavor that I’ll leave you to characterize in your poetic descriptions.
That said, blend's aren't always what they say they are. Some orange Virginia and even some lemon Virginia with varying degrees of stoving might have snuck into mix. Weird toppings abound. There’s also one wild card blend among the samples that I can’t confidently guess what grade of leaf is supposed to be in it. Maybe you’ll figure it out and you can school me.
How does this work?
Please send me a PM to let me know you'd like to participate and also send an address within the United States that the US Postal service can deliver to. I apologize to smokers outside of the United States. The vagaries and timelines of international shipping are prohibitive.
How many people can participate?
I’ve got enough tobacco for nine tasters. If more than nine people want to do this, I’ll use a random draw of names to decide.
What does it cost to participate?
Having done this once before, I can say that tasting and commenting on six different tobaccos within two weeks takes a decent amount of your time and attention. If you’ve got a busy few weeks ahead, you might want to sit it out.
There’s no monetary cost.
Is there any risk to participating?
You’ll be smoking cryptically-marked bags of stuff sent to you by a stranger on the internet, so yes, please be aware that you’re participating in this ridiculous and unhealthy activity at your own risk.
All tobacco samples will be packed straight from storage in its tin, Mylar bag, or mason jar and otherwise unadulterated and unmodified by me (including its moisture level). That said, some of these tobaccos have been hanging around for a few years. I’ll be checking them for mold or weirdness before sending them out, but please double check on your end.
Whether you decide to join in or not, thanks for reading this long post. Wishing everyone a safe and happy independence day.
Are you longing for some Christmas cheer in july?
Does tasting what’s essentially the same tobacco over and over again sound appealing to you?
Do you find condimental tobaccos mere distractions from the main event? (The main event being a rusty slice of leaf with flavors that @JimInks might describe as “tangy, dark fruit with a lot of earth and wood, grass, bread, vinegar, floralness, natural sugar, tart lemon and citrus notes.”)
If so, let’s smoke some red Virginia tobaccos together in a blind tasting.
Why?
It’ll be fun.
@buttersidedown did this last summer with Latakia blends and it was a hoot. I got to participate and I’d like to pay it forward. Plus, these kinds of events are fun to read. Here’s looking at the forum tastings @ashdigger organized over the years and @woodsroad’s recap of the RYO showdown earlier this year.
I can’t promise the blends in this tasting will match the prestige of what those fellows have offered before, but I think it’ll be a good time smoking and comparing notes. You might find a new tobacco you enjoy in the process.
What do you mean “red Virginia” tobaccos?
We’ll be tasting tobaccos that are advertised as being straight red Virginia. As I’ve been told, red virginia is ruddy-colored flue-cured leaf from the upper stalk positions on the tobacco plant. It’s got a distinctive flavor that I’ll leave you to characterize in your poetic descriptions.
That said, blend's aren't always what they say they are. Some orange Virginia and even some lemon Virginia with varying degrees of stoving might have snuck into mix. Weird toppings abound. There’s also one wild card blend among the samples that I can’t confidently guess what grade of leaf is supposed to be in it. Maybe you’ll figure it out and you can school me.
How does this work?
- I mail you a box with six packages of tobacco. Each package has three grams in it (enough for a regular pipe full or two wee pipefuls).
- You smoke the tobacco. Use any pipe you like. No need to be scientifically rigorous about it. It's too late for that!
- You tell us your thoughts on it. Did you enjoy it? Any stand-out flavors? Any guesses on what blend it is? In the last tasting, lots of people ranked each sample in order of preference, which was cool and interesting.
You can share your thoughts as you go or post your notes on all the samples at once. The main goal is a fun discussion.
- After two weeks of smoking I’ll reveal what each of the samples were.
Please send me a PM to let me know you'd like to participate and also send an address within the United States that the US Postal service can deliver to. I apologize to smokers outside of the United States. The vagaries and timelines of international shipping are prohibitive.
How many people can participate?
I’ve got enough tobacco for nine tasters. If more than nine people want to do this, I’ll use a random draw of names to decide.
What does it cost to participate?
Having done this once before, I can say that tasting and commenting on six different tobaccos within two weeks takes a decent amount of your time and attention. If you’ve got a busy few weeks ahead, you might want to sit it out.
There’s no monetary cost.
Is there any risk to participating?
You’ll be smoking cryptically-marked bags of stuff sent to you by a stranger on the internet, so yes, please be aware that you’re participating in this ridiculous and unhealthy activity at your own risk.
All tobacco samples will be packed straight from storage in its tin, Mylar bag, or mason jar and otherwise unadulterated and unmodified by me (including its moisture level). That said, some of these tobaccos have been hanging around for a few years. I’ll be checking them for mold or weirdness before sending them out, but please double check on your end.
Whether you decide to join in or not, thanks for reading this long post. Wishing everyone a safe and happy independence day.
