Cavdendish = Aromatic?

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sjfine

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 4, 2012
653
4
Does the mere inclusion of Cavendish an aromatic make?
Cavendish is a process, I know, and an aromatic is topped, right? But since there are so many crossovers, I wonder what the purists think.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
In my opinion, no. My Mixture 965 includes cavendish, as does PS English Luxury, Old Dublin, etc. I wouldn't consider those aromatics at all. I think people automatically associate cav with aros due to a lot of the inexpensive drugstore blends being cavendish goopers.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
Does the mere inclusion of Cavendish an aromatic make?
I guess the simple answer would be: if it has a heavy top flavoring.
Aromatic generally means tobaccos with flavors other than tobacco which are predominant in the blend.
I make a category, semi-aromatics, for tobaccos like Royal Yacht, Orlik Golden Sliced, Prince Albert and so on which have complementary flavors that do not overthrow the taste of the leaf.
When people who hate aros are talking about aros, they are referring to any tobacco with a cute, quaint name and mixture of flavors which are so strong, and the humectant and dye so visible, that they could as well be applied to lawn clippings for the same effect.
Like junk food makes the original food item irrelevant, aros of this type make the tobacco irrelevant. They are the 1950s mania for a "mild" smoke taken to 1980s levels of industrial absurdity.

 
Latakia is technically a cavendish. A lot of Virginias are also cavendish. I think that many people misunderstand or confuse qualities of these catagories with the process. Cavendish does not have to have added flavor. Casing is the addition of a carbohydrate to the leaf, almost all have some, but you may or may not notice it, depending on your understanding of the difference. Topping is what makes an aromatic, even if it doesn't have a noticabale flavoring. Now, the qualities of each of these can make it so that it is hard to tell what catagory it fits into. A cavendish or casing can be stronger than a topped aro. Think Luxury Twist Flake (Virginia Cavendish)
And, an aromatic can be less flavored. Think a light rum topping.
Now, if you want to hate a whole category, such as all aros, you just may find one of your favorites in the list. Or, you could just hate things that have certain qualities, which would probably better fits the way we think in terms of smell and flavors.

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
McClelland Deep Hollow and Frog Morton's Cellar are examples of aromatics with no Cavendish.

Ten Russians also contains Cavendish and is definitely not an aromatic, in that case it's more like putting spacers between your dynamite.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
I must have missed the boat on Latakia "technically" being a cavendish. I didn't think Latakia was pressed before the smoke was applied, and I didn't know it was allowed to ferment. ?

 
Mar 1, 2014
3,646
4,916
Crap I forgot what Deep Hollow looks like, I guess there is some Cavendish pressed Virginia in there. I'm pretty sure all the black leaf in FMC is Latakia though.

 

aldecaker

Lifer
Feb 13, 2015
4,407
42
Good link, Cosmic. I liked Russ' last line, "Who am I to argue against more than 90% of all pipe guys"? Well, more qualified than me, that's for damn sure!

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,260
108,365
Black Frigate, and Pegasus both have unsweetened black cavendish, and neither are aromatic at all.

 
Jan 4, 2015
1,858
11
Massachusetts
Cosmic, to answer your question;

"The word "Cavendish' when applied to pipe tobacco seems to intrigue the American pipe smoker. It is also a confusing word probably because Cavendish is a description of both a type of pipe tobacco and a manner in which tobacco is cut."
All About Tobacco, Milton M. Sherman, 1970

 

sjfine

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 4, 2012
653
4
Russ's article explained a lot, but confused the issue for me even more.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
What Cosmic said. I occasionally mix equal parts of Virginia and burley with a healthy pinch of black Cavendish, which happens to have a slight rum flavor, but the taste when mixed is more English than aromatic, and I'd notice because I mostly smoke non-aros. If I had non-flavored Cavendish on hand, I use it.

 

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
The only kind I use for blending is an unflavored Cavendish made from Green River Burley.
This softens and mellows stronger blends and seems to slow down the burn rate as well.
A small amount goes a long way as too much results in a metallic taste similar to pencil lead for me.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
The question seems to be, then, "Is a merely stoved/sweetened/steamed Va or Burley necessarily an aromatic?"

 
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