Do You Cold Draw?

[mso489]

No, but I sometimes sniff the empty chambers, maybe to capture the remote scent of good bowls of days gone past. I keep my pipes fairly clean, so some smell barely smoked at all, even the pipes decades old.

 

[HawkeyeLinus]

I get a little something when I check to see if the draw is okay. I did try the retrohaling the draw yesterday with a couple of different pipes/blends - I got absolutely nothing and not saying someone else wouldn't. I can say having tried it, I won't think about it again - guess it's one of those things that will elude me, but I won't miss because I never could!

 

[Donb1972]

I do, yes. Especially with fruity aromatics.

 

[FLDRD]

I have done that, beginning a few months ago.

Don't remember how or why, but I think I wanted to let the tobacco dry out from the tin-level moisture and I just started "smoking" an unlit pipe. Posted on it and got about zero replies.

Anyhoo, I thought it was delightful. I experienced a tremendous amount of flavor and pleasure from the volatile oils as I breathed through the tobacco. I got to both experience it and prep it for the next stage.

I've gotten better about my prep and moisture level so it's not a regular habit, but still a pleasant one that I think has merit.

Cheers

Do you ever pack your bowl and take a puff of the unlit tobacco to see how it tastes?

I stuffed a clean pipe with one flake of Solani Aged Burley Flake and left it to dry for an hour. At this point in my smoking career, I don't normally have to test the draw. But the pipe was a recent estate purchase from Smoking Pipes and I wanted to see if the pipe was pristine—which it was. I took a cold draw and was surprised at how strong the tastes and aroma were. The mouthfeel was chewy, almost syrupy, and the retrohale full of flavor.

On the basis of the cold draw, I would have sworn the blend was a straight virginia or vaper. There was a delicious flavor of dried prunes, fruit sugar and malt—but no nuttiness or earthiness that I could detect . The flavors of the lit tobacco were muted by comparison. The prune flavor receded, leaving a pleasant malty flavor, a burnt marshmallow sweetness and a spicy almost cinnamon taste. (I think that's what I tasted. My palate is not the most refined!)

Taking a cold draw was not something I routinely did. But now, when I remember, I'm going to do so. At the very least, it forces you to keep your pipes fresh and cle

 

[Wildlands]

I do, and not just to test the draw but also for the flavors. With some tobaccos you get a lot of flavor doing it, and it can be interesting to compare the difference in flavor between the cold draw and the smoke itself.