First Taste of Deer Tongue

[winton]

One of the things I wanted to do at the Chicago Pipe Show is try a blend with deer tongue. I have heard that people either love it or hate it. Saturday, I filled my faithful cob with C&D Trinidad, which contains this herb, burley, Virginia and perique. I like all the other ingredients. I also filled a new cob with C&D Nutty Irishman. Did you hear that Missouri Meershaum was at the show for the first time this year? Anyway my son and I moved to the smoking tent. We sat at a table and I lit up this new blend. Immediately I found that I had inhaled tiny particles of tobacco through the pipe. After cleaning my tongue, I relit. WHAT IS THAT HORRIBLE TASTE IN MY MOUTH?! My son said he did not enjoy being downwind of me, but loved the change in my facial expression. I tried, I really did try to smoke this blend to try it out. But after 1/4" of tobacco, I gave up. My son was also happy that I switched to the Nutty Irishman, that has a much better taste and room note.
Afterward, I found the Pipesmagazine meeting table. Since Kevin was wearing a tie, I thought it was a business meeting and did not want to intrude. If I had realized the meeting was going on, more of you guys could have enjoyed my facial expressions.
I am sure that others enjoy this blend, but I will NEVER try deer tongue again.
Winton

 

[weezell]

I kind of enjoy "Crooner" once in a while..Crooner is an American classic blend of slow-burning, nutty cube cut Burley and the sweet and fragrant notes added by the herb, deertongue. It is lovingly recreated by C&D from a recipe from the late Bob Runowski, who used to blend it with, and for, Bing Crosby. To each his own...

 

[drwatson]

It is a different taste thats for sure. I have only smoked crooner and in a corncob.

 

[misterlowercase]

Interesting thread here.
The whole FDA-induced coumarin boondoggle resulted in blend changes

and old guys went looking for that "missing something" after the

recipe was altered, like with this thread talking about Half & Half,

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/replacement-for-the-old-half-and-half
Even Carter Hall has a tiny bit of deer tongue,

http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=xpv59d00
Bull Durham used it too, in 1871, inventory records reveal that tens of thousands

of pounds of "Carolina vanilla" were used for it.
This doc talks about how no synthetic can really match the quality

of the natural organic stuff, in this case regarding Tonka,

http://www.legacy.library.ucsf.edu/action/document/page?tid=rcm64f00
.

 

[cortezattic]

H&H's Capitol Stairs, a Burley/VaPer, is an excellent introduction to deertongue.

 

[papipeguy]

I smoke C&D's Gentleman Caller on a regular basis. I enjoy deer tongue to satisfy my sweet tooth. I'm sure there are some here who remember the old Half&Half when it has deer tongue in it. DT is a wild herb and as fas as I know C&D has acquired as much as they could. It is getting increasingly harder to find.

 

[papipeguy]

I have not tried Crooner or Trinidad. There's no doubt about the deer tongue being in GC but I get hte sense that it is not as heavy as Crooner from what I've read. I dedicate a Stanwell Golden Danish billiard to GC as it will ghost a pipe.

 

[JimInks]

I tried Crooner. It was not to my liking. No wonder Bing quit smoking! I also question whether or not Crooner was his regular smoke, and if it was, I doubt it always was. Bing was known to go into various pipe shops, and buy tobacco. Unless every place he went to stocked Crooner - which is not very likely - Bing smoked other blends, too.

 

[thesmokindragon]

Give L.J. Peretti's 333 a try, I liked it. It didn't make my normal

rotation but I have a bowl now and then

 

[durham270]

I've smoked C&D's Gentleman Caller a few times and enjoyed it. I first smoked Deer Tongue years ago during a Native American Powwow.