Flavoring Flake/Rope Tobacco With Rum/Whisky Etc.

[andrew]

I have quite a bit of Brown Bogie and a good amount of rum and whisky lying around and would like to experiment with making my own flavored rope, plus doing the same with some PS Luxury Bullseye flake. My question is how much alcohol do you use, do you dry the tobacco first, and how long do you let it sit? I'm thinking of using a mason jar, adding enough alcohol to soak it pretty good, sealing the mason jar and letting it sit (for how long I would like to know) and then opening the jar and letting it dry to appropriate smoking level. Does anyone have any experience with this? I know deathmetal has done this with rum soaked perique, so any pointers would be appreciated. I'm after a heavily flavored tobacco, so I don't think wetting a paper towel and letting it absorb that way is as effective as the rum/whisky doesn't truely absorb in my opinion. I also don't want to over saturate it and end up with a bunch of alcohol taking the resin etc. out of the tobacco. I'm thinking enough to saturate the tobacco by direct contact with the alcohol, sealing it up for possibly a month, and then letting it dry. I've heard of good results so I would like to try some experimenting, just if anyone has first hand experience to add their thoughts. Thank you.

 

[mackeson]

I added a bit of Sambucca to Brown Irish xx once. I used a small ziplock freezer bag (better surface area coverage) and added just enough that there was only a bit of liquid in the bag - I also did't want to wash away any tobacco flavor or nicotine. I let it sit for 2 days sealed, then opened the bag for about 5 days to let it dry/evaporate. after that, I jarred what was left with the almost negligible amount of liquid and just let a bowlful at a time dry when I was ready to smoke it. Good results. It seemed to me that I got the flavor without any loss.

 

[skraps]

So far, I've not had any luck with this. I'm currently testing a batch of C&D Cube Cut with Spiced Rum. It's been sitting and melding now for almost 2 weeks, so it's probably time to give it a go.
I agree though, unless the spirit is very strong, the paper towel trick is not going to do it. The recommendation I got was to dry out the tobacco pretty well to allow for maximum absorption, then spray it down to whatever level of saturation you feel is sufficient. Either bag it at that point and let it sit, or repeat that process a few times before bagging it.
I'll update when I try my cube cut.

 

[shutterbugg]

Sounds like a lot of work. Then again, if you consider pipesmoking "a hobby" then it stands to reason. Me I'd just smoke the tobacco and drink the booze.

 

[texmexpipe]

I took some Jim Beam (about 2 oz) and cooked off the alcohol in a pan, and let it reduce a little. My thinking was that I would get the sugars and the intense bourbon taste. Then I let it cool and then I poured it onto about 4oz of Yule Log from Russ O. I let it sit for about 6 Months. I found it to be a little overly moist when I opened the jar but I let it dry each time I went to smoke and it turned out pretty good. The taste from that particular combo came off like a Scotch very peaty and smokey. It worked for me. I don't know that I would say that it was worth doing for anything more than curiosity. I did find that if I pushed the blend it would bite.

 

[andrew]

Found GL pease's info on the subject

http://brothersofbriar.forumotion.com/t10509-theory-hydrating-tobacco-with-whiskey

PostSubject: Re: Theory: hydrating tobacco with whiskey Tue Nov 09, 2010 2:52 am

Absolutely safe, and quite effective. Those volatiles that you smell in the glass will be readily absorbed by the tobacco, providing a little extra something. You can just spray a little on, seal it up and wait, or you can put some in a glass, and incarcerate everything together in a sealed container for a couple weeks or so. The volatiles will permeate the leaf without adding much moisture.
You'd be surprised by how LITTLE it takes to influence the taste and aroma of your tobacco. A single clove of garlic? Garlic tobacco. Ill-advised.
-glp

I've read from making your own chewing tobacco that a bit of heat helps also.

 

[mackeson]

Sounds like a lot of work. Then again, if you consider pipesmoking "a hobby" then it stands to reason. Me I'd just smoke the tobacco and drink the booze.

I don't know shutterbugg, it's just a way of getting different flavors. Just like cooking for me. I certainly don't consider making dinner for my kids and I a "hobby" in the least, but sometimes I like to go to a little extra effort to cook down my own stock or something just to see if I can get different flavors.

I am a bit goofy though and like to make my own tobacco blends too. I guess with all the thousands of tobaccos out there it's really not necessary. Fun for me, but probably not for everyone.

 

[storfiskarn52]

I've never tried with alcohol, but I instead use essences. I spray my flavorings with a spray bottle to a level when the tobacco is moist but not overly wet, and then let it infuse for 1 week in a mason jar, then I repeat it 2 times. I only manage to produce a mild flavoring but it smells medium. Now I have a jar with tobacco I sprayed over with pure essence with no added water and I think that will give me an heavy aromatic. The key to make a strong aromatic is not how much or how concentrated your flavors are (well, it does) but rather how long you are aging it and allow it to infuse.

 

[storfiskarn52]

@texmexpipe, do you take out your tobacco and re-apply flavorings under what time or just let it sit? Also, do you feel any greater from of taste when you wait 6 months instead of, say 6 weeks?

 

[texmexpipe]

I let it just sit. The six months is more because I forgot the first time and it worked. Because I cook it down a little I think it makes the flavor more intense

 

[storfiskarn52]

I think, from a laymans perspective, that cooking off the alcohol yields better results, since you do not have to let the alcohol evaporate before storing it, and hence also avoid any flavors from the booze to evaporate as well.

 

[andrew]

Just had my first bowl, project was a success, now to do it in bigger batches. I added dark rum until the rope had totally soaked it up and was saturated, left it sit like that sealed for about 2 weeks, then opened it up and let it evaporate. The brown bogie is a very dark color now, the bowl didn't have a total rum flavor but definitely a different flavor. Nicotine seemed to increase as I have a case of the niccups which I wasn't getting as much before. With the success of this I'm now going to do a bigger batch with dark rum (bacardi black) plus I have some Wisers burnt toffee caremel flavored whisky, 43% abv which I think will make a good sweet whisky twist. I don't know if letting it sit jarred for a time makes any difference, I think I'll just saturte the rope and then let it dry off, the sugars from the alcohol definitely do something to the flavor.