Fun with Whole Leaf Tobacco

[cobguy]

So, I took the plunge and ordered several pounds of whole leaf tobacco:

It was a lot of fun prepping it for ropes / twists:

The Dark Fired leaves were my favorite and served as the wrapper for the twists:

After twisting up most of it, I saved the rest for future custom blends and smoking straight. It's a little bit of work but a lot of fun and very educational to smoke each leaf individually. I used no casing whatsoever on anything but the Dark Air Cured and Natural Burley which needed just a light spritz to combat the barnyard smell. Very fun and highly recommended! ::

 

[bonehed]

Very cool. What varieties other than the dark air cured, dark fired and burley did you get?

 

[cobguy]

What varieties other than the dark air cured, dark fired and burley did you get?

I also got the Turkish/Izmir, Flue Cured Virginia Bright Leaf and Flue Cured Virginia Lemon.
Both Va's were delicious just plain and shredded into a cob ... really "clean".

 

[northernneil]

Natural Burley which needed just a light spritz to combat the barnyard smell.

I grew tobacco about 3 years ago now, and my burley had a very strong barnyard/musty/mushroomy aroma that was quite off putting. It took courage and close inspection (I was worried of mould) before I actually smoked some. Fortunately the aroma did not transfer through to the taste. I still have some, maybe I should try a casing and see if it helps the aroma.

 

[bonehed]

I also got the Turkish/Izmir, Flue Cured Virginia Bright Leaf and Flue Cured Virginia Lemon.

Nice. And yep...I got a pound of ''bright Virginia'' from Smoker's Haven they had laying around cheap. Very tasty as is! Reminds me of Germain's Brown Flake a bit...

Enjoy!

 

[deathmetal]

Looks delicious. Another option:
http://www.deathmetal.org/lifestyle/rolling-your-own-cigars/

 

[cobguy]

I still have some, maybe I should try a casing and see if it helps the aroma.

It's got some age now too so that ammonia smell should be decreased.
I went with a cocoa liquor / sugar water mix ... very lightly dusting the leaves and then sitting overnight.
Deathmetal ... I picked up the cigar rolling package as well. Next week! :D

 

[woodsroad]

Looks like good stuff! Who did you get it from?

 

[cobguy]

Looks like good stuff! Who did you get it from?

It came from Wholeleaftobacco.com and was the Sampler Pack ... darn good value:
http://wholeleaftobacco.com/SAMPLER-of-6-types-of-American-and-Turkish-tobaccos-Smplr5.htm

 

[fitzy]

Did you strip out the middle stem? Also do you have pictures of the finished product after you twisted them?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So, you did it! Very cool!! Let's see those twists.

 

[stvalentine]

I went with a cocoa liquor / sugar water mix ... very lightly dusting the leaves and then sitting overnight.

Sounds like a good idea which I might steal for my VA project. :D

 

[supdog]

Whole Leaf also has: http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Latakia-Tobacco-Lat97.htm

 

[jeepnewbie]

That looks great, and really tasty.

 

[cobguy]

Did you strip out the middle stem?

I did ... first day was spent re-hydrating and stripping. The 2nd pic down shows the stems in the back, scrap pile on the left and whole leaf for wrapping on the right. All the de-stemming and prep was the hardest part! LOL

So, you did it! Very cool!! Let's see those twists.

I knew there was a pic left out! I'll get that up here tomorrow. Also, thanks for the motivation in our blending thread!

Sounds like a good idea which I might steal for my VA project.

Feel free my friend! Citrus based is also nice for Va's.

Whole Leaf also has: http://wholeleaftobacco.com/Latakia-Tobacco-Lat97.htm

Yeah ... I may get some eventually but I have loads of English / Balkan blends at the time. Have you tried the Lat from WLT?

That looks great, and really tasty.

Thanks! It was a lot of fun ... great rainy day project!

 

[cobguy]

I knew there was a pic left out! I'll get that up here tomorrow.

Here's one of the larger twists:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Lookin' good!!

 

[cobguy]

A little update on the twists ...
Today, I took out the thinnest one and sliced off a few coins:

After a short dry time, I cubed it up nice and chunky:

This one was equal parts Va / Bur (two kinds each) with the DFK wrapper and produced a slightly sweet, nutty smoke.
While it could use some mason jar time, I'm quite pleased with the results so far. ::

 

[cobguy]

The journey continues ...
Here is a Red / Lemon FCV with Izmir pressed into a cake and cut into flakes:

A Lemon FCV with Criollo Ligero and Corojo Seco pressed into a plug:

Red / Lemon FCV with Ginger / Cinnamon casing:

 

[cossackjack]

The flakes & plugs look good enough to eat!

Anxious for a review of each.

Recipes would be welcomed, if you wish to share.