Is Granger an Aromatic

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

Watch for Updates Twice a Week

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Status
Not open for further replies.

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
This one's been tossed around before. Granger is a rough cut Kentucky burley tub and pouch tobacco that's been around for about a century. It likely has some casing, and a tobacconist I trust says with some confidence that it has been tweaked enough that at least technically it is an aromatic. Since it is a legacy codger blend, I don't think of it that way. How subdued should flavoring be before a blend becomes an non-aromatic? Come to think of it, is Granger even a blend, or is it a single leaf tobacco. I know it has been sold once or twice, from one pipe tobacco maker to another, so it is not an absolutely consistent blend, and the processing has probably change, though it still claims "the Wellman's method" (do I have that right?). We've joked that that might be leaving the tobacco barn's door open an eighth of a inch. I guess the question is, for practical descriptive purposes, would you call Granger an aromatic or non-aro? And is it a blend, since it seems to be pretty much all Kentucky burley of one type? Size up good old Granger, as you see it.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
70,601
815,077
I would classify Granger as a semi-aromatic. Not quite in the realm of Borkum Riff, Captain Black, etc., but a tad more aromatic than SWR regular.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
doctor bob, you're right, it's not the smoothest burley going, although I still like it once in a while. Jim, can you identify the flavor at all? Or is it maybe just a slight sweetness? The Wellman's process might offer clues, but of course it's proprietorial. I do love the pointer dog on the pouches and tubs. My wife grew up on a farm in the tiny town of Granger, Mo., which used to be several hundred people and now is down to about 40 or less. The town center has been taken over by a freight pallet maker.

 

blendtobac

Lifer
Oct 16, 2009
1,237
220
I would classify Granger as a semi-aromatic. Not quite in the realm of Borkum Riff, Captain Black, etc., but a tad more aromatic than SWR regular.
In total agreement, Jim.
Russ

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
doctorbob, you might be able to smooth it out mixing it with something else, Carter Hall (or Chatham Manor) for examples, or whatever you have on hand that's not as edgy.

 

JimInks

Sultan of Smoke
Aug 31, 2012
70,601
815,077
MSO: the topping is hard to define, but I notice a very light undercurrent of anise. I think something else was lightly added, but I'm not sure what it may be.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
Jiminks, in retrospect, I believe I have tasted the anise flavor, though I just took it for the edge on the burley. It's subtle. Whatever other flavor is in there is really slight. I'll never taste Granger the same way again, though that's not a bad thing. It's a real piece of Americana. As I've mentioned before, the room note on Granger (or a similar version from earlier versions) goes back as a memory to my infancy, all my dad ever smoked more or less morning to night.

 

perdurabo

Lifer
Jun 3, 2015
3,305
1,582
Anise? I love tobacco with anise. I swear Peases Sixpence has been topped with Pernod. I'll have to give Granger a try.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
If you like anise, in a full dress refined aromatic, which is seasonal I think, but may be coming back around soon, is Peretti's Thanksgiving Day. There is also citrus and other fruit flavor, but it is still tobacco forward to me, mild but flavorful.

 

deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
41
I don't mind natural flavors, like anise or fruits, derived from the fruit. The bubblegum flavors freak me out.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,211
59,149
Semi-aromatic. Gotta keep that terminology in mind. I think blends like Royal Yacht, Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, and Edward G. Robinson are full aromatics, though they are also tobacco forward. What are other examples of semi-aromatic -- maybe Carter Hall, 1-Q, and Prince Albert?

 
Status
Not open for further replies.