Learning the Taste of Tobacco
- Thread starter JR McDuff
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Virginias are so finicky. The fertilization schedule affects the taste, when it's harvested affects the taste. The way it is cured affects the taste. Where at on the stalk it grew affects the taste. Then add in that there are literally hundreds of different "virginia" (bright leaf) seed stocks, that the flavors of Virginias are all over the score cards. I've grown and cured some that had a natural lemon taste, some had a natural organey taste. Year before last, I had some Cherry Red Virginias that actually had a tang that reminded me of cherries.
The reason tobacconist blend Virginias is to try their best to keep flavors of perennial flakes and ribbons tasting consistent year after year. But, even at their best effort, I've noticed differences in the taste of even big ones like FVF from year to year.
The reason tobacconist blend Virginias is to try their best to keep flavors of perennial flakes and ribbons tasting consistent year after year. But, even at their best effort, I've noticed differences in the taste of even big ones like FVF from year to year.
Hmmmm... do you know who Mark is? I don't think there are very many people who know more about tobacco than Mark. I consider him a friend, and I can totally understand not wanting to be invalidated by an expert's namedrop on a forum (if that's what you mean), but I would hesitate to just empirically write him off totally.
Plus, he's a really nice guy.
Plus, he's a really nice guy.
It also wasn't intended to be some namedrop for the sake of namedrop. The article is from this very site with Russ:
A Surprise Around Every Corner – New Perique Blends
Russ Ouellette When I first started blending tobacco, there was a lot of trial and error until I met some people with a lot of experience who were willing to share their knowledge with me. For a long time, I soaked up whatever information I could gather, and in time I learned how to recognize […]
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Every field is different, even if from the same farm was my point.
Niceties aside, you know that with me by know hopefully; nice people can be very nice people and still not be the gospel. There are people on this site that some idolize for some reason, and yet I don't...maybe I'm just set in my ways and not very susceptible to idol worship. But just like you can't write him off, I would also imagine its hard to write off someone like me that's been smoking and farming and surrounded by tobacco for 40 years, just like its hard to write someone like you off that's been smoking for, what, 86 years now and growing tobacco for 108? I would never write you off either (you old fuck)...
In the end, not any one person is the gospel on tobacco for sure.
Real quick, then I need to get off of here...if, by your expert's definition, every final stage tobacco is a "blend", then why is the word even used? The word 'variety' would be a far more accurate a term, wouldn't it? The word "blend", if all final stage tobacco is a blend, is completely useless as a descriptor--for instance, we already have the word "tobacco" so why be redundant when we can just add an 's' to the end of tobacco. If you are going to use the word "blend" at all to describe various final stage tobaccos, then by definition there has to be some final stage tobacco that isn't a blend. (And I know someone will beat me over the head with this...but I'm used to it, lol.)It also wasn't intended to be some namedrop for the sake of namedrop. The article is from this very site with Russ:
A Surprise Around Every Corner – New Perique Blends
Russ Ouellette When I first started blending tobacco, there was a lot of trial and error until I met some people with a lot of experience who were willing to share their knowledge with me. For a long time, I soaked up whatever information I could gather, and in time I learned how to recognize […]pipesmagazine.com
Every field is different, even if from the same farm was my point.
Thanks a ton for your input and descriptions. This will help me put a word to the taste once I begin sampling.
Very helpful!
I would imagine they're very overpowering and pungent on their own. I like them mixed into blends with a deft hand - I'm not big into blends that are considered heavy on the Perique or Latakia. I enjoy them, but they can be too much. Orientals I like when they're heavily used, but they still need some Virginia to play off of (and a small amount of Latakia doesn't hurt, either). Personal preference
Latakia is the easiest to identify of any tobacco, almost regardless of how it's blended. You can probably skip smoking that straight--although it's fun to have a bag of it just to smell it. Orientals are mild and easy to smoke straight up and are often the hardest for beginners to identify in blend, so definitely try one or two of those. Perique is strong for sure but worth trying anyway in a small bowl just to get the picture. Dark fired kentucky is worth trying straight up too. Unflavored black cavendish is another worth trying.
Very few tobacco taste great all by themselves (which is why blending exists) but that's not the point of the excercise. You're just trying to familiarize yourself with the basic flavors.
That's a pretty good question. My answer is do both. Try different genres of blends and try component tobaccos at the same time. The process will reveal the alchemy that goes on with blending. Tasted alone, many components taste quite differently from how they taste when combined with different varietals.
I also recommend that you take a look at Greg Pease's FAQ. It goes a long ways towards providing useful information as well as countering a lot of misinformation, some of which is already in this thread, about "natural" tobaccos, etc. I should add that Pease no longer advocates long term storage in tins, but recommends jarring for aging. I wouldn't mention it here, but it's part of the FAQ that's now outdated.
Bear in mind that the blending tobaccos that you can buy from P&C, SP, or other online sources represent a fraction of what is available to commercial blenders. That said, you'll learn a lot from smoking them alongside finished blends.
With the exception of single crop releases, like the out of production McCrainie's and Christmas Cheer, both made by the late lamented McClelland, everything else is some form of blend, even if it's a "straight Virginia". It may be a blend of different Virginias, or a blend of the same varietal. The reason for this is the need to maintain consistency in the blend's flavor. Flavors vary from crop to crop, from year to year. To maintain what appears to be a consistent flavor, crops from different years are blended and the proportions of components are adjusted. Toppings get adjusted, processing gets adjusted, what ever works to keep the product's taste consistent, if not exactly the same, year after year.
Single crop releases are a different animal. Their uniqueness is what is important. It's also the rare single crop that can be processed to become something really memorable in a good way.
I also recommend that you take a look at Greg Pease's FAQ. It goes a long ways towards providing useful information as well as countering a lot of misinformation, some of which is already in this thread, about "natural" tobaccos, etc. I should add that Pease no longer advocates long term storage in tins, but recommends jarring for aging. I wouldn't mention it here, but it's part of the FAQ that's now outdated.
Bear in mind that the blending tobaccos that you can buy from P&C, SP, or other online sources represent a fraction of what is available to commercial blenders. That said, you'll learn a lot from smoking them alongside finished blends.
With the exception of single crop releases, like the out of production McCrainie's and Christmas Cheer, both made by the late lamented McClelland, everything else is some form of blend, even if it's a "straight Virginia". It may be a blend of different Virginias, or a blend of the same varietal. The reason for this is the need to maintain consistency in the blend's flavor. Flavors vary from crop to crop, from year to year. To maintain what appears to be a consistent flavor, crops from different years are blended and the proportions of components are adjusted. Toppings get adjusted, processing gets adjusted, what ever works to keep the product's taste consistent, if not exactly the same, year after year.
Single crop releases are a different animal. Their uniqueness is what is important. It's also the rare single crop that can be processed to become something really memorable in a good way.
I like to sample condiment tobaccos, and most are a viable choice smoking them on their own. The cigar leaf I've sampled "neat" has been mild and tasty; it's no cigar experience, but it is good pipe tobacco. Quality black Cavendish, likewise, is a nice bowl, good volume and pleasing flavor. Latakia and Perique are a little heavy and spicy respectively, but not bad. Try them in small quantities first in case they don't appeal to you. And so on. Also try mixing; I don't call it blending, because there is no oven, pressure, or aging involved, but some of my best smokes have been impromptu mixes of condiments, or condiments with a blend, or blends mixed.
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