Bought a couple ounces of Mixture 79 and if the tobacco smelled as good as it left the other box contents, I might like it! What was in the bag seemed like it had lost everything in the shipping maybe. Stuff was bulk so who knows how long it had set on the shelf airing. So, not to be daunted, I took about a rounded tablespoon each of Lesvos Ouzo from Greece and Jagermeilter from Germany and poured them over the tobacco and let sit sealed in jar for a few days. Ouzo is an anise-based liquor and the Jagermeilter is similar but a bit darker, heavier, being made from 56 herbs, fruits, roots, and spices, including citrus peel, licorice, anise, poppy seeds, saffron, ginger, juniper berries, and ginseng, so it has a similar anise/licorice taste but with more depth.
Just opened the jar to check all and the contents looked ready so spilled everything out into a bowl for further mixing and to let the mix air out so some of the alcohol could evaporate off leaving behind the essential flavors. The liquors had soaked down through the tobacco pretty evenly by itself, but I tumbled the mix with my fingers to blend further and until it had dried a bit, then washed out the jar and cleaned it. By then, the tobacco was a lot drier and had gone from wet to damp. Using my broad-neck funnel, I put everything back in the jar.
It has a WONDERFUL, inviting, unmistakable smell now! Made me hungry! So much so that even my fingers carried the smell noticeably for at least ten minutes after jarring back up and washing my hands. That is what I want, a flavor and aroma that clings to the tobacco. Not just a subtle hint of licorice, but in your face. There is no in-between with something like anise or licorice! It is a strong flavor and aroma.
When I smoke it, I want that flavor right in my face like a fist and the aroma dancing about the room! I want the neighborhood kids knocking on my door asking what I got going on in there. I mean, why smoke the stuff if you don't LIKE licorice? It's a desert smoke. I will leave the stuff as is now and further dry out a bowl later and try it tonight. That way, as each time I open the jar in coming weeks and months, the excess alcohol will continue to evaporate down closer to the ideal rather than dry out past the optimum flavor. I'm hoping it tastes as good as it smells! I'll let you know.
Just opened the jar to check all and the contents looked ready so spilled everything out into a bowl for further mixing and to let the mix air out so some of the alcohol could evaporate off leaving behind the essential flavors. The liquors had soaked down through the tobacco pretty evenly by itself, but I tumbled the mix with my fingers to blend further and until it had dried a bit, then washed out the jar and cleaned it. By then, the tobacco was a lot drier and had gone from wet to damp. Using my broad-neck funnel, I put everything back in the jar.
It has a WONDERFUL, inviting, unmistakable smell now! Made me hungry! So much so that even my fingers carried the smell noticeably for at least ten minutes after jarring back up and washing my hands. That is what I want, a flavor and aroma that clings to the tobacco. Not just a subtle hint of licorice, but in your face. There is no in-between with something like anise or licorice! It is a strong flavor and aroma.
When I smoke it, I want that flavor right in my face like a fist and the aroma dancing about the room! I want the neighborhood kids knocking on my door asking what I got going on in there. I mean, why smoke the stuff if you don't LIKE licorice? It's a desert smoke. I will leave the stuff as is now and further dry out a bowl later and try it tonight. That way, as each time I open the jar in coming weeks and months, the excess alcohol will continue to evaporate down closer to the ideal rather than dry out past the optimum flavor. I'm hoping it tastes as good as it smells! I'll let you know.
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