- Whey would you consider VC an aromatic but not consider Haddos and aromatic? Is it just the Vanilla that makes it an aro in your books?
- Assuming this is going to be a great hit (which I really do think it will), and your love for Latakia. Would you consider making a Latakia aromatic one day. Given what I've seen you do with Latakia I'm sure a GLP Latakia aromatic ala VC would be reason enough for smoking to become healthy again! :lol:
- In your mind what would happen to this blend if it was Flake or even plug? Has that been part of your experiments? As you probably noticed, I'd elect any government that promised a new law requiring tobacco manufactures to produce Plug and/or Flake versions of everything they make!
Also, if you have the time: are Royal Yacht and University Flake aromatics under the same definition? What about Prince Albert and any Lakeland-flavored tobaccos (such as the delicious Dark Kendal Flake, which I tried thanks to the generosity of a forum member here, and have come to love)?
How do you expect Virginia Cream to age? Was that a factor in making VC?
Great questions, as always. There is a blurry line, for me, between aromatic and non, I suppose. Haddo's doesn't really cross that line. Even though it relies on the rum topping, in the same way that Sextant and Navigator do, or that Barbary Coast relies on its brandy note, it's more of an adjunct, not so much a point of focus. With VC, the flavoring and aroma are definitely a featured aspect of the blend, even if they're somewhat delicate. I suppose to my mind, it is a matter of intent, which, of course, the smoker doesn't know about (unless s/he is participating in this conversation!); VC was intended to be an "aromatic," whilst HD was not, and I do think that intent does come through in the final blend. (It's not QUITE like saying, "It's an aromatic because I say it is.
)
That said, I've yet to taste an "Aromatic English" blend that didn't send me running from the room screaming. Which doesn't mean it can't be done, or that I won't do it. Sextant, and, in the pre-fire days, Mephisto, are about as close to that as I can imagine going. I even find Esoterica's Pembroke to be over the top. That cognac topping makes the thing cacophonous to me, confusing, and the tin aroma turns me right off. Fruity toppings and vanilla and things like that just don't seem to go with the savory nature of latakia/oriental mixtures to me, in the same way that I'd not put Worcestershire sauce or brinjal pickle on vanilla ice cream. (Wait. Achar and ice cream might actually be interesting...)
I've considered a plug or flake version of VC, and it's one of those experiments that I'm sure will happen one of these days, but currently, I'm more than a little preoccupied with some other blending projects...
Are those other blends aromatics? There's that blurry line again. Good question. Next question, please.
As for VC's aging potential, it's great because of the constituent tobaccos, and as long as it's in a sealed tin, the topping
should remain true for years to come. But, it's a bit speculative at this point. I've got early prototypes that are a year old that are still going strong, but only time will tell how this thing evolves over a decade or more. The tobaccos themselves will gain complexity and depth and richness, like any other virginia blend, and I can't imagine any bad interactions with the sauce based on my experience. And, yes, designing it to age well was part of the spec, at least given the unknowns.
More about that... I started exploring aged tobaccos in the early 1980s when Robert Rex opened a tin of Drucquer's Inns of Court from a stash of stuff that he'd set aside for five years. He was the first blender who actually considered the idea of aging tobaccos that way. At the time, in fact, if you could find tobacco more than a year old in a shop, you could usually get it for a discount because it wasn't "fresh." Very few pipemen considered cellaring as something to do intentionally. In fact, in early literature, specifically his "Disquisition for the Pipe Smoker," none other than Charles Rattray discussed the merits of relatively fresh tobacco, but allowed that "the last bowl will be even better than the first." Clearly, he wanted people buying and smoking his blends. He was a better businessman than I am...
But as people started experiencing these old tins, the magic of time began to reveal itself. I remember early back-room conversations in which people were speculating as to whether the blend had changed, or if a certain tin was just from a "good batch," or if age really did play such a significant role in the flavor and aroma of the leaf. Because of that 5-year old tin of Inns of Court, and a few other that Robert pulled out, and my own involvement and interest in wines, I became a fanatic about this whole aging thing. I'd buy a bunch of tins from the same batch and sample them over the years, observing and keeping notes on how different blends with different constituent tobaccos aged over time. And, early on, I snatched up as many of those dusty old discounted tins as I could to add whatever I could to the understanding. Twenty years later, when I started my company, I was in a fairly unique position to actually design tobaccos from the beginning with aging in mind; every blend I've done has been built for the cellar, as well as for enjoyment in its youth, and it's become an almost unconsciously overriding thing that informs what I do as I'm developing everything.
So, yeah. VC. Let's talk about it again in five years.
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