Problem With One Tobacco and Not The Other

[cosmicfolklore]

This is a problem with forum conversation. I didn't mean to say that you had been telling anyone how to smoke. But, I do get a pinch of cat hair in every bowl. It's required, forced upon, enforced with authority... if you load a bowl in my house. Yep, this is cathair socialism in my house. I can't wait till my kids come get their cats, uggg!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

But to keep it from getting political, we have a dog too. Ha ha, he will destroy a box of cigars... heathen! ::

 

[sablebrush52]

The tins are vacuum-sealed, many people cellar them unopened for years and when popped, find the contents at virtually the same moisture level as that of recently-tinned blends. And Dunhill stands to lose rather than gain by forcing customers to first dry their blends in order to enjoy them.

Based on your criteria, the above quote is a baseless assertion. I wish it was a truth. I could have saved some serious money over the years and avoided venerable "sealed" tins that contained mummy dust.
You have an opinion. That's different than FACT or TRUTH. Same holds for me. Same holds for anyone here. Clearly Gawith thinks that the proper smoking moisture is soggy. Right.
I don't see anyone demanding anyone else here smoke a particular way, with eternal damnation awaiting the recalcitrant. Some here may think that way, but they're not so stupid as to post that, mostly.
Mostly people share their experience. The only valid thing that we have to offer is our own personal experience. I'll share what's worked for me. Yours to test out or not.
That's what Russ and Greg offer as well. Whether one follows their observations or not, neither of them will be losing any sleep over it.

 

[tinsel]

Not to derail all this talk of packing and drying ... BUT.
Don't most OTC blends have an additive to help keep them lit? It's been my experience that most OTC's are much easier to keep lit than tinned blends. I noticed that OP is comparing his captain black to what I assume are tinned blends.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Going back to the OP here, we are talking about Captain Black. I smoked quite a bit of Captain Black White, and drying that out is going to be a hassle. I alway found that the last few bowls tasted best, but that was before I was drying or doing anything but the codger scoop to load my pipe. There's quite a bit of PG to keep it soggy.

You listed some blends and said aromatics. As some have said, not all aromatics are made the same. I think that the OP is trying some different stuff. You're on your journey, drying or dogma, just have fun.

I just opened an OTC of Benson and Hedges Mellow Virginia the other night. It was already dry, but had a flavor similar to the treacle flavors in Stonehaven. And, I have also been smoking a blend of PS Dark Fired Kentucky with a tin of HG Mild Orange, good stuff, potent nicotine. Orangey and a good body of smokeyness.

Have fun with it. Try stuff. ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Yeh Tinsel, the PG laden OTC's are what give aromatics a bad name. But, not all aromatics are... deja vu... ha ha.

 

[andrew]

Don't most OTC blends have an additive to help keep them lit? It's been my experience that most OTC's are much easier to keep lit than tinned blends. I noticed that OP is comparing his captain black to what I assume are tinned blends.

This. Captain black won't dry out.

 

[smokindreams]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions and thank everyone for reading my post, I dried out the tobacco as stated and sure enough it smoked much better! As few have stated I just need to experiment to get the correct moisture but drying it out deffinetly helped, thank you so much! Yes I am on a journey of trying many different types of tobaccos and pipe, FUN but also a tad bit expensive . I love aromatics, anything that has a strong room note and tastes nice I would love to try any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!

 

[sablebrush52]

I love aromatics, anything that has a strong room note and tastes nice I would love to try any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

These days I find myself smoking Chatham Manor more than anything else. It's made by Hearth and Home and is a match to Carter Hall, costs quite a bit less than CH, and lacks the chemical taste that Carter Hall has. It has a gentle chocolate flavor, is a mildly flavorful blend that practically smokes itself. I've just bought a couple of pounds for the closet cellar.

 

[jvnshr]

If you had not mentioned Dunhill I couldn't argue with the oft-parrotted oversimplification regarding the tobacco being too wet. Now, it's perfectly okay if someone prefers to dial back the taste of Dunhill blends by drying them, however anyone who says they have trouble keeping Dunhill lit (with the possible exception of DNR and Flake), it's not moisture, it's how they're packing it. As counterintuitive as it may seem, ribbon cuts need to be packed with a light hand, otherwise it'll choke off the air needed to keep it burning.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. I was like "Dunhill? Really? How come?". But then I realized that I haven't tried all of the Dunhill blends so I thought there might be some Dunhill blends that comes wet. For sure Dunhill blends (the ones I've tried so far) have always been smokeable right out of the tin for me, but drying them a little bit more provided my palate with some extra flavor, especially Dunhill EMP.

 

[jvnshr]

Thank you guys for all the suggestions and thank everyone for reading my post, I dried out the tobacco as stated and sure enough it smoked much better! As few have stated I just need to experiment to get the correct moisture but drying it out deffinetly helped, thank you so much! Yes I am on a journey of trying many different types of tobaccos and pipe, FUN but also a tad bit expensive . I love aromatics, anything that has a strong room note and tastes nice I would love to try any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH!!!

Oh you think you can end the discussion? Ha ha, this will last forever, sir. And after few years people will remember you as the one who started it. Just kidding. I am glad that it worked well for you.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ha ha, if it weren't for differences of opinions and there was only one correct answer, this would be boring, and no one would want to participate. I think it takes ALL of us to make this place fun, interesting, and thought provoking.

 

[mawnansmiff]

"I am merely relying on experts' opinions as to what works for them."
I assume you are referring to Russ and Greg? With all due respect John, they may be expert blenders but you are suggesting they are expert pipesmokers...something I am not sure exists.
At the end of the day, going by how often this subject rears its head, the general consensus on the forum is drier is better but for whatever reasons, some folks prefer to smoke damp tobacco and so they should if they are happy so doing.
For the newcomer to pipesmoking I would simply suggest experimenting with various degrees of moisture until you hit the sweet spot. That's pretty much what I did and it took a few months to get it just right but those few months I regard as a good investment.
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jvnshr]

Ha ha, if it weren't for differences of opinions and there was only one correct answer, this would be boring, and no one would want to participate. I think it takes ALL of us to make this place fun, interesting, and thought provoking.

Totally agree.

they may be expert blenders but you are suggesting they are expert pipesmokers...something I am not sure exists.

Expert pipesmoker? I see one every morning, in front of the mirror, while brushing my teeth, he is also brushing his.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Heh, as do many! Well said.
As to other experts, both Greg and Russ have a lot of science as well as a ton of art in their blending expertise, and I believe both carry well into their pipe smoking endeavors. Besides, as blenders they have to know moisture inside and out. And they're the only two guys here whom I know use instruments to assess moisture!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

John, it's funny. Between you and Shutterbug sloshing it back and forth, making each other more and more dogmatic (on other threads), I realize that I have never heard either Greg or Russ tell someone how to smoke their tobaccos. And, the reason is, we would all tell them to go blow it out their... tobacco scales. We can't say on one hand that someone shouldn't tell others what humidity to smoke their tobaccos and then turn around and try to use the words of experts to say likewise. This is baffling me, as well as amusing me. Which isn't hard for this goon of little brain that I am. H aha.
Do you listen to the PM Radioshow? One of the things that I hear over and over is that no one is an expert in this field, enough to tell someone else how to do this. You can only be an expert in your own "opinions." And, everyone has one of those. We can only give advice, give our story, and enjoy this thing we all do together.

 

[shutterbugg]

Clearly Gawith thinks that the proper smoking moisture is soggy. Right.

We/I were talking about Dunhill. Idk what the deal is with Gawith. Their blends are uniformly soggy, and I don't think it has to do with their perception of ideal smoking moisture or ideal shipping moisture. I think it has to do with their casing/topping formula(e), and I say that because I have literally left Gawith blends out on a plate for as long as three days and they were still too wet to stay lit. More like oily/greasy than water-wet. However, if I do a false and true light and then leave the pipe for an hour or two, they smoke fine. So whatever accounts for the soggyness in Gawith blends doesn't evaporate at room temperature, it takes a fair amount of heat to volatalize it.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Maybe Englishmen just have tongues made of belt leather and lighters filled with rocketfuel.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Shutterbugg, yes, both Kendal houses ship their products with more moisture than most but regular drying usually does the trick.
However, if I'm in a hurry then 20 seconds in my microwave does the trick on sufficient baccy for say five or six bowls. There's no magic to it, but it does need to be done from time to time.
If you personally deem that to be too much effort then you would be depriving yourself of many of the tobacco world's finest blends.
Tonight I did just that with some St. James Flake and after say 15 minutes after the microwave treatment it smoked like a dream ::
Regards,
Jay.

 

[jpmcwjr]

We can only give advice, give our story, and enjoy this thing we all do together.

Agree, Michael.
I'd be surprised if any blender is going to tell you how to smoke. But those gentlemen were kind enough to answer an inquiry, no more, no less.
I really hope I haven't told or suggested to anyone how they should smoke. I've taken issue with shutterbugs's contention that Dunhill tobaccos are at the perfect moisture level for smoking. I've suggested that his inability to smoke to the bottom of a bowl is a function of excess moisture. This seems to be the main point of contention, along with:
I've also stated, ad infinitum and ad nauseum, that moist tobacco is the single largest cause of hot smoking and excessive lights. If not already mentioned, I say cadence, packing and tamping are also factors.