Question For All of You Who DGT

[matchstickman]

So I have gotten to a point where when I smoke, I'll load a bowl and take a few puffs for maybe 10, 15 minutes, then put thepipe down and go do something else. I might come back to It in a few hours, or sometimes even the next day. Smoking this way, it sometimes might take me 2 days of stop and go smoking to finish a bowl. My question for all those who DGT out there; do you ever leave an unfinished pipe for that long, and moreover, does the tobacco in the bowl suffer any ill effects from sitting in the pipe that long? I'm curious as to when it gets really humid outside if leaving the tobacco in that long would affect moisture content of the tobacco, or once it's lit is the tobacco pretty much safe against outside influence?

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I think Virginia based blends often get better. Latakia blends are less likely in my experience to get better and sometimes are a bit nasty. I would add that I believe you should dry things out by running a pipe stem through the stem all the wry to the bowl to soak up any moisture when you set the pipe down.

 

[matchstickman]

I forgot to mention that I do run a cleaner through the pipe every time I set it down. Having only done this a couple of times the results have been good so far but it hasn't been crazy humid around here lately either

 

[carolinachurchwarden]

I've been doing that a lot as a habit here. Sometimes I don't smoke the whole bowl for one reason or another, I get interrupted or it just goes out after 15 minutes or so and I just take it home and finish it later in the evening. I have at one time or another, had about 3 or 4 pipes sitting around with half bowls of something. As far as I can tell, sometimes they just get a little hard. I make sure I scrap the ash off before I set them aside though. They all smoke fine on relight.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I'll load a large bowl before bed, smoke it on the way to work, smoke it on three breaks, smoke it on the way home, and if any is left, I'll finish the bowl the following morning. Have had nothing but enjoyable smokes that way, but I mostly smoke Virginia blends so that may be a factor.

 

[jpmcwjr]

I leave a pipe partly smoked several times a day. I go back to it anywhere from a half hour to several days later. No problems, but A) My tobacco is dry when it goes in and B) the RH in my house and car is between 50-60%, so it won't pick up moisture.
I smoke latakia blends mostly, and they are not nasty. Wicked good, they are!

 

[matchstickman]

This is all good information to have. Thanks for weighing in everyone!

 

[newbroom]

There's a difference between smoking dottle and DGT (delayed gratification technique).

I think the dottle bowls are those that have been allowed to go out at the last portion of the bowlful.

DGT is similar, but typically you've let the pipe go out much earlier, say, halfway or so.

The dottle is not always successfully smoked and might not be conducive to continuation. To get those last portions to burn completely you might have to mix up the contents and re-tamp gently, and draw gently too, cuz, ashes.
I've usually got a few bowls of dottle awaiting an attempt at completion. I check for depth and if there seems to be enough unburned leaf, I give it a TRY. If it doesn't work rather quickly, I give up on it.

I don't dump much unburned leaf, so, I guess I'm getting my money's worth.

 

[cortezattic]

Eric? Is that you? Where the f... have you been? Haven't read a post from you in ages! Great to see you back online and posting! :clap:
As for DGT-ing, I think waiting 10-15 minutes between charring light and true light improves the burn and taste, but maybe just because that whets my appetite a bit. A delay of a couple of hours usually improves things too, but I don't do that very much. I do think it dries the tobacco plug a bit. For long term DGT I think the tobacco burn improves, but the taste becomes somewhat stale (sometimes a good thing, depending on the blend). I only smoke Va and Burley in various combinations with Perique and Orientals.
PS., ditto all of what newbroom says. ::

 

[matchstickman]

Eric? Is that you? Where the f... have you been? Haven't read a post from you in ages! Great to see you back online and posting

Hey cortez! Yeah life has been super crazy. Got married, bought a house, rescued a dog, wife got sick, mom got sick, lost a whole shitload of weight, got a couple of health problems myself, so free time is a luxury I don't have a whole lot of anymore but I'm back to being a bum around here when I do have some spare time. Good to hear from you.

 

[cortezattic]

I thought maybe Kevin revoked your pipesmoking card! :lol:

 

[matchstickman]

Nope, not a chance. No one tells me how to live my life. :mrgreen:

 

[kickinbears]

I DGT from time to time myself, but will only do it with a straight va or vaper. The longest I’ve left it is around 24hrs. Pipes have never been damaged, or impacted in a negative way. I do let them rest an extra day for a DGT personally, the thinking being the pipe has more time to absorb moisture with the tobacco sitting in there. It’s probably all in my head, so YMMV
I find the taste deepens, and the sweetness fades for a more caramel flavor profile with the straight VAs I smoke (I’ll sometimes add a pinch of fresh tobacco if I want to kick it off with the sweetness again). Vapers get a touch more spicy from my experience, and same effect on the va leaf as previously stated
I’m not much of a fan DGT’ing blends with latakia personally, but again ... YMMV

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Virginias definately, but I also find that blends with a dark fired burley used as a condiment also improve with DGT. It seems to sweeten as well, with the wait.

 

[bassbug]

The delayed part of the bowl with burley definitely gets better

 

[jvnshr]

Don't forget throwing away the ash. It may add some spicy bitterness to the leftover tobacco in the bowl.

 

[kickinbears]

^^^ +1 good call ... I always loosen up the fine ash and dump before I put a pipe away for DGT. I’m not a fan of the taste if left in
Thumbs up on the burley too cosmic!

 

[jaytex1969]

I have to agree with just about all of the above observations.
I smoke a lot of Old Dark Fired. I really like the deeper, complex flavors in the last third of the bowl.
One day, I laid down my pipe about 10 minutes into the smoke and did a chore for 45 minutes. I noticed that, when I returned, the tasty zone came sooner.
Now, I often plan to char and smoke for 10 minutes, especially right before dinner, and return for the finish later. It somewhat reliably gets me into the zone I desire.
Drying the airway and removing the light ash before sitting down the pipe are part of it. Less moisture and caramelized sugars, etcetera.
I also some times make soups and stews looking more forward to the leftovers, which usually taste better.
Y'all making me hungry, now...

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Learning some valuable tips here,but if time does not allow me to smoke all way through to the end of the bowl then I usually take my smaller chambered pipes,

 

[mso489]

I don't know about delayed gratification. That's not my purpose. But there's always something coming up, so though I do enjoy periodic long meditative smokes (often in my larger pipes or with slow-burning flake/plug/coin) I often smoke a bowl over two days, and generally have no complaints. A little drying time can be a benefit. Most blends get right back in step without a hitch. I enjoy lighting up without having to pack and char. I'm pretty relaxed about this, and I find my pipes and blends entirely forgiving.