Red Cake is not Red Ribbon - A Message from the Horses Mouth

[cosmicfolklore]

Umm, Newbie, I grow tobacco, and I can tell you that the ketchup smell is a vinegar byproduct of all natural fermentation. That ketchup smell is pure heaven.
Edit - Oh, you were joking, ha ha. We've argued so much in the past, that it's hard to tell when you're kidding, ha ha!!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

...well, you claimed the expert tobacconists were all wrong about aging tobaccos, they just wanted to sell their stuff, and that we were all just parroting these experts and their wrong ideas. It was about a month ago. I think you were chastising me for reading Greg Pease's blogs and following his advice on how I treat my tobaccos.

...or something along those line. But anyways...
Vinegar smell good. Means it's all natural. ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Well, it was more the insulting dialog that stuck with me more than the topic that we were discussing. Anyways... You're right. That was further down stream.
Happy smokes ::

 

[derfargin]

Nice work on this Cosmic. I'm still trying to appreciate Straight VAs. I do like me some Red Cake and I've yet to try any of the Macrannies offerings. Although I'm excited to do so. This was an interesting read for sure.

 

[daimyo]

Defargin, get on it! :lol: :wink: It's seriously outstanding.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I just popped a tin of RR 2010. Y'all come on over and bring a pipe! This one is on me, ha ha!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sparks, that is sad. But, if you ever did get stuck with a nasty Virginia, I'd pay ya to ship it to me. :wink:

 

[hiplainsdrifter]

But, usually you can tell a pure, non cased tobacco by its distinctive vinegary ketchup smell,

I have only ever noticed this with RED Virginias.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

To be honest, that's all I've ever processed all of the way through. The burleys we grew when I was young, we never cured. Someone else did that. But, maybe this has something to do with the sugars and why we only really age Virginia based blends. Maybe? Just a speculation.

 

[escioe]

The analogy to single malt whisky vs. blended is not totally applicable here. I'm pretty sure that in the case of single malts, distilleries blend their own products (all coming from a single distillery as opposed to blending whiskies from different ones) and list the age of the youngest whisky involved. This is distinct from single barrel whiskies.
That being said, while enjoying the qualities of a single crop of tobacco (or a single barrel of whisky) has its charm, there is greater potential for a fantastic product in the care of a master blender or distiller than in limiting oneself to a single crop. That is, if the blender is not simply trying to create something consistent, but rather something uniquely superior.

Came here to post the first paragraph. Single malt does not mean single barrel. It doesn't even necessarily mean single type of barrel, as lots of single malts contain both bourbon barrel and sherry barrel aged liquid.
While I appreciate the blender's art of making good products from a variety of leaf, I have to say that this 1983 Red Flake I'm currently smoking, tinned 1994, is godly. It's a welcome diversion from more standard fare.

 

[maxx]

How would Red Ribbon compare to Dunhill's Royal Yacht, which I'm currently trying without much pleasure? I want to explore Virginias, and have only started. My favorite blend so far is Nightcap.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Royal Yacht is not only a different ballpark, it's a different sport. Nightcap and RY are much stronger blends in taste and stregnth, whereas Red Ribbon is a more subtle flavor. Red Ribbon is each a quality white bread in comparison to a plate of lasagna. It is frequently said that pure Virginias are more for the experienced smoker, but I don't agree. It does require some training of the taste buds, and that might be better done before you burn them out on these strong blends. YMMV

You may want to explore English, Balkan, and Oriental blends since you do like Nightcap. There is a whole world of latakias out there.