Ruminations on Keeping Cheap Shag Tobacco Humidified

[Briar Lee]

Title shortened. Critical Importance removed.

Having tried over a dozen brands of cheap shag tobacco, I’ve settled on my favorite, Bouy Gold.

But regardless of brand, it might be able to be stored dry but before smoking the taste and smoking experience of cheap shag tobacco is vastly, incredibly, amazingly improved by humidifying it to a level where it’s a little sticky, the same as a freshly opened pouch or can of “drug store” blends are.

There are more than one hundred different varieties of cheap shag tobacco on the United States market.

If there’s any bad ones I’ve not found any yet.

These companies compete on the size of the six ounce or one pound bag they sell in stores where dozens of brands are out displayed for sale.

The drier the tobacco the bigger the bag, and more smokes for the money.

Whatever you use to keep cigars moist in a humidor will work to humidify shag tobacco.

I use several water soaked cotton balls inside an empty pouch of tobacco inside a pound bag (or better put the tobacco in an empty container).



Moist shag tobacco is excellent. Subtle flavors are released, it burns slower, it’s just all around a better smoke than straight from the bag shag.

 

[telescopes]

My father disliked shag tobacco and found it too much akin to smoking cigarettes. Holmes obviously disagreed and smoke quite a bit of shag. While it it is easy to load and smoke, I much prefer crimp over shag. I agree keeping it moist is important. Especially given where I live.

 

[Briar Lee]

My father disliked shag tobacco and found it too much akin to smoking cigarettes. Holmes obviously disagreed and smoke quite a bit of shag. While it it is easy to load and smoke, I much prefer crimp over shag. I agree keeping it moist is important. Especially given where I live.

As an experiment in the exercise of tax avoidance I took several one ounce trial size bags of cheap shag and made as many well packed, round, fat full size 70mm cigarettes from the tobacco as I could.

Regardless of brand an ounce rolls 30 or a few more Camel or Lucky Strike quality and size smokes. If I’d used those push tubes I might have gotten more.

This one pound bag of Bouy Gould cost $11 tax paid. It will make at least 480 smokes, using papers that cost a penny each.



But I’ve found that if you roll it into cigarettes, they’ll dry up in a couple of days and the tobacco starts falling out, unless you keep them in a humidor.

These make 75 cents a pack smokes that are mouth watering, mild, flavorful and delicious.

The do gooders are sure to put the brakes on this as soon as they get a chance.

And with recent SCOTUS rulings that make administrative agency findings these cheap shag tobaccos are really cigarrete tobaccos impossible, the only avenue open to the do gooders is to tax ALL KINDS of smoking tobacco at $25 or $50 a pound.

Which in turn keeps Big Tobacco fat and happy.

The federal tax on a $10 pack of cigarettes is one dollar.

 

[khiddy]

The do gooders are sure to put the brakes on this as soon as they get a chance.

And with recent SCOTUS rulings that make administrative agency findings these cheap shag tobaccos are really cigarrete tobaccos impossible, the only avenue open to the do gooders is to tax ALL KINDS of smoking tobacco at $25 or $50 a pound.

Which in turn keeps Big Tobacco fat and happy.

I’m not aiming to get into a politics conversation, but can you explain your last sentence for me? How does increasing taxes play into Big Tobacco’s happiness?

(Setting aside the question of who exactly you mean by “Big Tobacco,” when even the pipe tobacco market has two or three behemoths and a handful of niche blenders.)

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I’m not aiming to get into a politics conversation, but can you explain your last sentence for me? How does increasing taxes play into Big Tobacco’s happiness?

(Setting aside the question of who exactly you mean by “Big Tobacco,” when even the pipe tobacco market has two or three behemoths and a handful of niche blenders.)

If these "cheap" tobaccos are taxed to the point of being comparable to packs of cigarettes sold by "Big Tobacco", then people will return to buying cigarettes by the pack, which will make them (Big Tobacco) happy.

 

[Briar Lee]

I’m not aiming to get into a politics conversation, but can you explain your last sentence for me? How does increasing taxes play into Big Tobacco’s happiness?

(Setting aside the question of who exactly you mean by “Big Tobacco,” when even the pipe tobacco market has two or three behemoths and a handful of niche blenders.)

Phillip Morris used to be among the most profitable corporations in world history.

Even today the major cigarette companies can take two pounds ($4) of leaf tobacco and manufacture 1,000 cigarettes (five cartons, or 50 packs) at a tobacco cost of 8 cents a package. The labor and other costs are trivial.

The price of a name brand carton of cigarettes is at least $50 and most are $75, or $5 to $7.50 a package.

There’s less markup in illegal drugs.

If we were evil big corporate cigarette makers we’d not like it a little company was making “pipe tobacco” that allowed our customers to roll up excellent, tasty, really good, cigarettes for $7.50 a carton, no we would not.

But if our paid hirelings in Congress would tax all loose tobacco to where a carton of Bouy Gold cigarettes cost the same as Marlboros guess who would win?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

Gotta roll em as you need em.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Influenced by you, Mr. Lee, I tried 4 aces red. For me, it tastes a bit better dry, partly because it seems to reduce the topping, which tastes, to me, like a good imitation of the flavorings used in “full flavor” commercial cigarettes . I enjoyed that flavoring for the nostalgia appeal the first few smokes, but generally prefer it dry. That said, I’m smoking outside in this jungle weather we’re having now in Central Florida. That probably has something to do with my preference too. I’m the same with other shags—five bros and dark birdseye ( back when it was really Birdseye).

 

[mpjetset]

As an experiment in the exercise of tax avoidance I took several one ounce trial size bags of cheap shag and made as many well packed, round, fat full size 70mm cigarettes from the tobacco as I could.

Regardless of brand an ounce rolls 30 or a few more Camel or Lucky Strike quality and size smokes. If I’d used those push tubes I might have gotten more.

This one pound bag of Bouy Gould cost $11 tax paid. It will make at least 480 smokes, using papers that cost a penny each.

View attachment 327821

SNIP... And with recent SCOTUS rulings that make administrative agency findings these cheap shag tobaccos are really cigarrete tobaccos impossible, the only avenue open to the do gooders is to tax ALL KINDS of smoking tobacco at $25 or $50 a pound.

I was at a Florida cigar shop last week and heard they have to sell a pouch of Captain Black for $21 now because of tax. Jeez Louise...

 

[Briar Lee]

I was at a Florida cigar shop last week and heard they have to sell a pouch of Captain Black for $21 now because of tax. Jeez Louise...

The farmer who raised the leaf contracted with Big Tobacco for about 15 cents at most per ounce, likely a little less.

And there’s water and flavorings and PG required for premium tobacco, but let’s say the farmer got 25 cents for the 1 1/2 ounce package.

The federal tax-not state and local taxes- is only $2.83 a pound for pipe tobacco.
That’s 17 cents an ounce, or another quarter:

This is why, Bouy and other brands of shag retail for a little less than 75 cents an ounce.

In theory you could raise and cure your own tobacco for nearly nothing.

In reality you’re better off buying the good stuff in large quantities.

Rouseco has been blending tobaccos for eight generations.

They are much, much better at it than you.