Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake

[tabakpfeife]

FVF is my favorite. It gets much smoother after a couple of years aging. I have experimented with various methods to dry the tobacco enough to smoke. I currently break open the tin, put the flakes in a large bail jar, and then keep the bail open (I crack the lid but keep the bail engaged, I just don't push it down to seal it) for a couple of days before fully engaging the bail and sealing it. I then dry a pipeful for an hour or so prior to gravity- filling my pipe and packing it more loosely than usual. BTW, I don't always have the patience (or time) to wait an hour i.e.; the dog has to go out NOW. I always have another Virginia or Vaper on hand dry enough to pack and go. This seems to work for me (and my dog).

 

[puff_not_snuff]

I gave my first try at FVF last night not sure if it was because how I cut it, the wind or my dog pulling but I had difficulty keeping it alive but what I did manage to sample was super mellow. The tin I have was gifted to me unopened and still vacuum sealed but 7 years old—could any aging happen under those conditions?

 

[davidsaulmarshall]

I gave my first try at FVF last night not sure if it was because how I cut it, the wind or my dog pulling but I had difficulty keeping it alive but what I did manage to sample was super mellow. The tin I have was gifted to me unopened and still vacuum sealed but 7 years old—could any aging happen under those conditions?

At 7 years old you can say with some certainty that the tobacco underwent anaerobic fermentation inside the sealed tin.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

At 7 years old you can say with some certainty that the tobacco underwent anaerobic fermentation inside the sealed tin.

Good to know, I think I will keep it jarred until I try more tobaccos so not to waste something which is likely beyond my palate at the moment.

 

[puff_not_snuff]

I just revisited my fvf packed pipe from last night which was about 3/4 full: what a great smoke that was, I guess the overnight drying helped as it was very resistant to extinguishing itself.

 

[saltedplug]

I loved pressed tobaccos much that I didnt smoke much cut tobacco. The longer I smoked the more I gravitated to plug. Within the first couple years I learned how to dry flake to my smoking preference. If too moist I'd spread it out on cookie sheets or any flat surface and turn it midway, then jar. It got to be routine. The hardest thing to master was feeling for appropriate moisture between forefinger and thumb. Once learned I never had to relearn.

My biggest score in plug was Condor from Ireland, but that put $500.00 on a credit card that was hard to pay off. Legal usury.