Tasting Notes

[deathmetal]

I was curious as to what percentage of Virginia was the minimum required to give Burley that honey-roasted-oats flavor versus its usual nutty flavor.
It turns out to be about 15%. I mixed Bright Virginia at this amount with Dark Burley, shook the container well, and proceeded to find the Burley taste entirely changed, but without the excessive sweetness of the Virginia by itself.
I might make an entire series of homebrew blends where they are 85% mixed Burleys, and the remaining 15% is entirely condimental, composed of the usual stuff (a little Virginia and Perique for a Va/Per, some Orientals, Latakia and Virginia for English, a bit of Dark Fired and Cigar Leaf for an old school blend).

 

[crashthegrey]

JimInks, do you write your tasting notes down? Not using something for comparison, just a record of all of your reviews/notes? I would imagine you'd have filled a library by now.

 

[saltedplug]

Deathmetal, I'm awaiting the day when you declare that Royal Yacht and brown rope have fallen from favor.

 

[mikeklumpp]

if you're considering a tasting journal you might try doing a blog - I do a few and one is dedicated to tasting and reminiscing about my pipe adventures - fun way to share

 

[deathmetal]

@saltedplug -- never! The 'Yacht and I are bonded for life.
So lately, I've been dicking around with what I call "microblends," because they're small amounts of tobacco that flavor a Burley base, mainly because I like Burley and also am interested in pushing my ability to taste and discern flavors to the max.
You start with a base, which is 10% white Burley and 90% dark Burley.
To this you add, in a 3:17 ratio, your flavorings. For example, 15% of the mixture could be 1:4 cigar leaf to bright Virginia.
Another option is to mix up equal parts Virginias, Latakia and Orientals, for a very light English.
Lately my favorite has been 1:2 dark fired Kentucky Burley and cigar Leaf.
The less of the condiments you put in, the more the flavor melds and requires a sensitive palate to detect.

 

[mso489]

"The less condiments you put in, the more the flavor melds and requires a sensitive palate to detect," is an interesting idea. I think when people shift to all-Virginia blends they don't taste much unless they keep at it for a while and the flavors begin to surface. The same thing can happen with burleys. People become used to Latakia and Perique and want those in everything. I love 'em, but you don't need them every bowl, by a long shot.

 

[deathmetal]

Very true. I find variety helps me discern subtler flavors, but bombing myself with too much smoke cured tobacco or Virginia can obliterate the ability to sense other flavors.
I threw together a Kevaper, which is equal parts Burley Flake #1 and Brown Twist Sliced with small amounts of Royal Yacht to sweeten it and some dark Burley to improve burning characteristics. The Kentucky, Virginia, Burley and Perique meld together into some like a honey brandy with molasses flavor that packs a bit of a punch, hence its name, the "S*** Your Pants Vaper." This is similar to an earlier experiments but with the proportions flipped. The Virginias meld to have a nice sweetness, which offsets the smoky taste and brings out the Perique.

 

[deathmetal]

Will DM make 7K posts? Not that it's important, just an academic question. I am a bit rough for polite society, and too cerebral for impolite society, so I'm kind of doomed.
But what's snapping me out of that is tonight's random mix. Not quite random: 60% Brown No. 4 and 40% Tabac Manil La Brumeuse Semois. The combination is sweet, but not too sweet, and yet has quite a bit of richness and kick.
In the future, I will cut down the percentage of Semois, and throw in some dark Burley instead for a richer flavor.