Dark Air Cured is, as the name implies, an air cured tobacco that is dark, both in color and in tones of flavor. The one I tried, from Whole Leaf Tobacco, has a deep, bold, spicy flavor reminiscent of unsweetened espresso or only barely sweetened strong dark chocolate. It also has a very strong nicotine hit--stronger than 5 Brothers or Dark Bird's Eye or any of the C&D power burleys I have tried.
To be clear, dark air cured is not burley, nor is it "dark burley." It's air cured like a burley, but it comes from a different type of tobacco plant.
If you read up on Dark Air Cured on-line, you'll find it often described--or dismissed--as chew tobacco, and this is, nowadays, somewhat true. . I for one cannot find a commercial pipe blend for sale here in the U.S. that includes dark air cured. But you can buy it whole leaf from various places.
You will also read about it as a sort of perique substitute. Some smokers claim it has dried fruit flavors in the way perique sometimes does. This was not my experience. It might help deliver a perique-like nic hit, maybe a hint of pepper, but there the similarities end. I'm not saying these perique comparisons are untrue. There are many different varieties of dark air cured and I would suspect each of them has different qualities. the flavors of the one I tried are definitely savory.
My understanding is that dark air cured is one of the tobaccos used in old school continental blends--the stuff of Gauloise and Ducados cigarettes I used to smoke a long time ago, and also pipe blends like Scaferlati Caporal. In other words, this is the stuff that helped Maigret solve so many murders and Jean Paul Sartre to popularize existentialism.
It is also a form of the tobaccos smoked by country folk in areas of Latin America. If you read Born To Run--the account of how Tarahumara Indian runners kicked ass at the Leadville 100--you'll find them puffing dark air cured rollies before running a hundred miles of rough terrain at high elevations.
Some things to note: the leaves are thick, and this is not the easiest tobacco in the world to keep lit. On the bright side, because whole leaf products have no PG, it will dry out really fast, and you can rehydrate it equally fast to your liking. You can also adjust the cut to improve the burn.
some people to a lot of trouble making plugs and flakes. Maybe one day I will too.
Basically I removed the central rib
rolled it up fairly tight
, and sliced it into coins.
Then I cut the coins across a few times.
I describe the process because I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of dealing with whole leaves. Turned out to be pretty easy--with a sharp knife.
I'm enjoying dark air cured straight (in small bowls) and also in various blends. Well worth a try if you enjoy bold, strong tobacco.
To be clear, dark air cured is not burley, nor is it "dark burley." It's air cured like a burley, but it comes from a different type of tobacco plant.
If you read up on Dark Air Cured on-line, you'll find it often described--or dismissed--as chew tobacco, and this is, nowadays, somewhat true. . I for one cannot find a commercial pipe blend for sale here in the U.S. that includes dark air cured. But you can buy it whole leaf from various places.
You will also read about it as a sort of perique substitute. Some smokers claim it has dried fruit flavors in the way perique sometimes does. This was not my experience. It might help deliver a perique-like nic hit, maybe a hint of pepper, but there the similarities end. I'm not saying these perique comparisons are untrue. There are many different varieties of dark air cured and I would suspect each of them has different qualities. the flavors of the one I tried are definitely savory.
My understanding is that dark air cured is one of the tobaccos used in old school continental blends--the stuff of Gauloise and Ducados cigarettes I used to smoke a long time ago, and also pipe blends like Scaferlati Caporal. In other words, this is the stuff that helped Maigret solve so many murders and Jean Paul Sartre to popularize existentialism.
It is also a form of the tobaccos smoked by country folk in areas of Latin America. If you read Born To Run--the account of how Tarahumara Indian runners kicked ass at the Leadville 100--you'll find them puffing dark air cured rollies before running a hundred miles of rough terrain at high elevations.
Some things to note: the leaves are thick, and this is not the easiest tobacco in the world to keep lit. On the bright side, because whole leaf products have no PG, it will dry out really fast, and you can rehydrate it equally fast to your liking. You can also adjust the cut to improve the burn.
some people to a lot of trouble making plugs and flakes. Maybe one day I will too.
Basically I removed the central rib
rolled it up fairly tight
, and sliced it into coins.
Then I cut the coins across a few times.
I describe the process because I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of dealing with whole leaves. Turned out to be pretty easy--with a sharp knife.
I'm enjoying dark air cured straight (in small bowls) and also in various blends. Well worth a try if you enjoy bold, strong tobacco.
