Cased Tobacco Pipe Blend Recipes

[deluxestogie]

ARS-GRIN list the following dark fire-cured varieties from Kentucky:

• Pi551325 (TC 474)
• Pi551330 (TC 483)
• Pi551329 (TC 482)
• Pi551326 (TC 475)
• Pi527338 (TC 574)

The other dark fire-cured varieties listed are from Tennessee and North Carolina. Virginia 409 is listed as sun-cured, but its pedigree is:
Little Sweet Orinoco/55-307E(dark-fired breeding line)//?*Little Sweet Orinoco

When just a geographic location (e.g. the name of a state) is the only information available, then you have no clear idea which specific variety it might be.

Bob

 

[Juxtaposer-]

S11E05 Simpson Tomacco

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Back on topic;
I have some WLT light fire cured (LFC) I have been using. I have made a blend in the theme of Irish Flake with equal parts of stoved red Virginia that was cased with licorice root and citric acid, toasted DAC cased with licorice root, and LFC cased with maple syrup. I think the LFC works well enough with the DAC that I am working on a blend that will include less Virginia in it.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

GH Scottish mixture uses 7.5% cavendished dark fired. Hmm…

 

[KroBar]

I've been loving the LFC. It mixes just right with the toasted DAC to give sweet and a little smokey , without too much spicy, like you might get from mixing with the Dark Fired (although i do like a pinch of Dark Fired).
Throw some VA in for that cooling sweetness. Awesome.
Oh Yeah, Also packs a wallop

 

[Hemlock]

Is the dark fired a VA or a Burley?

I used WLT Kentucky dark fired. It is a VA309 leaf. So it's a Virginia but as it's grown in Kentucky and as a Dark Fired variety, it is likely nothing like VA plants used for flue during.

 

[Hemlock]

I've been loving the LFC. It mixes just right with the toasted DAC to give sweet and a little smokey , without too much spicy, like you might get from mixing with the Dark Fired (although i do like a pinch of Dark Fired).
Throw some VA in for that cooling sweetness. Awesome.
Oh Yeah, Also packs a wallop

I've got some LFC on order to try it out. Sounds like a good leaf to have as an ingredient. The DFK is splendid. Need to keep experimenting with the right proportions.

 

[KroBar]

I'm loving the LFC. It's smokey and strong, without being too spicy.
I find you can use more of it, and bring up the nic on a VA heavier blend.
It partners SO nice with some toasted Dark Air Cure

 

[Hemlock]

Happy New Year all!

In the quest to achieve that figgy taste in some of the tastiest straight Virginia blends, I've found this product which sounds promising. Maybe this is a secret ingredient used by some blenders (nice to see the reference below) It's only available in 1 gallon which must be enough a hogshead!

Anyone familiar with it?

Fig Concentrate

Try fig concentrate in cookies, sauces, fillings, cereals and breads. Available in 2 varieties, this no-sugar added fig syrup is versatile.

valleyfig.com

 

[ShiniKoroshi]

Its just another natural sugar. And what do we get when we put sugar on Virginia? Yes, tongue bite.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

A gallon is a little much but this stuff looks good. You may need to filter out the fiber if it is in there. Fig is common in commercial tobacco production. You can get a fig type flavor using Perique with Virginias. Anaerobic aging of Virginias will also create this flavor. I would get this if it was sold in smaller sizes.

 

[Hemlock]

A gallon is a little much but this stuff looks good. You may need to filter out the fiber if it is in there. Fig is common in commercial tobacco production. You can get a fig type flavor using Perique with Virginias. Anaerobic aging of Virginias will also create this flavor. I would get this if it was sold in smaller sizes.

Thanks.
I'm working on getting my VaPer's to get that fig flavour. Haven't achieved it yet. The batch of WLT perique I'm using needs some more aeration and time to settle- it's more peppery right now and has too much ammonia. Maybe it's still fermenting or it's just from a barrel that won't have raisin/dried fruit character.

I'm experimenting with date syup, vinegar and dark rum on bright Virginia. Date sugars are just fructose and glucose- the syrup doesn't have any sucrose so it doesn't add bite or turn acrid. So far so good as a casing ingredient.

I did find an imported 750 ml bottle of fig syrup made in Italy. Waiting on confirming ingredients are only fig extract and water before ordering. Many culinary products have other stuff such as preservatives.

 

[Hemlock]

After near two months of waiting, I finally pulled a straight Virginia plug out of vacuum pack aging. Sliced for more aging in a jar and to smoke along the way.

Happy Virginia (from WLT tobacco)
Hand tied bright Virginia 30g
Lemon Virginia 60 g
Red Virginia 40 g
Ripe Virginia 40 g

Casing 1:1 water: sugar added a tbsp or two vinegar- boiled with shredded zest of a full Mandarin orange. Liberally sprayed leaf. Allowed cased leaf to sit for a week in sealed large Tupperware, but allowed to dry out to medium case on 6th day just before before pressing.

Sprayed a dilute solution of gum Arabic on the leaves a day before pressing. Pressed a slightly sticky mass 2 days and then only 45 mins stoving at 200 F.
Held in vac pack as a plug for about 7 weeks then sliced up for storage and possible further aging in mason jar. The flakes were pliable, but not wet. In perfect case to smoke a bowl of rubbed flake, with almost no relights.

Taste test reveals a classic straight Virginia flake aroma and flavor, with a taste I recognize from commercial tins. It's still a verdant flake and will surely improve in time tucked in a mason jar. The first third of the bowl was a bit rough, but then it became sublime as it hit the zone until the end.

Getting close to figuring out this WLT hobby to achieve targeted results.

 

[ProZachJ]

It looks great. I wish I understood the first third of the bowl effect. Many of my better tasting experiments suffer from this flaw and it seems only time makes it go away.

 

[Hemlock]

It looks great. I wish I understood the first third of the bowl effect. Many of my better tasting experiments suffer from this flaw and it seems only time makes it go away.

Perhaps it's not a flaw. Both cigars and pipes hit the "zone" which kicks in a little bit after light up. My hunch is that it's because the resins and flavors of the burnt tobacco gradually coat the unsmoked tobacco and build taste.

 

[Juxtaposer-]

Maybe a short DGT would help with the first third Issue. I almost never smoke an entire bowl and always find my creations to be much better coming back to them.

 

[deluxestogie]

What is the meaning of the noun, "DGT"?

Bob

 

[ProZachJ]

Delayed gratification technique?

 

[Hemlock]

What is the meaning of the noun, "DGT"?

Bob

Yes Bob it's the concept that pipes may taste better after partially smoked and resting for a period of time say a few hours, a day or perhaps more. Often a characteristic of natural blends like Virginias.

 

[DaleB]

See, I just call that either, "This has too much nicotine for me to finish right now", or "Crap, I have to go do something, I'll come back to this".