Looks great, Erik!
Black Sails
- Thread starter Riff Raff
- Start date
Thanks, Price! I'm looking forward to trying some later tonight or tomorrow.
A question, though... Should I let the plug air out for a while, or should I just jar it up as is, and let it dry out before each time that I smoke it?
Looking great. Is it really wet?
Thanks! Without having cut any of it off yet, I'd say that it's similar to Samuel Gawith FVF. I wrapped it in wax paper and stuck it in a plastic freezer bag. I just checked it out and it doesn't seem to be excessively wet anymore.
I know I prefer my tobacco moist, as it is easier to dry than to rehydrate.
Yep. Jar that sucker up. Always easier to let it dry out a bit as you're preparing your bowl.
That looks great. I can't wait to hear how it smokes and tastes.
- Thread starter
- #108
Wow that looks great Erik. Well done, sir. I bet it tastes amazing! Make sure to take detailed notes on the tasting. That way you hopefully will figure out what you did right and what to improve on next time.
It looks good enough to eat. Kinda like shredded coconut and molasses pressed into a cake. I've eaten something like that before and remember the texture and look. Yummy!
Alright, I was hesitant to report my initial findings, but I should at least give an update.
When I tried the blend on Saturday, it showed promise when I was packing it up. The fragrance is so nice when prepping the tobacco. It's sweeter and not nearly as smokey as I had expected. As light as I went with the cognac, the aroma is definitely there. I love the way that the floral qualities of the McClelland latakia compliment the nutty sweetness of the cognac.
I sliced a good amount off of the plug, rubbed it out, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. I packed it into my no-name straight billiard Meer and gave it a try. I was utterly disappointed. Like the test run, it just had no real smell of flavor to it. I would have been more pleased if I had felt like I was smoking a campfire, but there was almost no smoke flavor at all. To be fair, the aftertaste was a fairly distinct floral flavor. But, almost all of the discernible qualities were from the aftertaste.
I packed some in my Strambach bent billiard Meer yesterday to have during my commute to work. I think the first bowl that I tested on Saturday was still too wet. This bowl was quite a bit better, but there was still a lot that was left to be desired. It reminds me of a mild version of Peter Stokkebye English Luxury that had a muted smokiness/campfire quality to it.
I did virtually no research when I put everything together, so I might do a bit of probing on how blending components work with one another.
When I tried the blend on Saturday, it showed promise when I was packing it up. The fragrance is so nice when prepping the tobacco. It's sweeter and not nearly as smokey as I had expected. As light as I went with the cognac, the aroma is definitely there. I love the way that the floral qualities of the McClelland latakia compliment the nutty sweetness of the cognac.
I sliced a good amount off of the plug, rubbed it out, and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes. I packed it into my no-name straight billiard Meer and gave it a try. I was utterly disappointed. Like the test run, it just had no real smell of flavor to it. I would have been more pleased if I had felt like I was smoking a campfire, but there was almost no smoke flavor at all. To be fair, the aftertaste was a fairly distinct floral flavor. But, almost all of the discernible qualities were from the aftertaste.
I packed some in my Strambach bent billiard Meer yesterday to have during my commute to work. I think the first bowl that I tested on Saturday was still too wet. This bowl was quite a bit better, but there was still a lot that was left to be desired. It reminds me of a mild version of Peter Stokkebye English Luxury that had a muted smokiness/campfire quality to it.
I did virtually no research when I put everything together, so I might do a bit of probing on how blending components work with one another.
Well, this is a one-off, just to satisfy curiosity from the book. You wouldn't blend something like this normally.
Mine comes out this weekend.
Hirsute
Used to have fun with Commander Yellow Pantyhose
You'll do better to let it sit in a jar for 2-4 weeks to let the flavors meld before you smoke it. I suspect it will be much more to your liking after a bit of sitting.
- Thread starter
- #113
I agree with Micah. A little age on it will probably do it wonders.
Well, this is a one-off, just to satisfy curiosity from the book. You wouldn't blend something like this normally.
Mine comes out this weekend.
Yours might have more flavor to it since your dark rub is far more robust than cognac.
Thanks, guys. I'll give it another taste in about a month.
Those are called sugar cakes in the West Indies. Very tasty.
My messed up version of Black Death (I'm calling it Red Death due to me putting in 1/3rd Red Va Cav instead of 1/3rd Burley. I think it smells much smokier than my last batch.
View attachment 685955
I believe that [MENTION=38491]Price[/MENTION] should have a batch that's just about ready as well.
View attachment 685955
I believe that [MENTION=38491]Price[/MENTION] should have a batch that's just about ready as well.
- Thread starter
- #117
My messed up version of Black Death (I'm calling it Red Death due to me putting in 1/3rd Red Va Cav instead of 1/3rd Burley. I think it smells much smokier than my last batch.
View attachment 685955
I believe that @Price should have a batch that's just about ready as well.
Erik, that looks awesome! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it!
Thanks! It's similar to my first batch in that it has incredibly mild flavor. I think this batch has more potential than the first, but I'll have to let it sit for a while.
I was going to load up another blend into the press, but now I'm curious to see if there's a "tobacco salt" that I'm leaving out so that I can give my next blends more flavor.
It's called perique.
Actually, since you've been doing the Captain Packer blend, you haven't used any VA or dark fired yet either. Plenty of room to expand.
Okay, my version of the Black Death is out of the press...
