I know I'm a simpleton when it comes to tobacco but Nightcap reminds me of high quality dark roast black coffee, fresh brewed and made strong. I'm not at all fond of black coffee but this...this could grow on me.
In the old days Cavendish was tightly packed in wooden casks. Modern Cavendish is just steamed (or otherwise heat-treated) and pressed tobacco, usually burley. In a Scottish blend, no flavoring would be added; just the natural sweetness of the tobacco itself. Edit: I have seen some Scottish Mixture tobaccos that don't include Cavendish, so don't assume this is a hard and fast rule that is followed by all blenders. The only pipe tobacco (yet) I've found that my wife doesn't mind the smell of. Discovered that, by coincidence, this morning. What do you think of it?
I like it. I can't do a review of it yet because I was quite distracted just trying to get to work alive but I enjoyed it. Ahem...you probably won't want to hear this but since my dad is now taking up pipes again since quitting them in the 1970s (thanks to me) today I finally broke out both the CB Original* and CB Dark**. Tried the white when I got home and am having the Dark now at 8:30 p.m. They are both...how to put this...A+ because they taste more or less how they smell, which is wonderful. They ignite easy, stay lit, make voluminous smoke...yeah. They are what they are (codgers) but, for what they are, they are so darn good. Pretty straightforward but they deliver. The Dark especially is a surprise--I think you'd like it (tho I bet you've tried it). I expect I'll be getting a full can of both. *Cosmo again **Willard short stem apple Both bowls are on the small side. Noticing the pattern again.
I wish they didn't lean so heavily on the glycol topping, but the tobacco is better than most people give it credit for, and it's very consistent from batch to batch. Moreso than any other brand of pipe tobacco I can think of, except perhaps Sir Walter Raleigh or Prince Albert. A tin from the 70's will taste pretty much like a modern one, with some small allowance for aging. I haven't tried the Dark, but I may need to add some to my next order. Edit: I've noticed two constants in the reviews for this blend. It tastes exactly the way it smells, and that it has a light, to non-existent PG topping. I will definitely be trying this sooner, rather than later.
Never used a filter. I don't inhale pipe tobacco, so I really don't see the point in using one. I can think of a few 'potent' English blends that might benefit from filter use. I'll have to think on that for a bit.
Pipe smoking should be relaxing. Certainly tastes and preferences differ, but if it’s not relaxing, it would have no place in my inventory.
Dunhill 965 is a great Scottish blend, really good for those that might want to try a milder Latakia blend without being a Lat bomb, which I generally don’t like.
In addition to @PLANofMAN’s recommendation, you could try leaving the pouch open for a couple of days to air out. I’ve found that often helps some tins. You could also get out enough tobacco for a bowl, and let that air out for an hour or so.
Will do. I had to do that with the match for Field and Stream, one that my Dad recalled from way back. It did not want to light or stay lit until I left it open for 2 days. That was a first.
Yessir. It's the same stuff that causes vape juice users to blow big white plumes too (though much of that is from VG (vegetable glycerine). Some hospitals also use it in aerosolized form as a disinfectant and air purifier in HVAC systems. It's also used in medical inhalers. It's not a health hazard, if that was a concern of yours. Quite the opposite, in fact. It does tend leave a sticky mess in the bottom of the bowl, though. Edit: over time, it will also leave a sticky residue on household furnishings and car interiors too, so if you don't clean most surfaces on a semi-seasonal basis, you might notice it starting to accumulate.
Since we're on the subject, let's discuss casing vs. topping. Cased tobaccos are soaked in a bath of flavorings and preservatives. This is generally reserved for Burleys and Cavendish tobaccos that will soak up flavor. Captain Black is an example of a 'cased' tobacco. Topped tobaccos are pressed into plug form then lightly misted with flavorings before being cut into flakes or ribbons. Virgina dominant blends tend to get this treatment, as they don't soak up flavor like burley leaf does. Erinmore Flake is an example of a 'topped' blend. Many smokers use the words 'casing' and 'topping' interchangeably (your author here is guilty of that too), but they really are two different methods of flavoring the leaf.
Then there are the subtle flavors referred to in, say, English blends, which come solely from the tobaccos themselves?
If dottle is leftover unburned or partly burned tobacco, is that more to be expected with aromatics vs other types?
Yeah, English blends, by definition, cannot use anything other than natural flavors. Which is why you'll hear these following terms get thrown around. Burley: chocolate/nutty Virginia: grassy/hay-like Cavendish: vanilla/sugar Perique: creamy Oriental: spicy Latikia: smoky The various curing methods also add their own flavors to the leaf as well. A dark fired burley will taste different than a standard burley. Ditto for stoved Virginia and red Virginia. The same tobaccos will also taste different depending on region of origin and age too. African leaf tastes different than Old Belt leaf, and so on and so forth.
Yes, simply because Aromatics tend to be wetter, though I get dottle with all blends. Smoking an entire bowl to ash can damage and char the intake hole and heel of the pipe, so I don't tend to chase that particular 'skill.'
