A dedicated thread for BLENDING?

[zunismoke]

I don't know if this would fall under this, but I know I can't be the only one who does this. What I like to do is when I finish a tin and there isn't enough left for a bowl, I put the scrapes in a big mason jar and give it a good shake. This way when I don't have enough cash, I can fill a bowl with this stuff. Sometimes its great and other times its nasty. But when I'm strapped for cash, its good enough for me.

I have heard of other people saving the dregs of a tin and mixing it with dregs of other blends. That is nice for not wasting tobacco, but the problem is, what happens if one day you smoke a bowl out of what you have saved and it is the best bowl of tobacco you have ever had! I will tell you what happens, you will have no idea in the world on how to reproduce that fantastic bowl of tobacco. The idea that I have about blending is that you try to produce a really good blend that you like and at the same time you keep careful notes on what you did so you can produce that same blend again in the future if it was a successful blend.

 

[Blackhorse]

I think the odds on a dregs blend that contained all sorts of this-n-that remnants turning out to be superb is like the odds of finding the one purple grain of sand on the world's biggest beach...or something. If all the dregs were similar, say, English blends, then the odds would be far less.

Creating an "intentional blend" certainly includes the application of knowledge, forethought and the use of careful proceedures. But a dregs blends would seem to bypass all of those...being mearly the use of a 'garbage can' approach. It's like you would have to believe in 'spontaneous generation' to think that something like that would actually work out well. Oh sure, you could smoke it, and it wouldn't likely cause death or even serious injury...but it wouldn't be anything to write home about. So, lacking the intervention of the fabled 'tobacco blend fairy' and the application of her fabled 'wand of goodness' (I think GLP still has that one checked out) then it's a matter of following the 'waste not, want not' mantra your mama used to drill into you. It's more a 'clean up your plate' kinda thing. Etc.

 

[zunismoke]

I did this blend on the 6th of Jan. 2010. It consists of:

3.5 oz of the 2002 edition of McCl Anniversary(1 100g tin)

3 oz Latakia

1 oz of Perique

1 oz Yenidje

2 fluid oz Myer's Dark Rum

I mixed all the tobacco in a large bowl. I then sprinkled the rum over the tobacco. I then thoroughly mixed up the entire mixture so that the rum would be distributed evenly. Let it sit for 1 hour. I then put it on a cookie sheet, spread evenly. Heated electric oven to lowest setting 170 deg., Then turned oven off and put cookie sheet in the oven. The alcohol needs to be evaporated out of the blend. I left it in too long and it got a little dry. Had to re hydrate some. After every thing cooled off, I put the blend in 2 pint Mason jars. I tried it right away and it was not too bad, but I knew from previous experience that it would be much better after giving it time to marry for a month or 2. I tried it again in a couple months and it was better but still not what I was looking for. Waited and tried it again about 2 months later, same thing. Today I was reading this thread and got one of the jars out and loaded up, Heaven!! It must be the rum taking it longer to marry. One hint, if anyone want to try this blend. It is best dried out after adding rum in a gas oven using only the pilot light. If you are stuck with an electric oven likke me, heat to lowest setting, turn off, put cookie sheet in oven and leave door cracked open. Check often, it does not take long to dry. If oven cools off and mixture is still wet, repeat the whole process of drying again. If your house is not too humid and you do not have animals you could just leave it sitting out till it is dried sufficiently. I like this blend a lot. I think it is a lot like Mephisto. I did not use Syrian Latakia, though I could have. Next time I will try using Syrian. One thing about the tobaccos I used, They all have been aged at least 7 years. If you use the Anniv. blend, you have 9 years of age right there. This is the 3rd blend I have done with Anniv. as the base. All the rest of the tobacco are condimental, so will not necessarily need the age. Be careful to make sure any perique you use is not still putting off Ammonia. Have had at least one brick of tobacco with perique in it that was still releasing ammonia from the perique. It was fine after a few years.

 

[tweaksource]

I've added a couple of links to blending tobaccos.

Copy-able links:

Websites for more info on blending

http://www.tobaccoblending.com/tobacco_blending_hybrid_blends.htm

http://pipesmokemag.com/0697/feature.htm

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t3618-kilted1-s-blends

http://cornellanddiehl.com/blending_tobaccos.htm

http://www.bpipaclub.com/tabac2.htm

http://www.4noggins.com/blendingtobacco.aspx

http://www.iwanries.com/mcclelland-blending-tobaccos-C401.cfm

 

[Doc Manhattan]

All right, gentlemen... ask and ye shall receive... there's a new DIY forum, for all sorts of at-home stuff (including Blending) and I'm going to bump this forum over here in a day or two.

 

[bandkbrooks]

I have also tried my hand at blending. It can be very fun and sort of mad-scientist-ish looking in the kitchen. Yes there were some that tasted about as good as my son's used gym socks but there were some real hits too. The key thing is to keep good notes and measure accurately. A digital kitchen scale really helped me with consistency.

I have also done the left-over blend. Heinz 57 and next was Heinz 58. Eventually I did run out and yes one of them was a fantastic bowl. It can't be made again alas, but it was still a beautiful smoke. It's like going to a restaurant you've never been to before. You have the best meal of your life. You don't go back for a while and when you do it's not there anymore. You can't have that meal again but you still had a heck of a meal before (and you wouldn't trade it). (substitute sex for meal at any point you see fitting).

I started out finding components or blends I found to my liking. I would mix enough for a bowl or two. Then I tried toasting and stoving different ones. I did some pressing as well (pressing heavy aromatics is a recipe for goop) and had some great results.

One problem you run into is the same problem my local tobacconist has with some of his store blends. If a supplier quits making something, goes out of business, changes hands, etc. you could run into a blend that is non-achievable any more.

Here's a blend I did a while back and need to do so again.


Major Nith Oriental (Nith is my joke for Not In The House)
4 Parts Red Virginia (Stoved for 14 hours / Air dried for 3 / stoved it myself)
2 Parts Black Cav
1 Part Latakia - Cyprian
1 Part Oriental (http://www.4noggins.com/cornellanddiehlbulkturkishizmir.aspx

It has a slight citrus taste and goes great with a Pale Ale.

All this being said, it could just be that my taste buds don't work at all, my sinuses are obliterated and in reality everything I smoke smells like zombie's breath.

 

[bandkbrooks]

...also if you have a blend you like, try to find out the components that make up that blend (i.e. it has VA, Burley and Perique).

My taste buds are watering strangely enough.

 

[MisterE]

My latest discovery was 50% Dunhill Flake with 50% McClelland 2015. Good enough to be a keeper for me.

 

[williamcharles]

I don't know if this would fall under this, but I know I can't be the only one who does this. What I like to do is when I finish a tin and there isn't enough left for a bowl, I put the scrapes in a big mason jar and give it a good shake. This way when I don't have enough cash, I can fill a bowl with this stuff. Sometimes its great and other times its nasty. But when I'm strapped for cash, its good enough for me.

I do that too and call it "Hoover" because it usually looks like floor sweepings.

 

[tiltjlp]

I just stumbled across this thread, and would like to offer a few suggestions that may of may not be obvious to everyone. In order to be able to duplicate a blend a 2nd time, all measurements need to be made using a digital scale, using grams. Also, make careful and complete notes of what goes into each blend, the date blended, and each date taste-tested. I always worked in quantities of at least 25gm, if not 50gm, so I could sample a blend as it aged. and yes, blends will change with only days, or weeks of aging.

Also, I found it very helpful to smoke a few bowls of every blending component/tobacco by itself, so I knew exactly what each one might add to a blend. And the greatest teacher of all is smoking your failures.

 

[Doc Manhattan]

Here's a question of you blenders--pro and recreational: If you want precise matches, you have to measure by weight proportionally, but do you then also need to account for moisture content? (And do the rules of thumb change on a much bigger scale?)

 

[mark]

Yes, I was pondering the moisture content variable this afternoon,,,

 

[tiltjlp]

I can't help with the moisture question, since all my blends were made drier than most, since I'm of the opinion drier blends smoke and also taste better.

 

[Boulder]

As a newbie I have followed BOB posting and tried a good deal of baccy recommendations and enjoyed a good percentage of them.

I mix left overs just to salvage the tobacco and sometimes mix a favorable mixture.

I made a concoction that I can't seem to get enough of and blend it often, While I can't guarantee

anyone having similar preferences I make this offer calling it Boulder's Escape;

Peter Stokkebye, Balkin Supreme 70% and John Middleton, Walnut 30%.

You may want to play with ratios as my brother likes a 50 – 50 mix.

Let me know what an experienced palate thinks of this mixture and any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks, John.

 

[Boulder]

Or maybe call it, Boulder's Pipe Dream.

 

[RSteve]

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[Fight'n Hampsters]

I see this is an old topic, but I do like the idea.