A question for the Blenders here.

[Mikem]

I was a fan of Esoterica Pembroke back in the day which was a English blend with Cognac added. From what I can find out it had Virginia/Turkish/Oriental/Latakia tobacco's in the blend along with I'm assuming a topping of Cognac. My question to you Gentlemen who blend is have you ever added spirits to your blend and if so what type of ratio? I know back in the day Smokers Haven had a English blend with Cognac called Cognac and I thought Iwan Ries had a similar blend but it could have been a different vendor/tobacco shop. I'm thinking about getting a similar English blend and putting a topping on it.

 

[Gusto]

No one else has commented so indulge me if you please. The only spirits I've used have been orange and cocoa extracts. Just a few drops into a trial jar re-sealed for a few weeks. It seems easier to add another drop of spirits if desired rather than mix a mistake into a larger jar of fresh tobacco to correct an exuberant splash of spirits.

 

[Mikem]

No one else has commented so indulge me if you please. The only spirits I've used have been orange and cocoa extracts. Just a few drops into a trial jar re-sealed for a few weeks. It seems easier to add another drop of spirits if desired rather than mix a mistake into a larger jar of fresh tobacco to correct an exuberant splash of spirits.

Thanks for the information. I was expecting more liquid but will give it a try and let you know the outcome.

 

[RSteve]

Forgive me for a rather tardy response.
I have added a top note flavoring, but not recently. I do not recommend applying spirits directly to tobacco. If the alcohol has not fully dissipated you'll get a very hot burn and could ruin a pipe.
The most accepted manner to add an alcohol top note by home blenders is this:
Fill a shot glass of spirits.
Place it in the middle of a tupperware style container, tall enough so you can tightly close the lid.
Depending on how intense you want the flavoring will determine how much tobacco you surround the shot glass.
Once you snap the lid, keep it closed for about a week.
After a week, see how much of the spirits have been absorbed.
Move the tobacco around the shot glass, bottom to top and re-seal the top.
After another week, take a good sniff of the tobacco. If you see that the level of spirits is down and the tobacco is fragrant, smoke a bowl and see if you need to refill the shot glass and allow the tobacco to absorb more of the spirit's essence.

An after thought. The drier the tobacco you place in the container, the more readily it'll absorb the spirit's essence. If you use a tobacco loaded with a humectant, absorption will be slow or may not occur at all.

 

[Brunello]

In my early years of foolhardy experimentation I tried everything from Guinness, Cassis, Barenjaeger (honey liquor), Sherry, Tawny Port, red wine, you name it. The Sherry didn't turn out bad because there isn't a lot of volatility in it, but most of the others created a really hot burn. I had decent luck baking off the alcohol in the oven but that's too much work for me and the wife didn't appreciate the "aroma." Also remember that with any toppings Burley absorbs up to 25% of its weight, while Virginias absorb only about 6% - anything excess that just dries on top of the leaf will produce woeful tongue burn!

 

[RSteve]

... anything excess that just dries on top of the leaf will produce woeful tongue burn!

Which I find intolerable.
I've posted previously that for a couple of decades all I smoked was MacBaren Virginia #1. I always bought one tin as the prior one was close to empty. It was never aged.
In the 1960s, I don't ever recall getting a burning tongue. As years passed, I think the casing and top note addition changed to where if I smoked too fast, my tongue caught fire. That happened too often and I began the quest for a blend that never resulted in tongue burn.

 

[DoverPipes]

Check out Amazon for a "Misto" Olive Oil Sprayer. Misto on Amazon
It produces an ultra-fine mist and is very handy for making flavored blends.
Another good resource is Amoretti flavorings from Italy. They produce all natural flavorings / extracts / essences that are high quality. Amoretti Link

 

[Mikem]

Thanks Gentlemen for the answers. Now to find a base blend to add the cognac to.

 

[RSteve]

Check out Amazon for a "Misto" Olive Oil Sprayer. Misto on Amazon
It produces an ultra-fine mist and is very handy for making flavored blends.
Another good resource is Amoretti flavorings from Italy. They produce all natural flavorings / extracts / essences that are high quality. Amoretti Link

This....I can't even imagine:

 

[Mikem]

Yowwwww

 

[D.L.Ruth]

This....I can't even imagine:

I mean, I probably wouldn't say no... the first time