Anyone else NOT like to dry their tobacco before smoking?

[Natch]

Interesting Mark...I don't leave my women out to dry either. Maybe I should try it out. :cheers: :lol:

So this must be the explanation/example of someone that was: "ridden hard and hung up wet"? :lol!:

Natch

 

[Harlock999]

Interesting Mark...I don't leave my women out to dry either. Maybe I should try it out. :cheers: :lol:

So this must be the explanation/example of someone that was: "ridden hard and hung up wet"? :lol!:

Natch

Good one! :lol:

 

[Skip48]

I only dry it some if totally so moist that it needs less moisture, but I do like most as it comes. I prefer it like that and enjoy the taste more. If I get some that is dryer than I want then it's time to add moisture even if it's not totally dry.

I can only remember a few that I would rub out and then let it sit for maybe 10-20 minutes to let loose of just a little moisture.

Hope that makes sense.

Skip

 

[Buddy Springman]

...YOU, sir, have thrown down the gauntlet !!! To imply our elite rituals are snobbery is inexcusable...

If he doesn't come around, he'll have to surrender his smoking jacket :lol:

Buddy

 

[Wet Dottle]

Letting good tobacco (examples : GLP & SG) dry before smoking it is about on a par with bringing just-made-&-still-warm glazed doughnuts home from the bakery and letting them sit 'til the next day, or opening a bottle of decent wine and not drinking it until the next day. So much is not even lost, but thrown away doing that it's almost unimaginable.

I couldn't have said it better myself!

 

[Anonymous]

It's not going to smoke at the same tempo when it's (properly) moist. There will be a longer wait between char lights (probably two) and the real one, and it will probably go out several times, requiring waits while the moisture (steam heat) dissipates. But the flavor intensity and body is more than worth it.

:face:

 

[Frost]

If I was going to pick an example of one which I think displays the detrimental effects in the extreme, I'd take C&D Sunday Picnic. I smoke it almost daily in the warmer months. Smoke a fresh bowl of that stuff and you've got one of the sweetest, tangiest and ocasionally spicy tobaccos I have come across so far. Excellent Virginias, spiced up and complexified with the Perique and Orientals. It's comes fairly moist and in a sort of broken flake/ribbon flake cut. In my experience, it requires a moderate amount of patience with flame to get it going well (depending partly on prep and pack too obviously) and definately with smoking pace to avoid biting/gurgling.

Now if you take the same blend and dry it to the point that it lights and burns easilly, the sweet & tanginess is one of the first things to go. It starts to take on a flavor that reminds me more of ashes and moldy socks than tobacco.

 

[Skip48]

If I was going to pick an example of one which I think displays the detrimental effects in the extreme, I'd take C&D Sunday Picnic. I smoke it almost daily in the warmer months. Smoke a fresh bowl of that stuff and you've got one of the sweetest, tangiest and ocasionally spicy tobaccos I have come across so far. Excellent Virginias, spiced up and complexified with the Perique and Orientals. It's comes fairly moist and in a sort of broken flake/ribbon flake cut. In my experience, it requires a moderate amount of patience with flame to get it going well (depending partly on prep and pack too obviously) and definately with smoking pace to avoid biting/gurgling.

Now if you take the same blend and dry it to the point that it lights and burns easilly, the sweet & tanginess is one of the first things to go. It starts to take on a flavor that reminds me more of ashes and moldy socks than tobacco.

Oh you hit one of mine and I totally agree. I also like Opening Night which compares favorably with FVF actually. I also like Manhattan Afternoon and like all just like the come out of the tin and I have opened 2 8 Oz. tins of ON and 1 8Oz. of Sunday Picnic and MA.

I have run into a few that need a tiny bit of drying like FVF in the tin, but still not much for me.

Skip

 

[Bill]

If it gets hot, I slow down, if it gurgles I sling the wet out on the floor, and if I have to re-light a few times....I just get pissed off and reach for the lighter.

Try a pipe cleaner.

 

[Eric]

I don't dry it either for two reasons:

1) Dryness isn't just moisture loss, as in pure H2O, but its also a loss of oils and volatiles which provide flavor. I find my tobacco more flavorful with the moisture present.

2) Inevitably, the end of the tin is fairly dry, so I always get to "try" the tobacco in a dried form.

 

[Harlock999]

I don't dry it either for two reasons:

1) Dryness isn't just moisture loss, as in pure H2O, but its also a loss of oils and volatiles which provide flavor. I find my tobacco more flavorful with the moisture present.

2) Inevitably, the end of the tin is fairly dry, so I always get to "try" the tobacco in a dried form.

Nicely said!

 

[fishnrust]

At the risk of sounding like a rank amateur, I think some of the modern rituals of smoking are just an attempt to bring a connoisseur-level of sophistication to an otherwise simple pursuit, namely; burning tobacco in a pipe for pleasure.

YOU, sir, have thrown down the gauntlet !!! To imply our elite rituals are snobbery is inexcusable. I must protest most vigorously. The idea that burning dried vegetation and blowing smoke is a simple pursuit just will not do. You obviously have suffered a lapse in your sanity. Anyone who merely stuffs and puffs is no gentleman in my book, there are procedures that need to be followed. Complicated and delicately timed sequences are required to partake and succeed. Although slight variation is allowed, straying off the path of traditional ceremonies too far will not be condoned without serious social repercussions. I can only hope you snap out of your foolishness and straighten up before irrepairable damage is done to your reputation. I've written your name in my book and drawn a line through it !

Why, the very idea !!!

That's some funny sheet, right there. :lol!:

 

[brentona]

Hell, I just open up, pack up, and fire up!

 

[Harlock999]

Hell, I just open up, pack up, and fire up!

:cheers: :cheers:

 

[LuckyBriar]

Interestingly I was just having this discussion with a friend the other day. Drying is something I never really considered until reading about it online and I've been experimenting with it a bit. The two blends I'm currently holding react completely differently to a bit of air time. Both PS blends, the 'Ramblewood', as my B&M markets it, is a Burley/Virgina blend with some kind of light vanilla casing on it... I'm not sure which PS blend it is. It's a tad bit wet out of the bag and gurgles if smoked too hard. I figured I'd give it a bit on a paper towel and see what happens. About ten minutes made a mediocre smoke into a bad one. The only benefit was that it finished down to the dottle without problems or as many relights, but in my opinion it also brought out the worst of the flavors, pushing the harsh, tangy, and acidic to the forefront whilst muting the sweetness of the VAs. This isn't a regular smoke for me and something I just ended up with due to lack of selection at the B&M, but I'll be putting up with a bit of wetness while I finish what I have remaining. Drying took away what little enjoyment I might have gotten from the smoke.

The other end of my experience is the PS Proper English. This one is about like the former in moisture content and smokes similarly out of the bag. To my surprise, 5-10 minutes on a paper towel completely revolutionized this smoke for me. While I can't say it's totally different with some air time, the flavor combinations are substantially changed. The latakia is subdued while the orientials take center stage, and the sweetness of the VAs come through better in the finish. Honestly, it's a great smoke to just stuff and light, but I found it troublesomely inconsistent through the bowl. The first half is great, but the second half gets muddled and a bit rough, with the lat really overtaking and a harsh edge coming through that isn't present in the first half, as well as a gurgle that hits regardless of how gently I smoke. Though drying a bit may lessen the initial flavor ever so slightly, it does make the entire bowl more well-mannered and even throughout the smoke. The bit of time and the enjoyment of not having to mess with relights and cleanings half way through, as well as the change in taste, makes a few minutes delayed gratitude completely worth it for me on this particular blend.

My personal conclusion is that drying isn't always a bad thing, especially if you're looking to get something different out of a tobacco. Five minutes of sitting out is worth a try if you're struggling with a particular blend. I won't say it's a cure all or even a good idea for all blends, but for the time invested, it's worth a try. As always, to each their own and you mileage may vary.

 

[sand18f]

I lose too much flavor if I dry it out. Fill it up and toast the top, tamp lightly and go from there.
Some brands have too much PG on them...so I don't buy those again.