GLP Spark Plug

[Timbo]

G'day all,

Does anyone have suggestions on how to prepare and smoke this plug?

I'm used to plugs and other english tobaccos and like them fine as they switch from sweet to sour and back again with flavours across the spectrum.

Spark Plug smells like your standard english in the tin but smokes sour for me, all I get is a sourness almost to the point of toungue fatigue that I don't enjoy.

I rub out a chunk of the plug and let it dry a while, I've tried big pipes down to little pipes with no joy.

I love Mr Peases other englishes like Westminster and Quiet Nights to bits.

Any suggestions one and all?

Thanks,

Tim

 

[Brunello]

So I'm not the only one who had issues with this. I tried a small Parmesan cheese grater, I tried a sharp knife to cut into cubes, but what finally worked for me was to peel off thin flakes of different colored leaf from the block. Large pieces I'd cut in half with scissors, but mostly just stuffed the thin layers in the bowl and this gives enough air for them to combust and give a nice panoply of flavors. When prepared this way I didn't really find the need to dry out beforehand. Good luck.

 

[Timbo]

Will give that a try thanks Brunello, though I am doing something similar with the offcuts placed on top of the main plug from the tin. Will make sure I get a good selection of leaves on my next attempt.

My other thought was using a coffee grinder to try and get a good mix of leaf.

Cheers,

Tim

 

[Carlos]

My take.

https://www.brothersofbriar.com/threads/g-l-pease-spark-plug.38664/

 

[Timbo]

ROFL

I was going to mention tasting like sump oil but didn't want to sound snarky.

 

[Bullwinkle]

I just break it into chunks then run it all through a whirlygig coffee grinder. Mixed it up and let it rest on a paper plate for a couple of hours then jar it.

 

[kxg]

I break it into small chunks, then rub it out between my palms, pack my pipe and smoke it. Seems to work just fine.

 

[Corncobcon]

That's one I have never tried. Sour tasting? Sounds like I would not like it.

 

[kxg]

That's one I have never tried. Sour tasting? Sounds like I would not like it.

I don't find it sour tasting. I class it a very heavy English or a good Balkan, take your pick.

 

[Timbo]

Sounds like I'll need to ge the old coffee grinder out of storage, I tried brunello's method and got slightly better results but still found my tongue tired afterwards.

 

[smoker13]

I"ve had the best luck with the coffee grinder.

 

[Brunello]

Just tried using an old coffee grinder for the first time: it was certainly the easiest and most fun way to process Spark Plug, and the fine grind allowed for an easy burn, staying lit from the first flame. In terms of impact to flavor I have to say that manner of preparation didn't make as much difference for me as did the use of a 9mm filter. After trying this in meer, clay, cob, and briar, the results had varying degrees of unpleasant tastes, nothing sour by my taste, but definitely bitter, while with the 9mm filter, by masking the creosote and bitter compounds (think Jagermeister), I picked up on a good portion of tasty sunflower seed (from the Turkish) some savory A-1 and occasional Cocoa Puffs. In the unfiltered sessions the Cocoa Puffs tasted burnt.

Bottom line: I think each piper will have to discover his own optimal pipe and preparation method. In my opinion it's just not worth the effort when something like Pease Westminster is more balanced, less finicky, and ready to go right out of the can.

 

[Timbo]

Bottom line: I think each piper will have to discover his own optimal pipe and preparation method. In my opinion it's just not worth the effort when something like Pease Westminster is more balanced, less finicky, and ready to go right out of the can.

I've tried multiple prep methods, tearing it up, coffee grinder, scissors, slicing and rubbing it out as well as varying dryness levels and different pipes. I cannot get this baccy to work for me at all.

It tastes flat with a sour/bitterness that is more mouth feel than taste if that makes sense. Exhaling through my nose I get delicious heavy English scents as expected.

I've just got to presume that this one isn't for me.

As Brunello said, why waste my time when there's other good blends that play nicely out there.

I'm glad I only got one tin of this stuff. I'll let it sit for a few months and see if it has improved at all.

I'd normally gift tobacco I don't like to a mate but I don't want him to hate me.

 

[Timbo]

Well, after letting my tin sit in my tobacco cupboard for nearly a year, I got it out the other day and thinly sliced (1 to 1.5 mm) a little off the plug and let it dry in a wooden bowl for a couple of days until it was tinder dry. I loaded up a Pete 317 and smoked it tonight.

What a night and day difference it was. Very much like Pease's Quiet Nights but with more Latakia.

I don't know what happened, my speculation is that there may have been some young leaf in there that was still outgassing some ammonia as the sour taste very much reminded me of the ammonia flavour I get from some camemberts.

So if you've got a tin floating around of this that you didn't previously like. Give it another try after giving it a rest. I'm really liking it now and may order some more.