I Am Done Blending

[RSteve]

As I wrote in another thread, the last of my blends is in the noodle presses. My blends are all very similar and I like them. I've been doing this for a long time. It was fun and interesting, but I have no desire to "tweak" blends I like. I smoked MacBarens Virginia #1 almost exclusively for about 20 years, then began to smoke English blends and that's where I've remained. I'd guess that it's unlikely that I'll outlive my tobacco stash, as it is.

 

[RSteve]

I smoked MacBarens Virginia #1 almost exclusively for about 20 years, then began to smoke English blends and that's where I've remained.

During those years when I smoked Virginia #1, I smoked considerably more. You could smoke anywhere. Occasionally, you might see a sign, "No Cigar Smoking." I think, at that time, I may have smoked for the nicotine. I know during a portion of that period I also smoked English Oval, Players, and Gauloises cigarettes. The Gauloises always seemed to stink up a room. After my mouth heals from the implant procedure, I think I may buy a tin of Virginia #1 just to reminisce.

 

[RSteve]

I Am Done Blending​

 

[RSteve]

Today could be a very relaxing day.
I have nothing planned other than to make 5 lbs. of gravlax. I was at Aldi yesterday and there were three beautiful sides of never frozen salmon that I couldn't resist buying at $8.00 lb. Usually Aldi sides include the muscular tail section, which can be used in the gravlax process, but it's very tough and I usually use it ground with cream cheese as a spread or chopped as mock caviar. These sides had no tail.
But,
I have 10 noodle presses filled with my favorite blend. This blend uses toasted red Virginia. I began the press this past Tuesday and I prefer to press for a full week and planned to remove, wrap, and label the roll cakes tomorrow, but I'm impatient to finish up and be done with pressing forever. And, today I have the time and no agenda.

 

[Zeno Marx]

have you tried anything like this? As in, pressing, rubbing out, pressing again?

"John Cotton’s Double Pressed Kentucky is a blend of smoky dark-fired Kentucky tobaccos with sweet Virginias. These are pressed and sliced into flakes and then tumbled into a ribbon. As the tobacco is allowed to breathe it is pressed and formed into a crumble cake. This causes a second ripening cycle that intensifies flavor and takes sharp edges off the blend."

 

[RSteve]

have you tried anything like this? As in, pressing, rubbing out, pressing again?

I may try that in my next life.

 

[RSteve]

All 10 noodle presses have made their way to:

 

[RSteve]

All the blends have been at rest for about 2.5 years. Each time I open one of the rolls to rub out and place in a canister for current smoking, I'm quite surprised that it appears that at the time of blending, I actually knew what I was doing.

 

[Timbo]

Hehehe, good to see you around Steve.