Sam Gawith Virginias

[Blackhorse]

I noticed your signature line...'a rare and different tune'...dancing to which, I assume.


I had to chuckle as it reminded me of a T-shirt we got for our son years ago...

"Meandering to the Beat of a Different Drummer."

 

[Briar Spirit]

There's a lot of rubbish that goes around about SG & GH blends, their Va's are some of the best in the World, they are far from the BEST but they're damn good. They demand a fair amount of drying before they will burn well, fresh or 'green' as some refer to fresh tobacco they're mediocre at best but a few years of age on them and they are superb, FVF & BBF are some of the finest tobaccos I have had the pleasure of smoking but I would sooner smoke a good McClelland Va given half the chance.

End of the day chap it is all down to personal taste, as many here enjoy saying "smoke what you like and like what you smoke".

 

[DireWolf]

I noticed your signature line...'a rare and different tune'...dancing to which, I assume.


I had to chuckle as it reminded me of a T-shirt we got for our son years ago...

"Meandering to the Beat of a Different Drummer."

It's a snippet from a song.



The shirt would be more appropriate, personally. I'm too easily distracted to get a serious eclectic thing going.





Squirrel!

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Myself, being a cheap SOB, always tend to look first at the cost per ounce to direct me in my experimentation with new smokes. That's why I lean towards bulk tobaccos more than packaged. I have seen that aromatics tend to be less expensive, more than likely due to them being lesser grades of leaf that can easily be hidden through casing and toppings. I like aros. They vary in flavour and punch, and there is a lot of room for playing components and flavours. They do tend to get goopy though, and my tastes tend to get as flighty as they choices. Still, I was curious about more natural blends, as I grow my own and want to get away from needing to add artificial stuffs and PG.

As an avid tobacco forum voyeur, I do a lot of reading and comparing notes on blends. Occasionally I will get my hands on some new stuff from other folks, and it gets me shopping, and thinking. Why not try to make these? So, rather than buying stuff that's six bucks an ounce, I get different types and start blending to match what people say about the Big Boy tinned stuff.

Some meets with success, some not. But at 2 bucks an ounce, I can reconcile bad choices.

Also, when tasting individual types, I gag most of the time and wonder "what would possess someone to put this in a pipe?"

I was going somewhere with this.............

Ah, yes, Virginias....

It took a while to get used to Virginias. Each, on their own, are quite different from each other. Also, I noticed that the same VA will taste quite different depending on what's already going on in your mouth. Different beverages consumed do different things to the smoke. What you may like in the morning with coffee might be terrible in the afternoon with lunch, or better with an evening cocktail. What I took for a catsup smell from aged VAs at one time was different after it sat out.

I guess what I'm getting at is in difference to heavily processed aros and cavendishes, Virginias tend to be more varied naturally than other tobaccos, and more dependent on their stage of presentation.

 

[Blackhorse]

"...their stage of presentation.". (?)

 

[Ozark Wizard]

What's already going on in your mouth. Mouth being the stage. (i.e., drinking tequila and smoking a soft oriental tobacco, you might feel like you are sucking on steam) That kind of presentation....

Sorry, got to rambling........

 

[Blackhorse]

Got it.

See...we really do pay attention. Occasionally.

 

[juanmedusa]

I always pay attention...... or at the very least the consequences. It kinda evens out that way.

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Kippered maybe, not pickled :lol:

 

[fishnrust]

How do you guys like to smoke FVF when it's the thick, jerky like flakes? I have several pounds I jarred up in '10. The jar I recently cracked, the flakes are extremely thick. No Bueno for fold'n stuff, and so thick they don't rub out well. I'm thinking of cubing them up with scissors. Would like to hear what you all do. Thanks.

 

[Blackhorse]

Man up and rub them suckers! lol


Two things:

1. I've seen these small curved concave things that have a convex piece that fits into it. One side (the top?) has very rough ridges all over it. The thing is to rub out flake with. Looks like you could get some serious pressure with it...enough to rrub out heavy stuff flake. The point is to find some kind of mechanical aid to rip at the flake under pressure..not just to use your fingers, etc

2. Now what I've done is take that one step further by adding POWER to it. I have a very inexpensive food processor. Procter Silex, I think. Doesn't matter. That might work well for you. Just do a very small amount at a time for a very short burst. And be rabid about cleaning those blades or it will gum up fast. I did this to some McCelland Christmas Flake once and it worked well.

I end up with a shredded flake...each 'splinter' being about 3/8" long and thin. You'll want the flakes dried pretty well I would think. So they burn well. Much better than cubed I would think. But cubed might work fine...try it. Especially outdoors if it's windy. But try it, then maybe try something else and compare.

Just some thoughts.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I know a gentleman that uses one of these for his Gawith Flakes.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004VAZ0JQ/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_2?pf_rd_p=1944687522&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00CP6X9B4&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0T2A7XEYH8XACNG8NC7Y

Personally, I'd just set a flake out to dry, enough for a bowl. Dry it for several hours, cube it up, gravity feed, minimal tamping as you want good airflow into the bowl to keep the dense chunks smoldering

 

[Blackhorse]

Cool!

I found a cheaper one:

http://www.amazon.com/GENERIC-SILVER-Tobacco-Pollen-Grinder/dp/B0023X32MA/ref=pd_sim_k_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=19G4GH43FKSAEY1MW5CP

 

[Sloth]

No Bueno for fold'n stuff

I do no special drying beyond letting the 250g boxes sit unopened for a month or two before jarring. I use half or three-fourths of a thicker flake, split lengthwise, for a 0.8"ish X 1.5"ish bowl, and fold 'n' stuff works just fine (actually, fold, lightly manhandle--i.e., work the bundle both axially and circumferentially with the fingertips--and stuff). It may take a handful of charring lights with some artful tamping before this kind of bowl of thicker flake is going nicely, but that will be quite nicely.

 

[Blackhorse]

Sloth..good plan.

I fergot the whuppin' it up side the head with a well used 24oz framing hammer...the one with the grid cut into the face. Six 'er seven good hits and it softens right up and assumes the proper form. I've even had the cowering mass salute a time 'er two then crawl into the bowl and assume the position.

 

[MisterE]

A coffee grinder works pretty well, too. Be sure to clean it out first, though. And after if you plan on making coffee. Coffee and tobacco go great together...just not together.

For extra tough flakes, like you're talking about, I'll fold them, rip off pieces, then rub those out. It's a little easier. When you rip them apart, the pressure from your fingers breaks it up a little so it's more "rub-able."

Speaking of FVF, I found an open tin that had been sitting around for a while in my studio. It was bone dry. When I broke up one of the flakes it turned to dust. I just poured it into a pipe, and blew warm air through the stem until it was moist again. Worked great! The insta-rub method. :cheers:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Speaking of FVF, I found an open tin that had been sitting around for a while in my studio. It was bone dry. When I broke up one of the flakes it turned to dust. I just poured it into a pipe, and blew warm air through the stem until it was moist again. Worked great! The insta-rub method. :cheers:

Story of my life in the desert. While I try not to let this happen, it does. A bag I forgot, a jar I didn't quite get the lid on properly, and well... it really does work in a pinch.

8)

 

[DireWolf]

Starting to click with the BBF.

The chocolate is still fighting back a bit yet.

 

[Natch]

Story of my life in the desert.   While I try not to let this happen, it does.   A bag I forgot, a jar I didn't quite get the lid on properly, and well... it really does work in a pinch.  

8)[/quote]

A slice of bread you leave out of the package for 10 minuets and you can snap it in half like burnt toast.

Natch

 

[DireWolf]

My very first VA was Dunhill Flake. I smoked through most of the tin wondering why anyone would want to smoke fancified cigarette tobacco in a pipe. The first VA's that I really fell in love with were those of McClelland. And later on S. Gawith and many others.

Others have mentioned that VA's take time. I agree. In fact, for 3 years or so, whenever I opened a new VA, I would smoke the entire tin straight through & I would never use a pipe that had seen the likeness of a Latakia blend, Oriental or aromatic. At the time I wanted to experience each tobacco in different pipes, moods, temps, etc. I was running this experiment when I was looking for candidates to stock up my cellar with. It definetly helped me to understand what I preferred and to weed out some blends that I just didn't care for.

You could take a back door approach to straight VA's by finding a blend that has a small percentage of Perique in it. At lower percentages, perique is more of a flavor amplifier than a overt provider of flavor. Orlik Golden Sliced or Solani 633 would good candidates. If you desire a purist approach, find a rich VA blend that has a good portion of black stoved VA mixed with red, goldens, etc. This way you get a range of flavor in each smoke. Cut plays a big role in what you may experience as well. This is why so many VA smokers favor flakes.

Also with a lot of VA's I find that decanting the tobacco helps quite a bit to bring out more flavor. S. Gawith flake tobaccos typically require more dry time and more experimentation in prep than most flakes. I have dried whole FVF flakes overnight with excellent results. Cube them up the next day, smoke a bit and throw the rest into a small jar for later. I know an older gentleman who loves SG flakes but hates the prep, so he uses a "Santa Cruz Shredder" on his flakes for an easy breaking up of flakes.  

Anyway, just some random thoughts....

After this thread - I have really taken effort to do much of this stuff (to include BH's side stream/slow down advice). And pay attention.

Even got a couple of different shaped bowled pipes to explore that.

I am smoking a folded and stuffed flake of OGS in a Va dedicated 320KS.

Just now - literally I am puffing away for 45 minutes now - I have fallen in love with OGS.

Sweet, bright, citrusy, smooth.

What a treat.