WLT's New Cigarette Blends: Virginia (Blend 2)

[winston-smoker]

Yesterday I processed a pound of Don's Virginia Blend. Although I was going to let it "rest" until Sunday, being like a kid on Christmas Eve, I couldn't wait to try it, and given that the moisture seemed about right, I made a pack of cigarettes with it, using FF Zen king-size filter tubes. The strength and body of the smoke is definitely full-flavor, and it burned evenly with a good burn rate. The taste was good, it reminds me a little of Marlboro, though it's been so long since I've regularly smoked Marlboros that I can't be certain. But it didn't quite have the spectacular taste that the sampler Don sent me in the Spring had. So what differed? The tobacco I got in the Spring I didn't case, except for the Burley, which I had sprayed with a Hershey's syrup, sugar, and water mixture. This blend came with a bottle of casing, which I used. But I would think that casing would add flavor, not take it away. So I think the difference is the tobaccos. In the Spring I blended six tobaccos (Red Virginia, Virginia Brightleaf, "Lemon" Virginia, Aged Burley, Maryland, and Izmir), whereas this blend appeared to consist of two tobaccos -- Don, correct me if I'm wrong -- Virginia Brightleaf and Burley.

I have two suggestions: (1) change the blend to include a second Virginia and some Izmir. Or, (2) offer 1/4 lb. samplers of all, or at least most, of WLT's tobaccos, so that someone who finds that the cigarette blends are "missing something" to suit his taste can add the "missing component" without having to buy an entire pound of it.

Next will be my impression of the American Old-Style Bold (Blend 1) ... I don't plan to process it until Friday at the earliest, so that "review" will have to wait at least a week.

If my opinion of the Virginia Blend should change after it has "rested" for some time, I'll post an update.

 

[FmGrowit]

Don, correct me if I'm wrong -- Virginia Brightleaf and Burley.

You got one out of three right...no Burley in the blend.

Sounds like the blend needs a little Red mixed in.

The blends were designed to accommodate the taste of current smokers of commercial cigarettes. Tobacco connoisseurs (like you guys) probably won't appreciate them. I'd also recommend using a half dose of casing on the American Old-Style. It's like hot sauce...you can always add more, but you'll pay hell tryin' to take it out.

 

[Knucklehead]

Did you toast all of the tobacco you received in the spring? This could also have contributed to some of the differences you noticed. (I'm not knocking your method, but an apples to apples comparison will tell you more than an apples to oranges.) We love experiments here and would like to hear your thoughts on the total toasting you did do, we've only so far discussed and experimented with the toasting of Burley. I think.

 

[FmGrowit]

Good point Knucks. 250F is a lot higher temp needed to dry the casing. You very well might have significantly altered the flavor of the blend.

 

[winston-smoker]

Thanks for all the responses.

Don,
I would say it should have Virginia Red (that is exactly what I was thinking when I suggested a second Virginia). What were the dark brown leaves, if they weren't Burley? Maryland? I'm actually quite surprised that there was no Burley at all!
I was since wondering if it was the casing that was responsible for my lack of "Wow!" That is, perhaps it was masking some of the flavor. In the Spring, as I explained above, all the tobacco except the Burley wasn't cased.

Don & Knucklehead,
I didn't think that the toasting would have altered the flavor, just "smoothened" it some, but perhaps I underestimated the effects of toasting. In the Spring, I didn't toast the tobacco at all -- not even the Burley.
What I can try is with the next lb. of Virginia, do things differently. I'll definitely reconsider toasting. In fact, why take the extra step in preparation if it's not necessary?
When I process the American Old-Style Bold, I'll do as you suggest about the casing. In fact, I was already thinking that I wouldn't use all of it (even though the directions say to use all). I figured I can always add more later, but right, you can't remove it once it's added.

Funny thing, I just smoked a cigarette with a Moosehead Lager, and it tasted better together with the beer (I'm serious; no joking).

 

[FmGrowit]

What were the dark brown leaves?

I've got a ton of money invested in these blends. 17 members were sent 3 1/2 lbs of leaf at no cost to assist in developing these blends. The casing is expensive at the minimum quantities, but it treats 100's of pounds of leaf. I feel no need to hand over the formulas to either to my competition for free.

My competition sells contrived concoctions with no merit in attempting to create a palatable blend, but they do have some cutesie names for them.

 

[winston-smoker]

I understand. Of course you don't want to let your competition learn your trade secrets. I hope that my question didn't offend you.

 

[jekylnz]

Maybe the Virginia 2 blend just isn't to your taste Winston. .but would be to other's...I think dons just trying to cover all types of peoples smoking preferences. .without making 50 different blends...one of the others will probably suit what you're looking for. ..otherwise like he said for us fussy connoisseurs bastards.lol.. we might have to just buy the 7 sampler & make our own blends to suit our taste. .

Hey Don do you sell the casing on its own?

 

[Knucklehead]

I'm not a knucklehead for nothing. I have to learn everything the hard way. One thing I've learned is to not put all the eggs in one basket during the experimental stage. Try toasting a little bit next time, or at most half. That way, one, you have some before and after to compare with one another, and two, if the experiment doesn't turn out to your satisfaction, you haven't ruined a whole batch, and you have enough left over to try to make adjustments where you think you went wrong.

Another point, give the blend a day or two for the flavors of each different variety to "meld" with one another, and to recover some from the toasting. You may find a whole different flavor from that batch in a couple of days.

If you want to play with the American Old Style, first separate the blend into different lots. One lot, toast the Burley, but read the section on toasting first. (you probably already have.) Another lot, leave it in it's natural state with out toasting or casing. Another lot, toast the whole lot if you choose to. Another lot, follow Don's instructions with the casing. (Do the blends come with instructions, I don't know?) This will give you some blends to experiment with and compare with one another and decide which way you like best. It's all about personal preference. Also, experimenting with blends is fun, but keep a control group and something to compare to.

Once you begin your own blending with whole leaf, you'll also want to record your weight or percentages of every blend you make, in case you hit that "perfect" blend that you think is the one for you. The only way you will ever duplicate it again, is if you have a record of what you did to get there in the first place. Sometimes, it's a matter of getting close and adding a pinch of this, a pinch of that, another pinch of this. Weigh those pinches. This is a good blending tutorial video from ryomagazine: http://www.ryomagazine.com/multimedia/blending.htm

 

[winston-smoker]

I didn't intend to suggest that I didn't like the Virginia 2 Blend, or that it wouldn't be to the liking of others. I did say the taste was good. I think perhaps my expectations might have been set very high, and when it didn't quite taste like what I had tried in the Spring, I was trying to figure out the reason. Was it the blend, was it the casing, was it the toasting? Could it even be that it just wasn't ready today ... that after casing, it should have "rested" another day. Would I like it better if I did something different? I am a neophyte when it comes to whole leaves, and I'm certainly no master blender ... that's why I bought the "ready-made" blends. This was my first serious experimentation with whole leaves. I was just hoping to get some guidance to make it a more enjoyable experience from those more knowledgeable than I am, and at this point, I don't know very much. If by some chance I expressed my thought poorly, my apologies.

 

[winston-smoker]

I'm not a knucklehead for nothing. I have to learn everything the hard way. One thing I've learned is to not put all the eggs in one basket during the experimental stage. Try toasting a little bit next time, or at most half. That way, one, you have some before and after to compare with one another, and two, if the experiment doesn't turn out to your satisfaction, you haven't ruined a whole batch, and you have enough left over to try to make adjustments where you think you went wrong.

Another point, give the blend a day or two for the flavors of each different variety to "meld" with one another, and to recover some from the toasting. You may find a whole different flavor from that batch in a couple of days.

If you want to play with the American Old Style, first separate the blend into different lots. One lot, toast the Burley, but read the section on toasting first. (you probably already have.) Another lot, leave it in it's natural state with out toasting or casing. Another lot, toast the whole lot if you choose to. Another lot, follow Don's instructions with the casing. (Do the blends come with instructions, I don't know?) This will give you some blends to experiment with and compare with one another and decide which way you like best. It's all about personal preference. Also, experimenting with blends is fun, but keep a control group and something to compare to.

Once you begin your own blending with whole leaf, you'll also want to record your weight or percentages of every blend you make, in case you hit that "perfect" blend that you think is the one for you. The only way you will ever duplicate it again, is if you have a record of what you did to get there in the first place. Sometimes, it's a matter of getting close and adding a pinch of this, a pinch of that, another pinch of this. Weigh those pinches. This is a good blending tutorial video from ryomagazine: http://www.ryomagazine.com/multimedia/blending.htm

You actually put your finger on something I've been wondering for about ... that it just wasn't ready today. And the last two cigarettes I smoked have tasted better.
I have read the section on toasting, that's why I toasted the way I did ... 250 degrees for 10 minutes. And I think I must have underestimated the effects of toasting, so I will follow your advice about not toasting everything all at once. About instructions: the only instructions were on the bottle of casing. Add water and spray the entire contents of the bottle. I actually deviated somewhat from that advice in that I sprayed half on before toasting, and then the rest was sprayed after toasting.

It's kind of odd, that when I had the sample, and knew practically nothing, I just threw everything (except fire-cured; I already knew that I detest fire-cured) together, uncased and untoasted, and the result was "Wow!" Clearly I need to experiment, as you suggested, to get that "Wow!" again. This first batch is good, I said that in my opening post ... maybe in a day or two it will be even better, after the flavors have melded, and it's recovered from toasting, as you said.

 

[Knucklehead]

Shoot man, don't apologize, you haven't done anything wrong. I've just made a few suggestions on how to build off what you've done and shared some short cuts that I had to learn the hard way. There was absolutely nothing wrong with toasting, I just suggested toasting half or less next time so you could have something to compare to, and enough left over to make adjustments if you felt like you wanted to change something. The rest was just stuff I've read on the forum, learning from others' mistakes and trying to pass them on to you. Keep reading the forum and you'll stumble across my mistakes and get a good laugh out of it.

 

[Knucklehead]

LOL, we have to start using "reply with quote". About four or five posts were made while I was writing and I hardly know who is talking to who.

 

[winston-smoker]

Knucklehead,
I wasn't apologizing to you, I was apologizing to Don. I don't want anyone thinking I was "trashing" this blend ... that's why I've been repeating that in my opening post I said the taste was good. And I really do understand that there are details that he certainly wouldn't want to reveal, after all, he's running a business and has competition. Actually, I found your post "I'm not a knucklehead for nothing ..." helpful, and hopeful.

 

[Knucklehead]

Knucklehead,
I wasn't apologizing to you, I was apologizing to Don. I don't want anyone thinking I was "trashing" this blend ... that's why I've been repeating that in my opening post I said the taste was good. And I really do understand that there are details that he certainly wouldn't want to reveal, after all, he's running a business and has competition. Actually, I found your post "I'm not a knucklehead for nothing ..." helpful, and hopeful.

Shoot, when I reach Don's advanced years, I just hope I have the energy to be grouchy. You have to admire the old man's spunk. ROFL

 

[FmGrowit]

Knucklehead,
I wasn't apologizing to you, I was apologizing to Don.

No need for apologies. Improvements and modifications can't be made if flaws aren't identified.
The casing is designed to be applied at a rate of 2% by weight at 50% concentrate at 180F and 3% at 70F.
I believe there has been an alteration of the casing after being toasted.

Raw Burley will make you choke, toasted Burley can be a smooth at butter. I don't know what toasting Flue Cured does.

 

[winston-smoker]

No need for apologies. Improvements and modifications can't be made if flaws aren't identified.
The casing is designed to be applied at a rate of 2% by weight at 50% concentrate at 180F and 3% at 70F.
I believe there has been an alteration of the casing after being toasted.

Raw Burley will make you choke, toasted Burley can be a smooth at butter. I don't know what toasting Flue Cured does.

Don,
Thank you. It is indeed starting to sound like my 1/2 casing, toasting, and then spraying remainder of the casing after toasting may have been a mistake. The only way I'll know for sure is when I process the next lb. of Virginia. I won't toast it.

Would you send me a private message about toasting of the American Old-Style Bold (Blend 1)? I don't want to make a mistake with that too.

 

[leverhead]

200 F for flue-cured is too hot, it'll scorch.

 

[winston-smoker]

It didn't appear scorched. In fact, it looked no different at all, it just felt warm; and I would think there'd be no mistaking scorched tobacco.

 

[FmGrowit]

All blends are designed to be as easy and user friendly as possible.

Remove leaf from bag, remove the mid-rib, shred, spray casing on shredded tobacco, allow to absorb into the tobacco, dry to typical moisture for use in injector.

I know there's a lot of implied understanding in the directions, but most buyers of the blends will have a basic understanding of making their own cigarettes anyway.

I'll start including more detailed instructions in the packages.