During the 2018 season,
@skychaser successfully grew
Nicotiana tomentosa, one of the purported "parents" of
N. tabacum. He explained how difficult it had been to get the seed to germinate, and the plants to thrive. This past winter, he sent me a small packet of the air-cured leaf. It looked like Basma, in color, shape and size.
At that time, I rolled one small cigar, and smoked it. The surprise was that it was smokable at all, since most non-
tabacum species of
Nicotiana aren't very nice to smoke. But it wasn't all that inviting. I allowed it to rest another 6 months, then put it into my kiln for 5 weeks. It's now been out of the kiln for about two weeks.
The size of the cigar is dictated by the diminutive size of the wrapper leaf. Unlit aroma is similar to that of a bland Oriental, like Mutki. It lights easily, and its continued combustion is good, though not great. The smoke aroma starts off fairly flat and uninteresting, but builds to a somewhat delicate and more complex, slightly floral quality by mid-cigar--again resembling an Oriental. Missing are the deeper tones and bottom support found in the aroma of cigar leaf. It truly reminds me of the Mutki puro that I smoked some years ago.
I'll go out on a limb here, and suggest that the Basma family of Orientals takes after its mother, more so than any of its other "offspring".
Thank you to
@skychaser for a rare opportunity.
Bob