2016 Carotte Tobacco a success!

[deluxestogie]

I've seen that before.

http://www.girlonawhaleship.org/

Bob

 

[squeezyjohn]

If you leave it for long enough you will develop very fruity, almost raisin like flavours - no vinegar smell ... I did mine with nearly colour cured but not quite finished leaf.

Mine had some moisture content locked in the centre when I tried it ... it's not easy to cut, but can be ... and you can get an incredibly fine cut by using a kitchen mandoline set to 0.5mm to shave it.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I've seen that before.

http://www.girlonawhaleship.org/

Bob

What's that thing?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

If you leave it for long enough you will develop very fruity, almost raisin like flavours - no vinegar smell ... I did mine with nearly colour cured but not quite finished leaf.

Mine had some moisture content locked in the centre when I tried it ... it's not easy to cut, but can be ... and you can get an incredibly fine cut by using a kitchen mandoline set to 0.5mm to shave it.

Mine was made with about a lb of fully cured, two year aged, 1 month kilned Pergeu (dark air).

I'm envisioning a walk-in humidor with carottes hanging from the ceiling like a bunch of salami.

 

[deluxestogie]

It's a mariner's belaying pin.

Bob

 

[Smokin Harley]

I'm glad this thread is still going. I still have my "sailors Perique/carrotte" wrapped and hanging . It made the move and as I think back , its been a solid year in the sailcloth/canvas and rope binding. Still no sign of my vintage pipe collection ( and a few other items I could swear I moved...trying to remain hopeful but reality says they're gone) but I do have some vintage pipes a friend gave me. One is just a tiny little bowl barely big enough for my little finger but its still a 10 minute pipe. Now that the temps here in North Alabama are getting fall-like , its pipe time. Might just have to unwrap it and shave off a little to try.

 

[Smokin Harley]

Well. I did it. Unwrapped my 2016 crop perique carotte. Sliced it into coins and rubbed it out. Finishing up thee first pipe of it now. I had cased it heavily with vanilla, rum, buffalo trace bourbon and honey. Its been over a year aging and your post reminded me i needed to try mine. Very mild. Burned well but i may need to blend it with some virginia to sweeten it. Id call it a success.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Would you say it's any different than plug?

 

[squeezyjohn]

Would you say it's any different than plug?

It's not that different, but it uses different and more primative technology to apply the pressure. The biggest difference with the carrotte method is that the compression of the tobacco and therefore the way it ends up curing is much less even - the centre of the carrotte is much darker and more fermented than the tobacco at the edges, having been under the most pressure and with the most anerobic conditions (also retaining the most moisture) ... this leads to much more fermented perique-like notes coming from the centre of the slice while the outside is much more close to air cured tobacco. Essentially what you get in each coin is a little blend.

What I like about this method is that it can be done with not-quite colour cured leaf without that being detrimental to the end product. The compression of the leaf means it is taking up very little space while still curing and uses only cloth, rope and man-power to achieve this. In my mold prone climate it's great to be able to hang a 1lb carrotte in the space I would otherwise only get one pair of leaves in!

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

It's not that different, but it uses different and more primative technology to apply the pressure. The biggest difference with the carrotte method is that the compression of the tobacco and therefore the way it ends up curing is much less even - the centre of the carrotte is much darker and more fermented than the tobacco at the edges, having been under the most pressure and with the most anerobic conditions (also retaining the most moisture) ... this leads to much more fermented perique-like notes coming from the centre of the slice while the outside is much more close to air cured tobacco. Essentially what you get in each coin is a little blend.

What I like about this method is that it can be done with not-quite colour cured leaf without that being detrimental to the end product. The compression of the leaf means it is taking up very little space while still curing and uses only cloth, rope and man-power to achieve this. In my mold prone climate it's great to be able to hang a 1lb carrotte in the space I would otherwise only get one pair of leaves in!

Thanks squeezyjohn,

I'm doing it with cured leaf, so the results will be different. I totally agree with the space saving part. I'll be able to really cut down on the storage space, while making it easier to maintain humidity.

I tried making another one with natural rope a couple days ago, and as I was working with it, I realized the rope had an aroma which was a cross between paint thinner and burlap. Worried about the chemical smell leaching into the tobacco, I removed the rope 12 hours later. The carrot was still hard, so I re-wrapped it with just the canvas. I doubled up the canvas and rolled it diagonally like you would when wrapping a cigar. I plan on waiting for a few more days to see if it maintains shape and size. If so, I won't need more rope, and I can start carrotte-ing like mad.

 

[squeezyjohn]

I've been using natural fibre sash-window cord (made of jute I think) for mine recently ... it's very strong, has no aroma that might taint the tobacco and is very round and smooth which means you don't get blisters when making the carrottes!

 

[Smokin Harley]

I used a 1/4 inch soft white nylon rope , like a clothes line . In days of old (before nylon, aka plastic)I believe the rope would have been made from either cotton or more likely, hemp.

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I unwrapped my carrottes a week ago, and they are as solid now, as on the first day. They cut nicely with my sturdy Opinel. Left, a pound of 2015 air cured Symbol 4; middle, ten ounces of flue cured 2016 Ostrolist; right, a pound of 2015 Pergeu Brazil. I've already noticed an improvement in flavor, specially with the Symbol 4.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I just looked at my tub of Orinoko yesterday , and found my samples of infusing rums. Might make another carotte with that combination , let it go until next year and see how that turns out.

 

[Smokin Harley]

I guess Im picking up right where I left off. I just unwrapped the same 2 carrottes that I posted about in Dec 2017. One I did a perique core with Little Sweet Orinoko and Virginia Gold doused with white rum . Other was Virginia Gold and Black Mammoth doused with vanilla. Early this spring I shoved both into my bin that houses my still and smells like a whiskey distillery hoping it would infuse some of that. Oddly enough when sliced into coins ,they both came out smelling like dry hay and piney or turpentine...the Va/Black Mammoth does have a slight figgy or plummy note to it but the turpentine aroma is fairly prominent.
What do you think caused this and will airing out bring out something better ?
Im kind of disappointed .

 

[deluxestogie]

Slice it up, and let it air for a few weeks.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

Do you think, maybe heavy fusel oils remaining in the still migrated into the tobacco? If so, maybe package it in charcoal and baking soda for a bit.

I know my friend threw paint brushes in the freezer and after a while everything that wasn't stored in glass in the fridge part was garbage. Those heavy hydrocarbons permeate everything. It took a couple months of baking soda treatments to clear the fridge of the aroma.

I have no doubt they also are absorbed into the walls of the still and any fittings and hoses. At work I've been in plenty of vessels that have been steamed, and air tested, yet still have a smell.

One time I was in a stainless steel clad train car, and it was so strong, the air test card at the entrance said, "don't worry about the smell, it's just the acid." Anyways, on a microscopic level metals are porous.

 

[Smokin Harley]

theres no hoses , just copper and oak barrel wood chips. I don't know, I hope its not ruined.