Cased Tobacco Pipe Blend Recipes

[AceFour]

Yeah, I reckon not many folks do.

Other than tobacco type do you see anything about what I did that you might do differently? I am presuming you are getting a change in flavor and or aroma when you case?

Mainly to bring down the pH of the leaf and steer it in one direction or another. Casing is not the same as topping which is used for aromatics.

 

[deluxestogie]

not sure what toasting was

Within the tobacco industry, "toasting" is generally a proprietary term for exposure to dry heat: high heat for a short time, or low heat for a longer time. For many home blenders, toasting involves spreading the shredded tobacco on a baking sheet, and "toasting" it for some period of time in an oven or toaster-oven, with or without some sort of casing.

Bob

 

[adamziegler]

pH of the leaf and steer it in one direction or another. Casing is not the same as topping which is used for aromatics.

Ok, I was confused. I saw all the flavors and my mind went to stuff that will change aroma and flavor of the smoke. Thanks for the clarification on "Topping" vs casing.

"toasting" it for some period of time in an oven or toaster-oven, with or without some sort of casing.

Alright thank you, I do see some older posts on this subject. Will try to read more on what folks have been successful with.

I promise I have been trying to read and seek answers to questions before posting, but still obviously quite a bit to learn. Thanks for the patience!

 

[deluxestogie]

I promise I have been trying to read and seek answers to questions before posting

It's a challenge. At the moment, FTT has:

• Threads: 10,715
• Message: 213,289

Bob

 

[PressuredLeaf]

Ok, I was confused. I saw all the flavors and my mind went to stuff that will change aroma and flavor of the smoke. Thanks for the clarification on "Topping" vs casing.

Alright thank you, I do see some older posts on this subject. Will try to read more on what folks have been successful with.

I promise I have been trying to read and seek answers to questions before posting, but still obviously quite a bit to learn. Thanks for the patience!

It’s a lot to trek through!

IIRC when I toasted my burley I did it at 285F for 20 mins total. I think I agitated the tobacco every 5 mins or so. It let off a lot of really acrid smelling vapors, so if you live with someone else be warned. At the end I spritzed it lightly with invert syrup in water while it was still warm so that i could handle it without disintegration.

The final stuff smelled really nice after a few days of airing out. Almost chocolately or cherry like. It smoked really well to, clean and cool. Still pretty high in Nic though.

 

[Controlled Chaos]

Made with burley cased in Soda Jerk liqueur, nothing was done to the other components. It's named for the time of day I typically prefer a burley blend but it's a good anytime smoke. Let everything sit in the jar for at least a couple weeks after mixing if you don't press. When smoked in a cob the Samsun was a little more noticeable.

View attachment 47484

55% Burley, cased with Soda Jerk
27.5% Samsun
22.5% Perique

After the third pipe of this stuff by a little before lunch yesterday I figured I'd make a label later and share. I'm happy enough with it to call it a blend and mix together a good batch

Brain fart moment but it seems I'm not the only one. This was a batch that was originally 100 grams until the final tweak, and when finalized I must have listed them as percent without thinking about it. So yeah, this blend is 105% pure pleasure

 

[AceFour]

Experimental oriental forward English plug

Angel of Izmir (Balken)

Blend for 175g plug * 24.5% Latakia (43g) * 20% Basma (35g) * 20% Izmir (35.g) * 35.5% Red Virginia (cased with Tonka) (62g) Stoved while under pressure in the truck cab (about 130F) for a few days. Update: 8/8/24 Sliced off a flake and smoking in the 1974

blog.acefour.org

 

[AceFour]

Apertif clone

Whole leaf latakia blend plug - Apertif Clone

Well, hurricane Ian knocked out the power last night so nothing to do but make a Latakia blend whole leaf plug. Worked on destemming the red Virginia and cased it with the plum casing I used for the Virginia/burley Thumbed through Goff’s book since it was full of

blog.acefour.org

 

[AceFour]

Ok, the experimental oriental forward blend has been named and logo'd. It is a winner! Just pulled 4 more 175g plugs today.

Angel of Izmir (Balken)

Blend for 175g plug * 24.5% Latakia (43g) * 20% Basma (35g) * 20% Izmir (35.g) * 35.5% Red Virginia (cased with Tonka) (62g) Stoved while under pressure in the truck cab (about 130F) for a few days. Update: 8/8/24 Sliced off a flake and smoking in the 1974

blog.acefour.org

 

[Hemlock]

Ok, the experimental oriental forward blend has been named and logo'd. It is a winner! Just pulled 4 more 175g plugs today.

View attachment 53028

Angel of Izmir (Balken)

Blend for 175g plug * 24.5% Latakia (43g) * 20% Basma (35g) * 20% Izmir (35.g) * 35.5% Red Virginia (cased with Tonka) (62g) Stoved while under pressure in the truck cab (about 130F) for a few days. Update: 8/8/24 Sliced off a flake and smoking in the 1974

blog.acefour.org

Impressive @AceFour !
How has the oriental responded to pressing in terms of flavour development? I have some Krumovgrad (an oriental Basma type lead). which has a very light flavour. Curious about making an oriental flake to see how it might change and improve. What casing did you use?

 

[AceFour]

Only thing cased is the red Virginia and that is with Tonka bean casing. The orientals I spritzed with distilled water prior to pressing as this is a very dry plug to make.

 

[Hemlock]

Only thing cased is the red Virginia and that is with Tonka bean casing. The orientals I spritzed with distilled water prior to pressing as this is a very dry plug to make.

Thanks for the reply. After watching your blog and posts it’s time for me to start. I’ve got the leaf I just need to figure out what to do for my press. I don’t think I have a hydraulic jack on the horizon. Although I might check on the used market before resigning to use just c clamps. Thanks for your inspiration. I trust the flavours you get are comparable to what might be available commercially, based on the pics and your blogs.
Cheers!

 

[slouch]

Ok, the experimental oriental forward blend has been named and logo'd. It is a winner! Just pulled 4 more 175g plugs today.

View attachment 53028

Angel of Izmir (Balken)

Blend for 175g plug * 24.5% Latakia (43g) * 20% Basma (35g) * 20% Izmir (35.g) * 35.5% Red Virginia (cased with Tonka) (62g) Stoved while under pressure in the truck cab (about 130F) for a few days. Update: 8/8/24 Sliced off a flake and smoking in the 1974

blog.acefour.org

That’s some tasty lookin baccy

 

[AceFour]

just need to figure out what to do for my press. I don’t think I have a hydraulic jack on the horizon. Although I might check on the used market before resigning to use just c clamps.

I ended up with the small size frame press when it went on sale. With a C-Clamp it would take about a week to get it cranked down. With the frame press I can do 4 at a time in a 2' steel tube in 10 minutes. Resources for everything I used is in this post. https://blog.acefour.org/tobacco-pressing-resources/

 

[Hemlock]

First foray into homemade plug. 95g
45% Red VA
45% Lemon VA
10% Burley Red Tip

6 days under pressure, no stoving.

Looking forward to taste test after some settling time.
Thanks to @deluxestogie and @AceFour the inspirations in home blending and pressing technique .. and especially thanks for WLT to make quality leaf available for hobbyists.

 

[adamziegler]

How do you all get it out of the tube after pressing?

 

[AceFour]

Short tube I bounce it on a 2x2 in the driveway. Big tube (2') I drilled two holes and attach half inch bolts and have the whole tube held up with two plates on the side and push it out with the frame press.

Pressing 1kg of whole leaf tobacco

Pressing 1kg of whole leaf tobacco challenge. As they say, if it is worth doing it is worth doing to excess. I picked up a 2 foot long 3″ by 3″ square stainless steel tube (T43311) from Metals Depot. Next thing was to find spacers. I didn’t want to

blog.acefour.org

 

[adamziegler]

Gave me some inspiration to use some scrap in the garage.


Tonka and elderberry cased Virginia's, tonka cased Burley, Oriental, Latakia, Virginia Cavendish.

 

[Hemlock]

How do you all get it out of the tube after pressing?

I improvised with the same technique as @AceFour , but using a few whacks on a 2x2 stake already driven into soil in the tomato garden.

 

[Hemlock]

Gave me some inspiration to use some scrap in the garage.
View attachment 53339

Tonka and elderberry cased Virginia's, tonka cased Burley, Oriental, Latakia, Virginia Cavendish.

Looks like a good blend you’ve got there!