Casing Recipes for Mildly Aromatic Pipe Tobacco

[deluxestogie]

I'll start off this thread with a casing recipe that results in a lovely pouch aroma, a vaguely sweet smoke aroma, and little modification to the taste of the tobacco blend.

The recipe can be used with any blend of tobacco (even an English blend with Latakia and / or Perique). When I make a tobacco blend for pipe, I start out as though I'm making up the filler for a cigar, but with different tobaccos. The whole leaf should be only moist enough to compress without crumbling. The stemmed leaves (all of the components of the blend) are bunched tightly, like cigar filler, but without a binder or wrapper. I hand slice the bunch to a suitable pipe shred, then slice the pile of shred lengthwise to shorten the shred length.

If you lay the stemmed leaf flat, you will end up with perfectly flat shred--not so good for a pipe mix. By firmly bunching the leaf, the shred ends up highly crinkled--nice for pipe.

The shred then goes into a gallon Zip-Lock, which I inflate fully and seal. This is then shaken and tossed for a minute or so to even the blending. It can then be used in the following process.

Use a blend of tobacco that is smokable to start with.

• into a spray bottle, add several ounces (say, 120-150 cc) of Canadian Whiskey -- I use Seagram's VO. No water is added.
• add a 1/2 tsp (~2.5 cc) of Vanilla extract
• add a drop of anise oil
• add a few drops of pineapple flavoring
• mix the bottle contents well (until the cloudiness of the anise oil has vanished)

This mix will keep, unrefrigerated, for many months.

Use:

1. Pre-heat oven to only 175ºF (~80ºC)
2. Spread shredded tobacco evenly on a cookie sheet (I line with foil)
3. Moisten the tobacco thoroughly by misting with the casing solution
4. Place in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes (until just barely dry)
5. With your fingers, toss the tobacco to redistribute it
6. Repeat 3 through 5 about four or five times
7. If the final tobacco is a bit too dry, mist it with pure water to bring it to a dry but flexible state.
8. Store in a freezer Zip-Lock, and wait a few days before smoking.

The tobacco will not smell like licorice, and will not smell like pineapple. In the pouch, it will smell like walking through the door of a cookie bakery. The taste is hardly noticeable, but the aroma is sweet and enjoyable (maybe even to others in the room).

Bob

 

[Seanz]

Cool recipe, Thanks Bob I will give it a whirl as My own mad scientist mixes are very hit and miss, Doesnt help that I have been smoking super stout lat blends lately

 

[rainmax]

Great, That's the first tobacco mix I'll make for my new pipe. Thank you Bob.
I remember back to 1984 when I drove in a car to Munich Germany with my cousins husband and his pipe. He smoked Borkum Riff at that time which he toasted his way. Tobacco was smelling so nice that even people on the street were turning around. I still have that smell in my nose. I never smoked a pipe. I think you need to be prepare (?mature?) for Pipe. So, now I'm tobacco grower and I believe that I deserve a Pipe. It goes with territory. Right?

and how is my english now?

Now you need to introduce me with pipe break-in.

 

[Boboro]

Ill have to try some pineapple in my cigs.

 

[Knucklehead]

Maks - Try here: http://fairtradetobacco.com/showthread.php?2061-Breakin-in-a-new-pipe

Your English is better than my Slovenian. LOL

 

[rainmax]

Yes, I have read this thread before. Understand. I think I will combine method of SmokesAhoy(2nd) and DonH. I believe that's also one of Bob's method but he forget to mentioned it.

 

[Jitterbugdude]

Can't I just grow a tobacco that already tastes like this? I'm SURE there has got to be something in the seed bank.......

 

[SmokesAhoy]

hey those TI's are really interesting, i only wish in the GRIN data sheets they had included a review by deluxe smoking a puro of the variety

i am gonna try this recipe if i can find some pineapple flavoring. i'm assuming he doesnt mean pineapple juice as the flavor.

 

[BarG]

Can't I just grow a tobacco that already tastes like this? I'm SURE there has got to be something in the seed bank.......

You probably could ,but I doubt it will be a heirloom tobacco variety.........!

 

[deluxestogie]

...pineapple flavoring. i'm assuming he doesnt mean pineapple juice as the flavor.

For my last few batches of this casing, I've used:

• Molina Mexican Vanilla Blend (a blend of Vanilla and artificial Vanilla [vanillin])
• LorAnn Oils Anise Oil (natural)
• Happy Home Flavoring Imitation Pineapple

All three were purchased at Walmart. The Molina was found in the Latin American food section.

I would emphasize these points that differ from many other casing recipes.

• It uses leaf that is already suitable for smoking (rather than trying to render harsh tobacco less harsh)
• It uses a low oven temp that is not intended to toast or caramelize the leaf, so it retains most of the original tobacco blend strength and flavors, as well as more of the added aromas
• The combination of flavors is intended to create a less recognizable aroma

Like blending tobacco varieties, it tricks the senses into perceiving something different--something new. A recent study found that a combination of 34 (as I recall) distinct aromas combined to create what they called "white" aroma, which no tester could identify as any particular aroma. In this recipe, the pineapple and anise succeed in altering the perception of the vanilla. To my jaded olfaction, it smells more like "yummy" than like vanilla.

Bob

 

[BarG]

I didn't know you could purchase flavorings like anise at walmart. I rarely venture into the larger surrounding towns and have no expertise to order flavorings online except by recomendations. I will start looking now where we shop on occasion. They did designate this a wet county after 50 yrs. so the whiskey should be no problem. I'm due for a bottle of Crown anyway.

 

[deluxestogie]

Walmart usually places the various essential oils, like anise and clove, in a prominent place during the holiday baking season. But I'm pretty sure it stays out somewhere the rest of the year.

Bob

 

[Jack in NB]

Thanks, Bob.

A timely thread!

Jack

 

[Muggs]

I'll start off this thread with a casing recipe that results in a lovely pouch aroma, a vaguely sweet smoke aroma, and little modification to the taste of the tobacco blend.

The recipe can be used with any blend of tobacco (even an English blend with Latakia and / or Perique). When I make a tobacco blend for pipe, I start out as though I'm making up the filler for a cigar, but with different tobaccos. The whole leaf should be only moist enough to compress without crumbling. The stemmed leaves (all of the components of the blend) are bunched tightly, like cigar filler, but without a binder or wrapper. I hand slice the bunch to a suitable pipe shred, then slice the pile of shred lengthwise to shorten the shred length.

If you lay the stemmed leaf flat, you will end up with perfectly flat shred--not so good for a pipe mix. By firmly bunching the leaf, the shred ends up highly crinkled--nice for pipe.

The shred then goes into a gallon Zip-Lock, which I inflate fully and seal. This is then shaken and tossed for a minute or so to even the blending. It can then be used in the following process.

Use a blend of tobacco that is smokable to start with.

• into a spray bottle, add several ounces (say, 120-150 cc) of Canadian Whiskey -- I use Seagram's VO. No water is added.
• add a 1/2 tsp (~2.5 cc) of Vanilla extract
• add a drop of anise oil
• add a few drops of pineapple flavoring
• mix the bottle contents well (until the cloudiness of the anise oil has vanished)

This mix will keep, unrefrigerated, for many months.

Use:

1. Pre-heat oven to only 175ºF (~80ºC)
2. Spread shredded tobacco evenly on a cookie sheet (I line with foil)
3. Moisten the tobacco thoroughly by misting with the casing solution
4. Place in the oven for 5 to 6 minutes (until just barely dry)
5. With your fingers, toss the tobacco to redistribute it
6. Repeat 3 through 5 about four or five times
7. If the final tobacco is a bit too dry, mist it with pure water to bring it to a dry but flexible state.
8. Store in a freezer Zip-Lock, and wait a few days before smoking.

The tobacco will not smell like licorice, and will not smell like pineapple. In the pouch, it will smell like walking through the door of a cookie bakery. The taste is hardly noticeable, but the aroma is sweet and enjoyable (maybe even to others in the room).

Bob

Does the whiskey have to Seagram.what about Bourbon

 

[deluxestogie]

There are no rules.

Bob

 

[rainmax]

Hahaha. An old thread. Bravo maestro...

 

[Muggs]

Sorry I asked
Didn't intend to offend anyone, I'll remove myself
Emeditly
I have tried to learn how to process tobacco for smoking. It
Seems asking Questions on here
Is not allowed.

 

[deluxestogie]

The answer I provided to you is my humble answer to your question. I don't like Bourbon whiskey. I do like Seagram's VO. There are no rules about the specific flavorings. My approach is to use alcohol, since it will dissolve the anise oil, whereas water will not. I generally don't add any casing to my pipe blends. You can experiment with Bourbon, Tequila, Rum, straight Vodka, etc.

Bob

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I agree about there being no rules. I honestly would go with whatever costs the least though because whisky of any kind doesn't impart that strong of a flavor, and you might want to use a lot. I think Seagrams, being a rye will have more impact than using bourbon. One thing to consider is how strong of an oak taste you want, too. I would rather do rum because you get a bit of the caramel/molasses taste. If scotch was cheaper, I would be interested in trying a peated scotch.

 

[TomF]

We often hear descriptions of blends that refer to an "church incense like" character, at least in part. Especially respecting latakia - presumably the scent is part of the gift of the mixed stuff burned in latakia curing. But has anyone intentionally introduced genuine frankincense or etc. in some manner to "spice" a blend? As part of a casing, perhaps? It's not like remarkable quality incense isn't available, and even pure gum frankincense or myrrh and etc. in numerous grades and sub-species and etc.