Anyone else LIKE a bit of harshness?

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LL

LL

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The fullest of full bodied blends border on harsh. Think a darker, earthier version of the famed Cuban cigar "peppery" experience.

I've come to like it a lot.

Just thought I'd see if my living & smoking alone for years has caused me to mutate into something strange, or if there are other people in the normal world who like it too.

I think Carlos is probably one. Anybody else?

 
Harshness is a funny term.... I don't like blends that bite, but I smoke Club Blend about 75% of the time, and it has a peppery side balanced by a really sweet side, so my answer is "Yes, I do."

I think of harshness as being corralary to cheap tobacco, to be honest. Borkum Riff is harsh, in a bad way. It hurts me, and leaves me feeling damaged for a few days.

 
Sasquatch":ttn6ncon said:
I think of harshness as being corralary to cheap tobacco, to be honest. Borkum Riff is harsh, in a bad way. It hurts me, and leaves me feeling damaged for a few days.
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Good point. The "cheap experience" sort of harsh is disgusting. Definitely not that. [insert imaginary puking emoticon]

Maybe I used the wrong word. "So strong it leaves your mouth tingling" is better. But that isn't a word, is it? Damn.

Anyway, if you're curious, GH&Co Brown Bogie small diameter rope has it in spades. Since it is tough to burn I usually mix it with a shag (either Kendal Dark or Kendal Kentucky). Yum, yum.
 
Im not sure about the real strong blends but I smoke alot of burleys and Vapers. I smoke them fast and hard (compared to most) to get that harsness (to stay on topic) that you are talking about..

my answer is "Yes."
 
5 Bros/Bird Eye/Ropes type FULL Flavored can sorta come off harsh if I haven't smoked any in a few days..

It's not really harshness though, I think it's borderline flavor overload.. Try drying some rope after you've cut it up and see what you think.. nom nom nom pac man type goodness... It burns without 150 relights.. Good doses of Vitamin N.. Full Flavor.. IT ROCKS!!!
 
I've noticed a dimnuition of many blends with age so I am going to smoke my fresher tobacs hence saving my older tobacs, Ken :tongue:
 
Alfredo likes it too.


I have been smoking a lot of blends this summer kind of like that. Mostly GH Kentucky Dark Thick Cut. C&D Buffalo Soldier has it also.
 
puros_bran":ui40m8g1 said:
It's not really harshness though, I think it's borderline flavor overload.
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Bingo. That's it... Not "harsh"... it's

B F O

I hereby declare the term part of the official BoB lexicon. 8) Thank you, PB.
 
Sasquatch":yt05rl3l said:
Harshness is a funny term.... I don't like blends that bite, but I smoke Club Blend about 75% of the time, and it has a peppery side balanced by a really sweet side, so my answer is "Yes, I do."

I think of harshness as being corralary to cheap tobacco, to be honest. Borkum Riff is harsh, in a bad way. It hurts me, and leaves me feeling damaged for a few days.
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Yea SAS, I really like what you are saying here, I am also smoking alot of 07 Club blend and really like it.
Borkum Riff is to be had around any corner here, you are polite when referring to it as harsh. Chewing razor blades is a cheaper option for me!
 
I take exception to the claim that the HOs are harsh or BFO. They're just potent, and I don't think that their tobaccos are either of the two aforementioned adjectives. The tobacco taste is one thing, the nicotine is another.

Think of GH Dark Flake or Dark Plug, subtract half of the nicotine and what would you get?

As an aside I was obsessed with cigars for about three weeks and have now throttled down to a deep love of them. I'm starting to smoke the pipe more, and as time goes on, I predict a 50/50 or 60/40 mix. The pipe is still luscious, especially since I opened a tin of 7 mos old Escudo. Damn blend is delicious no matter how old it is.

Anyway, feeling myself immune to nicotine from having smoked all the pipe HOs (including Tambolaka, which is off the charts, and whose nicotine level can be harsh) at will with or without a full stomach without ill effect, I proceeded to smoke a stogie without eating that hadn't started off or even reached midpoint without the full body kicking in, and I got light-headed. I smoked some more (within the last inch) and then I puked! First time ever!

My conclusion: if I'm smoking a full-bodied cigar, I need to have a full stomach.

This shows you that I'm not the full-bodied smoker I thought I was.
 
I wouldn't call it harshness, but I prefer cigars with a nice acidic bite to them. I've found Hondurans to be the most likely candidate in the non-Cuban realm. Too smooth is definitely a no-go in my preferences, but then again, I've suffered a couple bad concussions. I suspect my flavor center of the brain has been affected by those traumas. I can run into this problem very rarely with English tobaccos, but I haven't found it at all in Virginialand.
 
I've been thinking about the BFO and harshness attributed to certain tobacco blends, and what I think now, after sleeping on it, is that body intensifies the smoke. A large amount of nicotine is potent in and of itself, but that body also would appear to intensify flavor. It makes the experience of tasting the tobacco's flavor more intense throughout the bowl. It intensifies flavor by being paired with it.
 
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