Herzl
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 17, 2009
- Messages
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While I was in college, I got a job working in the local bookstore. Because cookbooks had the highest rate of pilferage, they were moved by the cash register. I started reading them while waiting for customers to come for checkout and found them similar to chemistry formulas and thus began my journey to becoming a gourmet cook.
Some years later, I bought an Herb and Spice Cookbook. The premise of the book was that by familiarizing yourself with the character of individual spices and herbs, the student can recognize them and appreciate their interactions in various proportions. The student develops a vocabulary of tastes.
I decided to apply this approach to my understanding of pipe tobacco blends, and acquired components and started to plan some blending.
When I got Kendal Mix substituted for Kendal Kentucky with an order, aside from my chagrin that the vendor chose to make this substitution without my agreement, I found it something I could smoke, but not something I would buy of my own volition. I decided it would be an expendable base for experiments. I mixed it with Latakia, Perique, and Turkish, then more Latakia after I didn't like the first version so much, and put it under 290lbs of pressure for a month, and made a cake. Yes, I could have been more patient.
I really like the result. It is lesser, but not weak in nicotine, clearly one of my pet issues. Tastes great, and filling. More than anything, I've jumped into the blending water, and found that it's 'no big deal.' I've also discovered that I like Latakia, and am starting to 'get it' that a fullness of taste can be very satisfying even without my usual 1792 level of nicotine. I have no doubt that there is better out there from professionals. For sure, mine is better than the Latakia versions I've purchased locally. I definitely want to find a commercial Latakia, Oriental mixture, that still delivers on the nicotine within reason.
Will someone please compare Robusto, Odyssey, Charing Cross, Maltese Falcon, and any others that come to mind with some suggestion of priority of acquisition to try?
Some years later, I bought an Herb and Spice Cookbook. The premise of the book was that by familiarizing yourself with the character of individual spices and herbs, the student can recognize them and appreciate their interactions in various proportions. The student develops a vocabulary of tastes.
I decided to apply this approach to my understanding of pipe tobacco blends, and acquired components and started to plan some blending.
When I got Kendal Mix substituted for Kendal Kentucky with an order, aside from my chagrin that the vendor chose to make this substitution without my agreement, I found it something I could smoke, but not something I would buy of my own volition. I decided it would be an expendable base for experiments. I mixed it with Latakia, Perique, and Turkish, then more Latakia after I didn't like the first version so much, and put it under 290lbs of pressure for a month, and made a cake. Yes, I could have been more patient.
I really like the result. It is lesser, but not weak in nicotine, clearly one of my pet issues. Tastes great, and filling. More than anything, I've jumped into the blending water, and found that it's 'no big deal.' I've also discovered that I like Latakia, and am starting to 'get it' that a fullness of taste can be very satisfying even without my usual 1792 level of nicotine. I have no doubt that there is better out there from professionals. For sure, mine is better than the Latakia versions I've purchased locally. I definitely want to find a commercial Latakia, Oriental mixture, that still delivers on the nicotine within reason.
Will someone please compare Robusto, Odyssey, Charing Cross, Maltese Falcon, and any others that come to mind with some suggestion of priority of acquisition to try?
