Greetings from the Brazilian Highlands

[Alottalatakia]

Welcome from the crumbling remains of the Ozark Plateau!

Ozark Plateau? That's a beautiful place!!!! In some aspects, it remind me here Minas Gerais in Brazil. But i sincerely prefer your weather.., miss proper Autumn, Winter...

 

[Alottalatakia]

Welcome to BoB from another Southern Hemispherean. Love your user name.

Thank you for the warm welcome! Yes! My daughter lives there Down Under,... in Sydney. She is coming soon for a visit to the jungle here... Is there any good tobacconist down there? How about pipe tobacco prices? Maybe i should ask her to bring a stash for me...

Cool, I’m in the mountains to Sydney’s West and sadly the pipe and tobacco situation here in Aus is woeful. Tobacconists that sell pipes are few and far between and tobacco tax is heading towards $1200 AU per Kg, so I’m sure you can find cheaper baccy with less hassle.

Holly! Terrifying! This requires robbing a bank each time you want a puff...! So.., how do you manage?

 

[Timbo]

Most “care” packages get through AOK, those that get caught, I get a tax invoice sent to me which can be ignored if I wish. And yes those sums are about right, last tin of McClelland’s I purchased here was $70. :shock:

And ‘cos this seems to be the thread for it, here’s the view from my smoking lounge (comfy chair on my back deck.)

 

[huffelpuff]

Welcome from windy Wyoming, elevation of our town is 7220 feet. Absolutely stunning views you have posted I am seriously jealous. Correct me if I'm wrong but your local firewater is a close relative of our rum is it not? Fermented from sugarcane and I don't believe its aged is it? I've searched liquor stores up here with no luck and refuse to pay what online shops want for it.

Those ropes are a dream come true for a lot of us. About how big around are they? They look massive! Love that knife too. The handle material is really nice and the blade shape looks perfect for cutting rope

I look forward to learning more about your local history and traditions. Smoking related and otherwise. Also would love to see and hear about the local cuisine in the kitchen and speakeasy section.

Jim

 

[Alottalatakia]

Hello Jim! Thanks for the warm welcome!!!! Cheers! I really may get some corn cob pipes for myself- the country gentleman is a gorgeous smoking machine in its own way!
The tobacco ropes measure some 10 m in length.
I'm sending a video on how it is made

youtube.com/watch?time_continue=27&v=b6wzUT3coQo


Our firewater- cachaça, like rum is made from sugar cane.., but the major difference here is that cachaça is made from just pressed sugar cane juice and rum, usually is made from molasses. After fermentation and distillation, it can be consumed right away or is left to age in wooden barrels. We use some local hard woods that impart some aroma and colour, mainly Umburana, Jequitibá and Arariva. Some enterprising minds are using American oak...with great results I may say!
Below you can see some oak barrels




Artur

 

[huffelpuff]

Absolutely fantastic video. Wow those ropes look incredible. I would love to see the actual making of them. I've seen the making of small twists which are only a quarter kilo or at most a half kilo. Those ropes are much more like the factory ones turned out by Gawith but much much fatter.

It makes sense that cachaça would be aged I'm sure that each wood must impart some great character. I'm sure its a fascinating rabbit hole to explore. I've heard of a rum in Germany that is aged in black walnut grown in Afghanistan. I would love to get my hands on a bottle of that some day.

Cobs are great smokers and are surprisingly durable. I have a number of cobs that I smoke regularly that are 80 years old or more. Cobs are also great fun to modify to try things like reverse calabash with etc. If you have any trouble getting a cob I'm sure we can find a way to get some down there to you.

Jim

 

[Alottalatakia]

Ah- This video here is much better. it has the whole process going on. And you can enjoy our patois!

youtube.com/watch?v=o4v8nKbA6Eg