| Author | Message | ||
     Leon Sherlock Valeria Korvinus Member Username: Sherlockianscholar Post Number: 19 Registered: 03-2008 |
I was wondering if it was alright to use a small amount of brandy and mix it with tobacco? Will it imbue a flavour to the tobacco? | ||
| Todd L. Platek Member Username: Lawyersmoker Post Number: 70 Registered: 04-2008 |
Likely yes, but it's rough swallowing your brandy that way. :-) | ||
| W. A. Lanman Member Username: Blenheimbard Post Number: 156 Registered: 01-2009 |
Yes it can be done, and in fact you can buy blends with it already added as a casing. If you do it yourself you are going to have to exercise some patience to allow the flavour to migrate through the tobacco, probably storing it for a while in a canning jar, with a bit of a shake from time to time. Then when the flavour has permeated the tobacco, you'll want to let it dry a bit since the liquid that is not alcohol in any liquor is water. (1 proof = 1/2% of volume, ergo 100 proof is 50% spirits & 50% water) You probably want to err on the side of caution since you can easily add a little more, but it is hard to take any away ;-) | ||
| smokey strodtman Member Username: Smokey422 Post Number: 521 Registered: 08-2005 |
Several commercial blends use some type of liquor topping that has an effect on the flavor. One that readily comes to mind is Pennington Gap from C&D. Smokey | ||
| Leon Sherlock Valeria Korvinus Member Username: Sherlockianscholar Post Number: 20 Registered: 03-2008 |
A query to Mssr. Lanman: How is a canning jar made? Is it in any way similar to a hermetically sealed ceramic jar? And once you do dry the tobacco, would advise air-drying or sun-drying? To everyone else, yes, I am aware that you can purchase tobacco flavoured with liquor. In fact, I now smoke one which has the slight flavour of port. However, I had wanted a 'stronger' flavour and had thought about adding a bit of brandy into it. Being a newbie, I did not know whether it would ruin the tobacco or not. Thank you all for your advice, it is highly appreciated. | ||
| W. A. Lanman Member Username: Blenheimbard Post Number: 158 Registered: 01-2009 |
Sherlock, It is elementary, a canning jar is the North American term for a wide mouth glass vessel used in preserving food, which here is called "canning" as the first commercial preserved food came in "tin cans" (almost none of which currently have "tin" in them). They either use a screw on sealing lid or a clamp down lid (bail enclosure) with rubber gasket. Either is suitable for our purposes. You can even use recycled commercial food jars with their lids in a pinch. My objection to the commercial jars is the difficulty in insuring cleanliness, especially around the lid area, which can lead to mold problems, since you may be holding tobacco for years in them, and secondly they tend to be made of thinner glass which can lead to breaking easier than jars designed for re-use. Here they are available year round, but are mostly displayed in grocery stores and general merchandise stores during the harvest months (roughly June to October). Because they are readily available I use recycled jars with the bail enclosure on which I have replaced the rubber gasket and have given a thorough cleaning. If you are going to do this make sure you keep in mind how easily tobacco absorbs smells, and thoroughly rinse, dry, and "air" the jars. Given the low cost of even new jars I would never ever consider using a jar which had a chance of harbouring mold spores. It is for this reason i do not favour re-using commercial food jars, like mayonaisse jars, typically they use a waxed cardboard lid liner. Which is fine for a product which you will probably use up in 2 months and store under refrigeration once opened, which hardly describes the conditions under which we cellar tobacco. If you take a look at the pictures of the jars at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mason_jar and then compare it with pictures that people have of their collections you will see how many of them are storing their bulk tobaccos in "canning" jars. Some will even transfer tobacco out of tins to jars, to avoid the rather rude shock of finding a particularly "wet" tinned tobacco has rusted through the container (unusual, but it does happen). Al (in Canada) | ||
| Leon Sherlock Valeria Korvinus Member Username: Sherlockianscholar Post Number: 21 Registered: 03-2008 |
To Mssr. Lanman: Sir, thank you very much for your help. |