July 20, 2013

Whisky and Tobacco (by Paul) – Part 2.

This is part 2 of the “Whisky and Tobacco (by Paul)” post. Click here for part 1.

– Virginia / Perique blends:
Tobacco blends with Perique have that typical sour aroma and taste. There are not many “sour” whiskies/whiskeys. But you could try an American Sour Mash whiskey, like some well known brands produce, like Pappy Van Winkle, Jim Bean, Woodfort Reserve, Maker’s Mark, Wild Turkey and some Jack Daniels expressions. Note that the Sour Mash process is used in almost all Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys. If you are looking for that typical aroma, check the indication “sour mash” on the label. The process doesn’t make a whiskey with a sour aroma-note as per definition, they can turn out very sweet and with vanilla/caramel aromas.
As for Scotch single malts I can’t easily come up with whiskies which have a sourly aroma or taste. It’s a taste most whiskymakers do not want in their whisky. The only one I ever encountered that would fit in here is an independent bottling of Edradour 10 yo from The Un-Chill-Filtered Collection, distilled 12-08-1998 and bottled 20-11-2008, 46% alcohol and from cask No. 286.
Besides looking for a sour taste in the whisky (and because Perique brings out more complexity out of the Virginia tobaccos) you could try such a tobacco-blend with a more complex whisky, like mentioned next, under Virginia/Oriental blends.

– Virginia / Oriental blends:
Typically a single malt like Royal Lochnagar 12 yo brings out a leathery note, which I think would combine easily with an Oriental tobacco blend. It also brings out a little peaty flavour and aroma. Other light to medium peated whiskies would do nice in my opinion, like Springbank 10 yo, Scapa 16 yo and Isle of Jura Superstition.
I think a Virginia/Oriental tobacco blend can be perfectly combined with more complex whiskies, such as Highland Park 18 yo, Loch Lomond Old Rhosdhu 10 yo, Glen Garioch 12 yo or a Glen Spey 12 yo.

– Virginia / Burley blends:
Burley can give a tobacco some hint of chocolate. And in some whiskies you can find that aroma too. Bladnoch 15 yo would do fine (chocolate, orange and even a tobacco aroma can be found) or the Glencadam 15 yo. These whiskies are not too strong in taste and aroma, which combines nicely with the Virginia-based tobacco.

– Burley / Kentucky blends:
Here too the chocolate can be found, but I think a Burley/Kentucky tobacco is often somewhat stronger in aroma and taste than a Burley/Virginia. Therefore I would recommend a whisky that is a bit more “present” in the nose and on the tongue, like Glenrothes from about 14 yo or older or a Speyside 12 yo. The latter shows even more chocolate with a few drops of water (and don’t exaggerate on the water!).

– Latakia blends:
Well, this is the territory of the man who get hair on their chests while smoking these kind of tobacco-blends. And mind you, there are whiskies which grow hair on your chest too: the peaty ones. A few examples of medium to strong peated whiskies are Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Kilchoman (all from the Isle of Islay) and Longrow (the peaty one from Springbank) or Ledaig (the peaty one from Tobermory). But also some brands, less known to produce peaty whiskies, have managed to bring some nice peaty expressions. Like the Isle of Arran Devil’s Punch Bowl, Croftengea 5 yo or Inchmoan 4 yo (both from the Loch Lomond distillery) and Ardmore Fully Peated Quarter Cask finish. The famous Talisker from the Isle of Skye matches evenly well with a Latakia tobacco. And distilleries from the Isle of Islay that have a non-peaty house-style sometimes produce a peaty whisky. Like the Port Charlotte expression from Bruichladdich and the Moine-series from Bunnahabhain. The last one only bottled by independent bottler The Ultimate from Amersfoort, The Netherlands.

– Cigar leaf blends:
With tobacco blends which include Cigar leaf I think a lot of peaty whiskies can be combined perfectly. Also whiskies with some leather-aromas would do fine (like the mentioned Royal Lochnagar 12 yo). But one specific single malt comes to mind to accompany a cigar leaf pipe tobacco and of course a cigar as well: the Dalmore Cigar Malt. If you like these kind of tobaccos or you are a cigar aficionado as well as a pipesmoker and you are looking for a balanced whisky to go with the smoke, this is the best I can recommend. It balances perfectly with the smoke and even let’s behind an oily film in your mouth. Which makes the smoke, either pipe of cigar, very pleasant.

Whisky casks

So, in general:
Keep in mind that maturing on ex-American whiskey casks creates whiskies with vanilla and caramel. They vary from dry to pretty sweet. Maturing on ex-sherry casks mostly give more complex whiskies. With aromas varying from fruits, chocolate and flowers to nutty aromas and even aromas of other distillates like brandy and armagnac.

Pipe-smoking and whisky-drinking:
In closure I would like to make a kind of statement. People often ask me if smoking is allowed while drinking whisky. My opinion on is this: When you are drinking socially or just to relax and take some time for yourself to enjoy the good things in life, please smoke, drink and eat what you like and how you like it.
However, when you are seriously “nosing and tasting” your whisky, it’s better not to smoke. The same goes for exploring a tobacco trying to define the aroma’s which are in it: better not drink or eat while searching for the fine nuances in your mixture. The one interferes your perception and findings of the other. Whether you are exploring whisky while smoking or exploring your tobacco while drinking a fairly strong drink like the ” water of life”. For instance, the Scotch single malt whisky Highland Park 18yo is a very complex whisky with 24 detectable aroma’s. If you are really exploring this whisky, a smoke will have effect on your nose. Thus making it very hard searching for such fragile distinctions in whisky aroma’s.
Having said this, I can assure you that I like to smoke my pipe or a good long-filler cigar while enjoying my whisky. Even my complex Highland Park 18yo, when I’m just relaxing and enjoying my passions: pipe-smoking and Scotch single malt whisky.

Enjoy your smoke and your drink,

Paul

July 16, 2013

Whisky and Tobacco (by Paul) – Part 1.

Once in a while, mostly late in the evening when Ellen is already asleep, I like to indulge myself with a glass of good whisky. Often in combination with a pipe. Unfortunately I know very little of this distilled alcoholic beverage that is made from fermented grain mash, only that I like it. What I do know is that I enjoy a glass of peaty 16 year old Lagavulin paired with a pipe filled with leathery, smoky Penzance. Hmm.. I wondered.. Would there be more combinations possible between whisky and tobacco?

Paul

The man to ask this question to is Paul, who some of you may know from the “Who’s afraid of chemistry part 1 and 2” posts. Besides pipe smoking he also enjoys a good whisky. Well, several good whiskies. Ok, a lot of good whiskies. The man is a walking whisky encyclopaedia and has bottles and bottles of the finest “water of life” at home. Paul also does so called “nosings and tastings” in which, together with a selected group of people, he discusses how to distinguishing smells and tastes with whiskey. He also provides background information about the production process, the components of the distilleries, specificities of whisky, whisky regions and distilleries, wood and barrels, water and peat, boilers, other technical aspects etc. So I asked him to write a post about which whisky goes best with which tobacco. Before I let you read the piece Paul wrote I have to mention that throughout his story I linked to whisky reviews. Now not every reviewer thinks the same about a whisky (the same goes for tobacco) so all opinions and recommendations are Paul’s and are based on his knowledge and vast experience.

For this article I want to write a bit about one of my other passions besides pipe-smoking: whisk(e)y. Arno has asked me: which whisky goes best with which tobacco? Hmmm, tough question to answer, because one person likes to adjust the tobacco aromas with the whisky aromas and another likes some contrast in tobacco and whisky while enjoying them together.

A LOT of whiskies

My specific love goes out to the Scotch single malt whiskies, so you will find them in my examples. But in this article I will occasionally mention the Irish and the American whiskeys too; sometimes with a specific brand-name and expression, sometimes as a group. In Scotch single malt whiskies 400 (four hundred) aromas have been found, so you will understand I can only give “some” guidance on brands and expressions. There are about 10.000 – 12.000 Scottish single malt expressions on the market, including the many independent bottlings. A list way too big to insert them all in this article. So please look upon the following tips and names as a first direction you can follow. For specific questions I will gladly be of service to answer anything on the subject of whisk(e)y. You can use the e-mail on my website www.whiskyinfoplus.nl (in Dutch, but you will find the e-mail button).

Well, this is not entirely true Batman..

For the purists on this heavenly brew, who might have noticed the “e” in the name of the drink: Irish and American whiskey is written with the “e” in the name, all the other whisky producing countries spell it without the “e”. If generally mentioned I will write whisky in this article as the Scots do. If I mean specific Irish or American whiskey, you will notice the extra “e”. A final remark upfront: “yo” is not only a rap-word from guys like 50-Cents and others, but stands for “years old”, which is the age statement of the whiskies ageing in the casks.

AROMATIC BLENDS:

– vanilla and caramel:
Most American Bourbon and Tennessee whiskeys have quite some vanilla/caramel aromas, which go perfectly with a vanilla flavoured tobacco.
As do a lot of Irish whiskeys, such as Bushmills 16 yo, Magilligan 5 yo, Greenore 8 yo and Redbreast 12 yo.
Most Scotch single malts have aged in ex-Bourbon or ex-Tennessee casks and they almost always have aromas like vanilla, caramel and/or butterscotch. Like Glengoyne 12 yo, lots of The Macallan expressions, Deanston 12 yo, The Glenlivet and Glenfiddich single malts up to 15 yo. This also goes for most of the brands from the Speyside region, as long as they have matured on casks formerly used by American whiskey makers.

– honey:
A lot of whiskies can have some honey aromas, i.e. Drumguish (from the Speyside distillery, no age statement on the label), Speyburn Solera (which combines the honey with oranges) or The Macallan Fine Oak 10 yo.

– orange/grape/citrus:
An aroma which also can be found in Scotch single malts, like Oban 14 yo, Speyburn Solera, Old Pulteney 12 yo (grape/orange like aroma) and Fettercairn Fior.

– red fruits like berries, raspberry, blackberry, etc.:
Tomatin 25 yo has a few expressions with berry-aromas. Further you have Springbank 13 yo Port Cask, Lochside 10 yo and Glencadam 15 yo.

– floral aromas:
Glenturret 10 yo brings out some floral notes, as well as a lot of whiskies which have matured on ex-sherry casks, like Glengoyne, Genfarclas 15 yo, Mannochmore 12 yo, Glenmorangie Lasanta 12 yo, Benriach 12 yo, Aberlour 12 yo and most whiskies which boast “matured in Oloroso/sherry/Pedro Ximenez casks” on the label.

VIRGINIA BLENDS:
Almost all of the time an Irish whiskey matches perfectly with Virginia tobacco. There are far over 100 Irish whiskeys, blends, single malts, single grains, pot stilled or continuously distilled whiskeys. All with their own specific character but mostly a bit more “friendly & easy-going” in taste and aroma than the average Scotch single malt. You almost can’t go wrong combining a Virginia tobacco filled pipe with an Irish whiskey.
Scotch whiskies from the Lowlands also combine fine with the light sweet aroma of a lot of Virginia tobaccos. Think of Lowland whiskies like Auchentoshan 12 yo, Littlemill (if you still can find it, the Littlemill 8 yo has a typical aroma of a freshly mowed lawn), Bladnoch and Glenkinchie. But a Speyside region whisky like Knockdhu 12 yo or a young (under 15 yo) Knockando will do just fine as well. Ever tried Highland whiskies like Deanston 12 yo or Dalwhinnie 15 yo to go with your Virginia tobacco? Both, with their heathery and sweet notes, will bring out the sweetness of your Virginia pipe tobacco.

This post continues in part 2.

June 1, 2013

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 3.

The final part. Continued from part 1 and part 2.

Did you ever imagine that your blends would be as successful as they have become?
Of course, I hoped that the tobaccos were well received. But that they would become so successful, even outside the borders of Europe, I could never imagine. That makes me very happy and is also the basis to go further and to make new mixtures. The nice thing about this success for me is that I rarely have a one-time-order customer. This shows me that it is not a hype, but that people like my style as a blender.
But the customer service is not to be underestimated. It is very important for me that the customer feels that he is in good hands and gets advise from me if he requests that. I also never had a customer take the damage or loss for a package and that creates confidence.

Joschi’s Oriental Sunrise

Which of your blends would you recommend for beginning pipe smokers?
Basically I recommend a beginner to first start with a pure, natural tobacco. I do not believe in the idea that everyone should first smoke an aromatic. Especially with aromatics one must pay attention to quality in order not to get terrible tongue burning tongue or sticky pipes. I would recommend everyone here Joschi’s Oriental Sunrise. It is an easy-to-smoke, medium-bodied tobacco with a nice sweetness without being intrusive. It is a simple blend but also a mixture that wants to be discovered. A client of mine calls Joschi’s a “listening tobacco” and that point of view I find very appropriate. It means that Joschi’s shall not impose itself on you but if you smoke it more often it has a lot to tell. Well, that would be my pick for the absolute beginner.

German guy pipe-smoking

How are your blends received outside of Germany, do you sell a lot abroad?
My main business is of course in Germany, but my export share is estimated at about 40% and that is quite amazing. There are hardly any countries within Western-Europe to which I have not yet delivered. Eastern Europe is because of their customs and border regulations a white spot on my map, and this can not be changed. More and more tobacco goes to the USA. I am pleased when people buy from me again and again even though tobacco is much cheaper to get in their home countries. Because of that I know that there are real fans.

GBD Cutty

What are some of the changes that you have seen in the pipe and pipe tobacco industry over the years?
In the pipe industry, probably the biggest changes took place in recent years. When I look back on my past pipe-smoking life some traditional companies disappeared from the market or only the name was left without building on their own traditions. This is a natural market-process and it hurts me sometimes, but it also has to be.
On the other hand, the supply of hand-made pipes has grown immensely, not in the least due to the possibilities of internet. Basically I see this as nice, but I am not very enthusiastic. In principle the term “handmade” is not a synonym for quality. As a convinced unfiltered pipe-smoker it is of course very painful to see the extreme development of the industry towards the 9mm pipe filter. To come back to two of my favourite shapes, the Cutty or the Prince, this fact above is of course aesthetically not justifiable. These two shapes rely on their thin shanks, which give them their traditional elegance and lightness. This is a shame, but again I must add, the market regulates the demand and in this case the market has been manipulated.
Tobacco-technical changes are no less clearly visible. Some small tobacco manufacturers had to give way to the big suppliers. The supply of tobacco has increased significantly, but the diversity has been lost. The highly aromatic tobacco trend has kept pace with the arrival of 9mm pipe filters. Interesting is also the excessive use of sweet Black Cavendish and it seems that vanilla has become the standard flavour. I will not judge, but in my philosophy this does not match.
Some traditional tobacco disappeared from the market or have been changed beyond recognition and adapted for the mainstream. I will not give examples, but with sadness I think back at such great tobaccos as McConnell Original Red Virginia or Orlik Sailor’s Navy Flake.
But exactly this fact has moved me to my actions. With my products I want to serve the small niche of enthusiasts of high quality and with love blended tobaccos. Although my offerings contradict all market analyses, HU Tobacco is very successful at the lowest level of sales. Now when I say that at me the percentage of British varieties with a significant amount of Latakia is about 60%, every tobacco retailer will shake his head.
The longer you think about the initial question the more you could add. But I think now that would be too much.

I have heard and have seen for myself that a lot of younger people are starting to get into pipes. Have you seen a resurgence in pipes and pipe smoking?
Honestly, I can not comment on that. It would be nice if it were so, because pipe smoking is not only a question of taste but also a clear yes to living culture. But Arno, the impressions through the internet or a variety of forums can also be deceiving. One must never forget that forums / Facebook are a microcosm that has little to do with anything of the pipe smokers world. In these media really only the “freaks” roam. And their share is less than one percent, measured to the pipe smokers market.

What are some of your favourite things about pipe shows you go to?
Pipe shows are of course always a good opportunity to introduce yourself to a wider audience and to showcase your products. This will benefit both sides. The customer has the opportunity to try tobacco without immediately having to order at me. Besides, such shows always offer the opportunity at times of personal contact to discuss tobacco. I always listen well to my customers to both the positive as well as the negative and to do something with feedback if possible. Although one can not always please everyone.
While smiling I think back to the last pipe-show in Lohmar. One criticism there was always that you could only buy my tobaccos in 100gr tins. This I have reacted to with the flakes what made a critical customer a bit angry. He shied away from the sale because 50gr tins were too small for him… Well, then you are just speechless…
Apart from the shows I always am pleased with the contacts with other exhibitors. As always we have a lot of fun, and only that makes a show worthwhile for me.
By the way, Lohmar is not too far away from Holland. Perhaps it even could be a destination for Dutch pipe clubs or forums 😉

What are your thoughts on the whole anti-tobacco movement?
Honestly, I look very critical to this anti-tobacco movement since it is very hypocritical in my eyes. Of course we smokers were not very considerate in the past. But when it really was about health protection, it would have been possible to find a satisfactory solution for both sides with the ban on smoking in restaurants. But this has not at any time been the intention.
It’s not about health but it is a struggle against the solidarity of the society. No society needs the supposed good guy who points the finger at others in order to brand them as outlaws and set people up against each other. Once the smoking problem is solved other groups in society join the series. Alcohol, sugar, fat…… Everything is controlled by politicians to finally get an obedient, self-sustaining workforce; voting cattle. Mankind must be protected from themselves and everything than can be hazardous must be prohibited. Such a society I don’t want and I can only hope that the spirit of the age soon turns again so we can treat each other reasonable and sensible.

Any last words to readers?
Arno, now we’ve already talked quite a lot and I hope we have not bored the readers. So I want to make it short. Stylish pipe-smoking is a cultural asset that I really want to defend. With all the health risks it is also important to bear in mind that a relaxing smoke is balm for the soul so we can forget some of our troubles.
I therefore wish for all people who enjoy smoking pipe that they continue to enjoy our hobby and perhaps someone or someone else wants a mixture of me. Happy puffing!

You can buy Hans’ excellent tobaccos here.

May 26, 2013

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 2.

Continued from part 1.

Was it a hard road to where you are now business-wise or was it just smooth sailing?
I am not complaining because I can not imagine a more beautiful hobby, but the last 3 years were sometimes very hard. I was absolutely alone and all kinds of ideas sprang from my head. The biggest problem was simply the lack of time. I still have my “normal” job and anyone who has 3 children from 6 to 12 years (at that time) knows what I mean. The family should not come on the second place because of my “hobbies”, so I do my activities at night. In addition to the tobacco creations the shop had to be set up, the labels had to be created and tobacco descriptions had to be done. It was a very unsettling and stressful time, but at the same time it also was incredibly beautiful and exciting. After I’ve had success with the tobaccos, looking back on it all is of course pretty blissful. Had the entire enterprise not been so successful, the whole thing would have made me very sad. I have really put so much passion and work in it that it is not only about a business, but also about a personal project. However, I always thought that after a while it would become easier and less time consuming. But this was a false belief and therefore my main problem is still the lack of time.
Here I will not discuss individual problems with the manufacturers, financial problems etc.
Briefly worded, I would again like to emphasize that despite the hard moments it all just was total fun!

How do you begin creating a new blend? (What is your working method?) Is it for example so that you have an idea, or are you maybe inspired by a certain kind of leaf a tobacco manufacturer has?
I do not know if there is a general procedure for the blending of tobaccos. For me, the mixtures are created in my imagination. In the beginning the idea is what type of tobacco I would like to create. And I am often inspired by the mixtures I smoke or have smoked in the past. To begin with this is enough, in the meantime I have to make up my mind whether such a tobacco is useful for my shop.
Then I think about how a tobacco should taste, what is the cut I will use by the production of the end product and of course how or with what tobaccos I can reach the goal I set. This often goes on for weeks and then I have very clear picture of what I want to do and what components I can achieve this. It is important, of course, to have exact knowledge of the available mixing tobaccos. Otherwise this method does not work and one has to carefully reach the end goal with sample mixtures.

Making HU Tobacco flakes at DTM

Please describe the whole process from having an idea for a tobacco to the final end-product, tinned and ready.
The practical work begins with the sample mixtures. Most are 2-3 ideas of each 20 gr., the smallest amount, that I mix myself. This is the right amount to first detect whether you are on the right path or are totally wrong. Most of the times the direction in which you are heading is correct, sometimes you score a direct hit, but often it is also completely wrong.
I pack the samples into tobacco tins and let them rest for at least 1 week.
After that we smoke the samples while writing down corresponding records or observations. I also always directly scribble down with which new varieties of tobacco, or changes in the mixing ratio, I think I can improve the result. Of course changes are not immediately made, before that happens I have smoked 2-3 pipes of the respective sample and also express my thoughts on paper.
Then I make new samples of the changed recipes. Normally I then make 50 gr. samples and let other people trial-smoke those. Often some small changes have to be made and in the most ideal case I already have a finished mixture.
Now I go to the manufacturer and let create a 100 gr. sample of my recipe. Again it often comes here to minor differences in the taste. I correct those with another recipe change and if necessary, a 100 gr. sample is once again created by the manufacturer.
If everything fits I have done my share of the work, the price of the mixture can be calculated and can then be produced.
At the same time as the making of the mixture the labels are being created. Now this is of course no longer as expensive as in the beginning, because the different brands are already available and it just has a new name and a corresponding description of the tobaccos used. In the United Passion flakes a new image will be added to the existing lay-out. The finished labels are then printed and sent to the manufacturer so I’m getting tins that are already labelled.
In broad terms this is how the HU Tobacco tobaccos come into existence.

In short, how did your tobacco-lines came into existence?
• The Blender’s Pride
• Foundation by Musico
• United Passion
• Original Warehouse Blend
• United Passion Flakes
• United Passion Special Blends
I started with the lines of United Passion, The Blender’s Pride and Original Warehouse Blend. The names of the various product lines emphasize the flavour orientation of the blends. The Warehouse Blend series includes mixtures of a very high level but without flavouring, so rather purist approach. I find the term Warehouse Blend symbolizes the direction quite well. No fancy tins, no flavours, just blends without frills.
Unlike the Blender’s Pride series.. Here it is more or less about subtly flavoured mixtures. A less purist approach, but not completely over the top. The tobaccos are of the same quality as the Warehouse blends, so we are talking about very high quality aromatics. This is what I want to say about the Blender’s Pride. Also, the flourishing tobacco plant on the label stands for honest but flowery tobacco.
With United Passion the idea was to tobacco mixtures for my closest friends. Here the flavour spectrum ranges from pure natural to floral and soapy, but in any case always individual, according to the taste of my friends. I found the term “United Passion” with the addition Homage To My Friends very fitting.
That was the initial situation. In the meantime the United Passion Flake series was added. As with the “Homage To My Friends tobaccos” the flakes are being produced by DTM. Hence the name United Passion Flakes.
About Foundation by Musico I do not need to say much. It is a collaboration with Massimo Musico and, in the interests of both parties bear the name of the pipes produced by Massimo. The series is clearly latakia-orientated and of very high quality. So each series has a distinct direction and I personally find that very beautiful.

What are your favourite HU Tobacco blends? On which ones are you most proud?
Hmm.. This is a very difficult question. Of course, I like all my tobaccos, the one more, the other less. But all tobaccos wear my handwriting and thus are created by my imagination. A great pleasure at that time was the creation of Old Fredder’s Broken Flake. It is simply a well-balanced mixture, with all the facets that can provide a good Va / per blend. It is actually a rather old-fashioned mixture without any gimmickry or sensationalism. Old Fredder’s is simply what it is, a great tobacco, no more but also no less. And that is what I like about the mixture and what makes it so endearing to me. This tobacco often stands in the shadow of other mixtures, but has conquered a very loyal following in the meantime. It is similar with “My Special One“. A mixture of bygone days. When I open the can, it emanates a scent that you can smell in “old” tobacco shops. I’m not talking about posh, modern shops, but of shops where the cigar boxes are stacked chaotically, there is a lot of smoking inside and where the walls give away the tobacco smell of past years. My Special One is a thoroughly honest, straightforward blend. You know what you get involved with. This tobacco is not a revolution, it is like a homage to bygone days.
But I’m not a dreamer, and I am not very creative when I just wanted to convey the flavour of the old days. The Foundation tobaccos are going exactly the opposite way. Here we have a very modern direction. With the Khoisaan I present a practical tobacco that only consists of condimental tobaccos. Besides the Tuarekh these English blends only have a very small proportion of orientals. Anything but classical. I can not go into every single blend, but I think you realize that I am very proud of all mixtures. Each blend has its peculiar characteristics and came into existence very consciously. Besides, I’m just a very emotional person and I connect tastes with experiences. Arno, I can not completely answer the question, but I think you know what I mean.

What are your favourite non-HU Tobacco blends?
Oh, there are some blends that I find absolutely fantastic and I always like to smoke. I really like the Lakeland tobaccos and in particular the (Samuel Gawith) Full Virginia plug and Best Brown Flake. I think of Squadron Leader as a very good “English” but within the genre I would rather go for Cornell & Diehl Byzantium or GL Pease Lagonda. If it is time to be subtle, Erinmore Balkan Mixture can also make me very happy. From Russ Ouellette I like Louisiana Red and Frenchy’s Sunza Bitches very, very much. I could go on much more about the varieties I mentioned that I really like, but of non-HU Tobacco tobaccos this is what I like to smoke.

This interview continues in part 3.

You can buy Hans’ excellent tobaccos here.

May 20, 2013

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 1.

Hans Wiedemann

Once there was a time that I was petrified that my few “tobacco-lines” with the USA became distorted. How could I live my pipe-smoking life without excellent tobaccos like Abingdon, Lagonda, Westminster, Escudo, Balkan Supreme and many others? In The Netherlands there are few tobaccos of my liking. Then I got introduced by fellow Dutch/Belgian pipesmoker forum member “Smokin'” Rob to the tobaccos of German master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco. Hmzz… Those blends can never be as good as the ones from the States, I silently thought. But being the curious fellow that I am I decided to ask Hans if he also sold samples of his mixtures. And he did. I smoked them and wowww… I could not believe how good they were! On par or even better than many tobaccos available in the USA. So I immediately ordered a bunch of tins and got into contact with Hans more and more. He is such a warm, friendly and modest guy with a big heart. That showed because after I thought the whole forum-tobacco quest ended he extended his helping hand and saved the entire project. Hans also was willing to answer questions for an interview for my blog. Here it is:

How long have you been smoking pipe?
I have been smoking pipe since I was 15. Of course not as intensive as in later years. As a teenager you have other things on your mind and you often miss the moment of rest for the enjoyment. But since that time the pipe always accompanied me and it never lost its fascination for me. The nice thing about pipe smoking is simply the connection of a beautiful smoking device with a wide range of tobaccos with all kinds of tastes. A pipe which smokes excellent and also looks great is almost like a friend for life. This is one of the reasons why I stick to the pipe and prefer it over the cigar. All other enjoyments of smoke are too fast paced and a good cigar simply goes up in smoke, and provides no lasting value for the connoisseur.

What are your favourite pipe shapes and why?
Concerning pipe shapes I am more conservative then with my choice of tobaccos. I feel a connection with classic pipe shapes in which you can recognize the personal style of the maker. Revolutionary shapes, or in other words crazy, spectacular shapes are not my taste. The classic shapes have proven themselves particularly through their smoking properties and are still exciting for me. I take off my hat to every pipe maker who goes to the limits of a shape without blurring the original form. There the art lies in the details.
My favourite shapes since long are the Dublin, Pot, Bulldog, Prince and Cutty. These shapes are really created very differently. The pot and Bulldog are rather strong, burly pipe shapes while the Cutty, Dublin and Prince are sometimes interpreted as very delicate. I love the contrasts and depending on the mood of the day and the preference for a tobacco I choose a delicate or a more robust pipe. Classic does not have to be dusty, classic can still be very exciting.

Olaf’s Favourite English

Do you have a favourite genre of tobacco that you like to smoke?
Of course I have certain tobacco genres which accompany me since long and to where I return again and again despite all kinds of sidesteps. My great loves are the Virginia / Perique blends and to-the-point English blends. I think this you can clearly see this in my supply of tobacco. Again and again I turn to the Burley-mixtures, but they can never conquer my heart forever. But these are always mixtures that excite me and therefore are a great change to my “favourites”.
I sometimes like to smoke aromatic tobaccos but my interpretation of the term aromatic is unlike most others. Aromatic tobaccos should assist only the tobacco taste with their casing, maybe put some little accents, but the tobacco base should never be “destroyed”. This is not a widely accepted view, but the interpretations of the aromatic tobaccos blended by me have a very loyal following. Perhaps this is because this niche is only partially covered by other manufacturers and it offers tobacco flavour nuances that heavy aromatized tobaccos just do not offer these days.
But coming back to my personal passions, the Virginia / Perique and Latakia mixtures, is there anything more honest than the natural blends of these genres? Do you not find the ethereal taste of a good Latakia different every day? Do you not always taste nuances that you have never tasted before, or simply perceived differently? These aspects breathe the life in the enjoyment of pipe tobacco and that falls away when a tobacco is heavily aromatized.

How did you acquire all of your tobacco knowledge? In the early days internet was not there yet. Books?
Yes, with internet really a new era dawned and the ways that you can gather knowledge can be described as wonderful. But to the surprise of many, I am not a tobacco-guru. My modest knowledge of tobacco is not theoretical, but is a result of many conversations with experienced pipe smokers and the visits I undertook in the 90’s to Dan Tobacco. Of course, I devoured all the standard readings of pipe smoking. But like I said, in the smoking community by comparative tests and discussions you learn how oriental tobaccos taste or how the addition of burley affects a Latakia mixture. Those are practical things that one can only learn so far by pure theory.
And honestly it is more fun to gather your own experiences than googling for hours. Like I said, my focus is less on theoretical knowledge and more on “practical experience”.

Hans at the Lohmar Pipeshow

Why did you started blending tobaccos? Were you for example unsatisfied with available mixtures?
Hmm…. That’s a long story. The basic idea was born at the Lohmar Pipeshow 2010. Along with Kelvin, name-giver of my tobacco “Kelvin’s Silent Secret“, the idea was born to try import interesting tobaccos from abroad. It always annoyed the both of us that mixtures from abroad cost a lot and were very hard to obtain. But after a little research I understood that it was not possible to realize this idea. To import tobaccos, apart from a desire to do a lot of paperwork, you need a lot of money and a high level tolerance of risk. All this was not what I was looking for, after all it was supposed to be just a hobby. Besides my day job I also have a wife and 3 small children. So the idea came to create tobaccos according to my own visions and sell them through an online store. Since Kelvin was in a completely different phase of life than me and focused himself on starting a family, he let me go first, and concentrated on the pipe making. That way the idea was born, not knowing what was coming.

Some of the HU Tobacco mixtures

When you first started blending pipe tobacco blends, was it more of a hobby or did you already had plans to make it into a business?
As long as I can remember I was always searching for the best tobacco. Sometimes this was not always pleasant, because a certain restlessness is in it, but you also learn about an awful lot of different tobacco blends. I always had the desire to unite all the advantages of different tobacco species in a mixture. Ok, that is impossible, but this thought prompted me to create my own blends over and over again. So I have some experience with home-mixing before HU Tobacco. Many ended up in the garbage because they were not useful or simply not good enough to really have fun with. But over time by adding the right ingredients you get a feel for the direction in which a mixture is going to develop. So before before I decided the venture into the world of tobacco-mixing and present blends to the public, I had the phase of beginner-mistakes behind me.

Dockworker, a beautiful Burley / Oriental / Virginia flake

Do you have a favourite type of tobacco when blending?
I can’t really say that. I have 2 to 3 great Virginias available to me that I really love working with and that I have often used lately. But this should not be the standard, otherwise the mixtures are simply becoming too similar. Yes I want to show the whole range of individual types of tobacco in my mixtures. Otherwise it would make no sense to offer several Virginia or Virginia / Perique blends. In my recent creations, I tried to put tobaccos in the foreground which lead a shadowy existence at the large manufacturers. Especially Kentucky, Burley and Oriental tobaccos. Because of this tobacco combinations came into existence that not or almost not existed in Europe to date. Burley / Orient, Orient / Kentucky, Burley / Perique to name just a few examples.
I would like to re-phrase the initial question: Are there tobacco genres you prefer to blend? The answer to this question would for me be an unmistakable yes. Latakia mixtures are the most exciting for me as a blender because this genre offers the biggest “playground”.

How did HU Tobacco came into existence?
How I came to the idea, I’ve already answered. But of course there still was a long way to go before the founding of HU Tobacco. I first had to find partners who were willing to manufacture my mixtures. Because my sales are ridiculous compared to the major manufacturers, I did not encounter mutual love everywhere.. Sometimes the targets had been set very high which of course brought many sleepless nights. Not knowing how everything was going to develop, I took a few risks and registered my company at the authorities.

This interview continues in part 2 and part3.

You can buy Hans’ excellent tobaccos here.

May 11, 2013

I crave for some Craven Mixture

A 1932 ad for Craven Mixture

Some time ago while browsing on the British ebay I saw an old still full and sealed tin of Carreras’ Craven Mixture. Somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered reading about it. After a quick Google search I knew it. It was the blend famous novelist and author J.M. Barrie called “Arcadia Mixture” in his famous “My Lady Nicotine” book. The ebay tin looked pretty good so I decided to bid on it. To my pleasant surprise I won it for very little money. The lady from who I bought it was somewhat worried when she had send the package: “You are not going to smoke it right? It’s OLD!” I answered “Madam, I have every intention of smoking it!” And so I did.

A 1918 ad for Craven Mixture

Craven Mixture originally was made by the Carreras Tobacco Company. The House of Carreras was a tobacco business that was established in London in the 18th century by a nobleman from Spain, Don José Carreras Ferrer. In the early 18th century Carreras began trading in London. This was a time when cigars were increasing in popularity and Don José became a pioneer in his field. However, although business went very well it did not become a major company until his son, Don José Joaquin, began to specialise himself in the blending of tobaccos.

George Grimston Craven, 3rd Earl of Craven

By 1852 Don José Joaquin Carreras had established himself near Leicester Square. In 1853 he was granted the high honour of being the sole supplier of cigars and tobacco to the Spanish Legation (a diplomatic representative office lower than an embassy) in London. Don José’s fame as a skilled tobacco blender soon spread. He produced special blends to suit the individual tastes of the highest members of society. Fashionable and distinguished customers visited his showrooms to select their own tobaccos. One of Don José’s most famous customers was the third Earl of Craven. A special blend, yes you guessed it correctly, Craven Mixture, was created specially for him.

Another 1932 ad for Craven Mixture

Carreras soon opened another shop. This time in the Arcade in London’s newly developed and fashionable Regent Street W1. Here he was visited by royalty from many countries. Some of Don José’s tobacco brands became world famous. As well as Craven Mixture, you had Guards’ Mixture, Hankey’s Mixture and others. Over one thousand brands of cigar (!) could be bought from Carreras. Together with snuffs, cigarettes, pipes and other tobacco related items. The business remained in the hands of the Carreras family until 1894 when Mr. W J Yapp took control. In 1903 Carreras leadership fell to Bernhard Baron when he and Yapp both became directors.

J.M. Barrie c. 1910

J. M. Barrie, best known as the creator of Peter Pan, was a valued customer during the 1890’s. When he wrote “My Lady Nicotine” (which was published in 1890) he centred the story around a mythical tobacco called Arcadia Mixture. It did not take long before Carreras realised that the only tobacco Barrie bought was the Craven Mixture. In January 1897 Barrie confirmed to Don José that Arcadia Mixture and Craven Mixture were one and the same. Shortly after that Carreras began using Barrie’s endorsement in his advertising. Craven Mixture sales increased rapidly at home and abroad.

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce as Holmes and Watson

In the stories of Sherlock Holmes the blend also appears. It was Dr. Watson’s favourite pipe tobacco. Holmes recognized it by it’s characteristic fluffy white ash. It was said to be of such extraordinary character and delicacy that it stopped all conversation.

After some very, very successful decades the Baron family (which had held a controlling interest in Carreras since the early 1900’s) decided to sell their shares in 1958 to Rothmans. Carreras Rothmans Ltd. was formed in 1972, when Carreras Limited was used as the vehicle for the merger of various European tobacco interests to form Rothmans International.

Nowadays Craven Mixture is no longer made. Although McClelland re-created the blend: 221b Series, Arcadia. Cornell & Diehl also made a re-creation: 531, Yale Mixture.

My freshly opened circa 1930’s tin of Craven Mixture

Ok, enough history. Let’s go back to the tin I purchased. I date this one to the 1930’s because of the mention of Arcadia Works on the tin (post-1928) and the resemblance to the tins on the advertisements you can see in this post. Besides a little rust the knife-cutter tin looked just fine, the foil below the lid was intact. Still, you can never know how the tobacco in the tin behaved after about 80 years. There can be microscopic holes which let the air out, the inside could be very badly rusted etc.. So a bit nervous I pulled the little knife on the lid away, took a deep breath and placed it on the foil thus penetrating it. To my absolute delight I heard a 3 second long hiss of escaping air and smelled the ancient tobacco. Yessss!!! That meant the tin still was sealed! Quickly I cut away the rest of the foil by turning the lid around. I could not believe the tobacco inside was still moist and springy after all this time. The smell was a bit sour, like a pile of autumn leaves on the earthy ground.

I grabbed my old patent era Dunhill shell briar prince, filled it up and lit it. I was rewarded with a very smooth smoke and taste. Of course the ingredients had decades to blend inside the tin. The mixture is fairly strong in the nicotine department. After only one third of a bowl I already found myself running to the fridge for some fruit-juice to temper my fast aggravating queasiness.. Identifying the individual elements in this mixture is pretty difficult. As far as I can taste after one bowl this blend contains Syrian latakia. At least, after smoking quite a lot of McClelland Three Oaks Syrian past week I can pretty safely say it is Syrian. Besides the typical smoothness and smokiness of the Syrian dark leaf I also detected Virginias. I do not think a lot of bright Virginias were used since the blend is not really sweet. Orientals I did not detect. The flavour is quite straight, pure, strong and unified. The smoke has a constant and consistent taste and body from start to end.

No one who smokes the Arcadia Mixture would ever attempt to describe its delights. J.M. Barrie. Well, I just did.

Here are some more pictures of my tin:

April 4, 2013

Who’s afraid of chemistry? (by Paul) – Part 2.

Let’s get on to answering the question of part 1 why we don’t smell/taste during smoking what we smelled before in the tobacco pouch:

When you look at the variety of additives for pipe tobacco, for example to search for those on Wikipedia, you find some difficult descriptions and properties of those additives. Either the natural thing or the artificial. The most important value for our answer is the boiling point of that molecule. If we look up vanilline, it says it has a boiling point of 285 °C (= 558 K [Kelvin] or 545 °F).

Now, why is that Boiling Point so important? Well, a German friend has asked a chemical engineer to measure the temperature of smouldering tobacco in a pipe and found it to be approximately 500 °C (= 773 K or 932 °F). When we take a puff at our pipe, the temperature of the smouldering tobacco quickly rises to about 700 °C (= 973 K or 1292 °F) and then drops right back to 500 °C if we stop puffing. And that is a big part of our answer: the used additives in pipe tobacco are already evaporated. This because their boiling point is way below the temperature of our smouldering tobacco. As you will find out by searching the boiling points of other aroma molecules, whether fruits or drinks or whatever, most of these molecules have a boiling point between 190 °C and 300 °C (= 463 K – 573 K or 374 °F – 572 °F) and will evaporate during smoking. So we don’t smell the aromas.

That’s the main reason, in my humble and not-scientific approach, that we don’t recognize the aroma from the pouch during the smoking of the tobacco. But there are some aroma’s which seem to be recognizable while puffing at our pipe. Why is that?

Carbon atom

Well, this takes us to another chemistry thing: how many carbon atoms are present in the molecule of such an aroma? Because carbon has a boiling point of 4554 °C (= 4827 K or 8229 °F), these carbon atoms will not evaporate. Instead they will burn or at least heat up. This will be detectable during smoking by our nose and it smells like “burning coal”, often described as “just warm air”. In short, the more carbon atoms an aroma has, the better you can recognize it.

Furthermore aroma molecules which are pentose or hexose molecules (respectively five or six carbon atoms in the molecule) or more, like vanilline with eight carbon atoms, are harder to evaporate. Because of the high boiling point of the bigger share of high temperature carbon atoms, they might be easier escaping our pipe-bowl before being evaporated. So, an aroma molecule with just three or four carbon atoms evaporates easier than a molecule with more carbon atoms.

Super-sweet BiBo tobacco

There are examples of tobacco brands (like the super-sweet BiBo with oranges and chocolate aroma, Mediterraneo with peach-aroma and Memories of Tuscany with grape-aroma, all from DTM in Germany) which keep their aroma during smoking, down to the last ashes of our pipe. This is possible by using additives which contain more carbon atoms in the molecules. Or use can be made of alternative aroma additives which smell like (in the case of BiBo) oranges and chocolate, but have another molecular structure than the original orange or chocolate molecules.

Then there is another thing: the room-note. Why do people in the room smell more sweetness from our smoking then us, the pipe-smokers? Or why do we get the smell too, when we go out of the room for a little while and then return?

I think that’s because, although the smoking temperature is that high, some aromas will come out off our pipe bowl. This because they are connected to condensed water; air holds moisture and condenses while cooling down after being heated in our smouldering tobacco. So a small part of the aroma molecules “lifts along” with the moisture in the airflow which leaves our pipe between our smoke. And this might cause the nice room-note.

The fact that the pipe-smoker doesn’t detect that room-note so intense as the other people in the room is also because his nose is right above the pipe. The smoke he takes in his mouth and nose is closer to the high temperature of the smouldering tobacco than someone who is present in the room but farther away from the hot tobacco.

Keep also in mind that we humans get easily used to an aroma. When you enter a cattle barn, you might find the aroma of cattle dung very much in your face. But after a few minutes you get used to it and you don’t experience it that strong as when you just entered the barn.

All this explains why we appreciate a tobacco much more when it is smoked very calmly. Smoking too quickly makes our tobacco burn too hot which evaporates aroma molecules. This also explains why some tobaccos change taste and aroma during smoking. The heat alters some molecular structures which brings out other aromas.

Enjoy your smoke,
Paul.

Dutch Pipe Smoker

Tag Archives: pipe tobacco

Whisky and Tobacco (by Paul) – Part 2.

Whisky and Tobacco (by Paul) – Part 1.

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 3.

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 2.

Interview with master-blender Hans Wiedemann from HU Tobacco – Part 1.

I crave for some Craven Mixture

Who’s afraid of chemistry? (by Paul) – Part 2.