Eric Stendal

From: Barry Levin (quoted by Chripstopher D. Walborn)
Subject: How To Evaluate Fine Tobaccos–Barry Levin

Date: Wednesday, February 8, 1995
Time: 12:29 AM

Perusing through the Winter-Spring 1994 issue of the Pipes Smoker’s Ephemeris I came upon an interesting article sent in by the late Barry Levin. The article was a guide to evaluating fine tobaccos. It covers the topics of aroma, appearance, moisture, flavor, burning, and aging.

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              How to Evaluate Fine Tobaccos
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I was having dinner the other night with a respected friend and client, caught up in a lively discussion about the particular properties of quality tobaccos. During the conversation, my friend suggested that I share some of the background of what goes into the development of our tobaccos.

Although I’m what corporate America might label “marketing-driven”, I realized my experiences in developing out products have given me some pretty intense knowledge of tobacco. I’ve smoked and sampled thousands of blends, ranging from the old-time classics to experimental mixtures that never survived past the first bowlful!

My friend suggested that many, if not most enthusiasts don’t have a clear picture of just what is involved in creating pipe tobacco blends. It occurred to me that by sharing the process, my experiences could also serve as a guide to evaluating all tobaccos. I’ve decided to comment on the key characteristics that blenders consider critical to developing a harmonious blend to satisfy all of the senses.

Aroma

Ideally, there should be some relationship between the pouch aroma and the smoking aroma. This is not to suggest that it should smell the same in the pouch as in the smoke, but the aromas should be consistent; harmonious. There should not be a shocking discrepancy between what’s expected from the smoke and what is actually delivered.

When smoking the tobacco, we carefully consider the ‘nose’ off the bowl when the pipe is warm. We judge the nose when the bowl is warm and not really putting off smoke. Try it! To gently draw a warm bowl past your nose can be one of the great and seldom appreciated pleasures of pipe smoking. The aromas can be so rich and wonderful, adding immense pleasures to the overall aroma. Not doing this leaves an entire dimensio out of the picture.

With English or Balkan blends (Turkish, Latakia predominant), the aroma will be delightfully pungent. Virginias will yield a sweet aroma, which comes, in part, from the caramelizing of the sugars.

Appearance

Generally speaking, tobaccos darken with age. It is my opinion that extremely bright tobaccos tend to smoke hot. Many of these “bright” tobaccos have high sugar content, but without sufficient curing they will never give up their sugars to the smoker.

I suppose this is the one reason I’m particularly fond of “stoving” Virginia tobaccos. Beginning with a golden leaf, the proces of stoving with heat and pressure accelerates the conversion of starches in the leaf to rich sugars. The dark color is a combination of caramelizing sugars combining with the oils in the leaf.

We also look for sugar crystals on the finished product to develop over time in the tin. We’re talking years, here, so you must be patient. Crystallization is usually a good indicator of advancing age and a well-cured tobacco.

Don’t mistake mold for sugar and vice versa! Moldy tobacco will have a distinct musty odor and the white flecks on the tobacco are powdery. An examination in sunlight will bring out the sparkle of sugar crystals. It’s best to view all tobaccos in natural sunlight so you can observe the color and crystal development. A blend’s aesthetic appearance is an important added pleasure. Beautiful colors and contrasts, different cuts and presentations really enhance the experience.

Moisture

This is one of the truly misunderstood aspects of tobacco. A pipe tobacco with too much moisture will exude this as steam during smoking, making it hot and irritating to the mouth. Part of this heat is caused by the extra puffing that must be done to counteract the moisture and keep the tobacco burning. Your puffing acts like a bellows on a fire–great for a fire, but not for a pipe.

Overly dry tobacco will tend to crumble to powder when packed in the bowl. It will burn so quickly that the flavor has no time to develop. What’s the best condition for smoking? Slightly dry, rather than slightly moist is best. The tobacco should be elastic, but never spongy. If a piece crumbles between your thumb and forefinger when pressed, it’s too dry. If you press a few bits of the tobacco together and they give, but stick together for only a moment, the tobacco’s just about right.

When you open a tin, you must assess the condition of the tobacco and act accordingly. Vintage tobaccos in older tins may be dry when opened. There are many opinions about the best way to re-humidify dry tobaccos. I feel the best is to carefully remove the tobacco to a zip-close bag and lightly mist the tobacco using bottled water. Close the bag and test the tobacco in a few days for moisture. Continue doing this until it’s just right.

Putting dry tobacco in a container with a humidification element seldom imparts enough moisture to the blend to render it smokeable. Some enthusiasts say that water should never directly contact dry tobacco because it can promote mold. My feeling is if mold has already permeated tobacco but isn’t visible, the tobacco is already ruined.

If the tobacco is a bit too moist, spread it on a large plate and let it dry under your diligent observation. If it has no added humectants, it will quickly reach the right moisture content in all but the most humid weather and should be placed back in the tin immediately, if a tight fitting lid is available. Without a tight-sealing tin, your best bet may be a zip-close bag.

Flavor

This is what most people key on when picking a tobacco. It’s also the trickiest element. Flavor is predominantly made up of aroma and these two aspects are really inseparable. Witness the fact of how little you taste with a stuffed nose! Chances are if you like the aroma (if it’s an uncased tobacco), you’ll like the taste.

Most blends are evaluated based on consistency of smoking qualities from the first puff to the bottom of the bowl. However, this is somewhat unfair, as all tobaccos will change substantially during smoking. The tobaccos below the burning level will collect condensed oils and moisture from above, concentrating as the tobacco burns down. The key is whether the flavor is pleasant all the way down–not necessarily the same.

The wetter the tobacco, the more moisture will condense as you smoke, usually creating an unpleasant flavor. Drier tobaccos tend to smoke cleaner, which is why a slightly dry tobacco is recommended for smoking. Flavor should be judged within a band, and neither end should be unpleasant. Most blends have a “peak zone,” which yields the best smoke of the bowl. But you shouldn’t have to endure a foul beginning to get to the good part, nor should you suffer in order to smoke all the way to the bottom.

Burning

Not only will moisture affect burning, but also the density of the cut. Straight pressed flake will be quite dense and will burn unevenly, which is why you must either rub it out in your hands or whiz it in a food processor. A rougher cut will generally burn more slowly than a fine cut, changing the temperature as well as the flavors that develop. A fine cut tobacco should be slightly more moist to counteract this tendency to burn hot and fast.

Combinations of rough and fine cuts will also affect the burning rate. Careful blenders spend a lot of time determining not only the mix of leaf, but the various cuts utilized. The same tobaccos, cut differently, can taste, smell and smoke very differently. With pressed flake, you the smoker perform this function, deciding how fine the final blends will be.

Aging

The last aspect I’ll cover in this overview is one of the most important. Leaf is aged before processing to prepare the blend and set the oils and sugars in the leaf. If the processing is done correctly, the real magic happens in the tin.

Over years, quality tobaccos will begin to mellow and develop complexities not found earlier on. The aromas and flavors intensify, and the smoke softens. This is not a controllable process. Some tins will change only a little. This is especially true for leaf with lower sugar content, such as burley or Turkish, which is also the base leaf for Latakia. Virginias tend to change quite a bit with age.

I find that aging generally takes one of three directions: fruity, musty, or sour. Sugars intensify, flavors marry, and you often end up with a tobacco that tastes dramatically different than it did when it was originally tinned. I have tasted tobaccos that were delicious when tinned 25 years ago and have become even grander with age.

A fine wine is always good, but it too can improve with years in the bottle. This is also true for tobacco, which is why I recommend cellaring a portion of your favorite tobaccos. All wine, however, will go bad with too much age unless it’s fortified with alcohol, like port, which can improve for a century or more. There is less chance, however, that a tobacco will turn bad after several years–as long as the tin’s seal isn’t damaged.

Predominantly Virginia blends, if they change at all, will either turn slightly sour or fruity. English blends with Virginia leaf may turn a bit fruity, sour or musty with aging, which can yield an interesting complexity. Chances are, however, if a good natural product is properly tinned, it will change for the better. There is simply no substitute for aging to achieve the characteristics of a fine, old tobacco. Aging is one of the beautiful mysteries of tobacco cellaring. Seriously aged tobaccos are generally much darker than when originally tinned and have developed visible sugar crystals. The aroma from the tin is almost transcendental!

Ultimately, there is one rule of thumb: if you like the tobacco when it’s freshly tined, you’ll like it after years of aging. It may be different, but equally delightful and possibly superior.

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