Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- From: Vince <v_abadie@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Nov 2005 01:13:48 -0600
Briarroot wrote:
Vince wrote:
Today, I picked up some MacBaren's Latakia Blend. I've never smoked Latakia, and I've never smoked roll cake tobacco. So, these were 2 firsts for me.
My impressions:
On Latakia: Latakia is wonderful! I'm not crazy about the room aroma, but the taste is superb. I believe this blend to be lighter in Latakia than several others, but I find it really compliments the Virginia and Cavendish. I would say this tobacco is on the light side of strong, or the strong side of light. It's a pleasure from the first draw, and it improves farther down the bowl.
Some people think that Mac Baren's Latakia Blend is *so* light that the Latakia is almost non-existent! However, if you like it, don't let that deter you. Several of our resident lataki-aholics shun any blend that has less than 30% latakia! Myself, I find that just a little goes quite a long way. ;-)
On Roll Cake: Weird. The woman at the B&M showed me how to fold and insert it, and she explained that some people rub it out. I used the folding method, and it made for a nicely filled bowl with a looser pack than I use with bulk tobacco. This made the draw much easier than I like, so I had to make some adjustments in technique. I tamped about half way through the bowl, and I was back in familiar territory after that. Is there a secret to roll cake that I should know?
Roll Cake is just a flake tobacco sliced from a long tubular "roll" to make coins, rather than from a rectangular brick. I almost always fully rub out a flake tobacco, whether it be rectangular or coin shaped, because I find that it's much easier to light and much easier to smoke. I've never perceived any benefit from smoking whole flakes, either in flavor or in coolness of the smoke. However, many people do prefer to pack their bowls with whole flakes for just those reasons. Experiment until you find what works best for you with each combination of pipe and flake. I think the secret in smoking whole flakes is to rub out *some* of the flake (or coins) and use this fully rubbed out tobacco to help pack the bowl, especially around the sides and the top. The loose mixture will ignite easier and help keep the still-compacted flake alight.
In any case, it sounds like your having a lot of fun discovering the world of pipe smoking. Good luck! :-)
Regards,
Tim Parker ... Escudo in a Tinsky blast billiard
Thanks, Tim. I'll try rubbing it out next time and see how that works out. Funny, I've smoke pipes off and on for 30 years, but I've learned more in the past couple of weeks than ever before. I used to smoke things like Barkum Riff or Carter Hall in a Dr. Grabow...or Paladin Black Cherry in a Grabow or a corn cob. I've come a long way, even though I'm on a limited budget. Lots of great info here on ASP, and I appreciate the friendly help so many of you are willing to offer.
Vince .
- Follow-Ups:
- Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- From: kilted1
- Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- References:
- First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- From: Vince
- Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- From: Briarroot
- First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- Prev by Date: Re: OT (very): Does anyone just do what they're told?
- Next by Date: Re: Your Free Christmas pipe
- Previous by thread: Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- Next by thread: Re: First Latakia AND First Roll Cake
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
