Close, But No Cigar: Tobacco Usage During the Civil War Era

(Library of Congress)

(Benjamin M. Roy, Gettysburg College) ...Captain Frank Donaldson of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry tried his first chew of tobacco during the battle of Chancellorsville. He was tired, hungry, and worst of all, out of tobacco for his pipe. Donaldson decided to try chewing tobacco out of desperation. He hoped it might satiate his riotous stomach and reinvigorate his exhausted mind. Continued

A Slow Painful Death For Cigars Daily

Home Grown Tobacco HUGE harvest!

TOBACCO CROP COMES BACK STRONG

(Tobacco Farmer Newsletter) Since the rains began, flue-cured in N.C. has come back strong. Now, it might help if the precipitation pulled back. “We have had a tremendous amount of rain in eastern N.C.,” says Matthew Vann, N.C. Extension tobacco specialist. “Most farmers there have had up to 10 inches in June, and some have had more than 20 inches. We may be heading for a new record for precipitation in June in this state.” Continued

Home Grown Tobacco from Seed to Six Feet Tall

I ran into two tobacco legends

(Tobacco Farmer Newsletter) ... I ran into two tobacco legends still working the auctions this fall, when auctioneer Chuck Jordan and buyer Mac Bailey took a few minutes to talk to me at the October 20 sale in Rural Hall. Continued

UPDATED VERSION OF “THE TOBACCONIST HANDBOOK” RELEASED

Walter Cronkite

(halfwheel) The second edition of “The Tobacconist Handbook” from Jorge Armenteros, the founder of Tobacconist University, has officially been released. This second edition is a hardcover that checks in at 264 pages and features a number of updates from the original version, which was published in August 2009, including improved photos and updated content. Continued

A Closer Look at Perique

(smokingpipes.com) Perique is an incredibly versatile blending component and one of the most interesting and complex types of tobacco. It's used to create numerous mixtures, often serving as a condimental tobacco to add nuance or complexity to a blend. Perique is steeped in tradition, having endured for centuries, its curing process passed down for generations, and it continues to play a prominent role in pipe tobacco manufacturing. Continued

Why Do Some Cigars Taste Bitter?

Scandinavian Tobacco Group Raises Full Year 2020 Guidance

(Tobacco Business) Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has provided an update on its business as it and the world continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. In a new press release, the company states that the negative impact of COVID-19 has had lesser of an impact than originally anticipated. In a surprising development, STG reports that tobacco consumption across markets and categories has shown significant resilience through the pandemic. Continued

Tobacco Selections: Black Cavendish

Smoke in Place

(CSN) ... As the pandemic first hit the U.S., many customers began hoarding tobacco products — particularly cartons of cigarettes — ahead of shelter-in-place rules, according to data from the InfoMetrics database managed by consulting services firm Management Science Associates (MSA). Continued

Tobacco Selections: Italian Fire-Cured Leaf

UPS Makes it Harder to Ship and Receive Tobacco Products

 

(Tobacco Business) Shipping tobacco products is an important part of the trade business and one of the largest shippers in the U.S., UPS, has updated its policy towards regulated products like tobacco. Continued

The New Latakia?

 

(Firecured) Syrian Latakia is dead, deader than Marley’s Ghost, and if Pipestud is right, Cyprian’s days may be numbered as well. It is unlikely that this situation will change anytime soon. (One can take heart in the fact that Absinthe returned after a 100 year hiatus, cold comfort to those of us who are currently alive.) I love my Latakia blends, and will miss them dearly, but that’s the way it is. Worse still, I doubt the taste of Latakia will ever be replicated. Who’d want to smoke an artificial Lat blend anyway?

However, Latakia became popular for two reasons: flavor and its cooling properties. When I first started smoking a pipe, I naturally gravitated to the Latakia heavy English and Balkan Blends because they didn’t burn my tongue, like many of the other pipe tobaccos did. There was nothing cooler than a bowlful of Frog Morton Across the Pond.

So, how do we make our blends cooler now? Deer Tongue? Bleh. Cigarette Tobacco? Meh. Mint, tea, spirulina, wheat grass, oats, corn silk, or kudzu? I hope not.

I noticed that one company, Cornell & Diehl, has been promoting some new cigar leaf blends lately. Seems like a good way to go. Cigars don’t burn your tongue and most pipe smokers, in my experience, also enjoy a good stogie.

I bought all three of the new blends and tried them out. Do they provide for a cooler pipe smoking experience? Yes, very much so. Are they tasty? Very tasty. Do they taste like Latakia? No they do not. Will you buy more? Yes, I will. (At the moment, I’m trying to decide if I should start cellaring The Haunting or Cloud Hopper in a big way.)

Another good thing about cigar leaf is that there are many varieties of the stuff. There were only two varieties of Latakia. Cigar tobaccos include: Connecticut, Maduro, Criollo, Corojo, Sumatra, Shade, Habano, Ligero, etc. A pipe smoker disliking a Connecticut/Virginia blend may love a Corojo/Virginia mix.

Will they all be great? No. Remember McClelland Dominican Glory? Not so great, though its companion blend, Dominican Glory Maduro was quite popular, 2.3 and 3.3 respectively at Tobaccoreviews.com. The occasional bad blend is a small price to pay for creativity.

What else is there to be said? The king is dead, long live the king.

Trump Administration Wants to Remove FDA from Tobacco Regulation

 

(Tobacco Business) For the past several years, the tobacco industry has been in a long, drawn-out battle for control with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. A new proposal from the Trump Administration, however, could put an end to the FDA’s reign over the tobacco industry and its products while giving more power to another federal agency. Continued

Tobacco Selections Dark Fired Kentucky

ORIENTAL TOBACCO - Our master blender explains it

Don't let Barrel Aged Cigars Fool You!

Trump Administration Cracks Down On Some Flavored Vaping Products

 

(NPR) The Trump administration announced it will crack down on certain vaping products containing fruit, mint and other e-cigarette flavors to keep them away from kids. Manufacturers will have 30 days to take these products off the market before the Food and Drug Administration can take enforcement action. Continued

Also: U-Haul’s Anti-Nicotine Hiring Policy Is Draconian