Homebrew

Every now and then, especially when the economy paints the walls brown like it is doing now, the topic of homebrews comes up: blends that we make, from mixing tobaccos ordered online or the product of our gardens, instead of purchasing commercial blends.

Homebrewing is a mixed bag because you have so many fewer resources and techniques available than the commercial blender. They after all choose from hundreds of Virginias where you get three or four; they can press, steam, roast, case, ferment, age, and season these ingredients however they choose. They can adjust the type of cut and moisture level, measure pH and ammonia levels, and do dozens of other things that improve a blend.

However, the really immortal types of tobacco — every thing breaks down in a few basic archetypes — seem to do well with blending tobaccos because they would probably be ribbon cuts anyway, they work well at the default moisture levels of the tobacco, and they are eternal favorites because these recipes simultaneously bring out harmony and conflict between their ingredients, resulting in the much-sought pleasing but “interesting” smoke.

You probably have a “big six” of blend types:

  1. Virginia: mostly Virgina leaf of several types — orange, bright, red, brown — and some Burley
  2. Va/Pers: same as the above, but with Perique added, so these tend to layer bright Virginia along with red
  3. Burley: an inversion of the Virginia blend, the Burley blend tends to be mostly Burley with Virginia and/or Cavendish for sweetness
  4. English: these are Virginia blends that also incorporate Latakia and Oriental leaf for a gingerbread cookie type flavor
  5. Dark Fired: these blends mix dark fired leaf with either red or bright Virginias to create a coffee-with-cream type flavor
  6. Aromatic: usually Burley and Cavendish with a top note added to give a food or drink like flavor to the blend

Amazingly, you can make many of these at home. For today, it makes sense to focus on the easiest introductory blending project because it consists of sourcing the leaf, then tossing it together in a big bowl and giving it a week to “marry” where the different types of tobacco share flavors and become a smooth flavor of their own.

Although some would caution me not to let the cat out of the bag, it makes sense to share with you my recipe for a homebrew English, one of many iterations over the years:

The resulting blend does not turn out hugely cheaper than the entry-level Englishes but is stronger and has richer flavor, so I like it. Throw in a little cigar leaf for a silky creamy smoke, and maybe a pinch or two of Cavendish to give it a softer sweeter feel on the mouth.

We might call this a basic or introductory English blend. You can do a lot with different combinations of Orientals, for example, and many prefer not to include so much Burley, which is mostly in here to give it some strength and warmth.

To make this, you start out by laying out the Long Cut Perique on whatever cooking block or board your wife, girlfriend, boyfriend, or mom favors the most, and then whacking it into little eighth-inch strips. Toss that in the bottom of a (clean) bowl. Dump in everything else, stir thoroughly, and store in a jar for a few weeks in a warmish dark place.

This produces a medium-strength middle-of-the-road English with an American touch in that both Perique and Burley round out the blend — European blenders often mix in Burley, but keep that a secret; the Burley makes the blend burn more smoothly and makes the flavor bigger and warmer — but smokes like a dream at the approximate right moisture level.

If you like a wetter blend, you can add a 5% by weight of half-and-half whisky and distilled water, but for me this seems unnecessary, so I simply spritz a little distilled water over the top before settling it into a big quart jar to marry for a few weeks.

This blend brings out what I like in some of the best commercial tobaccos, namely a tendency to burn easily, forgive packing mishaps, and keep a consistent flavor that gradually becomes sweeter and more berry-like as the different blends caramelize together.

You may recognize this one as a hybrid of two classic blends, Walnut and My Mixture 965, with nods to Engine 99 and Nightcap.