Cavendish Tobaccos

I was asked to do some videos on Tobacco by Hampshirepipe. BentBilliard has already done a number of videos on this subject, “Pure Tobaccos”. He has sampled and meticulously described there characteristics, enabling us all to blend our own. Without wanting to repeat what BentBilliard has already talked about, I am going to do a piece on Cavendish tobaccos.

Pinning Down Cavendish Part 1

What is Cavendish?

This is complex arena, it has many different meanings in different places.To try and simplify it, I am going to break them down into 3 categories;
American Style
English Style (only a handful of these blends exist though)
Dutch Style
What all of them have in common is the use of  sugars & flavourings. The tobacco is sweetened & compressed, allowing fermentation to take place. The order, methods, constituent leafs, heat sources(or lack of) and flavouring creates these different styles. These 3 categories are only a generalised grouping system and shouldn’t be treated as something concrete.

Throughout this article and following videos, I will try and explain (to the best of my knowledge) the differences. I have been able to get hold of 3 base “Black Cavendish” tobaccos, which I plan to taste & describe. Then to show what a typical Dutch Cavendish is like, I am going to sample some Sail a “Natural”.

Black or Golden?

Cavendish tobacco isn’t a variety. Its an aging & flavouring process, pretty much any tobacco can be used. The Dutch and other europeans even use Perique & Latakia in some blends. Black Cavendish is cooked with steam/ heat, while Gold Cavendish isn’t. I have managed to get hold of 3 base tobaccos, all forms of Black Cavendish. American, English & one that’s an English/American/Dutch hybrid. To show a more common Dutch Cavendish I have Sail – Natural Cavendish, a golden Cavendish

American Black Cavendish (Unflavoured)

Producer – Lane Limited (sold in UK as Century)
Product – Black Cavendish
Tobacco – Fire Cured Virginias
Cut – Course Cut

This tobacco is the most common form of Cavendish I come across. Many aromatics use this form of Black Cavendish. The process used creates a milder & more aromatic smoke, compared to the English variety. The tobacco is often heavily cased creating a sticky, but sweet & cool smoke. Dark fire cured tobacco is used, this is compressed into blocks 1inch thick, sweetened, steamed & left to age. The tobacco is then cut and flavoured with a vast array of casing and toppings. The result is mild tobacco that is cool and easy to smoke. Most popular among new smokers and those looking for a tobacco with a pleasant room note.

The lane mixture uses 100% fire cured leaf, the steaming & sweetening process has created a sticky but sweet smelling tobacco. I am very familiar with this tobacco, I have smoked it  many times before. But not recently, it’s a smooth and very sweet tobacco. Hard to keep lit though, at first.

Read & Watch my Tasting Notes (Pt2)

Dutch/American/English Dark Cavendish (Unflavoured)

Producer – Gawith Hoggarth
Product – DVC (Dark Virginia Cavendish)
Tobacco – Flue Cured Virginias
Cut – Course Cut
The Dark Virginia is sweetened and steamed to create a milder blend. This is then cased with sweet, maple/honey flavours. Pressed into blocks and left to age. The resulting tobacco is dark, but smells & feels like Dutch Cavendish. The aroma is sweet, not Gawith honeydew sweet but a syrupy affair(Identical to the Sail). The casings are lighter and the blend feels much like its Dutch cousin.

The use of dark flue cured Virginia, gives it its English gene. The steam sweating its American gene, while the end result looks & smells like a (dark) Dutch blend. I don’t know what to really class this as, but it will make a good comparison. It is mainly sold with a chocolaty topping, giving this light blend some added character. The blend is classed as “unscented” so im guessing a sweet casing is added (honey, maple, sugars??)

Read & Watching Tasting Notes (Pt3)

Dutch  Cavendish (Unflavoured)

Producer – Sail
Product – Natural (Original Dutch Cavendish)
Tobacco – Virginia, Burley, Latakia, Indian & Indonesian
Cut – Shag Cut

Originally I wasn’t going to use this tobacco, I figured that the DVC would act as both a black & Dutch Cavendish. But for a comparison, im going to include it. This “Golden Cavendish” blend, is made by taking a mixture of tobaccos. These are then cased with syrups/sugars, compressed and allowed to age. In Theory any tobacco that is sweetened, then compressed into plugs and left to mature are Cavendish’s. The casings remind me of the DVC, honey & syrup.

I have smoked many tobaccos like this one, they tend to be sweet but can turn nasty if you smoke them wrong. I am however hoping that smoking them in a clay will solve that. The smell reminds me of aromatic honey and maple, sweet could almost eat it & I will suck a little and see. So many tobaccos come under this heading, many of them by Scandinavian Tobacco (Erinmore, Clan, Holland House & Troost to name a few). The cut is thick & stringy shag, slightly sticky. More like Borkum Riff & 7Seas.

Read & Watch Tasting Notes (Pt4)

English Black Cavendish (Unflavoured)

Producer – Gawith Hoggarth
Product – Black Cavendish
Tobacco – Fire Cure Virginias
Cut – Course Cut

Dark fire cured Virginia leafs are selected, de stemmed, heated until jet black & sweetened. The leafs are then put under pressure in cakes and left to ferment (age) for anything up to several weeks. The result is a medium strength, cool and rich tobacco. The tobacco looks jet black like latakia, but oily like Perique. The smell reminds me of Kentucky with a slight plumy whiff of perique. It then used in mixtures or flavoured to create aromatics.

I have smoked Gawiths Exclusiv Black Cherry, which uses this 100% as blend and that’s a rich and hearty tobacco. I haven’t smoked it “Naked” before, I am looking forward to it. The aroma reminds me of Ashtons – Artisan Blend & Dunhills – Nightcap, fire cured and that musky latakia/perique funk. Just a little more subdued.

Read & Watch Tasting Notes (Pt5)

Watch Summary (Pt6)

I hope that through this article and 6 videos, I have explained a little about Cavendish tobaccos and its many guises.  The main purpose of this video is show how a steamed/heated Virginia can be used to create 3 distinct Black/Dark Cavendish’s. The Sail is to show what a none stoved/steamed Cavendish is like.

References

Wikipedia
Blending Tobacco & Smoking Characteristics by Jim Murray
Selecting pipe Tobacco by Mary McNeill
Gawith Hoggarth Website & Trade Catalogue
Common Commodities & Idustries – Tobacco by A E Tanner (Pitmas 1945)

TobaccoReviews.com
Lane – Black Cavendish
Gawith Hoggarths – DVC (But without the Chocolate Topping)
Sail – Natural
Gawith Hoggarths – Black Cavendish