“No way, no way. Tried it once, doesn’t work.
You got four guys all fighting over who’s gonna be Mr. Black.”
--Reservoir Dogs
Most pipe tobaccos have some sort of sweet component. Aromatics are all about a sweet flavor, sure, but even most English blends have a note of sugar, for contrast with the savory elements. One of the big players in this area is the group of tobaccos known as Black Cavendish: a pressed and flavored tobacco, black in color. Black Cavendish class pipe tobaccos also have varying degrees of sweetness. Two common kinds cover the spectrum of what you can expect in this category, and there is an honorable mention.
Black Cavendish Aromatic: Also known by its initials: BCA. This is the standard of what most pipe smokers think of when the term Black Cavendish is mentioned. It is a sweet, moist, ribbon-cut blend. If you stick your hand in a bag of this and make a fist, some of the tobacco will stick to your fingers--it’s that moist. It will also stick, a bit, to the walls of your pipe’s bowl. For all that, it is an utter standard in American aromatics. The taste is sweet, but not too heavy or overpowering, and plays very well with Burley and Virginias. BCA is a classic and the owner of the Black Cavendishes
Toasted Black Cavendish: Several traits make this different from BCA. It is drier--make a fist in this and little, if any, will stick. The cut is slightly different, a bit more pudgy than BCA’s ribbon cut. And most noticeably, it has the pouch aroma of bagged raisins, in contrast to Black Cavendish Aromatic’s scent of vanilla/chocolate ganache.
The low humidity level of Toasted Black Cavendish make it perfect for adding non-obtrusive sweetness to English blends. Aromatic blends have no problem absorbing the near-dampness of BCA; English mixes, drier by definition, need the more subtle touch of this drier Black Cavendish. Toasted Black Cavendish is made, most popularly, by Altadis and Stokkebye.
Honorable Mention: Vanilla Black Cavendish: This blend, made by McClelland, ramps up the flavor of Black Cavendish. Though BCA is not used, this is very close in terms of moisture content and feel. The difference is in the flavoring, a bit like MacBaren’s Vanilla Crème, but with all black tobaccos. It’s richer than BCA, too, and will surely stick to your fingers. Unique, tasty and sweeter than sugar.
All of the Black Cavendishes mentioned here will be available from a thorough pipe tobacconist, probably by the ounce. Explore and enjoy!
