Pipe Tobacco: Kentucky
Kentucky is a pipe tobacco of great body, aroma and structure, with high nicotine content.
It takes its name from the American state of the same name, from which it originated.
Initially it was only for chewing, later being adopted as fine-cut and as the filler of the stronger cigarettes.
Kentucky, today, is somewhat reminiscent of Virginia: it is versatile and suitable for multiple uses.
It is rarely offered in fine-cut tobaccos as a single base; in fact, it is more commonly offered as a base along with other tobaccos and sometimes as a topping note.
Its worldwide production is very limited (about 1%) and occurs mostly in the USA (Kentucky and Tennessee), Africa (Malawi, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Mali), Asia and Europe (Italy and Poland).
History of Kentucky pipe tobacco
Kentucky has great popularity in Italy, partly because it is used in the production of Toscano cigars.
It made its first appearance in 1574, more precisely in Tuscany, when Cardinal Niccolò Tornabuoni sent some seeds to his nephew Alfonso from the New World.
The first imports from America took place in the mid-1600s, and the first cultivations starting in 1800, more precisely in Tuscany, Campania and Umbria.
As for its origin, Kentucky is believed to be a derivation of Virginia. In 1903, the italian Kentucky variant was obtained through crossing with Sumatra.
The characteristics of Kentucky pipe tobacco
Kentucky is a dark, fire cured tobacco and is considered "smoky" because it is subject to direct exposure to smoke produced by burning particular woods.
In the rooms set aside for curing, special fires are lit with dry wood, producing no flame. This particular wood, usually oak or beech, gives off a very intense aroma.
In this way, the smoke produced by combustion penetrates the cells of the leaf, until they turn a dark brown color.
But even more important than the color, this curing imparts an unmistakable aroma and taste, appreciable later in smoking.
How Kentucky tobaccos affect smoking
Kentucky tobacco has a strong, flavorful taste. Pipe smokers have a habit of using it together with Virginia tobacco for round, satisfying smokes.
It goes together with all tobaccos and often serves to toughen up blends that are too light or have little body.
It is therefore not ideal for sweet, light blends.
What are the best Kentucky pipe tobaccos
Among the best Kentucky pipe tobaccos we can count Robert McConnell's Scottish Flake (Kentucky, Virginia and Perique) and Scottish Cake (same blend).
From Rattray's I always recommend Sir William (Burley, Kentucky, Orientals and Virginia), Brown Clunee (Kentucky, Perique and Virginia), Hal O' the Wynd (Kentucky, Perique and Virginia) and Old Gowrie (Kentucky, Perique and Virginia).
Equally good are Balkan Brebbia (Kentucky, Latakia, Orientals and Perique) and Peterson's Irish Whiskey (Kentucky, Burley and Virginia).
We cannot fail to mention the italians Forte, Comune and Italia. Forte is a blend of apical leaves of Tuscan Kentucky, so it has a higher intensity, unlike Comune, of the same blend but with leaves from the whole leaf plane. This makes the Comune lighter than the Forte.
Italia, on the other hand, is a blend of Italian Virginia and Kentucky tobaccos.