DGT – Delayed Gratification Technique

Simply put, DGT is just lighting a pipe, smoking some of it, and waiting until later to finish the rest. The twist is that with some tobaccos, most often Virginias and Virginia blends, this improves the flavor and behavior of the pipe.

What prompted this post was a bowl of McClelland's blending Virginia. McClelland Virginias, for some reason, are far more likely to nip my tongue than Rattrays, C&D, and other Virginias. As soon as I noticed the nip, I set the pipe down to see how it would respond to DGT.

This evening, 24 hours later, there it is waiting for me. To my delight, this particular VA blend responded exceptionally well and I just finished a tasty smoke without a hint of the usual McClelland bite.

What's behind this is likely a stoving of the tobacco. Stoving is a process commonly used to treat tobaccos before the are added to a blend.

This doesn't always improve a blend. Many blends, especially cigar blends, will taste worse. Its always worth a try, especially if what you're smoking has a lot of Virginia.

Know of any blends that do especially well with DGT? Let me know if the comments below.