Four-leaf snuff fermented with toasted oak

You'll need Tick as you go

• 20 g Maryland 609 leaf
• 5 g Katarini leaf
• 5 g Virginia Lemon leaf
• 5 g fire-cured leaf
• 1.5 g potassium carbonate
• 1.5 g salt
• Toasted oak cubes, the kind sold for wine and beer making
• Distilled water

Equipment

Method

1. Step 1 of 8A few days ahead, put the oak cubes in a canning jar with distilled water and bring it to the boil (a microwave works). Seal the jar and leave it for a few days.
2. Step 2 of 8Strip the veins from the leaf, shred it and dry it completely. A slow cooker at 120°F works.
3. Step 3 of 8Grind the leaf in a coffee grinder and sift it through a 100 mesh sieve.
4. Step 4 of 8Grind the potassium carbonate and salt to a fine dust in a mortar.
5. Step 5 of 8Weigh and combine the tobacco flours, salt and potassium carbonate, then sift the mix through the 100 mesh sieve.
6. Step 6 of 8Put the dry mix in a jar with eight of the soaked oak cubes and shake it well.
7. Step 7 of 8Seal the jar and keep it at 120°F for about 10 hours (a sous vide works). Shake it a few times in the first couple of hours.
8. Step 8 of 8Let it cool, scrape off and remove the oak cubes, and sift the snuff through an 80 mesh sieve.

Rest time

About 10 hours of warm fermentation. Setting half the batch aside to age for a couple of months is worth trying.

Tasting notes

Nutty, slightly smoky and oaky, with ammonia, hay, fresh bread, leather and a touch of Oriental leaf. A strong burn that settles into a long, warm glow.

Notes

The jar lid swelled overnight and settled again once the jar cooled. A sealed jar builds pressure as it warms, so don't overfill it. 100 mesh is about 150 microns and 80 mesh about 180 microns. Wear gloves when you handle potassium carbonate.