D.G.T. - the winter smoke

[RevSmoke]

I smoke my pipe more in the winter than I do any other time of the year. Or course, a few other things have got me smoking my pipe more than cigars lately. But I thought I'd tell that a big reason is simply D.G.T.

If you never heard of it, D.G.T stands for Delayed Gratification Technique.

It is cold outside and you really don't want to fire up a Churchill because your boys would crawl up inside to your tonsils just to stay warm, and it would be weeks before Johnson would come out again. Even a petite corona seems a bit of a stretch when the mercury dips below 10 degrees Fahrenheit - and with the temps lately below 0, I thought you might like to know why I like to smoke a pipe in the winter.

The answer is D.G.T.

Smoke an inch or two of a cigar, purge it, and come back to it a day or two later. Go ahead, try it, I dare ya! You just cannot do it with a cigar. OK, some guys can, but it is pure torture. There is a bitterness and tar flavor that is just nasty, tastes more like an ashtray than the great smoke you were enjoying if you'd have nubbed it when you lit it.

D.G.T.

Now take your pipe and smoke it for 5 or 10 minutes, come back into the house and set you pipe down. You can come back to it a day, or even 4 days later (I've even done it 7 days later), gently tap out the grey ash and a bit of the char, tamp down the remainder of the tobacco to level it off, light it and wow, a great smoke.

In fact, (some will find this hard to believe) sometimes it is even better than when you were first smoking it. The first puff or two may have a bit of charred taste, but that quickly fades. I have a friend who never finishes a pipe. He might even start a second or third, putting them all down about half smoked. He wants to save them for a couple days, for he believes they taste even better as a D.G.T. than when first packed in the bowl.

That is D.G.T.

This works best with Virginias, VaPers, Orientals, and English (sic) blends. Aromatics you can do it too, but VAs and VaPers are the best.

This has been a public service announcement.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[OnePyroTec]

I do the same thing for the same reasons Rev. I always use a cob when I plan on not finishing the bowl. When I forget to go back and a snow storm rolls through...not a big loss.

The guys who live in the tropics of So.Cal wouldn't understand

[Zanaspus]

I'll provide the counterpoint since Rev just loves when I do this. IMHO I'm convinced it's not the tobacco that's improving by DGT, but rather the smoker. Each smoke (even if it's the same tobacco in the same pipe or the same cigar in the same setting) is an experience unto itself. By setting the bowl down for an hour, day, week or month, we fundamentally change the game. What we ate, drank, how we feel about the world are all different.

Have I had some awesome DGT experiences? You betcha. Have I had some disappointing DGT experiences with precisely the same tobacco? You betcha. I just think there's more to the equation than a partially steamed bowl of tobacco sitting about for a while.

Should you listen to me? Absolutely not. I've read enough orgasmic accounts of enough DGT experiences on enough sights to presume there's really something to it. I think my cynical mind just writes it off to luck.

All that said, great post Rev. I'm surely in the minority opinion here.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Zanaspus

I'll provide the counterpoint since Rev just loves when I do this. IMHO I'm convinced it's not the tobacco that's improving by DGT, but rather the smoker. Each smoke (even if it's the same tobacco in the same pipe or the same cigar in the same setting) is an experience unto itself. By setting the bowl down for an hour, day, week or month, we fundamentally change the game. What we ate, drank, how we feel about the world are all different.

Have I had some awesome DGT experiences? You betcha. Have I had some disappointing DGT experiences with precisely the same tobacco? You betcha. I just think there's more to the equation than a partially steamed bowl of tobacco sitting about for a while.

Should you listen to me? Absolutely not. I've read enough orgasmic accounts of enough DGT experiences on enough sights to presume there's really something to it. I think my cynical mind just writes it off to luck.

All that said, great post Rev. I'm surely in the minority opinion here.

Interesting thoughts. I cannot say that I have had any "bad" D.G.T. experiences.

I have however had a couple where the bitterness upon relight take a few more puffs to disappear. I have also never picked up a pipe after 2 weeks and proceeded to smoke it again. I figure at that point the tobacco is just too dry and not worth the effort. In fact, it is usually just a couple days, and usually not even a whole week.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[alfredo_buscatti]

There are many ideas about DGT, but if I decide I can't finish the bowl I have no qualms about putting the pipe down and picking it up later. I'll DGT anything, and anything I DGT generally gets smoked before anything else.

[jsnake]

Hey Rev it has been a while. Hope all is well with you. I will DGT a pipe but I just can't seem to do it with a cigar. I won't light a stick unless I know I have the time. If something comes up for a few minutes and I need a relight no problem. Hours or a day later no thank you. But the pipe is great for DGT.