First try with tobacco press

[Surlywill]

First attempt at pressing a cake. Recipe is 4oz Virginia, 1 pouch Capt Black reg,
1 pouch Capt Black Gold. I topped it with 4oz dark rum and 1tsp molasses. I boiled the rum and molasses down to about an ounce and a half and sprayed it over tobacco and jarred for a month. Put into my homemade press for a week. It came out hard as a hockey puck. I smoked a little before pressing and had a great taste, a little less rum than I was hoping. Now I’ll store for a month. Happy for a first try

[Houtenziel]

Nice work. Who knew it'd be so much fun to make tobacco pucks?

[Surlywill]

Nice work. Who knew it'd be so much fun to make tobacco pucks?

Will probably try some tomorrow, was surprised how dark it came out. Didn’t look like that before pressing.

[Mr Beardsley]

What are you using to press with? The result looks fantastic

[Surlywill]

What are you using to press with? The result looks fantastic

2 hockey pucks and 3 inch pvc. Wrapped the pucks with wax paper and press tha Tobacco between the pucks with c clamp. Saw it on YouTube. Worked great. Everyday day for a week I’d crank a little more. Last few days wouldn’t crank anymore.

[Houtenziel]

What are you using to press with? The result looks fantastic

2 hockey pucks and 3 inch pvc. Wrapped the pucks with wax paper and press tha Tobacco between the pucks with c clamp. Saw it on YouTube. Worked great. Everyday day for a week I’d crank a little more. Last few days wouldn’t crank anymore.

I have a feeling that this design is probably capable of a LOT more pressure than the humble noodle presses we've been using..

[Mr Beardsley]

What are you using to press with? The result looks fantastic

2 hockey pucks and 3 inch pvc. Wrapped the pucks with wax paper and press tha Tobacco between the pucks with c clamp. Saw it on YouTube. Worked great. Everyday day for a week I’d crank a little more. Last few days wouldn’t crank anymore.

That's what I assumed you were using when I read how many ounces you had pressed. It's a pretty fool-proof method. I've been trying to come up with a less fidgety version of it with a friend of mine

[Mr Beardsley]

What are you using to press with? The result looks fantastic

2 hockey pucks and 3 inch pvc. Wrapped the pucks with wax paper and press tha Tobacco between the pucks with c clamp. Saw it on YouTube. Worked great. Everyday day for a week I’d crank a little more. Last few days wouldn’t crank anymore.

I have a feeling that this design is probably capable of a LOT more pressure than the humble noodle presses we've been using..

Oh definitely. If I can figure out how to weld a metal plate to the clamp foot (so that it can still rotate freely and not spin with the handle) we could really do some damage

[Surlywill]

The c clamp put enough pressure on the pucks to leave marks. Keeping everything straight was the toughest part. Had to use the handle of a sledgehammer to release the pucks. Tried the cake this morning and am very happy with results. Just need to figure how to add a more pronounced rum flavor.

[Houtenziel]

The c clamp put enough pressure on the pucks to leave marks. Keeping everything straight was the toughest part. Had to use the handle of a sledgehammer to release the pucks. Tried the cake this morning and am very happy with results. Just need to figure how to add a more pronounced rum flavor.

The reason why you probably aren't getting the rum as much is that it probably mostly boiled off in your heating process. Try using the "Beardsley Method", where you leave the loose tobacco in a airtight container with a shotglass full of whatever rum you are using. You can also case directly with rum, but I've been told that too much can tend to increase bite.