Can I extract the flavor from Cuban & Dominican Cigars?

[Jimbo52]

I found 4 'Humidors', 2 of which were filled with dried out cigars.
Neglected for more than 14 months, since I became tobacco-free. I
threw away the 'crap' cigars; but I have 1 filled Humidor with quality
Cubans & Dominicans (pure, unflavored tobacco)! That got me to
thinking; can I extract the flavor from these beauty's, since I really
don't want to EVER light one up again (I'd be afraid of the
consequences, kind of an AA thing).

 

[lexi60]

You sure can. I've used a plain Norwegian tobacco and a cheap honey cigar among many pipe tobacco's.
All with good to great results.
I've been letting my tobacco's steep for 7 days, Over night was not giving me the flavor I wanted.
Enjoy!

 

[Kurt]

You could also try a hot Tobacco Essence recipe, like my pipe tobacco essence. I would break up part of a cigar into small bits, and flash boil it in VG for about 30 seconds, then let it sit overnight, filter, and use the concentrate as a flavoring in a juice. Should be quite nice!

 

[Jimbo52]

You could also try a hot Tobacco Essence recipe, like my pipe tobacco essence. I would break up part of a cigar into small bits, and flash boil it in VG for about 30 seconds, then let it sit overnight, filter, and use the concentrate as a flavoring in a juice. Should be quite nice!

I've combed through the Forums (and watched a couple of youtube videos on the subject), but I'm hesitant about using VG! My early attempts at DYI with LorAnn flavorings called for adding some amount of VG to the mix (for vapor production) and it ALWAYS made me nauseous when vaped. ECOpure ECOmix (which is VG based) also had this effect.

Can the flavor extraction occur when using PG, PGA or just distilled water? And, is there any way to determine the NIC content of the extraction? After 14 months; I'm currently down to using around 6mg e-liquid and I don't want to all of a sudden create a "super-charged" extraction.

 

[lexi60]

I've used PG a few times and it does work, Though I think VG works better. It may be just me.
There's a sticky in the DIY fourm on testing nic levels. http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...st-mg-ml-nicotine-follow-up-dvaps-method.html
I mix mine at 25MG/ML, It don't seem to be any higher to me. but have never tested...

 

[MaxUT]

I've used PG and it worked well to extract flavor. It also extracted a lot of color, making the liquid extremely dark. You could use water or alcohol, but it would probably result in a different balance of flavors than PG or VG. Whether this would be better or worse no one could say without making a series of tests on a particular tobacco to compare the results.

Try making a small quantity first. I used 2 tablespoons of tobacco and 70ml of PG and ended up with over 50ml of flavoring.

I wouldn't worry about the amount of added nicotine. I doubt that the extract would have more than 5mg/ml nic unless you extracted from something like fresh Nicotinia Rustica tobacco.

 

[Jimbo52]

Ok, Here we go!

One (1) Romeo y Julieta (Habana) Coronitas en Cedro. Put it in my Braun Coffee Grinder (properly cleaned out) and ground into small bits (5-6 seconds). Produced 2 Tbs.

One (1) Tbs. going into Propylene Glycol 90% and 10% distilled water (around 55ml. total) and it will sit in a dark place for a week at room temperature.

Still looking into best filtering method, but I've got a week to figure that out!

 

[Jimbo52]

Update 1: A quick visit to American Science & Surplus (American Science & Surplus : Items Just Off the Truck) for the glassware (10mL Graduated Cylinder, 50mL Beaker, etc.) and laboratory filter paper. Will be looking for the ".12N Sulfuric Acid & Bromothymol Blue" for testing the Nic content this week.

 

[Jimbo52]

Update 2: While waiting for supplies (American Science & Surplus for the hardware and The Perfumer’s Apprentice for PG and flavors), I took the other Tbs. of my ground up cigar and put it in 55ml. of distilled water (for comparison purposes).

 

[Jimbo52]

Last Update:

1. Steeping 5 days at room temp. 55ml. 90% PG & 10% Distilled Water and passing through a #1 Lab Filter resulted in 50ml. of a clear, dark amber fluid.

2. Steeping 5 days at room temp. 55ml. 100% Distilled Water and passing through a #1 Lab Filter resulted in 33ml. of a muddy, dark brown fluid. Passing it a 2nd time through a #1 Lab Filter resulted in 30ml. of a clear(er) dark brown fluid.

3. Both PG & Water produced a very, very mild flavored juice; not really a tobacco flavor, and very little NIC content that I could detect.

4. Mixing 80% PG Extract and 20% ECOpure Krystal (VG 38mg.) made a passable vape; with decent vapor production, and a slight TH, but really no flavor.

5. Mixing 10% Water extract with 60% PG, 10% 48mg.PG and 20% VG again made a passable vape; with decent vapor production, no TH, and really no flavor.



BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!

 

[MaxUT]

I got quite a bit of flavor with my PG experiment, but I heated mine for 20 minutes and then filtered just after it cooled somewhat. The liquid was clear and I used about 25% in mixes. Flavor wasn't what I was hoping for, however, and the color was extremely dark.

 

[Jimbo52]

I got quite a bit of flavor with my PG experiment, but I heated mine for 20 minutes and then filtered just after it cooled somewhat. The liquid was clear and I used about 25% in mixes. Flavor wasn't what I was hoping for, however, and the color was extremely dark.

I chose one of the milder Cubans for my experiment and that was my fault; the more "flavorful" tobaccos obviously produce the more flavorful e-juice. That said, I'll be doing this again (once I use up what I've brewed) using a really strong Cohiba or a nice dark Maduro and see if it gives me the flavor that I want.

 

[WillyB]

Last Update:


2. Steeping 5 days at room temp. 55ml. 100% Distilled Water and passing through a #1 Lab Filter resulted in 33ml. of a muddy, dark brown fluid. Passing it a 2nd time through a #1 Lab Filter resulted in 30ml. of a clear(er) dark brown fluid.

3. Both PG & Water produced a very, very mild flavored juice; not really a tobacco flavor, and very little NIC content that I could detect.


BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD!

Did you then reduce (concentrate) the mixture? Get some of the water out by gentle heat or evaporation?

 

[Jimbo52]

No, I haven't tried that with the water extraction. I've got about 25ml. to play with, so I may give this a shot!

 

[Justadrop]

This all seems great in theory but if one has obtained/extracted the nic flavor, have they not also extracted the poisons as well?

Flash boiling or steeping, still seems as though the bad stuff is getting through.

 

[Deuce22oz]

You're right Justadrop, If you use premade cigarettes to do this you will extract a much higher concentration of "some" of the poisons. It still wouldn't be as bad as the tobacco itself because not all the toxins are water soluble. I don't know which tobacco's have all the toxins in them and which ones don't. There are a few RYO (roll your own) tobaccos out there that don't have all the added toxins/poisons out there though. They'll probably be cheaper and easier to use too. A few of the ways that the FDA uses to test the tobacco for toxins is by liquid extraction. so some of them definitely get through. I still really don't think it could be worse than the original tobacco itself and of course you're not burning it in the end, so that could be more safe. Then again, vaping them might make some more safe and some less safe. I really wish I knew. I've been wanting to try this myself. I guess I'm just gonna have to make sure I research each tobacco before I try to use them. I'm really hoping to extract all the flavor and not all the other crap. If anyone reading this comes up with any good ideas that work let me know. I'll give you some of the end result when I'm done. I'll only be using high quality, high flavor tobacco with no additives, so it should be good.