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Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

DGBAMA

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And yet another old pipe blend gets a thumbs down in its modern form....... Good thing we have Whole Leaf.
 

jolly

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And yet another old pipe blend gets a thumbs down in its modern form....... Good thing we have Whole Leaf.

Yep, the trend is bad. One of the reasons I started looking to grow tobacco wasn't because of the cost, but the fact that several of my go to blends (Dunhill) had undergone unfavorable changes.

One of the biggest things I miss -- the old Dunhill english blends had this sort of buttery aroma when burning. I used to hold the bowl under my nose while smoking.

If you have found anything that comes close to this please let me know. GL Pease's Key largo gets close, but the flavor is so different I don't enjoy smoking it that often. I'd love to find it again, home grown or otherwise.
 

Jitterbugdude

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Today i testsmoke my latest batch , awesome , just made a 300 gr (approx 12 oz) plug of
60% red virginia (wlt)
30% bright virginia (my own)
10% perique (my own)
2 weeks pressure in a mould (one week in 45°C (113F))
and then sliced it

jojjas, Was your Virginia Brightleaf air cured, sun cured or flue cured?
 

deluxestogie

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jolly,
If you'll look at the Latakia blending matrix that I posted in this very thread (http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3926-Pure-Tobacco-Pipe-Blends-You-Can-Make/page5#48), Smyrna Bright is fashioned after Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. Master's Mate is a "medium" English blend, and Siege of Acre is very close to Nitecap. My overall preference is Master's Mate.

I don't have any idea what the original Dunhill recipes were (definitely not the funky stuff being currently sold as Dunhill blends), but the series of blends in the matrix encompass many of my old favorite English blends--Dunhill, John Cotton, Rattray. During these cold months, I puff away at my pipe indoors, all day long. My batches are trending larger.

Bob
 

Matty

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I been playing with pipe blends recently, using the Deluxestogie Latakia Chart. I make up the blend, about 10 gram batches, roll it up tight in a carotte and leave it hang for a week. I then slice the carotte into coins and store in a jar. My first batch was about 2:1 mixed virginia flue cured to latakia with a bit of prilep and maryland. Smokes great, very satisfying. My latest batch, a carotte of flue cured virginia, maryland and perique. "Pouch" aroma is wonderful, tastes good and even has a pleasant room note. Thanks to Deluxestogie for the inspiration.
 

Planter

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I used to hold the bowl under my nose while smoking.

Interesting you mention that, because I like doing that too, but my own stuff (when properly cured) is the only which does not sting in the nose.
 

jojjas

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jojjas, Was your Virginia Brightleaf air cured, sun cured or flue cured?
That bright virginia was flue cured , from 2013 harvest , 2014 harvest is air cured , i have put it in vacuumsealed bags now for aging , my original plan was to let it age at least 2 year "if i could keep my dirty little fingers avay from it" ;)
 

BarG

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Yep, the trend is bad. One of the reasons I started looking to grow tobacco wasn't because of the cost, but the fact that several of my go to blends (Dunhill) had undergone unfavorable changes.

.

It started out for me because of the unreal prices of a readily grown product. It has changed significantly since then, the reasons I grow and buy whole leaf.
 
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jolly

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jolly,
If you'll look at the Latakia blending matrix that I posted in this very thread (http://fairtradetobacco.com/threads/3926-Pure-Tobacco-Pipe-Blends-You-Can-Make/page5#48), Smyrna Bright is fashioned after Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. Master's Mate is a "medium" English blend, and Siege of Acre is very close to Nitecap. My overall preference is Master's Mate.

I don't have any idea what the original Dunhill recipes were (definitely not the funky stuff being currently sold as Dunhill blends), but the series of blends in the matrix encompass many of my old favorite English blends--Dunhill, John Cotton, Rattray. During these cold months, I puff away at my pipe indoors, all day long. My batches are trending larger.

Bob
Bob,
The matrix is a great reference, and I'm sure I'd find most of those excellent blends. While I certainly intend to play in this sandbox, I'm trying to find whatever it was that created that creamy/buttery note that made the old dunhills delicious. It's gotta be out there... I've smoked just about every brand of enlish blend in search of it and I can't find it. There are several brands that have sought to replicate these blends, and while they're not bad, they all fall short. Certainly I'd love to be able to create them at home -- and I'm going to try. It would be great to get a head start in identifying what ingredient or combination made the magic happen.

I'm also wondering if it was accomplished by using (or perhaps not using) and additive. I would imagine that when the contract for dunhill changed hands that the new vendor would've been provided the recipes and are likely using similiar ingredients. Maybe it's a process thing... Was it what Murray's was doing that no one else did, or what they were not doing that everyone else does...? There are a lot of variables I guess.

If you've achieved butta with any blend I'd love to know...
 

Jitterbugdude

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Some ingredients are simply not used anymore. There were a lot of pipe blends that had Deers Tongue in them for instance. Some tobaccos are no longer available. About the only Oriental tobacco used these days is Izmir. Add to the fact that a lot of the Virginias are now coming from Africa. Good luck in your quest.
 

jojjas

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My latest pipetobacco experience ,55 % red (toasted) and bright virginia ,15 % perique of my own make, brown cavendish and cigarleaf scraps 15 % each
2 weeks under pressure in 45° C (113 F) then additional 1.5 months under pressure in the brickmould , i couldent wait longer:)
20150228_133009.jpg
Sliced them in my meatslicer and after that in shredder , it came out as somthing simmilar to cube cut , but it smoked good , burnt well and tasted awesome , jummy:eek:
 

jojjas

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Thats not tricky , i hope the pictures are informative good enough
When you filled the mould , put pressure on ( i use a frame and a jack , but it will work witc a c-clamp )and tighten the screws to maintain pressure under the whole process
20150308_100845.jpg

Put the mould in the owen in the desired temprature, together with an thermometer
20150308_095850.jpg
Check the screws and thighten them regulary to be sure thats pressure is on
 

Jitterbugdude

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jojjas, I really like the idea of using screws to maintain pressure. I've been pressing my tobacco with a screw press and putting the whole thing in my bee box kiln. I think your idea will make it a little easier. Space is limited in my kiln with the screw press.
 

jolly

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image.jpg
One part light fire cured (WLT), one part VA bright (WLT), one part homegrown burley.

image.jpg

I'm smoking it now. The burn rate is good, but the blend is a little flat. Needs something. Wish I had some of those bursa lugs left.
 

jolly

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I only made it about halfway through the bowl. I used burley tips in the blend and that just about put me on the floor. I'm thinking it needs more fire cured, and maybe some bafra I've had aging for a few years.
 

deluxestogie

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You're a brave soul. I love the flavor of burley in certain pipe blends, but when it goes above 3/16 of the blend, I find it overpowering in terms of nicotine. The burley I used in my blending matrix was WLT's toasted burley. With home grown burley, the lug leaves can be used at higher percentages, without crashing in like a bowling ball.

For mysterious reasons, I've always (over 40 years) smoked burley only in a corncob. I think that's more in the vein of intractable habit, rather than a meaningful relationship.

Bob
 
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