Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[ArizonaDave]

I've heard mention on this forum that it is not legal for WLT to sell perique tobacco leaf. Is that correct? I ask this because they do offer it over at leafonly.com. It's expensive as he'll but they do offer it. They even offer seed.

I'm not sure. Ask Bob, or FmGrowit. I know they sell Latakia (which is also processed).

 

[deluxestogie]

Perique has be formally evaluated by a tax board, and deemed to be a "tobacco product." Latakia is simply fire-cured whole leaf. Obviously, the legal distinctions between an agricultural commodity and a "tobacco product" are arbitrary, when the leaf remains intact.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Perique has be formally evaluated by a tax board, and deemed to be a "tobacco product." Latakia is simply fire-cured whole leaf. Obviously, the legal distinctions between an agricultural commodity and a "tobacco product" are arbitrary, when the leaf remains intact.

Bob

I understand the "tobacco product" deal. Even though it is dumb as hell. I mean if you think about it all tobacco is processed in one way or another...lol. The only way it is unaltered is when it is green right off the plant. Does leafonly have a different license than WLT or something? It just seems funny that they offer perique and others do not.

 

[greenmonster714]

Years ago, I started my pipe tobacco blending excursions with a blend from Cornell & Diehl. It was one of their many English blends that contained Lemon Virginia, Latakia, Izmir and Perique. I've forgotten the name of that blend. I called Cornell & Diehl to discuss their possibly tweaking the blend for me. No problem.

Bailey's Front Porch

Craig Tarler was still alive then, and over the phone he willingly divulged the exact percentages of the components in that blend, and we settled on a couple of adjustments for my custom blend. Since Craig died a few years ago, the company was purchased by a marketing firm, and no longer makes up custom blends, as far as I can tell from the flashy and new and nearly useless website.

But, if you want to sample a range of possibilities (without knowing the exact proportions), Cornell & Diehl offers dozens of superb blends (and shredded blending ingredients) in all categories of pipe tobacco. Plus, they have gobs more tinned tobacco blends. C&D tobaccos are known for nearly undetectable amounts of the gooey casings found in most other brands. Commonly found bulk brands, like Lane, Mac Baren, and many others, are cheap tobacco. C&D is among the best.

I discovered yesterday that SmokingPipes.com is running a 15%-off sale on C&D bulk tobaccos, offered in ounce and pound quantities. As an example, many of their aromatic as well as English blends are going for around $30 for a pound. (Typical tinned pipe tobacco is sold everywhere for about $12+ for a 1.5 oz. tin.) The sale runs through the end of March. https://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/cornell-diehl/bulk/

I don't think I could figure out much from their aromatic blends, but with an English blend, it is possible to roughly deconstruct the recipe from the listed ingredients, and by separating the 4 or 5 components with tweezers, you can get a first guess at how to make it with whole leaf from WLT or home-grown. (C&D also offers cut Perique for blending, if you don't want to make your own.)

Bob

That is a nice sale indeed. You mention that C&D has no "gooey casings" like others you mentioned. Are there other companies similar to C&D? Once I ordered the Best of the Rest 1lb bag of tobacco from pipesandtobacco.com. It had no casings at all. Kinda dry really but it is very good. I enjoy it just the way it is. So, I was just wondering if there are any other tobacco brands out there like C&D worth checking out?

 

[ChinaVoodoo]

I understand the "tobacco product" deal. Even though it is dumb as hell. I mean if you think about it all tobacco is processed in one way or another...lol. The only way it is unaltered is when it is green right off the plant. Does leafonly have a different license than WLT or something? It just seems funny that they offer perique and others do not.

I'll come to a quick judgement which is the product of being jaded, and say the other place, who's name I shall not repeat, is breaking the rules.
In my world in Canada, it's commonplace to see people breaking the rules to save a tobacco buck or make a tobacco buck. I.e.ordering from American businesses who intentionally mislabel packaging, or a native business selling tax free cigars to non natives online, using mules to bring back cigars from origin countries, then selling them out of their stores. There's a local club of pipe and cigar smokers, and I don't see them at the tobacco store. I do see them on Facebook. I don't grieve them trying to save money, but when I see them talking about it on Facebook, the degree of entitlement and normalcy they put on illegal tobacco while buying and selling to each other bothers me. Don't get me wrong, I'm not uptight, judgy judge guy. But I do support the guys who are trying to make it without disregarding the rules. They deserve it.

 

[deluxestogie]

...I was just wondering if there are any other tobacco brands out there like C&D worth checking out?

G.L. Pease (which is actually manufactured by C&D) is excellent, but not sold in bulk. McClelland, which makes the tasty Frog Morton, Frog Across the Pond, etc, does not offer the "Frog" series as bulk. Also, every McClelland blend I've tasted broadcasts an instant pouch aroma of ketchup, which I assume to be vinegar added as an antimicrobial.

There are, of course, other brands of non-aromatic blends that are worth trying, but I just haven't ventured into them: Samuel Gawith, Sutliff, etc. Much trickier are the aromatic blends. C&D aromatics are subtle. Their Berries and Cream, for example, does not reek of berries and cream--a source of complaints from smokers who expect dessert-flavored tobacco.

There are a number of extensive websites that post customer reviews of pipe tobacco. Unfortunately, these reviews, like those for electronics or hiking boots, run the gamut. You just can't tell what you'll get, until you actually order it yourself.

Bob

 

[LordPipestoke]

Samuel Gawith is definitely worth having a go at, if you like tobacco that doesn't have masses of humectant in it. It often comes a little on the wet side, but it'll dry to a crisp if you leave it out. I love their St. James Flake, Full Virginia Flake and Best Brown Flake. Just be aware however, that some of their other blends (such as Ennerdale) have the Lakeland sauce flavours and unless you're into that, it can be rather a rude awakening! It dries well though, so aside from the sauce is good. I do believe their Squadron Leader has some humectant in it though.

McLelland make some tobaccos which are clearly well blended and of high quality, but certainly for some blends, they use incredible amounts of humectant. I've had tins which I've left the lid off during drought-periods here in Australia and even after two weeks they were still spungy and refusing to find a level of dryness that I like.

MacBaren, especially in their HH-series, does not seem to have humectants added - or if they do, it's very little as their products will dry to crisp in no time, too.

I'm awaiting a tin of G.L. Pease Telegraph Hill at the moment, hoping that won't have overly much humectants added. I had his Jackknife Plug a while ago and that dried well but just seemed a little bit harsh to me.

 

[deluxestogie]

It might be interesting to weigh just the contents of newly opened tins of various pipe tobacco blends, then weigh the contents again, after they have dried down to a smokable state. I can easily imagine that 1/3 of their weight (cost) evaporates into nothingness.

While one can possibly justify some moisture for bagged tobacco, aimed at preventing damage during handling, there's just no excuse for bulking up tobacco with water, when it will be protected in a tin. Smokers of aromatic pipe blends fully expect their tobacco to start out squishy, and remain that way forever--hence the heavy use of humectants. I believe many, if not most, smokers of non-aromatic blends allow their tobacco to dry somewhat, prior to smoking.

As a person who blends bare naked tobacco all the time, I have begun to view commercial use of humectants (especially by respected folks like Pease and Oullette) in a less than favorable light.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

You mention that most aromatics tend to be on the damp side. I have read that many folks pack a bowl in the morning and leave it set out open to the air and consume it in the evening. This seems like a pain to me. On another site I read about a guy who would microwave his cigars. Some added that they also do this with their pipe tobacco.

I tried it with a cigar and the process did take the bitterness out of a newly obtained cigar. I have yet to try this with pipe tobacco though.

After trying the John Cotton 1&2. I find myself looking more at the pure leaf blends instead of the aromatics. I can't wait to have my own leaf to blend with. I may never go back to aromatics.

 

[LordPipestoke]

It might be interesting to weigh just the contents of newly opened tins of various pipe tobacco blends, then weigh the contents again, after they have dried down to a smokable state. I can easily imagine that 1/3 of their weight (cost) evaporates into nothingness.

While one can possibly justify some moisture for bagged tobacco, aimed at preventing damage during handling, there's just no excuse for bulking up tobacco with water, when it will be protected in a tin. Smokers of aromatic pipe blends fully expect their tobacco to start out squishy, and remain that way forever--hence the heavy use of humectants. I believe many, if not most, smokers of non-aromatic blends allow their tobacco to dry somewhat, prior to smoking.

As a person who blends bare naked tobacco all the time, I have begun to view commercial use of humectants (especially by respected folks like Pease and Oullette) in a less than favorable light.

Bob

Bob, I think you're right that there are some blends which come overly wet simply to bulk up the weight on a lesser quantity of leaf. That said, there are many different types of pipe smokers out there. Some like the tobacco to be much wetter than how I prefer it. Others seem to want it almost crisp. I'm somewhere in the middle.


I believe some of the moisture is also kept in for the purposes of aging. Each one of Samuel Gawith's non-aromatic blends age incredibly well, and that's even taking into account that they do better at aging before selling than pretty much anyone out there.


I agree though, that the use of humectants is a questionable practice – particularly in the amounts often used at this stage, where some blends simply cannot be dried to what I would consider a smokeable state.

 

[Charly]

Personnaly, I prefer my tobacco on the wet side (pipe and cigars, I like a colder and heavier smoke), but the majority of the commercial pipe tobacco is way too moist
For Samuel Gawith and Gawith&Co, it's true that some of their tobacco is really really moist BUT it dries out fast, and when smoked wet enough (not to much) they give a nice creamy sensation.

 

[greenmonster714]

Personnaly, I prefer my tobacco on the wet side (pipe and cigars, I like a colder and heavier smoke), but the majority of the commercial pipe tobacco is way too moist
For Samuel Gawith and Gawith&Co, it's true that some of their tobacco is really really moist BUT it dries out fast, and when smoked wet enough (not to much) they give a nice creamy sensation.

Ya know I kinda like a moist tobacco myself but after trying the John Cotton 1&2 I really loved the new taste. I mentioned in another thread to Bob that I really love a tobacco called Super Value Chocolate from Dream Castle Tobacco Co. out of Richmond Va. Does it taste like chocolate..NO. Its not really heavy cases or caked up with a phony smell or taste. Its just smooth as silk with just a ting of a bit. I like a little bite in my tobacco. Dunno why but I do.

I think I developed that love of a little bite when I used to finish all my cigars by throwing them in a pipe. Ya get a good bite from that. At least I did.


Anyways, today I dropped a few bucks and put a order together over at pipesandtobacco.com. I wanted to try some Perique and I wanted to try some of the Syrian Latakia. I also threw in a few ounces of the blend that Bob suggested.

Cornell & Diehl: Plantation Evening
Mclelland: Syrian Super Balkin
HH: Arcadian Perique

I can't wait to get my pipe packin finger on this stuff..lol.

 

[deluxestogie]

I hope the C&D Plantation Evening is still nice. I just noticed the other day that it now contains some burley. It truly did not in the past. Proof, if ever it was needed, that old Craig Tarler has passed away.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Bob, I don't see where they mention any Burley. The name of the blend is Plantation Evening No. 416. It was the only Plantation Evening blend they have so I figured it was the one you mentioned before. Here's the description they provide:

Plantation Evening uses the traditional elements of the English blend- Virginia, Latakia and Oriental and adds some Perique, but does so with a very unique balance that makes it very different. The Latakia is a member of the chorus here, not a diva soloist.

I imagine it will be tasty. I'll find out in a few days. Until then I plan on putting a big dent in this John Cotton.

 

[deluxestogie]

You are correct. Ignore my lamentations. I clicked on Bayou Night, and went into a panic. Plantation, Bayou...Evening, Night. Soft brain.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

I think that's what they call a senior moment. But like you say. Do overs are allowed.

 

[Charly]

Personnaly, I prefer my tobacco on the wet side (pipe and cigars, I like a colder and heavier smoke), but the majority of the commercial pipe tobacco is way too moist
For Samuel Gawith and Gawith&Co, it's true that some of their tobacco is really really moist BUT it dries out fast, and when smoked wet enough (not to much) they give a nice creamy sensation.

I quote myself : I love tobacco when it's not too dry (it becomes bitter, bad taste), I like english / balkan blends to be quite dry, but I prefer virginias and virginia/perique more humid (but not too much humid either), it seems to cool down the smoke, and make it more tasty.

 

[greenmonster714]

If your up for some cheap but very good tobacco ya should try some of the Super Value blends at pipesandcigars.com. The chocolate is great as well as the buttered rum, and the whiskey cavandish. My favorite is the chocolate. But don't expect a chocolate taste or smell. Just a smooth all day tobacco. The other two are very good as well. At $15.59 for 12oz's its worth every dime. All of the blends are cased but not bad at all. Next time I get some chocolate I'll send ya a sample if you'd like.

 

[greenmonster714]

I got my order from pipesandcigars.com today.

Cornell & Diehl: Plantation Evening... Very similar to the John Cotton 1&2. Same kind of Latakia taste and smell. Very enjoyable smoke.

Mclelland: Syrian Super Balkin... Wow, what a difference the Syrian Latakia makes. I think this is the best blend w/ Latakia I've tasted so far. It is not as strong a floral smell like the other and is almost like a earthy smell to it. In the bowl it burns great and I found it smooth with a little bite which I like.

HH: Arcadian Perique... I do believe I love this blend. When I opened the tin I got a aroma that was familiar. It took me a while but I finally figured out the smell. It smells like sweet horse feed. That aroma is very familiar to me because we have five horses. Anyways, I found it to be delicious all the way to the finish. I had never tasted a blend that had perique as the main ingredient but I gotta say it is wonderful.

Very pleased with all three of these blends. The biggest surprise was the Syrian Latakia Super Balkan blend. I guess I'll have to buy as many of these as I can until the well runs dry.

 

[Charly]

I don't think HH Acadian Perique is heavy on the perique, if you take a look on tobaccoreviews, it says : "with about 5% or more perique"