Building a piper's palate

[TampaSupremo]

Hey all,

I'm hoping y'all can help me out. I would like to try some blends that highlight specific tobacco types so I can get a feel for what they are supposed to taste like (up to this point I have smoked mainly aromatics or fully-blended mixtures). I have some ideas listed below, and would appreciate any feedback or other suggestions. Thanks for your time (and Al, if you have any of these in stock or have something else in your shop you think fits the bill, please let me know).

These seem to be the most common types in most blends. I know that you can buy them as individual blending tobaccos, but I don't see myself buying pounder bags of any single variety.

Black Cavendish: Haven't really found anything not fully vanilla flavored.
Burley: C&D Kelly's Coin or Burley Straight/Pipeworks and Wilke's Wilke Nut Brown Burley
Latakia: MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian/C&D DaVinci (75% Cyprian Latakia!)
Virginia: MacBaren Virginia Blend/McClelland Matured Virginias/C&D Ridin' the Raid or Yorktown
Perique, Orientals, etc. I can wait on these for a while.


TampaSupremo

Edited to add: Also posted at forum.pipes.org
Oh, and spelling.

 

[psyktek]

Hey all,

I'm hoping y'all can help me out. I would like to try some blends that highlight specific tobacco types so I can get a feel for what they are supposed to taste like (up to this point I have smoked mainly aromatics or fully-blended mixtures). I have some ideas listed below, and would appreciate any feedback or other suggestions. Thanks for your time (and Al, if you have any of these in stock or have something else in your shop you think fits the bill, please let me know).

These seem to be the most common types in most blends. I know that you can buy them as individual blending tobaccos, but I don't see myself buying pounder bags of any single variety.

Black Cavendish: Haven't really found anything not fully vanilla flavored.
Burley: C&D Kelly's Coin or Burley Straight/Pipeworks and Wilke's Wilke Nut Brown Burley
Latakia: MacBaren HH Vintage Syrian/C&D DaVinci (75% Cyprian Latakia!)
Virginia: MacBaren Virginia Blend/McClelland Matured Virginias/C&D Ridin' the Raid or Yorktown
Perique, Orientals, etc. I can wait on these for a while.


TampaSupremo

Edited to add: Also posted at forum.pipes.org
Oh, and spelling.

Check out www.tobaccoreviews.com for a VERY comprehensive look at different blends.

 

[TampaSupremo]

Thanks for the reply psyktek. I have checked tobaccoreviews.com. Some reviews were very mixed or only had one rating (although the Wilke Nut Brown burley was almost uniformly well received). My only concern was that the reviewers are not looking at the blends from the same perspective that I am, namely that I am not looking for an exciting or interesting smoke, just something to narrow down specific flavors.

That being said, am I maybe approaching this incorrectly?

TampaSupremo

 

[psyktek]

Thanks for the reply psyktek. I have checked tobaccoreviews.com. Some reviews were very mixed or only had one rating (although the Wilke Nut Brown burley was almost uniformly well received). My only concern was that the reviewers are not looking at the blends from the same perspective that I am, namely that I am not looking for an exciting or interesting smoke, just something to narrow down specific flavors.

That being said, am I maybe approaching this incorrectly?

TampaSupremo

Ah, now I see where you're coming from. OK, the Cornell & Diehl website has their blends broken down into specific categories, that might be more in line with what you're looking for. Of course, these are blends from only one blender, so they wouldn't necessarily be universally applicable.

You could also call them and speak to Craig or Patty and explain what you're trying to accomplish and see what they recommend. They won't try to sell you blends just to make money, but will actually try to fit their blends to what you want.

Another site to look at, not necessarily for his blends but for information, would be www.glpease.com. Very knowledgeable and a terrific writer. I've also gotten lots of information from the folks at www.smokersforums.org

Best of luck in your quest!

 

[CoventryCat86]

Thanks for the reply psyktek. I have checked tobaccoreviews.com. Some reviews were very mixed or only had one rating (although the Wilke Nut Brown burley was almost uniformly well received). My only concern was that the reviewers are not looking at the blends from the same perspective that I am, namely that I am not looking for an exciting or interesting smoke, just something to narrow down specific flavors.

That being said, am I maybe approaching this incorrectly?

TampaSupremo

Ah, now I see where you're coming from. OK, the Cornell & Diehl website has their blends broken down into specific categories, that might be more in line with what you're looking for. Of course, these are blends from only one blender, so they wouldn't necessarily be universally applicable.

You could also call them and speak to Craig or Patty and explain what you're trying to accomplish and see what they recommend. They won't try to sell you blends just to make money, but will actually try to fit their blends to what you want.

Another site to look at, not necessarily for his blends but for information, would be www.glpease.com. Very knowledgeable and a terrific writer. I've also gotten lots of information from the folks at www.smokersforums.org

Best of luck in your quest!

Who is this "psyktek" dude? ???









:sign:

How ya been Bob? Good to see you back 'round these parts! :thumbs:

 

[psyktek]

Thanks for the reply psyktek. I have checked tobaccoreviews.com. Some reviews were very mixed or only had one rating (although the Wilke Nut Brown burley was almost uniformly well received). My only concern was that the reviewers are not looking at the blends from the same perspective that I am, namely that I am not looking for an exciting or interesting smoke, just something to narrow down specific flavors.

That being said, am I maybe approaching this incorrectly?

TampaSupremo

Ah, now I see where you're coming from. OK, the Cornell & Diehl website has their blends broken down into specific categories, that might be more in line with what you're looking for. Of course, these are blends from only one blender, so they wouldn't necessarily be universally applicable.

You could also call them and speak to Craig or Patty and explain what you're trying to accomplish and see what they recommend. They won't try to sell you blends just to make money, but will actually try to fit their blends to what you want.

Another site to look at, not necessarily for his blends but for information, would be www.glpease.com. Very knowledgeable and a terrific writer. I've also gotten lots of information from the folks at www.smokersforums.org

Best of luck in your quest!

Who is this "psyktek" dude? ???









:sign:

How ya been Bob? Good to see you back 'round these parts! :thumbs:

Hey, Bill, have you jumped ship and become an ex-pat American up there in the land of socialized everything? :laugh:

Or did the Connecticutt Demos finally manage to get you declared 'persona non grata' and ship you off to Nova Scotia? Cape Breton Island, man, sounds like a nice place to live. I've been fine, just dug out my pipes one day about 2 years ago and haven't looked back.
Sold off all my ISOMs and a bunch of other stuff and am down to a half empty cooler and two humis, which is much easier to manage. I think about you and Joe and Craig every so often, but don't have much to contribute here these days. Are you still infected with the Jaguar virus? :sign:

Bob

 

[knuck42]

I find Old Ironsides to be a Latakia lover's dream come true. If you want to taste Latakia in all its glory, a 50 gram tin would turn the trick for you. Frog Morton would also work although it is not as Latikiaish as Old Ironsides. Hope this helps.

 

[CoventryCat86]

Thanks for the reply psyktek. I have checked tobaccoreviews.com. Some reviews were very mixed or only had one rating (although the Wilke Nut Brown burley was almost uniformly well received). My only concern was that the reviewers are not looking at the blends from the same perspective that I am, namely that I am not looking for an exciting or interesting smoke, just something to narrow down specific flavors.

That being said, am I maybe approaching this incorrectly?

TampaSupremo

Ah, now I see where you're coming from. OK, the Cornell & Diehl website has their blends broken down into specific categories, that might be more in line with what you're looking for. Of course, these are blends from only one blender, so they wouldn't necessarily be universally applicable.

You could also call them and speak to Craig or Patty and explain what you're trying to accomplish and see what they recommend. They won't try to sell you blends just to make money, but will actually try to fit their blends to what you want.

Another site to look at, not necessarily for his blends but for information, would be www.glpease.com. Very knowledgeable and a terrific writer. I've also gotten lots of information from the folks at www.smokersforums.org

Best of luck in your quest!

Who is this "psyktek" dude? ???









:sign:

How ya been Bob? Good to see you back 'round these parts! :thumbs:

Hey, Bill, have you jumped ship and become an ex-pat American up there in the land of socialized everything? :laugh:

Or did the Connecticutt Demos finally manage to get you declared 'persona non grata' and ship you off to Nova Scotia? Cape Breton Island, man, sounds like a nice place to live. I've been fine, just dug out my pipes one day about 2 years ago and haven't looked back.
Sold off all my ISOMs and a bunch of other stuff and am down to a half empty cooler and two humis, which is much easier to manage. I think about you and Joe and Craig every so often, but don't have much to contribute here these days. Are you still infected with the Jaguar virus? :sign:

Bob

LMAO!! :laugh:

The CT Democrats put me on a bus with a one way ticket to the middle of nowhere!

Yep, a couple of months ago, I picked up yet another Jaguar (1996 XJ6 VDP) and just got back from a Jaguar show in Massachusetts earlier today. The car isn't perfect but did much better than I thought it would. I won FIRST PLACE in my class!! The competition was stiff, I was the only one in Class 13 today. I still have the '86 but I need to replace the engine. A guy gave me a complete car last week (that I'll take the engine out of for my '86) so there's another one in the yard now.

I borrowed my neighbor's home made log splitter a couple of weeks ago and thought of you Bob because he told me the axle is from a Saab 99. :thumbs:

 

[aberjed]

the nicest mixture containing black cavendish is probably erinmore.....like most mixtures its best enjoyed as a top-dressing to a flake

latakia.....really can't recommend anything since the late lamented Balkan Sobranie (truly the greatest tobacco ever).....although there are a few english blenders who make a passable imitation...I always maintain it was the yenidje as much as the latakia thet made it great anyway

May i recommend two fine irish flakes.....mick McQuaid...a good navy type which can be enjoyed outdoors in the colder months and Erinmore flake..a full-flavoured cool burning smoke ..not to everyone's taste but a quality smoke none-the-less