Further down the cigar leaf pipe tobacco rabbit hole.

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joemelon

joemelon

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Having tried John Patton's Storm Front for the first time a week ago and really really liked it. The only other cigar leaf pipe tobacco I've had was Billy Budd and while I liked it, it did not do for me what Storm Front did.

So I'm wondering, there's more than a few cigar leaf pipe tobaccos out there, are any of them made with specific cigar leafs? I'm talking about a pipe tobacco containing corojo or cameroon or the like. Are or have cigar leaf blends been delineated past descriptors of only "cigar leaf"? I do see that Purple Cow has maduro cigar leaf in it.
 
any reason you couldn't just cut a cigar in 4-5 bits and smoke it in you pipe - should be easy to find one the right diameter - check the ring size ;)
 
Component wise, I can't tell. Maduro would make sense, but I am not quite a cigar expert.

GLP Key Largo and Robusto are two you should check out if you have not. Both have Latakia, but are a different approach than Billy Budd. All listed, along with Storm Front, are great changes of pace for me. I am far less familiar with Key Largo and Robusto (only had small samples) but if you like a little cigar leaf in your pipeful, I think you'll dig 'em. Robusto is stronger, less Latakia, Key Largo is kind of like "Billy Budd light," vaguely so.

Storm Front is unique because of the lack of Latakia, and doesn't taste like a cigar, but gives great body like a cigar. Sometimes you'll catch a whiff reminiscent of a cigar, but...

...bah, you understand. :lol:

8)



 
Frozenthunderbolt":w6ibjlk2 said:
any reason you couldn't just cut a cigar in 4-5 bits and smoke it in you pipe - should be easy to find one the right diameter - check the ring size ;)
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As I said recently in another post... everyone tries it once, few return.

The reason: it's not what you'd expect. The dynamics are different, like putting diesel in a gas engine.

8)
 
Frozenthunderbolt - I definitely could chop up a cigar and go that route, but I'm more than hesitant to do that. Just doesn't seem right to me, and unfair to the cigars I smoke. :lol:

Maybe I'll snip a bit off the tip of one at some point. Definitely an idea though!

Kyle - Will definitely need to try those at some point. I definitely like trying "different" tobaccos, especially variations on certain points. I'm not really looking for a cigar taste, experience so far has showed that cigar tobacco in a pipe is definitely not the same as cigar tobacco in cigar form, but like I said; I'm fine with different. Only experience with GLP tobacco so far has been Blackpoint, but I like it! Definitely in to trying more GLP blends, so it's likely those will be on the list when TAD strikes next.
 
Cool. When you get a hold of some Key Largo and Robusto, come on back and share your thoughts.

Cigar leaf, to my tongue, does a lot for the mouth-feel and carrying of other flavors rather than trying to "mimic a cigar." This is good. If I want a cigar, I'll smoke a cigar. They exist for a reason. Then again, loose leaf is just begging to be used by a master blender to beef up the mix a little. So far, I'm a fan. Patton and Pease do swell work in this regard.

8)
 
I can see that, something about Storm Front from the first smoke that was just pleasing and fulfilling. I know when I want a cameroon or corojo cigar I'll smoke one, but I'd be interested to see how those would act in a pipe tobacco blend.

I'd definitely be glad to share my thoughts once I try them. A lot of times I just think how great and interesting this varied world of pipe tobacco is, and I think this more often as my circle of tobacco experiences grows.
 
Tobacco is fascinating, especially when care and respect are given to it from seedling to smoke! :)

I'd say go for attempting to mix a few tobaccos together (conservatively at first; I found getting "master chef" makes things go awry really quickly) and see what happens. My problem with cigars is, especially with the cost, it's tough to justify breaking one apart to spice up a mix--if it's a cigar I don't like and might be tempted to sacrifice, why would I put it in pipe tobacco, and if it's a good cigar, why not just smoke it? :lol:

Anyway, have fun. Good times with the leaf.

8)
 
Dutch - Those sound like good candidates for seeing how different cigar leafs affect the smoke, since they both seem pretty much the same except one is ribbon and the maduro is broken flake and. Will have to check them out, and hopefully a side by side comparison smoke.

Kyle - That's the dilemma I face also, why mix a cheap stick I don't like with pipe tobacco and why alter a cigar I enjoy as is.
 
Frozenthunderbolt":fq50x5jb said:
any reason you couldn't just cut a cigar in 4-5 bits and smoke it in you pipe - should be easy to find one the right diameter - check the ring size ;)
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My Grandpa told me he used to do this. I tried it with my favorite cigars once and determined my grandpa was a dumb---. Never ever ever will I ever do that again. There are quite a few blends with cigar leaf in them and I believe Blackhorse has talked quite a bit about substituting cigar leaf into a few John Patton blends here on the board. You can always call 4noggins and ask them to sub in some cigar leaf like BH does. That's be the route I'd go personally.
 
i recently tried GLP's key largo and robusto and they didn't bowl me over. i do have to give them some more time and attention yet, but for me, when i want a pipe tobacco with cigar leaf, i want a strong (flavor, aroma - not necessarily vitamin N) tobacco.

haven't tried the McClellands yet.

if you are looking at LJ Peretti, i found the Cuban Mixture to be very light and subtle - not my cup of tea - though i very much enjoy their Blend 500 which has some cigar leaf.

my favorite blend with cigar leaf (by a mile) is still Watch City's Churchwarden. it's super strong - probably WAY too much so for most folks if the GLPs and Cuban Mixture are an indication of what most pipe smokers want in a cigar leaf blend.

doody.
 
Of the three blends containing cigar leaf I've tried, Billy Budd, Oriental Dusk and Crossroads, I felt I could taste cigar most in BB. In none of these cases did the cigar taste like a cigar. Instead it softened, deepened and rounded the blend. Good things, but no cigar.
 
I agree with Kaiser (some what, his grandpa may have been smarter than he realized at the time :lol: ), but I have tried chopping up a good cigar and mixing it with other pipe tobaccos or smoking them straight, and it just didn't work for me. I even tried separating out the binder leaf and it made little difference. Not similar at all to a good cigar.

That being said, although I love a good cigar from time to time, other than Patton's Oriental Dusk and Crossroads, I've never had a cigar blend tobacco that caught my interest. And the two blends above I really like, but don't really taste the "cigar" aspect of them, I just find them a good pipe tobacco.

But then, and SWMBO will verify, I have no taste. :shock:

Natch
 
joemelon":0ojj9khe said:
I can see that, something about Storm Front from the first smoke that was just pleasing and fulfilling. I know when I want a cameroon or corojo cigar I'll smoke one, but I'd be interested to see how those would act in a pipe tobacco blend.

I'd definitely be glad to share my thoughts once I try them. A lot of times I just think how great and interesting this varied world of pipe tobacco is, and I think this more often as my circle of tobacco experiences grows.
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It's not so much which kind of cigar leaf is used in a cigar blend, but rather how much, and more importantly, what other tobaccos are in the blend, and in what quantity.And the goal isn't to make a blend that tastes like a cigar, but rather s good, unique blend period.
 
Kyle Weiss":o01j02lp said:
Oriental Dusk is just lovely, too. I forgot that one.
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Agreed. My sample disappeared quickly.

It is one that is on my list to get a pound of pretty soon.
 
Slide":izlex039 said:
Agreed. My sample disappeared quickly.

It is one that is on my list to get a pound of pretty soon.
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Yeah I need to stock up on O. Dusk. I am almost out.
 
:lol: Kaiser, tough love for grandpa.

I plan to eventually go through all the John Patton tobaccos. Oriental Dusk and Crossroads sound like interesting blends.

Good, unique blends I can definitely see. Storm Front is definitely substantial and I get why one of the descriptors for it is "meaty." What types of blends would you see for a pipe tobacco containing cameroon or corojo cigar leaf, tiltjlp?

I'm no blender but I could see the nuttyness of burleys going with cameroons buttery/vanilla taste and red and yellow virginias sweet taste and citrus notes going with the hints of dried fruit I get from corojo wrappers. These types of hints/tastes may not translate too well to a pipe tobacco blend though. Who knows, I certainly don't so I'll just sit here and continue enjoying a couple of bowls of Storm Front. :D
 
I had some exceptional Brazilian leaf to explore, and made a wonderful blend with it. When I decided I wanted it, the grower and I began to discuss price. Truth is, we were VERY far away from each other, by about a factor of ten. I still have some of my prototype blend, and really enjoy smoking it once in a while. Too bead we couldn't have come to a price agreement...

Some of the more interesting cigar leaf, today, has become increasingly prohibitive. One good wrapper leaf can get top dollar from a cigar manufacturer, but not from a pipe tobacco blender. You know where the growers are going to send their best stuff, right? (Hint: It's not to pipe tobacco blenders.)
 
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