I think I'm learning! And I could use some help.

[beardedbassguy]

Ok...

I have been blessed with a very wide variety of aromatic tobaccos recently to try. I have figured out how to differentiate between the types of tobacco (to a degree). And with that, I have realized I don't really care for Burley. I don't mind blends with a small amount of it, but the Burley heavy / burley forward blends I have found not to my liking. The nutty flavor seems to overtake my palate and it's all I can taste.

I have noticed the blends that are Va and Cavendish I seem to enjoy more.

2 of the "flavorings" I have really enjoyed have been the Pharmacy blend Irish Mist which was my first ever tobacco purchase, and Sutliff's County Cork (which has Irish Cream casing). However the Irish mist bulk blend I got was poor quality and has burley. The County Cork has an amazing creamy taste initially but is soon overtaken by the strong burley nuttiness.

So, does anyone know of an aromatic with no burley that has a good creamy flavor similar to Irish Mist / Irish Cream?

Or just any recommendations of a non-burley aro that tastes good. I have a LOT of tobacco yet to try, but I like learning and trying new things.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Finding an aromatic with no burley is gonna be a tough thing. Burley has a very "neutral" way about it, it's thick, it's spongy, and the perfect medium to soak up all sorts of sauce, flavorings and other sugary stuff. That's why it's the base for a vast majority of tobaccos.

Now, I have heard it told that any tobacco can be "cavendished," as cavendish is a process more than a type of tobacco. Both a sweetened and unsweetened version are most common, but are treated much the same. Finding out what tobacco is cavendish will be daunting at best.

If you don't like burley, you're gonna have a hell of a time sticking around aromatics, dude. If you don't mind my saying so, it sounds like you're more into the flavor on the tobacco rather than the tobacco itself. I believe McClelland might be your best bet, they have this crossover aromatic that I don't think contains too much burley, if any, "Oriental Cavendish." The other is the Fragrant Mature Cake (bulk) 2000, which I used to like, but I have had a permanent breakup with McClelland in the last couple of years. I don't recall FMC 2000 having a ton of burley, but it does have a slightly sauced Virginia.

People you could probably talk to in-depth about what they use in their own blends are:

Pipeworks & Wilke http://www.vtpipes.com/tobacco.html

and

Boswell's http://www.boswellpipes.com/tobaccoblends.html

Good luck.

8)

8)

 

[balkan_boy]

If you think the object of your dislike is Burley, you might reconsider aros or think twice, cause the note you don't like may turn out something else, and not the distinctive Burley flavour, since there hardly is such a thing.

When I started smoking, I was limited only to aromatics, not a matter of choice, but simply because here in this part of the world the choice of pipe tobacco is limited only to cheap aromatics. By cheap I don't mean the price, but quality.

And there was always that metal artificial cheap note that bothered me constantly. I didn't know what it was, had no experience in tobaccos, was only assuming that it could be this or that, and eventually came to the conclusion that it's .... well, Burley. In a way I was right, because Burley enhances that flavour and brings it upfront, but generally it was just chemistry of the casings and toppings. There's an abundance of Propylene Glycol, Glycerol, flavour fixing agents, perfume, and so on and so on, stuff that you usually find in e-cigarettes vape.

Also I realised that there are two types of aromatic blends. Ones that contain low quality tobacco and are topped with chemistry to smell like something else, (raspberry, vanilla, chocolate, banana, rum, whiskey etc.) which give out perfume the first third of the bowl, and then suddenly turn to rubbish, (known as american aromatics) and the Danish aromatics which use Cavendish, and are mildly perfumed with a flavour that goes along with tobacco, compliments it and sometimes enhances the tobacco notes. There you can find some tobacco taste, but still Cavendish ruins the party and they're full of chemistry also. There is that constant chemical note that you don't get rid of.

That was my first experience in pipe smoking, I was desperate to catch all those distinctive nuances everyone was talking about, but was just confused, my experience was totally different than what I was reading in forums and reviews.

Then I started ordering my tobacco from USA, and the whole new world opened in front of me. It was the time I realised that the note I hated the most wasn't actually Burley, it was the chemistry. Burley can be quite tasty when lightly cased. Solani's Aged Burley Flake for example. Unfortunately I can't smoke it much cause Burley has some substance that my mucose is intolerant of.

Maybe you need to give another chance to the unscented tobacco, if nothing else, at least you'll be able to recognise what exactly is that bothers you in a blend. Just like me back in those days, you may be wrong all the time without even knowing it.

 

[monbla256]

I have a similar problem concerning Burley tobacco. Blends/mixtures that are Burley based or have predominatly Burley as the main base tobacco in it will cause me to engage in a massive sneezing episode!! But thankfully, there are MANY straight Virginia blends/mixtures that have a nice sweet note in both the smoke and room note !! As far as CASING goes, ALL tobacco used in pipe smoking blends/mixtures ARE CASED as part of the processing to make the raw tobacco suitable to smoke ! They will usually go thru a casing procedure either before or after further processing such as flue curing or air curing or pressing etc. It's the TOPPINGS which are added AFTER the initial processing and blending that add the flavor and aroma of Aromatics. One way to find out if it's truely Burley that is bothering you is try a few bowls of the OTC classic, Granger which is a Straight Burley non flavored course cut blend/mixture ! This should decide the Burley issue you may have as to whether it's the TYPE of 'baccy or the elements in the Aromatc toppings/flavorings ! If you find it IS the 'baccy, then an "aromatic" type of straight virginia you might want to try would be McC's FM 2000, a straight flue cured, broken flake all Red Virginia blend/mixture which has a nice sweet taste and a much approved room note and is a real pleasure to smoke !! :twisted: :twisted:

 

[DrT999]

If you can, try a sample of Samuel Gawith Kendal Cream Flake (yes, Kyle, that's a Lakeland). Gawith Hoggarth also has bulk aromatics based on cavendish; check if one of the flavors available where you buy is one that appeals

 

[beardedbassguy]

Ok guys, you have given me something to think on.

I keep seeing Burley described at "nutty". And I began to notice certain blends I was sampling had a strong nutty flavor to them. I checked the blends when I realized this, and sure enough, they had Burley in them. So it just made sense to me that that was what I was tasting. The blends I have tried that were Burley free didn't have that nutty flavor.

Admittedly, I am new at this, and I do have a horrible palate. But the nutty flavor doesn't appeal to me and can overwhelm me on the bottom half of bowls.

The good news is I have TONS of tobacco, and will keep experimenting

@monbla Funny you should mention the sneezing, as now that you mention it... I seem to recall sneezing a lot when I smoke the Burley blends as well. I just thought it was my allergies.

 

[RDPipes]

When first starting out I found that most burley's of the OTC nature set
my tongue a fire but, as I experiment with VA/Burley blends I'm finding I haven't that problem with them. Also I think as your palette matures it acquires a taste for
many other tobaccos we use to shun. That said, I think it takes more then that to acquire
a taste for Orientals and Lakelands although I do enjoy some mild Lat blends but, that's where it ends for me.........right now, I hope.

 

[balkan_boy]

Burley is best to avoid. It's sugar levels are next to zero, and nitrogen based stuff (amonia, amino-acids, protein etc.) is high as hell. Having read the table on the page 266, I think it's probably safer to stay on the VA side.

http://www.leffingwell.com/download/Leffingwell%20-%20Tobacco%20production%20chemistry%20and%20technology.pdf

 

[Kyle Weiss]

(yes, Kyle, that's a Lakeland).

:hissssssssssssssssssss:

There's a few Lakeland-origin baccies that I like. They left grandma back at the Grand Canyon on her Rascal scooter, however.

8)

 

[Feazelle-n-it]

CAO has Eileen's Dream in pipe tobacco. I haven't tried the pipe tobacco but I love the hell out of the cigars. Now that I think about it that might be my next purchase.

 

[KevinM]

As others have said, aromatics are generally burley-based for the reasons given by other posters. Most reviews of cheap aros lament that the tobacco tastes like cherries or whatever at the start, but not into the second half of the bowl. So, I ask -- why not just dump it when the bowl begins to get acrid? Why smoke something that's yucky? I'm sure no one here will snitch on you. My other idea -- Contact Carol Burns at Vermont Pipes aka Pipeworks & Wilke. She's an experienced tobacconist, blends and sells aros aplenty as well as custom blends. She could proably put you onto something that's tasty but Burley light. I hope you find what you're looking for.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

So, I ask -- why not just dump it when the bowl begins to get acrid?  Why smoke something that's yucky?

Because there's pipe people in the world that have favorite tobaccos, and rather than admit that their tongue might not be the Tongue of God Himself, they'd rather new/ignorant people smoke sh*t they don't like until the idiot n00b has an epiphany.    The fault of that dynamic of lies more with the new smoker than the ego-maniac that thinks their tinned donkey dung tastes like mana from heaven. Take your own reins of pleasure, unless you're into being submissive.

The second reason why I stay away from aromatics is--that crap burns my tongue.  Nothing creates heat and extra steam like a lot of sugar caramelizing and breaking down during combustion.   Ya gotta have a toughened-up tongue to smoke as it is, but don't smoke stuff that hurts.   That's just dumb.  

Carol Burns is cool.   If I need suggestions on aros for a person that's sick of Lane bulks and can't stand 7 Seas or Captain Black, she's my go-to.  

8)

 

[Jevverrett]

I recently tried the macbaren modern Virginia, which is fairly light on burley and has a more noticeable cav presense. It has a nice fruit topping to it, and my girl thinks it smells nice. Maybe it's a light aromatic, might be worth a shot for you though.

 

[MisterE]

With most aromatics I have a tough time being able to taste the individual components. Be it Burley, Cavendished Semois, or whatever, it ends up all tasting like "aro".

Lakelands will indeed challenge what you've come to know as an aromatic. I enjoy them, but they're not for everyone. Just ask monbla.

The best American style aromatics I've tried have been from Boswell's. Christmas Cookie is good. Surprisingly so.