Nex to tobacco variety's

[desertpiper]

So, I'm doing the research for tobacco varieties. The next question would be brands. If it's like most other things I'm guessing that one brand is probably better at a certain type of tobacco than other brands (they have there specialties). There might be a can of worms being opened some where but I have to ask. Which brands are better at certain blends than others, which company makes the best English blend, which company makes the better Virginian blend, etc. etc..

 

[loneredtree]

Ah yes Desert. You have begun a long journey in this wonderful pastime. One that will lead you down paths of discovery and disappointments. There will be many opinions expressed as to which variety is best and by whom. I would say you should find which blend styles you like. Then try some of the premium blenders which produce them. Our tastes are varied and individual body chemistry, how we react to nicotine , pipe characteristic and smoking style all influence how we experience a blend. There are many information sources here and elsewhere on the internet. Check out Tobaccoreviews.com using the advanced search option to find a blend with a particular component you like. Happy puffing. :joker:

And welcome to BoB.

 

[monbla256]

You've posted a question that in all honesty, CANNOT be answered! Ther can be NO common agreement as to which Brand produces the best type of blend as it is ALL a subjective OPINION of each individuals personal taste as to what is the best of that type. Generally speaking, I would have to say that the overall quality of the tobacco's used in blends today is probably as good as it has ever been but that would be the only thing I would say about most blends available today.
My opinion as to who makes the "best" Balkan blend would be based on what MY palate likes, how long I've smoked it etc. which would be DIFFERENT from at least 4 out of 5 folks here you might ask.
I really don't see how ANYONE could presupose to give you an answer to the question you post with any sort of veracity, given that your question is so subjective.

 

[Rusty]

You've posted a question that in all honesty, CANNOT be answered! Ther can be NO common agreement as to which Brand produces the best type of blend as it is ALL a subjective OPINION of each individuals personal taste as to what is the best of that type.

Yes but we can probably come to agreement about which categories of tobacco are a given manufacturer's specialty that they do best. This is his first question. Some may also defy even this but they are often known more for one vs another category of tobacco.

Even so there are some that are hard to classify.

As to the second question .. tastes vary a lot. But a good start is for the OP to try all of the 4-star and 3-star tobaccos on Tobaccoreviews, then come back, report the results, and we can rate him. That ought to keep him out of trouble.

But I do love the term 'research'. It's not 'surfin' the web; it's research, damnit!

Desertpiper might love all the variations on questions that elicit the same info. "If you were going to be marooned on a deserted island...", "What are your top five <pick your category>?" etc. The variations are almost endless and the forums are filled with them. And the thing that is not surprising is that the answers vary with the poster and even over time with the same poster.

Also none of the opinions, not one, is guaranteed to yield his favourites.

 

[desertpiper]

I understand that this is something very subjective. I also believe there is usually a gold standard. There are countless brands and local shop blends out there. But there are usually a couple of brands that stand apart. One's that are safe bets to try this of that blend. Then experimenting is easier to do. I guess the one reason I ask is because I purchased a tin of Peterson Irish oak. And I'm not if I like it or not. Still figuring out how to pack it. So I don't know if Peterson was the right company to go to for this particular blend.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

If you open your can of tobacco and find worms, you should return it right away. :lol: I can safely answer that concern.

8)

 

[Rusty]

I understand that this is something very subjective. I also believe there is usually a gold standard. There are countless brands and local shop blends out there. But there are usually a couple of brands that stand apart. One's that are safe bets to try this of that blend. Then experimenting is easier to do. I guess the one reason I ask is because I purchased a tin of Peterson Irish oak. And I'm not if I like it or not. Still figuring out how to pack it. So I don't know if Peterson was the right company to go to for this particular blend.

There are blends that tend to cater more to experienced pipe smokers. Whether we call them all day blends or something else you've just picked one of them. That is one that sometimes appeals to new smokers but not nearly as often as it appeals to more experienced smokers. It's a Virginia Perique with a little bit of body from Burley.

So you've just uncovered yet another aspect of tobacco choice. Experience can weight in on the tobacco choice.

Beginners are usually looking for something with more pronounced flavour or fireworks. Whereas the experienced all-day or at least more frequent smoker is often looking for something a little more subdued with some power that will not tire him with fireworks.

Peterson has a fascinating small portfolio of tobaccos. They make tobaccos that are really more for experienced smokers but they also make stuff that is for new smokers.

You should ask Kyle to explain the things he has tried and which ones were memorable with flavour.

Last, the market for pipes and tobaccos is really tiny. Less than 1% of the male adult population are pipe smokers. It's really a niche specialty market in the tobacco world. It shrank for most the 20th and 21st century so if a brand or blend didn't sell well it's long gone. We've lost a lot of blends & brands over the years so it's questionable whether we have any lack luster brands and not worth trying. Individually we can certainly say there are brands we prefer over others. But bad ones that are also rans? I think not. Their products sell and there are pipe smokers that swear by them. On the forums people tend to talk premium tobaccos. There is a connoisseur interest on the forums.

Check out any of the tobaccos listed in the following thread:
https://www.brothersofbriar.com/t16369-bob-s-essential-tobaccos-for-the-beginner-pipe-smoker

 

[monbla256]

I understand that this is something very subjective. I also believe there is usually a gold standard. There are countless brands and local shop blends out there. But there are usually a couple of brands that stand apart. One's that are safe bets to try this of that blend. Then experimenting is easier to do. I guess the one reason I ask is because I purchased a tin of Peterson Irish oak. And I'm not if I like it or not. Still figuring out how to pack it. So I don't know if Peterson was the right company to go to for this particular blend.

To use an example of a TYPE of Virginia blend of tobacco: a straight Virginia flake style. There are many varieties of this type of blend made by just about ALL major blenders, some of whom are thought to be really good, but that decision as to who they are is a SUBJECTIVE thing depending whom you ask. I smoke some blends of this type and have my preferences as to who makes the BEST and Rusty here on the forum has his idea as to who makes the BEST of this type and the next guy has his and on and on.
The advice to look at the tobaccoreviews.com site was good as well as get to a Brick & Mortar store if you are near one and try what they may suggest as a place to START from. Most of us who started "back in the day" did it this way and we were able to learn and enjoy this addition to our lives. I do not consider it a "hobby" as it is a part of my life. I eat, I smoke etc.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

www.tobaccoreviews.com

 

[desertpiper]

After reading some posts and doing some research, I decided to give the Peterson Irish Oak tobacco a second chance. This time I packed it much looser than I have in the past, and smoked it much slower. And one other thing that I did is exhale much slower. This is something I have never heard or read about. I usually exhale pretty quickly. But this time much slower, and what a difference that made. About half way through the bowl I could taste the flavors, something I really couldn't before. And it was a much cooler dryer smoke as well. So thanks for all your input.

 

[jefe1037]

I just feel the need to let this thread get way out of hand.

Desert: I don't know if you realized the magnitude of question that you asked. Basically, you asked a question that would get similar answers to "Who makes the best automobile?"

We all swear by our favorites, someone reminisces about the Corvair he had before I was born and how noone makes 'em that way anymore, and Kyle test drives all the models he can and tells us how the drive went and that he ran over a squirrel with the new Camry.

To sum up my feelings on tobacco, I don't believe in BAD tobacco. It is all smoke-able by someone. BAD tobacco doesn't make it through quality control. Something I have noticed, however, is that MOST of the gentlemen on here prefer English blends, Virginias, and Burleys of all shapes and sizes over the strongly cased aromatics, but if I may quote a source that I don't remember: "Do you remember your first cup of coffee? Chances are, it wasn't black." Cream and Sugar do to coffee what flavors do to many pipe tobaccos: they make the tobacco flavor easy to handle, but they mask what many of us here are chasing.

If you want a list of brands, I like tobaccoreviews.com as with the other gentlemen here. It is a great resource.

My real advice is to not take too much advice from others on the internet. Pipe smoking is about self-exploration (mind out of the gutter, Mr. Kaplan) and introspection. Find out what you think you like, then try some similar, but try some completely different, too. Find a local pipe club or shop if possible and swap a few bowlfuls of this and that (many on here will do this too!!) and don't be afraid to say to yourself "I don't like this because of _______" And take that tin, put it in a jar, and forget about it for a year or so. Then try it again. Have your tastes changed? Has the tobacco? Did you "accidentally" end up with a hundred pounds of tobacco in jars that is now crowding out a corner of your basement?

Patience is a big part of this game, and worst case scenario, you blew a few bucks on a tin you don't like, and you can send it to someone on here who wants to try something different.

 

[Storm_Crow]

As far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong with VAs from McClelland or Rattray. Esoterica and and Sam Gawith also are responsible for two of the most popular VAs as well, Stonehaven and Full VA Flake respectively, though tbh I'd choose Rattray Marlin Flake or Christmas Cheer, Blackwood Flake, or Dark Star from McClelland over either all day long.

 

[old_salt]

An old archive of some generally accept standards
http://web.archive.org/web/20090413052524/http://agingfaq.nocturne.org/touchstones.php

 

[Anonymous]

Your question has two answers. And they are mutually contradictory.

On one hand, there IS a Gold Standard, just as there are (legitimate) five-star restaurants. That Gold Standard would be G. L. Pease.

On the other hand, an awful lot of people like Big Macs.

You catch my drift.

:face:

 

[George Kaplan]

Pipe smoking is about self-exploration (mind out of the gutter, Mr. Kaplan) and introspection.

Me, Jefe? Really? :suspect: Even my gutters are loftier than that. Here I was thinking this response was the best possible answer to the impossible question; marveling at how succinctly you wrapped up a tangled problem while giving good advice, and then this cheap shot. Now I have to go leave in a huff with Kyle.
Seriously, Desert, aside from his gross misrepresentation of my character , Jefe sums it up pretty well.

 

[monbla256]

Your question has two answers. And they are mutually contradictory.

On one hand, there IS a Gold Standard, just as there are (legitimate) five-star restaurants. That Gold Standard would be G. L. Pease.

On the other hand, an awful lot of people like Big Macs.

You catch my drift.

:face:

Everything Yak wrote is correct EXCEPT this line should read" .. That Gold Standard would be McClelland".

Now can you see how there is NO answer to your question? To pare it all down, Buy an ounce or two of maybe 5 types of tobacco, and unless it just really strikes you as NOT for you, smoke ALL of what you bought of each blend in as many different pipes as available to you, keep some notes any way you want, and just go from there . It's a LIFELONG habit for most of us so this non- structured method works really well. The main thing is to relax and enjoy it all.

 

[Rusty]

Your question has two answers. And they are mutually contradictory.

On one hand, there IS a Gold Standard, just as there are (legitimate) five-star restaurants. That Gold Standard would be G. L. Pease.

On the other hand, an awful lot of people like Big Macs.

You catch my drift.

:face:

Everything Yak wrote is correct EXCEPT this line should read" .. That Gold Standard would be McClelland".

Now can you see how there is NO answer to your question? To pare it all down, Buy an ounce or two of maybe 5 types of tobacco, and unless it just really strikes you as NOT for you, smoke ALL of what you bought of each blend in as many different pipes as available to you, keep some notes any way you want, and just go from there . It's a LIFELONG habit for most of us so this non- structured method works really well. The main thing is to relax and enjoy it all.

LOL!
Everything Yak and the old gent wrote are both true without exception. However, I suspect the old gent has yet to discover GL Pease tobaccos. He'd better hurry up; blends wait for no man. I would add C&D to those two as well. The three of them stand in line behind nobody.

I'm astonished at the volumes of European continental tobaccos sold when those three are so active and productive. This is not to say that you shouldn't try a lot of tobaccos.

 

[monbla256]

Your question has two answers. And they are mutually contradictory.

On one hand, there IS a Gold Standard, just as there are (legitimate) five-star restaurants. That Gold Standard would be G. L. Pease.

On the other hand, an awful lot of people like Big Macs.

You catch my drift.

:face:

Everything Yak wrote is correct EXCEPT this line should read" .. That Gold Standard would be McClelland".

Now can you see how there is NO answer to your question? To pare it all down, Buy an ounce or two of maybe 5 types of tobacco, and unless it just really strikes you as NOT for you, smoke ALL of what you bought of each blend in as many different pipes as available to you, keep some notes any way you want, and just go from there . It's a LIFELONG habit for most of us so this non- structured method works really well. The main thing is to relax and enjoy it all.

LOL!
Everything Yak and the old gent wrote are both true without exception. However, I suspect the old gent has yet to discover GL Pease tobaccos. He'd better hurry up; blends wait for no man. I would add C&D to those two as well. The three of them stand in line behind nobody.

I'm astonished at the volumes of European continental tobaccos sold when those three are so active and productive. This is not to say that you shouldn't try a lot of tobaccos.

I've tried MANY of Mr. Pease's blends and they are all good, just my OPINION, which ALL of this is from ALL of us, is that McClelland's are BETTER . Since it is ALL based on personal perceptions of a very subjective subject, taste, there can really be no "Gold Standard" that is not based on subjective criteria

 

[Anonymous]

McClelland's are BETTER

Would you like some fries with that ?

:face:

 

[MisterE]

McClelland's are BETTER

Would you like some fries with that ?

:face:

I think the ketchup already comes included with every purchase..... :lol!: