Recommendations for Oriental Mixtures with no Latakia

[DrumsAndBeer]

To make a long story short, after extensive allergy tests it was revealed to me that I am quite allergic to cedar.  :x  So much so, that after an intradermal injection a tiny welt about 3mm across eventually became a golf ball sized splotch, and ultimately my entirely forearm blew up and was itching and tingling terribly for 3 days after the test.

This explains some of the wheezing fits that I have had after smoking some of my favorite Latakia blends. Depressing for sure, but I am still quite of fond of complex fragrant Oriental tobacco mixtures. Since it seems that Latakia is off the table, I am looking for Oriental forward blends that don't contain it. One may say, "Dude search Tobacco Reviews," but I know there are quite a few mixtures out there where the blender just lumps Latakia in with the the term Oriental, mixtures like Red Rapparee, EMP, etc. So I turn to you guys & gals.

What's your recommendation for Oriental Mixtures that for sure have no Lat?

So far I have McClelland Drama Reserve, GLP Cairo, and JP Oriental Dusk.

Thanks.... 

 

[MisterE]

GLP Embarcadero.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

GLP Embarcadero.

Totally. You know, I was thinking of appending that one to my little list of blends that I have tried, but then I was thinking what constitutes a mixture? Two tobaccos, three? And is Embarcadero more VA or Turk forward, it's debatable. Anyway, I love Embarcadero and great suggestion Mister E.

 

[rothnh]

Most of the McClelland Grand Oriental Series don't contain latakia -- IIRC, only two blends in the line have latakia and are labeled as such.

I ordered the complete series last year when P&C had a 15% off sale on McClellend blends, except for the ones with latakia.  I've smoked a few of them so far and I'm very pleased with them.

Here's a blend that's fairly low on the radar, only available from Smoking Pipes (SPC) -- Low Country Waccamaw --  "a hearty Virginia flake, East Carolina bright leaf serving as the base, with Red Virginias lending sweetness and structure. Perique and a dash of exotic Izmir Oriental leaf complete this complex, satisfying flake."

http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/low-country/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=32143

I also buy C&D Turkish Izmir in bulk from SPC and enjoy mixing it with my virginias when the mood strikes.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Most of the McClelland Grand Oriental Series don't contain latakia -- IIRC, only two blends in the line have latakia and are labeled as such.

I ordered the complete series last year when P&C had a 15% off sale on McClellend blends, except for the ones with latakia.  I've smoked a few of them so far and I'm very pleased with them.

Here's a blend that's fairly low on the radar, only available from Smoking Pipes (SPC) -- Low Country Waccamaw --  "a hearty Virginia flake, East Carolina bright leaf serving as the base, with Red Virginias lending sweetness and structure. Perique and a dash of exotic Izmir Oriental leaf complete this complex, satisfying flake."

http://www.smokingpipes.com/tobacco/by-maker/low-country/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=32143

I also buy C&D Turkish Izmir in bulk from SPC and enjoy mixing it with my virginias when the mood strikes.

Thanks for the recommendations. Of the McC Grand Orientals, I know the Yenidje Highlander contains a bit of Syrian Lat, do you happen to remember which of the other blends in the series contains Lat? Also which in this series did you find most captivating?

 

[Steveaux]

C&D Red Carpet.

A VaPer/Oriental flake. One of my Top Five.

Red Carpet

 

[MisterE]

GLP Embarcadero.

Totally. You know, I was thinking of appending that one to my little list of blends that I have tried, but then I was thinking what constitutes a mixture? Two tobaccos, three? And is Embarcadero more VA or Turk forward, it's debatable.  Anyway, I love Embarcadero and great suggestion Mister E.

I think it's just Virginia and Izmir IIRC. It's an interesting blend because it can be either Oriental or Virginia dominant depending on how the planets align.   :lol!:

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

C&D Red Carpet.

A VaPer/Oriental flake. One of my Top Five.

Red Carpet

I'll check that one out, thanks.

 

[rothnh]

Thanks for the recommendations. Of the McC Grand Orientals, I know the Yenidje Highlander contains a bit of Syrian Lat, do you happen to remember which of the other blends in the series contains Lat? Also which in this series did you find most captivating?

Here's the Grand Orientals I ordered. None of these contain latakia:

McClelland Grand Orientals Black Sea
Sokhoum (50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Classic Samsun
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Katerini
Classic (50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Yenice Agonya
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Yenidje Supreme
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Drama Reserve
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Smyrna No. 1
(50g tin)

I've smoked the Classic Samsun, the Smyrna No. 1 and the Drama Reserve so far and enjoyed them.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Thanks for the recommendations. Of the McC Grand Orientals, I know the Yenidje Highlander contains a bit of Syrian Lat, do you happen to remember which of the other blends in the series contains Lat? Also which in this series did you find most captivating?

Here's the Grand Orientals I ordered. None of these contain latakia:

McClelland Grand Orientals Black Sea
Sokhoum (50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Classic Samsun
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Katerini
Classic (50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Yenice Agonya
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Yenidje Supreme
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Drama Reserve
(50g tin)

McClelland Grand Orientals Smyrna No. 1
(50g tin)

I've smoked the Classic Samsun, the Smyrna No. 1 and the Drama Reserve so far and enjoyed them.

Thanks for the info.

 

[DrT999]

Speaking of McClelland, 221b series Arcadia -- so far as I know/can tell, no Latakia. Hopefully others here will verify that

 

[Aristokles]

C&D Red Carpet.

A VaPer/Oriental flake. One of my Top Five.

Red Carpet

I'll check that one out, thanks.

Red Carpet should come with a warning label: "Highly addictive". Stuff is superb.

 

[docwatson]

L. J. Peretti's Oriental #40. The most turkish forward blend ever.

 

[Puff Daddy]

Do you have the same issues with Syrian latakia or just Cyprian? They are two completely different animals to me.

 

[BigCasino]

The drama reserve and the Yenidge supreme are fantastic,  the Peter stokkabye Turkish is fantastic, a nice mellow, sweet smoke, I have  a few of these blends laying around if you shoot me your address I can send you some samples

 

[holymolar]

+1 on the McClelland, 221b series Arcadia. Very nice.

 

[monbla256]

One of the FINEST NO LATAKIA Oriental blends is Tashkent made by L.J. Peretti up in Boston. They are some funky folks to deal with (no inter web orders, only over the phone) but this blend is WELL WORTH the effort !!  :twisted: 

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

Speaking of McClelland, 221b series Arcadia -- so far as I know/can tell, no Latakia.  Hopefully others here will verify that

Thanks Dr. T, You know, I might have a tin of Arcadia. I completely overlooked this blend. For some reason I thought it contained Latakia.

L. J. Peretti's Oriental #40. The most turkish forward blend ever.

I'll check that one out. Love Turkish.

Do you have the same issues with Syrian latakia or just Cyprian? They are two completely different animals to me.

Good question. It's really tough to know for sure what is used in the smoke curing process for either types of Lat. I am definitely sensitive to Cyprian. The last Syrian I smoked was HH Vintage Syrian. Honestly I didn't pay too much attention to how it is made me feel afterwards, as this was prior to having any symptoms. I'll need to revisit a few Syrian blends and see what happens. I spoke to Greg Pease and he seems to think that the culprit might be the cedrol that is found in most conifers. My allergist also mentioned that cedrol was used in making the intradermal serim for the test.

The drama reserve and the Yenidge supreme are fantastic,  the Peter stokkabye Turkish is fantastic, a nice mellow, sweet smoke, I have  a few of these blends laying around if you shoot me your address I can send you some samples

Thanks for the offer Harry, very generous of you. I'll put those two on the list. I have plenty of baccy at the moment, so I'll save you the postage.  

One of the FINEST NO LATAKIA Oriental blends is Tashkent made by L.J. Peretti up in Boston. They are some funky folks to deal with (no inter web orders, only over the phone) but this blend is WELL WORTH the effort !!  :twisted: 

Tashkent,  Thanks for the tip...

 

[monbla256]

To make a long story short, after extensive allergy tests it was revealed to me that I am quite allergic to cedar.  :x  So much so, that after an intradermal injection a tiny welt about 3mm across eventually became a golf ball sized splotch, and ultimately my entirely forearm blew up and was itching and tingling terribly for 3 days after the test.

This explains some of the wheezing fits that I have had after smoking some of my favorite Latakia blends. Depressing for sure, but I am still quite of fond of complex fragrant Oriental tobacco mixtures. Since it seems that Latakia is off the table, I am looking for Oriental forward blends that don't contain it. One may say, "Dude search Tobacco Reviews," but I know there are quite a few mixtures out there where the blender just lumps Latakia in with the the term Oriental, mixtures like Red Rapparee, EMP, etc. So I turn to you guys & gals.

What's your recommendation for Oriental Mixtures that for sure have no Lat?

So far I have McClelland Drama Reserve, GLP Cairo, and JP Oriental Dusk.

Thanks.... 

D,
After re-reading your OP I have to ask the question, what does an allergy to cedar have to do with Latakia? It botanically has no connection to tobacco and the process of smoking the leaves of this variety is to smoke it over dung fires so I'm trying to connect the two.  :?: 

 

[DrT999]

To make a long story short, after extensive allergy tests it was revealed to me that I am quite allergic to cedar.  :x  So much so, that after an intradermal injection a tiny welt about 3mm across eventually became a golf ball sized splotch, and ultimately my entirely forearm blew up and was itching and tingling terribly for 3 days after the test.

This explains some of the wheezing fits that I have had after smoking some of my favorite Latakia blends. Depressing for sure, but I am still quite of fond of complex fragrant Oriental tobacco mixtures. Since it seems that Latakia is off the table, I am looking for Oriental forward blends that don't contain it. One may say, "Dude search Tobacco Reviews," but I know there are quite a few mixtures out there where the blender just lumps Latakia in with the the term Oriental, mixtures like Red Rapparee, EMP, etc. So I turn to you guys & gals.

What's your recommendation for Oriental Mixtures that for sure have no Lat?

So far I have McClelland Drama Reserve, GLP Cairo, and JP Oriental Dusk.

Thanks.... 

D,
After re-reading your OP I have to ask the question, what does an allergy to cedar have to do with Latakia? It botanically has no connection to tobacco and the process of smoking the leaves of this variety is to smoke it over dung fires so I'm trying to connect the two.  :?: 

I believe the dung is a myth, rather the tobacco is smoked over burning resinous branches/leaves, which might be similar to cedar