What are you blending?

[Doc Manhattan]

What new recipe are you trying? What blend is coming out of the jars and into your pipes?

 

[DoverPipes]

Five Brothers / Wessex Cavendish / McClelland 5100
We'll see if I'll add some cigar leaf to this after I give it a roll........

 

[Kapnismologist]

At the moment, the ever-changing blending bar is stocked with open jars of:

Cornell & Diehl Bright Flake (#170)
Cornell & Diehl Dark Burley (#059)
Cornell & Diehl Red Virginia (#525)
McClelland Bulk 5100 - Red Cake
McClelland Bulk 5105 - Stoved Virginia
McClelland Bulk - Blended Turkish Ribbon
McClelland Bulk - Blending Perique
Varia - Mixed Cigar Leaf (i.e., clippings)

A recent favorite on-the-run blend has been ~40% 5100, ~30% Bright Flake, ~20% Stoved Virgina ~10% Perique - had some tonight in an old canted Dutch clay. Lovely.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

1-Q & BCA at a 75:25 mix.

With the success of Lane's BCA & 1-Q at a 1:1 ratio, i've got some of the same mix in waiting at a 75:25 ratio (75% 1-Q, 25% BCA). If I don't like it as much, i'll just add a little more BCA to get it back to my preferred 1:1 ratio.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Update - I tried the altered ratio (3 parts 1-Q and 1 part BCA) and didn't care for it as much. I then added a little more BCA to make it a 2:1 mix (2 parts 1-Q and 1 part BCA); a little lighter on the BCA than 1:1, but more than the mix I experimented with.

I really like the 2:1 mix - it's not bad either, in fact it's just as good if not better. There is a difference - as compared to the 1:1 ratio. I might have found the winner!

 

[forsooth]

A short while ago on another board, the 2 (1-Q) to 1 (BC-A) was advocated. I really like it, myself.

I mixed up some Mac Baren 7 Seas Gold with some McClelland VBC (about 1:1), and it was pretty good, also.

 

[Rob_In_MO]

A short while ago on another board, the 2 (1-Q) to 1 (BC-A) was advocated. I really like it, myself..

I'm also known as Rob1973 on another board - if that's the post you're referring to.

 

[CLRV]

Ten Russians and Bob's Chocolate Flake. About 50/50. Call it Russian Chocolate. Very very good.

 

[gandalfpc]

A good one I found on the net a year or more ago...

6 parts Lane 1Q, 4 parts Stanwell Melange, 2 parts BCA 

Really brings the stanwell under control

 

[tweaksource]

I am currently working with:

C&D
#517F/R - Virginia Flake / Virginia Ribbon
#525 - Red Virginia (Good straight, smoke carefully)
#525v - Red Virginia Cavendish
#166 - Turkish Izmir
#523L - Cyprus latakia
$169 - Burley White

McClelland
Blended Turkish Ribbon
5105 Stoved Virginia
Blending Orientals (I like the McClelland Blending Orientals a lot, straight or mixed. )
Eastern Carolina Ribbon
Perique - Ribbon Cut
2010 Classic Virginia
5100 Red Cake (on order)
Cyprus Latakia

I'm a big 4Noggins fan and I typically get everything from them. They have the best, most organized selection of blending tobaccos I've found.


Blends:

___________________________________________________________
Virginia/Oriental

1 part - #517F/R - Virginia Flake / Virginia Ribbon
1 part - #525 - Red Virginia
1 part - 5105 Stoved Virginia
1 part - McC Blending orientals

Sweet and spicy, a current favorite

One variation that is delicious adds 1 part white burley.
____________________________________________________________

English-type #17 (I do a lot of blending)

10g Solani VA Flake w/Perique
5g McClelland Blending Orientals
Good
10g Latakia
5g 5105 Stoved VA
Nice English
2.5g C&D #525v Red VA Cavendish
A bit sweeter

Pressed in sous vide bag for 4 days.

______________________________________________________________

Standard English-ish Mix (for me)

10g Virginia Ribbon (C&D #571R)
10g Red Virginia (C&D #525)

or 20g of 2010 Va
--

10g McClelland Blending Orientals
5g Turkish Izmir
10g McC 5105 Stoved VA
15g Latakia
5g C&D #525v Red VA Cavendish

______________________________________________________________

#5

40% 2010 VA Flake (rubbed out)
40% White Burley (#169) - Prince Albert works well too.
10% Cyprus Latakia
10% Perique


All of these blends change character the longer the ingredients marry. I find that they all need at least a month to 'click' and the English-type are better after at least 2 months. YMMV

I also find that using one of those nifty, zippered Sous Vide bags with the little hand pump helps the process along sometimes.

This is a pretty nice article as well http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/how-to-adjust-a-blend/#more-4298

 

[tweaksource]

A recent favorite on-the-run blend has been ~40% 5100, ~30% Bright Flake, ~20% Stoved Virgina ~10% Perique - had some tonight in an old canted Dutch clay. Lovely.

Sounds great. I'll have to whip up a batch of that myself.

 

[tweaksource]

Also, I find that when I'm really in the mood for a Vitamin-N kick, nothing quite hits the spot like a 50/50 mix of Peterson's Irish Flake and JackKnife Plug!

 

[Kapnismologist]

tweaksource -

some great sounding recipes you have there - I do some pressing too (typically in a bench vice, which creates quite the cake).

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I can now say that my latest experiment was a complete 100% success. With my liking of the 1-Q & BCA at a 2:1 ratio, I tried the same ratio using RLP-6 / BCA.

It's Great, even better than the 1-Q / BCA mix - IMHO. Any of you Brothers that liked the 1-Q/BCA mix should try this one out - I like it even more! Everyone loves the room note and it's mild yet flavorful. My dad (a veteran pipe smoker of 35+ years) absolutely loved it and is now including it in his daily rations.


Definately another staple in my cellar.

 

[Tak]

I call this “Blackstrap Burley.” I love VA’s and McClelland Red Cake is a staple, but I get a hankering for some burley now and again.

Cornell & Diehl Haunted Bookshop: Burley, Virginia (very little I think), Perique (even less I think).
Now this is the good part. Spritz it with Cruzan Blackstrap Rum, get it good and wet. I use an old eyeglass (small) spritzer bottle that’s been washed out and Cloroxed so no aroma. Let the Haunted Blackstrap Rum Tobacco dry out. 20 grams.

McClelland Tastemaster: Burley, Cavendish, Black Cavendish, Virginia. Flavoring: Cocoa / Chocolate. You could use any aromatic for this, the McClelland’s seem to be nice premium tobaccos. I do let this dry a little bit. 20 grams

Now, this is the good part. Pressing. You can do the wood blocks and C-clamps thing. My system is much simpler. Mix your two tobaccos, my mix is 50/50, you could do 3 parts burley, 1 part Tastemaster, or what-ever.

Put your mixture in a small plastic bag, put that in another small baggie. Fold it up like a cube. Don't seal the baggies, they will pop, just fold them over.
Move your car ahead or back 8-12 inches. Place baggie where your wheel is going to be, drive back or forward so your car wheel compresses the baggie full of your mixture. Car's weigh about 2 tons average, 4 tires, divide by the square inches of the tires, MULTIPLY by the number of telephone poles on your street, add in E=MC squared and you got LOTS of weight on your tobacco. Math is not my strong suit. My car "Presses" (smashes down) tobacco like a champ, that's all I know.

I’ve “Pressed” for 24 hrs up to a week and could not tell the difference so I’m going with the 24 hrs. I want to smoke this stuff, not marry it, got one of those. Even 12 hours works. Press from 6 PM to 6 AM, go to work, you got "Pressed Goodness."

Taste: I like this. It tastes a bit likechocolate, but you Do taste tobacco, unlike some aromatics that are just flavor. I think that’s the premium McClelland and the C&D Burley. Want less of the aromatic flavor, do a 4 to 1 mix. My mix is 50/50. The Tastemaster is Chocolate/Cocoa and vanilla, some maple, to me it’s not a heavy taste and I like it.

You might be wondering about why the Rum on the Haunted Bookshop. Well, I smoked some of that right out of the bag and it seemed 'harsh' to me. It just had a somewhat harsh astringent (think grape seed) taste. This Blackstrap Rum seems to mellow tobacco. Yes, I've spritzed it on all kinds of tobacco, so I figured it would mellow out the Haunted. NOTE: you don't have to use Cruzan Blackstrap, it is a rum with a Good Amount of molasses. It's not a spiced rum like Captain Morgan, it's just aged Rum and molasses. I DO like the taste of Molasses on my tobacco. You can use Any Rum, probably Jack or even Vodka, although I'd go with something that's got a little flavor. Single Malt Scotch or Single Malt Irish Whiskey would probably work to. I sip the Cruzan so it's already in my liquor hiding place...er cabinet.

Hope you like it.

 

[williamcharles]

I'm not much of a blender but I wanted something just mildly sweet that could be had locally. I mixed equal parts of PA, CH, H&H and a black cavendish and was surprised that it was actually pretty good. A good river bank/fishing mixture. I told you I wasn't much of a blender.