What do you mix into your Aro to boost the N?

[Blackhorse]

Most aromatic blends are moderate to high on flavor but little to nothing on Vitamin N. Well, except for the Gawith Bad Boy Blends.

I know many aro smokers add other blends into the weak one to build up the N. So do you? And if so, what do you use? And in what ratio?

I used to see Five Brothers named as a common addition. Whatever.

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

C&D Burley Ribbon Cut is good for this. I used to use Carter Hall but I found that I prefer the C&D stuff. It's stronger, cheaper, less moist and more flavorful than CH.

I couple years ago I added it to some rather limp tasting Dan Tobacco Blue Note and after a little melding period it was quite nice. I did the same thing with Dan's Devil's Holiday but the flavors didn't jive so I tossed it. The Devil's Holiday might have been better mixed with less burley and a bit of good Virginia leaf. Who knows.

 

[Blackhorse]

I thought Burley Ribbin Cut was a fairly mild blend.  How does that amp up the N level?

I was thinking something like “Kelly’s Coin” or “Burley Ribbon Cut” would be a good choice? Likely I’ll try some 5 Brothers first as I have three or four pouches on hand.

 

[Fr_Tom]

I have had great results with 5 Brothers. It is hard to get mixed properly due to the cut, but it comes really dry and spreads some of the aro moisture around as a plus. I have done this with C&D Dark Burley too.

One of my favorites is a a little esoteric. I bought a dozen twists of Mammoth Cave twist. I slice it and rub it out. This stuff is serious burley and is easily the most serious nicotine I have ever experienced. It is more than the ropes and Irish Flake for me. A coin or two of this in a bowl mixed with something like SP Rum Cured is quite good. You know you are smoking tobacco, and the aro flavor is nicely balanced.

I have smoked exactly two bowls of Mammoth Cave by itself. It takes a lot to give me "niccups " these days. Mammoth Cave will do it. Just for the sake of reference, OJK - original is a in the "all-day" category for me. Sometimes Picayune on an empty stomach in the late afternoon will leave me a little queasy on bowl two (but no niccups).

 

[DrumsAndBeer]

I thought Burley Ribbin Cut was a fairly mild blend.  How does that amp up the N level?

This is the C&D Burley Ribbon Cut I was referring to. There's plenty of strength to it. I don't know if it's Five Brothers strong, but it's got a good balance of flavor and strength. Pretty sure there's some dark fired in it too.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/cornell-diehl/Burley-Ribbon-Cut/product_id/135021/bulk

 

[Blackhorse]

I thought Burley Ribbin Cut was a fairly mild blend.  How does that amp up the N level?

This is the C&D Burley Ribbon Cut I was referring to. There's plenty of strength to it. I don't know if it's Five Brothers strong, but it's got a good balance of flavor and strength. Pretty sure there's some dark fired in it too.

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipe-tobacco/cornell-diehl/Burley-Ribbon-Cut/product_id/135021/bulk

I could only come up with that in a tin. I wanted bilk...like this. Thanks. Got a quarter pounder on the way.

And Fr Tom - I was also thinking about the dryness of 5 Bros and how that would work well with juicy aros.  lol

I think some day I might try “Kelly’s Coin” but these should keep me going til then.

Done and done.

 

[Fr_Tom]

And Fr Tom - I was also thinking about the dryness of 5 Bros and how that would work well with juicy aros.  lol

I got a healthy sample of Butternut Burley in a multipass. It was too much on the aro side for me, and it did not have enough muscle. I mixed a couple of ounces with a pouch of 5 Bros, and it was significantly better. When that was about half gone, I added an approximate equal quantity of SPRT. This was just the right level of aromatic for me. The 5 Bros gave it some beef, and the the SPRT gave it a smooth, fuller "feel" with a little sweet. It was a great smoke as far as I was concerned. I will probably never try this again, because I am unlikely to buy Butternut Burley just to add a little aro, but it was good while it lasted.

 

[huffelpuff]

I don't smoke much in the way of aromatics but when I do I frequently add some slices of G&H or SG rope to it. The other little goodie I keep around for this is rinsed chewing tobacco. I soaked a plug of Days Work for a couple of hours then spread it out to dry. I let it get absolutely bone dry and will grab a big pinch of that and crush it into the aro I'm going to smoke. This stuff is potent. A small clay Gouda pipeful is all I can handle if I smoke it straight. It has a great flavor though and works well with the aromatics I have.

Jim

 

[Fr_Tom]

I don't smoke much in the way of aromatics but when I do I frequently add some slices of G&H or SG rope to it. The other little goodie I keep around for this is rinsed chewing tobacco. I soaked a plug of Days Work for a couple of hours then spread it out to dry. I let it get absolutely bone dry and will grab a big pinch of that and crush it into the aro I'm going to smoke. This stuff is potent. A small clay Gouda pipeful is all I can handle if I smoke it straight. It has a great flavor though and works well with the aromatics I have.

Jim

I may give this a try when I run out of Mammoth Cave.

 

[huffelpuff]

Father if you give it a try you might want to change the water once or twice during the rinse. Mine is still pretty heavily cased and that high sugar content will really make it burn hot and bite if you aren't watching your pace. The original idea behind this was for something to feed my early 1860's civil war meerschaum. There are stories of the old farmers chewing tobacco during the day and saving the remains until they dried out enough to smoke in their pipe at night. Since I don't chew I figured I could accomplish the same thing by rinsing the plug. I have to say that filling the bowl on that pipe with this stuff would be enough to last a week or more of after dinner smoking.

The Mamoth Cave Twist sounds really good to me shame there isn't anywhere to get it out here.

Jim