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Whats your favorite Tobacco?

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I don't smoke and I don't chew and I don't go with girls that do. :rotf:

And I don't even smoke that, ahem, other stuff. :nono:
Whenever I start smoking I slow down a bit so I don't flame on.
 
To all you guys who have been smoking a pipe for awhile I'm a newbie at and I'm looking for some advice. I don't smoke often usually only around a fire so only a two doz times a year or so. My question is I found a cherry almond blend that I really like but would like to venture out alittle bit and maybe get into a little more complex flavors while still keeping it light/easy smoke. Looking for suggestions. I don't know if it matters but it's a cheepo corncob pipe.
 
OK well first, the corncob will change the flavor of the smoke a tad, and may interfere with any complexity. So you should be thinking about a clay pipe, or a reed stemmed pipe with a clay bowl.

Next, the more "complex" you get can sometimes increase the bite of the tobacco on your tongue. It depends on what the tobacconist does to add the complexity.


IF the complexity is done with adding flavors to the tobacco itself..., like rum, or whiskey, or cherry, or vanilla, for example, that can up the heat or the bite or both in a tobacco. This is though the simplest way to add to the tobacco, and one of the cheapest. So you find Midlands Cherry, Captain Black, or generic Vanilla at low cost at the local drug store.

Another way tobacconists create complexity, is to blend different tobaccos, cured in different manners. Different tobaccos with varying amounts of sugar, dried and cured in different manners can give quite different flavors, not to mention how they are finished. The tobacco is grown in different soil and different weather conditions so the leaves take on local characteristics, and the more attention to the details the higher the price. :wink: Plus, a tobacco that's shredded leaf will be different from the same plant if it's pressed into a flake tobacco....time allowed to age come into play, etc etc, as well as the amount of nicotine. I've had a couple of premium pipe tobaccos that were just too strong, and got me plenty dizzy. :shocked2:

So there are a lot of variations on a theme out there...hence the hundreds of different tobacco blends. :wink:

In your corncob pipe I'd suggest you stick with simple tobaccos, unflavored or flavored as you wish, and mild. Chances are if you tried a more expensive tobacco you wouldn't get a real tasting of it from a corn cob.

Then try something more expensive in a clay pipe, though nothing flavored yet. If you like that you can try something on the same theme but stronger.

IF you decide you want to try something flavored and pricey, you should have a different clay pipe for that flavor, since mixing flavors in the clay will often change the flavors of both tobaccos when used in the same pipe, from then on. So if you like the smell of say a rum flavored tobacco somebody else is smoking, and it's a premium brand, I'd suggest you get an $8 clay pipe just for that tobacco and try it. For example, I have a favorite, custom blend of black cherry, made at my local tobacconist. I have a specific clay pipe for that tobacco, and only for that tobacco. I have another clay pipe for "natural Virginia" tobaccos. When I smoke cheap stuff around a camp fire, I have a third clay pipe for that or I too have a couple of corn cobs that I can use.

Now there is also briar pipes, but these tend to be pretty pricey, and so I'd pass on these until you find some good tobaccos that you regularly smoke, and again don't mix styles too much or you may taint the briar.

"So that, as clear as is the summer's sun." :shocked2: :haha:
Shakespear, Henry V, Act I Scene 2

Bottom line is find something you like. I really enjoy in the field or at an event, a plain, cut, simple Virginia that my tobacconist uses to reduce the heat and robustness of her more exotic tobaccos that she blends. I think there are three of us who buy it from her straight. I know guys who love Captain Black (I like the Gold btw) and others who like something from Scotland that runs like $20 an ounce. Plus I like a couple of the premium blends, BUT I can't tell you if the guy next to me is smoking a McClelland's Rum flake at $15 for 1.5 ounces, or if he's smoking generic "rum" from Walmart at $2 an ounce.


LD
 
Lots of folk swear by corn cobs, mark resin had a guy hired just to break in his corn cobs. If you try different blends and mixed flavored you need a different pipe for each blend. Clays give you a chance to enjoy different types. Just like any skill you use in a historic setting it needs to be practiced until you get it right.
Smoking is a joy that needs to be enjoyed slowly, practice at home, try a few briers or meershem pipes. Let them rest a couple days between smokes.
Keep it in moderation.
 
tenngun said:
You don't shoot that smokeless powder do you??? :nono: :blah: :rotf:



No I don't, tenngun. But fessing up I admit to smoking BP....but that's all. :grin: :hmm:

Up until about 30 years ago I smoked a pipe and my favorite was Prince Albert. Still miss that stuff.
 
Woah... Thanks for the info LD. No experience with anything but my corncob what do I need to look for with a clay pipe?
 
If you want to try a different, more complex tobacco try a mild English blend like Dunhill Early Morning Pipe. If you have a tobacconist nearby, chances are they will have a house blend that fits the bill. These blends are non-aromatic and include oriental tobaccos and some Latakia which add a depth and light spiciness. They generally light easily. These are meant for slow smoking which would go with relaxing around a camp fire. If using a corn cob, dedicate one to this blend. They work well in clay pipes, also. Jas. Townsend and Sons carries clay bowls to be fitted with a reed stem. Pipesandcigars.com carries different shapes of one piece clay pipes. Of course, there are other places.

Enjoy the process. Discovering new blends and flavors is part of the fun of pipe smoking.

Jeff
 
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I smoke a Dutch Gouda Style Pipe , but these are a bit pricey. I get mine from The Mountain Forge at Fort Frederick Market Fair each year, but I think the price is now $8-$9 a piece. Tom, the proprietor, now has his son running the place. Avalon Forge [scroll down the linked page] is also a place I like to buy mine.

LD
 
Starting off by 1740 they were making reed stemmed clays. They are the best since you can break them apart for storage and transport. Clay stormed pipes never went out of style. Just sitting and holding the pipe smokes well. Should you clap the stem in your teeth and move around a bit your teeth will grind off bits of clay and taste dirty on your tounge.
Pipes with bent stems smoke better then stright. When ever you smoke oils tars and moisture collect in the bottom of the bowl. A stright stem is just like a straw and you can get a mouthful of nasty fluid. A bent stem tends to keep it the bottom.
When you fill a pipe you want the lower third loosely pack the bowl, it acts as a filter, your smoke is tight at the top.
 
Back when I used to smoke a pipe, I used to have a blend made up at my local tobacco store. It was 80% toasted Cavindish, 10% Latakiah and 10% Perique. It smokes great, doesn't bite your tongue and doesn't smell like your are burning cherries or roses in your pipe. The smoke is perfumed only by pure tobacco with no additives. It won't tickle the nose of the women with perfume but, unless you are smoking for their benefit, that won't matter. Give it a try, I think you will like it. :thumbsup:
 
Old Bugler guy...been doing it for years. Even had fathers use me as show & tell for their kids. 17 year olds stand around and stare, trying to figure out I can dare to roll what they don't understand in public! :wink: :haha:
 
If you want tobacco with no additives, why not grow your own? I ordered seeds online and planted two rows in my vegetable garden several years ago, dried the leaves in my shed for a year or three. It is as easy to grow as tomatoes and, though I give it to neighbors who drop by, I haven’t run out of the original batch yet. Very aromatic, too.
 
Billnpatti said:
Wes/Tex said:
17 year olds stand around and stare, trying to figure out I can dare to roll what they don't understand in public! :wink: :haha:

Ya lost me :confused:

The kids are thinking he's rolling a marijuana joint in public. They've never seen a "Bull Durham" style manually-rolled cigarette.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan
 
Making a smokable tobacco is a bit more than just growing the leaves. The leaves need to be cured, and that is a time consuming gamble. Too dry, and the leaves just crumble. Too moist, and they rot, or hatch tobacco beetles. Temperature too low, or too high, and they won't cure. etc., etc.
 
My Uncle used to smoke Bourbon Blend, not sure if they still make it. It was the best I have smelled yet.
 
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