Beginner Virginia or VaPerRecommendations?

[rblood]

Orlik Golden Sliced, Escudo Navy De Lux and Peter Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake are all great.
Golden Sliced, being on the mild side, is a great "starter" VA I think. Escudo is by a wide margin my favorite VA/Per.

 

[cortezattic]

8O I like all the suggestions so far! I recently discovered the wonders of Sutliff 1849. Magnificent VaPer. ::
Another blend that's flies below the radar is Savinelli's Doblone D'Oro.

It's pretty much a VaPer with a flavor boost from Burley and dark fired Kenyan leave. Yum!

 

[cortezattic]

This might be a good thread in which to link to a really popular thread posted at a cigar site.

This very informative thread is a VaPer Showdown created by a poster named Slow Triathlete.

It's probably a "must read" for folks wanting to explore the world of VaPers.

 

[ray47]

I really enjoy Cornell & Diehl's bayou morning

Me too. Bayou Morning was the first Va/Per blend I ever smoked, but I wouldn't recommend it to others as their first. I have a high nicotine tolerance so it didn't bother me.

 

[prndl]

Capstan Blue should be somewhere on this list.

 

[jaydublin]

Gotta 2nd the Capstan Blue suggestion.

 

[Perique]

Three really good, accessible, easy-smoking VaPers for new smokers of this style are:
Solani 633
Stokkebye Luxury Navy Flake
Rattray's Marlin Flake

 

[brass]

I'll also nominate Rich Gotlieb's Prairie Wind, which we are smoking in this month's crawl.

 

[greyfoxactual]

Smoke what you like, but like what you smoke. All great options, but you won't truly know until you try because tastes in tobacco are even more varied than food I've found.
I'm a strong retro-haler and I have only found Hearth & Home Signature Anniversary Kake to be the kindest and tastiest. Orlik Golden Sliced was a bit too reminiscent of "cigarette" flavor for me.

 

[jruthledge]

I picked up some Dunhill Flake last night and tried it out. What a great intro to non-aromatics. Seemed really mild and smooth to me. Maybe it burns coolers without the flavorings? And it was like a subtle buffet of flavors. I guess the more subtle flavors were comig out because they weren't covered up with any flavorings. And my first flake, so that was interesting too. I just pulled it apart and loaded the pipe like usual.
Anyway thanks for all the suggestions. I might try another straight virginia and then start sampling some VaPers. I like starting with the straight va's so I know what I'm tasting when I add different kinds of tobacco.

 

[deathmetal]

Villiger After Dinner. Nothing fancy but flavorful and mild.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

jruthledge:

I say I don't like latakia because my first pipe smoking experience was with a friend who gave be a few pipes and a bunch of tobacco. All of it had some latakia in it. One was a really strong Balkan. I tried a few bowls and decided that I didn't like pipes. Didn't try again for about 15 years. I might like just a tiny touch of latakia, but I have a reaction to it now like when you get sick on something and then can't handle it for a while. So, I don't know. Maybe something with just a little touch...

That sounds like you're just waiting to become a Latakia fanatic.

My first experience with Latakia was when I asked someone for a "heavy Latakia blend" and it tasted nothing like what I now know Latakia can do. Six months later I found out my first experience was a complete misrepresentation (and it was partly my fault for basing my opinion of a whole category on one blend).

This is about being relaxed and enjoying yourself so obviously it doesn't make sense to do things you don't enjoy, but I think you owe it to yourself to slowly work Latakia into your rotation.

 

[frozenchurchwarden]

Cortez:

This might be a good thread in which to link to a really popular thread posted at a cigar site.

This very informative thread is a VaPer Showdown created by a poster named Slow Triathlete.

It's probably a "must read" for folks wanting to explore the world of VaPers.

I can't personally confirm my suspicions, yet, but I have a feeling that guy is really missing out by not revisiting the Stokkebye flakes after a few years of aging.

 

[judcole]

I picked up some Dunhill Flake last night and tried it out. What a great intro to non-aromatics. Seemed really mild and smooth to me. Maybe it burns coolers without the flavorings? And it was like a subtle buffet of flavors. I guess the more subtle flavors were comig out because they weren't covered up with any flavorings. And my first flake, so that was interesting too. I just pulled it apart and loaded the pipe like usual.
Anyway thanks for all the suggestions. I might try another straight virginia and then start sampling some VaPers. I like starting with the straight va's so I know what I'm tasting when I add different kinds of tobacco.

Glad you got off to such an excellent start. I agree that Dunhill Flake is an excellent intro to both Virginias and flakes. I'd also second the recommendation for Capstan - I prefer the blue, but the yellow is also nice - and encourage you to visit the Rattray lines - Old Gowrie, Hal o' th' Wind, Marlin Flake - and McClelland - too many to mention. Enjoy!

 

[disinformatique]

Straight Virginias - GLP Union Square forget SG FVF

VaPer - G L Pease Six Pence, Rattrays Marlin Flake

Strong Virginia - GLP Triple Play or Jack Knife Plug

Virginia Burley - GLP Navigator and Orlik Golden Sliced, no matter what Orlik says, its not a VaPer but a VaBur
Here are a few other recommendations for you
Oriental - Frog Morton On The Town, it has sweet Basma in it which makes it a sweet Oriental, I smoked the entire 100g tin in under 2 weeks.

Light English - Frog Morton's Cellar (hint of whiskey, comes with a piece of a barrel in the tin.
Try these, you wont be disappointed.
You can also go watch my YouTube Channel - The Pipe Monk about most of the tobaccos I've listed here.
Enjoy !
Chris

 

[quantumboy]

For straight Virginia, you can scarcely do better than Pease's Union Square. One of the top three or four straight Vas out there, and awesome with a bit of age.
Wessex Brigade Dark Flake is also a must-try. A fantastic darker Virginia, rich and smooth.
My third recommendation for straight Virginia is Cornell & Diehl's Opening Night.

 

[quantumboy]

For straight Virginia, you can scarcely do better than Pease's Union Square. One of the top three or four straight Vas out there, and awesome with a bit of age.
Wessex Brigade Dark Flake is also a must-try. A fantastic darker Virginia, rich and smooth.
My third recommendation for straight Virginia is Cornell & Diehl's Opening Night.

 

[jruthledge]

Thanks. I've got a good list of straight virginias on the journey ahead, and also a bunch of interesting off ramps for sampling perique and orientals, etc. Great thread.

 

[vink]

if you like burley, you can try some VaBur too, usually mote forgiving on the tongue!

Solani silver flake

Esoterica Tilbury an stonehaven
Va:

Capstan blue

FVF

 

[brudnod]

1+ on Macbaren Virginia #1. Comes in a nice 1 pound bag or tin. Not quite sure why it is categorized as a aro other than the faint hint of top dressing. Good intermediate between pure aro and non-aro.