When I took up cigars years ago, I enjoyed learning about the facts on their tobacco components (for example, I learned that Maduro produces a rich and full flavor, but that Connecticut Shade is buttery-smooth and has an exquisitely vibrant taste like no other). When I switched to pipes, I had little interest in flavored tobaccos, although the local pipe store (Edleez) is truly masterful in blending non-fruity, and often bold-flavored burleys with Virginias, and/or their own black cavendish (if you are ever there, I recommend Ed's Best as a burley/cav blend which really tastes as full as the aroma it produces, plus you can smoke it all day or night). I have since sought out less expensive sources online, and have been doing a lot of business online with Pipes and Cigars, tried a few of the popular Dunhill blends, lots from the Hearth and Home Signature line (I'm also a Latakia fan, but can't really handle more than a bowl or two of that per day), and I have also ordered a couple of their Marquee blends as well as well as some recommended Cornell and Diehl blends which are on their way. I don't know, but it seems to me that pipe tobacco, for what they tell you about the Virginias, the Burleys, the Orientals, the Latakias, the Perique, and especially the "Cigar Leaf" in the H&H Stogie blend (what kind of a cigar leaf????) is more of a black box. Especially so with Cavendish, which can be anything they press together with sweetener - hmmmm.... I just got finished reading an article titled "The Tale of Two Latakia", over at Pipedia, and boy do the descriptions of Cyprian and Syrian product tell of different flavor, but it's rare that the sellers of these blends ever give you that distinction - they just call it "Latakia", like the old 80's fast-food chicken commercial where they said "parts is parts".
All long-winded ranting aside, I do find it fascinating how different two blends with the same description over at tobaccoreviews.com (for example, "Virgina, Latakia, Perique" will taste so different when you try them. Can anybody lend insight on this, and possibly some sources for relief to an inquiring mind?
All long-winded ranting aside, I do find it fascinating how different two blends with the same description over at tobaccoreviews.com (for example, "Virgina, Latakia, Perique" will taste so different when you try them. Can anybody lend insight on this, and possibly some sources for relief to an inquiring mind?