Enjoying Latakia?

blueeyedogre · Jun 11, 2016

I'll be honest and say that I have a really hard time finding enjoyment in blends containing Latakia. It seems that when I try it all I can taste is smoke. Not tobacco smoke but the taste of campfire smoke and nothing else. No Virginias, no Perique, no other taste but campfire smoke. The blends I've tried are Frog Morton, Bald Headed Teacher, and Night Cap.

What am I doing wrong or is it just that I have messed up taste buds?

jpmcwjr · Jun 11, 2016

Try John Cotton's No. 1. Light on the lat.

pipesmokingtom · Jun 11, 2016

There is no rule that says you have to like Latakia. I love it, but I could definitely understand how it's not for everyone. There are some seriously unbalanced latakia blends out there, too.
Try something with Syrian Latakia maybe.. HH Vintage or the like.

mcitinner1 · Jun 11, 2016

Yes I do, very much. I have been smoking a lot of something new to me. C&D Cross-Eyed Cricket. It is unsweetened black Cavendish, with Turkish, Latakia, and Perique, and has a rum punch flavoring. It sounds very strange, but I like it. Also the Latakia must be minimal because you can't smell it at all.

Chasing Embers · Jun 12, 2016

unsweetened black Cavendish, with Turkish, Latakia, and ~~Perique~~, and has a rum punch flavoring

If you haven't already Stan, try Black Frigate. Sounds like it might be your cup of tea!

mcitinner1 · Jun 12, 2016

I haven't opened one yet, but I got 9 tins of Black Frigate this week.

Along with four 8 ouncer's of Cricket.

mcitinner1 · Jun 12, 2016

If you haven't already Stan, try Black Frigate. Sounds like it might be your cup of tea!

Aye! Captain!...Crackin' Tin! Captain!
Mmmmmm!...aahhh...

danhester · Jun 12, 2016

blueeyedogre: Mybe you just don't like the stuff. A lot of people don't.
That said, though I'm unfamiliar with BHT, Nightcap and Frog Morton are both blends where the Latakia is the major player. Maybe try some blends where it's used more sparingly, as a condiment. Dunhill Early Morning Pipe is super popular. A blend I have been enjoying a lot lately is Seattle Pipe Club Mississippi River. Very much used as a spice in that blend, way behind the VAs and Perique.

frozenchurchwarden · Jun 12, 2016

Go camping more often.

Latakia gives me a nostalgia buzz every time I light it. I could bathe in the stuff.

newbroom · Jun 12, 2016

How many different tasting Latakia tobaccos are there? We hear of Cyprian and Syrian. I imagine that there is an incredible variety available just in straight Latakia cured tobacco.

I've been dabbling with blending and I have acquired two different Latakia tobaccos so far. They have similarities and also are different in appearance and taste.

beezer · Jun 12, 2016

The campfire smoke smell is what I enjoy most about latakia blends! I go through streaks on occasion where all I want to smoke are Balkan blends. I also love English blends with latakia as well. I've tried many and I've liked nearly everything I've set match to with the lone exception oddly enough of Pease's Gaslight. Maybe I'm not as hardcore of a latakia lover as I think I am because this lat-bomb is too much for me. I'm hoping a few years will mellow it some. That said, I also go through phases where I go on straight Virginia streaks.
My mood changes from day to day, which is why my cellar is more wide than it is deep.

jefff · Jun 12, 2016

I am no a huge Lat fan either but I have at least 10 tins of McClellands Aniversary blend and Several Glp Chelsea Morning.
Both are light in Lat and both are wonderful.

ericusrex · Jun 12, 2016

Hmmm. If you thought BHT was a Lat bomb you may have some sort of physical aversion to latakia. If you want to keep trying, I'd suggest Presbyterian, Gordon Pym and Miss. River. They all have a very earthy, leathery, chewy quality that is well balanced with the latakia, IMO. Pres is the lightest of the three, Pym has a little Syrian (the mellower of the two lats), MR has the highest dose of smoky weed in it. Keep in mind that none of these is like Capstan, your favorite IIRC, so the virginia flavor is not dominant in any of them. Good luck!

hawky454 · Jun 12, 2016

Sometimes your timing is just off or ya just don't like Latakia. I wouldn't give up on it though, as others have suggested, try a lighter blends or take some time off and try it again in 6 months. I absolutely love blends with Lat in them and that's all I used to smoke, really. Now I really enjoy it more as a treat as it loses it's appeal if that's all I smoke. If I smoke it from time to time it's just magical and it sings a sweet melody for me. My favorite being, Smokers Haven - Exotique.

leacha · Jun 12, 2016

Your not doing anything wrong and I was thinking the same as ericusrex that you may have an aversion to it. Latakia in BHT is used slightly more than a condiment, IMO. I like Latakia used sparingly. That being said I do not know your pretences but I can give you a few blends.
If your a burley lover look for an "American" English such as Chestnut, H&H American Heritage, or Uhle's Blend 71 (a favorite).
If your a VaPer fan go with Sutliff Court of St James. Its a VaPer with a touch of Latakia. If you like it progress to C&Ds Buffalo Soldier.
One more, and if I had any in stock I'd send you one, McClellands Contest Blend. If you smoke this and think the Latakia is too much than you do have an aversion to it.
Good luck!

Chasing Embers · Jun 12, 2016

Aye! Captain!...Crackin' Tin! Captain!
Mmmmmm!...aahhh...

:rofl:

ltstone · Jun 12, 2016

I think I'm the opposite I can't think of a blend with Lat that I don't like. It also seems that the latakia gives a contrast that helps to bring out the other tobacco flavors.

jollyroger · Jun 12, 2016

Wouldn't surprise me.

I can't stand latakia, though I wish I didn't have such an aversion sometimes.

I've tried GLP quiet nights, Dunhill MM 965, H&H black house.
To me they all give the same experience of breathing a mixture of the exhaust smoke from a heavy diesel powered tank, gun powder, detonated explosives, fertilizer and smelly gruyere cheese. I find it sickening even if barely present, and lat forward blends generate a gag reflex.
Luckily I'm a big fan of Virginias and perique, and there's an entire universe of those to explore. And I'm quote okay with burley as well. I just steer clear of anything with latakia.

hawky454 · Jun 12, 2016

Man, I need to try me some of that Black Frigate! ChasingEmbers, you've finally drilled it into my brain so bad I need to own some to see if it will stop the nightmares. :nana:

frozenchurchwarden · Jun 12, 2016

I'm pretty sure the cheese flavours are not from Latakia itself, but from various Orientals. I've tried one sample of bulk Latakia straight and it didn't have any of that, which may vary by batch but it may be possible to come up with a pure Lat/Va blend that would more tolerable than your average heavy English blend for some people.
Again, in my case the strongest smells that an English blend can possibly muster are all just icing on the cake.

Enjoying Latakia?

Log in

SmokingPipes.com Updates

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Site Sponsors

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

PipesMagazine Approved Sponsor

Lifer

Moderator

Lifer

Lifer

Captain of the Black Frigate

Lifer

Lifer

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Lifer

Lifer

Lifer

Part of the Furniture Now

Captain of the Black Frigate

Part of the Furniture Now

Starting to Get Obsessed

Lifer

Lifer