How Do You Prefer Your Virginias?

tinsel · Dec 20, 2015

Hello Pipers,
I've reached a point in my tobacco journey where I am exploring straight Virginias. After purchasing several blends and switching between a dozen different pipes, I feel like I have tried every combination of briar, cob, meershchaum, fold&stuff, lightly rubbed, heavily rubbed, cubed, etc etc etc.
So here's my question for you guys. How do you prefer your Virginia tobaccos? Do you fold or rub? Briar, meer or cob? Tall bowl or short bowl? Etc.
Thanks for your time.

ray47 · Dec 20, 2015

I like my Virginias rubbed out if I'm smoking flake, but I prefer a ribbon cut mostly. I prefer to smoke straight Virginia blends in MM cobs. Cobs seem to bring out the sweetness of a straight Virginia, at least for me they do.

pipesinperu · Dec 20, 2015

If it's a flake, I usually cube cut it and gravity feed it into the bowl with a light tamp at the end, although I do like to fold and stuff sometimes, too. I have come to prefer dublins (conical bowls) or smaller pipes with a narrower bore (.75"-.77" and under), which seems to be the conventional advice around here. For ribbon cut, I'll use a larger bowl diameter (.76"-.80").

gloucesterman · Dec 20, 2015

I like my Virginias tall, buxom and preferably red heads. Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

cynicismandsugar · Dec 20, 2015

It depends on the Virginia and my mood. Sometimes full flake in a poker -- other times lightly rubbed in a briar calabash. However, I'm thinking about adding a straight billiard to my arsenal, so that may all change. That's the wonderful about this hobby: the recipe chances as the culinarian grows!

cosmicfolklore · Dec 20, 2015

Blackneys process is my absolute favorite, second is stoved, third is flue cured. I occasionally will smoke a pressed flake, and when I do I will sometimes fold, sometimes rub, sometimes cube cut. : puffy

:

pipesinperu · Dec 20, 2015

@Cosmic: What's your favorite of the Blakeney's line? As I type, I'm smoking some 10-year-old Arcadian Ribbon that I found at a local B&M and it's pretty great. I also have an 11-year-old tin of the Tawney Flake tucked away. I guess the stuff wasn't flying off the shelves at that place, but I'm not complaining.

mikestanley · Dec 20, 2015

A lot of the Virginias I smoke are broken flakes. I probably "half rub out" those. Flakes get about the same treatment.
Mike S.

mso489 · Dec 20, 2015

I rub out Virginia flakes and often let them dry overnight, sometimes in a packed pipe bowl. I like smaller pipes since flake seems to smoke much slower. Conical bowls are often recommended, but a Group three or small four in a cylindrical bowl seems to go well. After various English blends and some of the robust burley non-aros, Virginias clear your head.

lordofthepiperings · Dec 20, 2015

I like VAs in flake form.
I fold and stuff. After I fold the flake twice I use my thumb to break up or loosen up the bottom a bit.
For me they do best in a smaller briar bowl. I have a cob dedicated to VAs and VaPers which performs well, but I tend to get more flavor or a better smoke from my briars. I don't have any meerschaums.

tinsel · Dec 20, 2015

Interesting responses.
So far I have tried:
Dunhill Flake
McClelland 5100 Red Cake
Orlik Golden Sliced
McClelland Blackwoods Flake
The 5100 red cake I have just been packing the same as any tobacco of similar cut (3 layer method). It seems to really POP in a cob from my experience.
McClelland Blackwoods Flake I have been getting my best results by taking several pieces and sort of wiggling them to loosen up the fibers and then stuffing them into the bowl without really rubbing them out. Sort of a "fold and stuff" as best I can with the broken flake. Seems best in a MM Great Dane Spool.
The Dunhill Flake and Orlik Golden Sliced I have gotten the best flavor with the fold and stuff, but again "wiggling" and "bending" the "wad" before stuffing it to loosen up the fibers a little. Both of these are great in my MM Great Dane, as well as my Chacom Billiard. Interestingly, the Great Dane seems to bring out the sweetness of these 2 flakes and a little bit of spiciness. But my little paykoc meershacum seems to really bring out the hay and grass notes. I find myself packing up the little meerschaum when I'm in the mood for a little bit of "hay" flavor

It's amazing how much a blend can change based on packing method and bowl choice. I just recently came out of a phase where I was trying lots of english blends and never got this much variation out of them by changing pipes or packing method. Virginias really are a comlex little group of baccys

PS as an aside ... I had never experienced a "ghost" in any pipe until I started trying the virginias. I pulled out my "House of Lords" because I wanted to try the Orlik GS in a larger bowl. It had a SERIOUS latakia ghost from the englishes that had been in it before. Never noticed it when smoking PA or CH out of that bowl after an english blend. But DANG did it ever show up in my Orlik GS!

andrew · Dec 20, 2015

I like them in flake form, cube cut or rubbed out, at a moisture level where it's not brittle, basically you can slightly bend the flake but it won't break. I've only done the fold and stuff a few times, I'll probably try it again soon, I think the times I've tried it the flakes were too wet as I didn't enjoy it as much.

easterntraveler · Dec 21, 2015

I have never gotten the fold and stuff method to work, not even close. I rub them out.

aldecaker · Dec 21, 2015

I prefer Va blends rubbed out, well dried, smoked in a cob. I sometimes still smoke them in a briar, but enjoy them more in a cob.

bigpond · Dec 21, 2015

I used to have a pretty dogmatic approach to Va, but now I try to keep an open mind and let the blend decide on the pipe. I've found that consistently a narrower bowl can often highlight the the lighter, sharper flavors, such as citrus, grass, tea, etc, while a wider bowl can bring in to focus the lower, more rounded earthy notes such as chocolate, coffee, funk, smoke, etc. I'll run a blend through a variety of pipes to see where it shines for me.
Briar pipes are great for VA's as they add a bit of sparkle to subtle blends and the nutty flavors are very complimentary. By contrast, my meers can make for a very analytical experience and are great for clarifying flavors though the results occasionally fall apart. For example, I cracked a can of Butera's golden cake, an old stand by for me. Smoking it in a meer had me overwhelmed by the topping and casing. In a briar the blend is more cohesive. Recently. I'm smoking Union Square in a meer more than anything else, and by a goodly margin.
I don't really give much thought to bowl depth anymore. I'll either use Hanna's airpocket method or half fill a deep bowl. Though when shopping for pipes I do tend keep an eye open for shorter bowls which is exceedingly difficult to find in a meer pipe.
Oh, and about block meer, it does indeed provide a noticeably cooler, drier smoke, though that most assuredly does not make for a better pipe!

aldecaker · Dec 21, 2015

Is the airpocket method the same as the "cannonball"? If so, that's the one I use in conical bowls.

bigpond · Dec 21, 2015

Yes, it's the same though Hanna does specify corkscrewing the wad into the bowl which isn't always an aspect of the cannonball. Can't say it makes much difference unless you like the ball to be very dense.

sjfine · Dec 21, 2015

I fold and stuff my flakes in a pipe and smoke them. Considering all the thought that you guys put into this, I suspect that I must be missing something.

pipestud · Dec 21, 2015

Extremely well aged (for smoothness and no bite), dark, strong and sweet. Ribbon form preferred.

judcole · Dec 22, 2015

I smoke a variety of Virginias - ribbon,flake,broken flake, and so on. I prefer smaller bowls - group 3 - and usually members of the billiard family. A good portion of the tins I open have been in my cellar for 5 years or more. When I smoke flakes, (BBF, Dunhill) I fold and stuff,with just a bit rubbed out on top. I don't dry 'em out,but aging helps with that anyway.

How Do You Prefer Your Virginias?

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