My Own Blend, Really

My first attempt at a blend is now sealed in a jar. If you want to play along and try it out, here's what I did:
Plan B

12-03-2013
Item.....................Wt. (gr)
Latakia P&C BGM0028.........................30

Turkish Blend P&C BGB0028...................40

McClelland 5100 Red Cake P&C M420028........20

Dark Fired Kentucky Burley P&C BGH0028......10

Stoved Black Virginia P&C BG20028...........10

Total weight................................110gr
Cognac- St. Remy VSOP 30ml
Combine tobaccos in a 1 gallon Ziploc. Inflate and shake.

Slowly add Cognac and shake until evenly distributed

Pack in to an 8oz. Ball jar.

There is room in the jar for about 25% more, or 27.5 gr, so increase each ingredient by 25% to fill the jar
I'll keep this jarred for a couple of months, dry some out and give it a try.....

That Dark Fired Kentucky smells fantastic!
The alcohol will evaporate off, but in the meanwhile, I'm hoping that it is melding the blend a bit. The 10 gram additions get spread pretty thin in this blend, especially the stoved Virgina, which is cake-like and very dense. It's entirely likely that any given bowl that you pull out might not have any in it.
Besides, I love cognac.

Don't wait for me, Anthony. It will be a couple of months, I think, until it's ready to try.
My only advice, garnered from my father the scientist, and bolstered by my years of all-grain homebrewing: Keep good records. It's the only way that you will be able to tweak and reproduce blends. Otherwise, it's all pretty simple. I bought 4 oz samples of an array of blending tobaccos. Took me about a half hour to mix up this batch.

What do you like in oriental blending stock? I wish thst I could find more than just Izmir and Smyrna.

Pichfork, I have both the C&D Izmir (used it my "Rescue" blend), and the McClelland Turkish Blend (pretty sure that's what was used in this blend). The Rambeck has been on the shopping list.
Now, I've seen that whole leaf Yenidje, and I'm tempted to try it. Do you think that it's ready to go, once stripped? I don't know much about tobacco curing and prep, but I'm trying to educate myself.
MSO, I'm going to try some variations on this blend, changing one thing at a time. The first is to make it without the Cognac, then maybe swap Izmir and Smyrna for the Turk blend. 100gr batches are very easy and inexpensive to mix up. And I'm going to try your blend suggestion.

P&C has Smyrna. However, I've been told that it's the same as Izmir. They are one and the same. But P&C carries both Izmir and Smyrna. I'll have to ask them about it tomorrow.
The Yenidje whole leaf is sold out, more expected in early spring.

Well...Success!
I couldn't wait, and opened the jar today. The blend now has a uniform deep brown color, and smells fantastic! It is only a bit damp at the top of the jar. I spread a bowl full out on a sheet of paper, broke it up and and let it dry for a while. The RH in my house is just above 20% right now, so it dried quickly. I loaded up a pipe and headed out to the Experimental Testing Lab (my garage).
Fantastic.
The tobacco was still a bit too damp, although it felt "right" to the touch. So there was some steam-induced tongue bite and a bit of gurgling, which I took care of with a pipe cleaner. I also had a little trouble keeping it lit at first, but the flavor and aroma were wonderful. OK, this is my own blend, but IMHO, it was as enjoyable a smoke as I've ever had. As it dried in the bowl, the bite disappeared, and a rich, but fragrant aroma emerged. I could certainly pick out the Virginia, Turkish and the Latakia, but they were nicely unified. An altogether pleasant and fulfilling smoke.
Please give this blend a try and report back here. My only addition to the recipe would be to recommend a good-quality Cognac or French Brandy. I used St. Remy, an inexpensive but good French Brandy, flavorful and dry.
Plan B

12-03-2013
Item.....................Wt. (gr)
Latakia P&C BGM0028.........................30

Turkish Blend P&C BGB0028...................40

McClelland 5100 Red Cake P&C M420028........20

Dark Fired Kentucky Burley P&C BGH0028......10

Stoved Black Virginia P&C BG20028...........10

Total weight................................110gr
Cognac- St. Remy VSOP 30ml
Combine tobaccos in a 1 gallon Ziploc. Inflate and shake.

Slowly add Cognac and shake until evenly distributed

Pack in to an 8oz. Ball jar.

There is room in the jar for about 25% more, or 27.5 gr, so increase each ingredient by 25% to fill the jar

Scrapyardape, I like it!

Getting into home blending is just asking for problems. TAD problems.

Click to expand...

Yes...and no. Yes, because I'm buying more blending stock, no because I've lost interest in any commercial blend that I can't make myself. So, I'm still wanting plugs, slices and twists, and stuff that is mysterious and wonderful. I still like a few aromatics, like the "My Own Blend" aros and what-not. There are 4Noggins blends like Bald Headed Teacher that are classics, and a lot of C&D is just magic. And...well....shit, you're right.

cmdrmcbragg, you're right. Now I can synthesize my own TADS.

Still, this blend is great, and I'll never have to hunt it down or go with out it.