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brass

brass

Lifer
Jun 4, 2014
1,840
7
United States
I decided a while back to start blending tobaccos again. As part of my ongoing effort to develop a discriminating palate, the first step was to smoke the individual components by themselves, prior to mixing.
I've stumbled onto another aspect of our hobby that I haven't yet read about. For my tastes, I was extremely surprised to discover that I very much enjoy smoking what I'm calling, "single leaf tobaccos", similar in concept to single malt scotch whiskeys.
I've smoked straight red Virginians, yellow Virginians, white burleys, Kentucky Dark Fired, Latkakia and even perique. I found that many were worth smoking on their own, especially the burleys and Virginians. Even the perique was enjoyable and despite my reservations, my hair didn't stand on end.
Going forward, I will occasionally smoke a bowl of single leaf tobaccos, e.g., straight burlye or straight KDF, as part of my rotation.
Does anyone else here smoke straight leaf/single leaf blends?

 
J

jitterbugdude

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2014
993
8
The vast majority of tobacco that I smoke is single leaf. I have a few blends that I've come up with but I usually enjoy the single varieties much more.

 
tarak

tarak

Lifer
Jun 23, 2013
1,528
15
South Dakota
Hmmm. Interesting. I probably won't, just because I won't procure them. If someone had them around, I'd give them a shot.
Its an interesting thing, blending vs. single. I love single malt scotches, but I find with coffee I gravitate more toward blends than single bean.
When one smokes a single leaf, are you smoking a single crop of that leaf? I know year to year can cause things to vary, that's why most tobaccos tend to be blends of several years of product- to keep flavors and availability constant.
So, if one buys single leaf, are you buying a mix of ages of a single leaf, or one single harvest? Now you have to get into single leaf-single source-single harvest-organic-sustainable-fair trade-small farm smoking.....THEN you've tried something! :nana:

 
brass

brass

Lifer
Jun 4, 2014
1,840
7
United States
I think the jitterbugdue is using the correct term: single variety. I ordered blending tobaccos from pipesandcigars and I suspect that the product is a mix of different vintages - but I'm only guessing. If Russ sees this post, maybe he'll elaborate.
Tarak, you make my head hurt. :wink:

 
pipesmokingtom

pipesmokingtom

Lifer
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
When one smokes a single leaf, are you smoking a single crop of that leaf?
Click to expand...
That's an interesting point. If you buy a bunch whole leaf from LeafOnly or whatever, presumably it's one crop (maybe not?) If something is sold as a "blending tobacco" even of a single variety like a red or yellow Virginia, presumably that's from more than one crop/year? I'd be interested to try both ways - single crop and single (type of) leaf.

 
okiescout

okiescout

Lifer
Jan 27, 2013
1,530
6
If someone had them around, I'd give them a shot.
Tarak, my B&M carries single leaf for blenders in bulk jars on site. If you have a B&M in your area you could drop by and check and see if they do also. Obviously the vendors on the blog carry it also, but your brick and mortar would be a chance to sample a small quantity of anything you ere curious about.

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,455
I'm not alway sure if a tobacco is single leaf, even if it is only one variety of tobacco. Leaf of the same variety from different regions and/or different year crops can provide a subtle blending too, although that may be splitting hairs. Blenders pay lose attention to this and try to keep their blends as uniform as possible, but have to correct flavors to make their blends taste somewhat the same from year to year. Sure, I like leaf such as C&D Dark Burley, which is generally one variety, so far as I know. McClellends Red Cake Virginia 5100 is pretty great, every time, once you get past the ketchup smell in the jar. Some Virginia leaf sold inexpensively, like 4 Aces, has a surprisingly mild and nuanced flavor. And so on. One of my all-time favorites, despite my fairly recent introduction to it, is Semois Tabic Manil, which is the Belgium burley variant. Nature's own blend.

 
mso489

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,455
Brass, that's why blenders are revered. There is a lot of science and agricultural knowhow in what they do, but at some point it takes off into artistry (and alchemy?). I have fun and some success in mixing tobaccos from my "cellar," no aging, no pressure, but I am well aware that what I do doesn't even approach blending, which is a calling and a way of life.

 
brudnod

brudnod

Part of the Furniture Now
Aug 26, 2013
938
6
Great Falls, VA
I have noticed over the years that a "single malt" tobacco varies from year to year, much as wine does, depending on the temperature and rain for that particular growing season. For that reason you need to have a tolerant palate as the flavor may be altered significantly. That being said, those tobaccos which are heavily cased or toasted may be more consistent from year to year by virtue of the processing.

 
cobguy

cobguy

Lifer
Oct 18, 2013
3,742
15
One of my favorite single leaf smokes is McCranies Red Flake ... single crop aged 8 years.
McClellends Red Cake Virginia 5100 is pretty great,
Click to expand...
AFAIK, #5100 is a mix of Va's ... but very tasty! :)

 
J

jitterbugdude

Part of the Furniture Now
Mar 25, 2014
993
8
There's really not a lot to blending. It's like anything else. Keep notes! It takes a lot of effort and a lot of repetitions. The blenders of non aros are limited though to the variety of tobacco that is on the market. For example, about the only Turkish tobaccos available in the commercial market are Prilep and Izmir(aka Smyrna. Not much to work with. If you grow your own, there are at least 20 different varieties of Turkish.
Growing your own is the only way to go!

 
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