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travelergypsy

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 15, 2016
246
0
Can someone help me understand tobacco? What is aromatic vs non-aromatic. Virginia, Burley, English. All of the different labels keep tripping me up. I'm trying to narrow down what I do or don't like about different blends. And I know that if I understood the tobacco a bit better, it would help tremendously. I know that I like the wood/smokey flavor of C&D Autumn Evening. I pick up some of that with C&D Cordial and Dunhill EMP. What is the common factor? Is there a common factor? Am I just imagining things?

Help understanding all of this, or at least links to where I can read and learn, would be greatly appreciated.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Google (or YouTube) "pipe tobacco guide" or similar and you'll find more information than you can consume in a lifetime. To get you started, here are some general statements and definitions.
Aromatic: generally flavors (toppings+casings) added via a sugar syrup to constitute the primary flavor/aroma of the tobacco
Non-Aromatic: The tobacco(s) itself is the primary flavor (flavor of some kind is added to basically everything, it just is less to not noticeable in what are generally considered "non-aromatic" blends). All flavor or scent descriptors below, ie. chocolatey are just illustrative and aren't to imply that the flavoring is added as in an aromatic. Blends can be any combination of the below, and definitions can get sketchy.
Virginia Blend: Virginia tobaccos are the primary star (grassy, hay-like, sometimes natural undertones of fruit like raisins or figs, citrus notes. Can be bitey if you smoke them too fast or too hot. I find these "refreshing" and good for warm summer months. (see: Full Virginia Flake)
Burley: The backbone tobacco. Robust. Nutty, sometimes chocolatey. Can be complex if pressed and aged (see: Solani Aged Burley Flake)
English/Balkan: A tobacco called latakia shows up in these as a "condiment". This tobacco is smoked over fire during processing, sort of like southern barbecue. Smells like a campfire. Often orientals are added as a condiment and they can be sort of tangy. Englishes are (generally) the most complex or complicated types of blends in flavor and/or sheer amounts of component tobaccos. Most often contain Virgnias and burley as base tobaccos as well. (See: Balkan Sasieni, Dunhill Standard Mixture)
Virgnia/Perique: Also known as a "VaPer." All the qualities of a straight Virginia blend, with the addition of Perique, which is a tobacco from Louisiana, USA with its own special process. Adds a bit of excitement to Virginia blends with some peppery qualities and sometimes fruity background. (See: Dunhill Elizabethan Mixture, Escudo)
QUESTIONS?! :)

 

travelergypsy

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 15, 2016
246
0
Ok, so am I understanding this right. Any kind of tobacco (Virginia, Burley, English/Balkan, VaPer) can be either Aromatic or non-Aromatic?

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
You got it. There are also hybrid and crossover blends. Generally though, if it smells flowery, fruity, or candy-like it's an aro. A Latakia smell often denotes an English. The lines sometimes get blurry. My favorite blend, "Black Frigate" has it's Virginias soaked in rum for 7 days, and though some reading its description would call it an aro, it is the furthest thing from.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Ok, so am I understanding this right. Any kind of tobacco (Virginia, Burley, English/Balkan, VaPer) can be either Aromatic or non-Aromatic?
Theoretically could be - generally not though. "Aromatic" tobaccos generally have a base of burley, Virginia, and/or Cavendish (a steaming process which brings out sweetness and usually has sugar added) and then the base tobacco is "cased" or covered in a flavoring agent to make it a sweet "vanilla", "cherry", etc...
Some tobaccos blur the lines, but if something is classified as an "English" it generally won't have the heavy flavor casing that an aromatic will have.
If it is branded as a Balkan, English, Virginia/Perique, it isn't an "aromatic". Generally.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
if something is classified as an "English" it generally won't have the heavy flavor casing that an aromatic will have.
Then you have crossovers.

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travelergypsy

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 15, 2016
246
0
So what is the smoky smell/flavour I get from my C&D blends and Dunhill EMP? Is this a casing or is it English/Balkan?

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
Probably the latakia I referred to above. It's a way of processing tobacco that has actually been smoked over smoldering wood.
Fair to say all English will have latakia to some degree or another. Nomenclature is flexible though.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
It's Latakia, and Balkan and English blends are different animals though no one ever agrees how.

 

Chasing Embers

Captain of the Black Frigate
Nov 12, 2014
43,258
108,360
Grab a tin of Balkan Sasieni or Balkan Blue(Blue Mountain) to really solidify the properties of a Balkan for you.

 
May 4, 2015
3,210
16
It's Latakia, and Balkan and English blends are different animals though no one ever agrees how.
Ain't that the truth.
I find no value in making distinction as to the two. They can be named whatever they want on the tin. If it says either/or, I count on latakia and varying degrees of other things.

 

judcole

Lifer
Sep 14, 2011
7,149
32,928
Detroit
It's Latakia, and Balkan and English blends are different animals though no one ever agrees how.

Grab a tin of Balkan Sasieni or Balkan Blue(Blue Mountain) to really solidify the properties of a Balkan for you.
As I understand it, the term "Balkan" was first used to try to build on the popularity of the old Balkan Sobranie Original. I smoke a fair amount of that legendary blend in the early 1970s. That blend is what I consider the definitive Balkan.
The blend that most resembles that, to my taste - and to that of the blender - is Hearth & Home's White Knight. I would consider Balkan Sasieni another good example of a Balkan in that vein.
But that's American usage. They use the term differently across the pond.

 

newbroom

Lifer
Jul 11, 2014
6,088
6,413
Florida
I love it. This thread has prompted me to 'chase' or start surfing the web for 'related' subjects, in this case

UNDERSTANDING TOBACCO

I've enjoyed pipe smoking now for about two years and I've "seen a thing or two" by now.

I've been buying bulk 'blending' tobacco with my replenishment budget with the idea to save money in the long run.

I really don't know why I still think that way, I'm 68 and not in the best of health. I guess I have a good imagination.

Here's a comment on a thread about blending tobacco I encountered that I find to be relevant.

General notes on blending tobaccos:
Latakia: up to fifty percent (the so-called "Latakia Dump" range), generally between thirty to forty, and still marvelous at fifteen, or even ten. Often needs judicious paring with things like Turkish ('Izmir') and robust Virginias.

Turkish: thinnish on it's own, very musky / fragrant. More than 25% is somewhat excessive.

Virginia (flue-cured): various types - medium flake rubbed out can be the largest percentage (up to eighty or ninety percent, but well worthwhile at fifteen to thirty five), plain (unflavoured) virginia cavendish smooths out and almost erases strong elements but doesn't add much worthwhile (use between five and twenty five percent of total blend), red ribbon adds smokeability at up to fifteen percent, bright ribbon does the same but is harsher; both red and bright ribbon should be used at the lower end of the scale, probably no more than ten percent. Black virginia ribbon and plain black cavendish are sweet and deep, and help the Latakia work with Virginias. Usually single digits.

Toasted cavendish (actually fire-cured Kentucky): adds a marvelous note to Turkish, and combines well with Latakia. But it will easily take over at proportions greater than fifteen percent.

Perique: a chimera and a joker among the leaves. At two or three percent barely noticable, but tongue-bite reducing. Seven or eight percent adds quite a whoomp. Anything over ten percent grows hair inside your lungs.

Burley: if even one third of the blend is burley, it's a burley blend. Used to modify the taste of something else it is best below fifteen percent.
Try not to use more than six different tobaccos, four or five is best. Decide which one you want to dominate the blend and what other characteristics you want noticable, and adjust the proportions from there. Test batches should be small quantities, and expect that you may not finish smoking that batch. Smoke one bowl right after blending and make notes. Smoke more bowls after several days, and if it still tastes interesting, more bowls a few weeks later, when you can reasonably expect the tobaccos to have married. Sometimes what was marvelous at the very beginning becomes pedestrian after a few weeks.
Most blending tobaccos available to tobacco stores and amateurs are fairly standardized. The real interesting stuff is usually not available at retail levels.
Always keep notes.
Regards,
---Atboth

 

alexnc

Part of the Furniture Now
Oct 25, 2015
953
804
Southeast US
This was one of my first reads. https://thepipesmoker.wordpress.com/tobaccos/
Hopefully you have a good tobacconist near you. Some will sell you samples less than an ounce to let you experiment (maybe I was lucky). Way more fun than reading online!
Don't buy a lot of one thing, your tastes will evolve quickly. Use these as 'category only' indicators. There's tons of variation within each category.
Afterthought- if you like latakia try dark fired kentucky

 

travelergypsy

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 15, 2016
246
0
Oh wow! This thread went from: "Here's some info. Hope this helps." To "Here's some books, read up young padawan." Thank you guys! I now have some homework to do.

 
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