A Question Regarding Virginia's and Request for Recommendations

[lostandfound]

I finished a tin of Blackwoods Flake a few weeks ago, and I have a tin of Tudor Castle waiting to be opened. I don't really know what to say about Blackwoods... I think part of my "problem", which isn't really a problem, is that I've been smoking MacBaren's Navy Flake almost exclusively for the last two+ years. There's a B&M about thirty minutes from me called "The Tobacco Bowl", which is really just a hang out for hipsters. He carries probably twenty pipe tobaccos in bulk, 18/20 of them being aromatics from Lane. The other two are MNF and Peter Stokkebye's English Oriental Supreme. Every once in a while he'll have a single lonely tin on a shelf somewhere. My point being: I've grown accustomed to a single blend of tobacco that is rarely, if ever "fresh". It's usually been sitting in a jar for a while.

 

[thesmokindragon]

MC's Vs are fantastic but as MC states you need to really smoke one of their Vs for like

a week or so to adjust to it...also MC Vs are a little more work and need a good amount

of dry time before they give themselves up to you ::

 

[lostandfound]

Smokindragon- I learned this first hand a couple nights ago. The first bowl of Brindle Flake I had was very green. But, after allowing it to dry for eight to nine hours while I worked, the bowl I smoked when I got home was much better. I didn't really care for the "chunkiness" of the broken flakes, but found a way to rub it out that seems to work well. I grab a small flake and roll it into a ball between my thumb and first finger, and then gently roll the ball in between my fingers until it starts to fall into pieces. So far though, each bowl of the Brindle has been better than the last. Patience and dedication I'm finding, are the most important parts of getting the most out of smoking a pipe.

 

[lostandfound]

A very good point roth. Some make it sound like there's a secret ingredient in some of the tobaccos they smoke that lend to an awe-inspiring flavor.
I must inquire though. Do you not have one or two all time favorite blends? I can imagine that you don't, but I can also imagine that you do. And, if you do, didn't it take some time and some searching, some "hunting" and "test driving" to find those favorites?

 

[cigrmaster]

lost, actually the problem is that when we do find a blend we love, we talk it up to the point that it does get sold out quickly. For a few months I was posting my list of favorite flakes and many have ended up being in short supply since. If we were being hush hush about these blends they would be in stock way more often. As early as last July no one was talking about BCDF and I could buy all I wanted and it was never sold out.

The Wessex Gold Brick is a very nice flake and I definitely enjoy smoking it.
The McClleland VA's are always in stock because the mfg knows what the hell they are doing unlike many of the European mfgs who appear to be clueless as to how to keep their supplies steady.

 

[numbersix]

Lost - that is an excellent question.
And thanks Harris for sharing that bit of gold - very generous of you - and thanks to everyone else too for their recommendations.

 

[captainbob]

lostandfound,
You can order "Captain Bob's Pot O' Gold Mixture" direct from www.CornellandDiehl.com with a phone call. Or, you can request it from your favorite e-tailer. It is available to the e-tailer if they do not have it in stock. All you have to do is request it from the e-tailer. They can get it for you.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________