Archetypical Blends?

[LikeDadDid]

Hopefully this question won't result in anyone shaming me with "did you really imagine there was any such thing?"

Sooo....are there any quintessential blends out there which are so established that most experienced pipers would agree they are the archetypes of their styles? "You can't say you understand English blends unless you've smoked THIS."

Can you make me a complete list, or better yet, a color infographic with animations?

Hang on, don't answer yet, I'm trying to light my anti-scorn incense....

 

[workman]

I'll chime in. Archetypical virginia blends are OGS, Capstan Blue, Dunhill Flake etc. Lightly topped, easy going flakes.

 

[LikeDadDid]

I'll chime in. Archetypical virginia blends are OGS, Capstan Blue, Dunhill Flake etc. Lightly topped, easy going flakes.

Wonderful. Thank you

 

[tobefrank]

English: Peterson Nightcap, Early Morning Pipe, SG Squadron Leader.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Archetypal VaPers is a little more tricky. When I first joined, I would have said Escudo, but since I find Escudo not to be what it used to be. Now, I guess Bayou Morning Flake is about as archetypical as there is. Maybe Haddos Delight... if we aren't splitting hairs.

 

[tobefrank]

Virginia Perique: SG St James Flake, Solani 633, Marlin Flake

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Virginia flakes... I cast my vote for FVF, Capstan, and Pure Virginia. I'm not the biggest fan of these, but thinking archetypical means that it stands a symbol, widely known, or easily accessible.

 

[mparker762]

Archetypal Balkans: Balkan Sasieni, McConnell Oriental Square, L.J. Peretti Royal. nu-Balkan Sobranie, Penzance, and Dunhill Durbar don't make the cut due to lack of availability.


Archetypal Orientals: McConnell Oriental, Robt Lewis Orcilla Mixture, L. J. Peretti Tashkent. Honorable mentions to Peretti Oriental #40 and Fox's Campanile (may it rest in peace).

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When I think of Balkans, I think immediately of Nightcap or WhiteKnight... or one of the plethora of blends attributed to being more closely like the old Balkan Sobranie, before Balkan Sobranie sucked. Balkan Supreme, Super Balkan, Super Duper Balkan, Balkan Mixture, etc...

 

[BROBS]

Archetypal VaPers is a little more tricky. When I first joined, I would have said Escudo, but since I find Escudo not to be what it used to be. Now, I guess Bayou Morning Flake is about as archetypical as there is. Maybe Haddos Delight... if we aren't splitting hairs.

I wouldn’t call any of those “archetypical” besides maybe escudo.

BMF just isn’t very good and Haddos has dark fired burley.

for VaPer I’d say Elizabethan or it’s match, cabbies mixture, St James Flake, or Dunbar.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I wouldn’t call any of those “archetypical” besides maybe escudo.

BMF just isn’t very good and Haddos has dark fired burley.

for VaPer I’d say Elizabethan or it’s match, cabbies mixture, St James Flake, or Dunbar.

Escudo is definitely famous, it's just not the same blend anymore that got famous. IMO. I don't suggest that one to people any more.

I did say that Haddos, if we weren't splitting hairs. I don't have a problem with dark fired being in my archtypical VaPers. YMMV Jeremy has said that burleys are in more blends than we all may be aware of.

I agree on Elizabethan... but Cabbies is no longer in production (or distributed in the US), right? St James might as well not be, because it's usually harder to find than sasquatch, and Dunbar... ha ha... I would think that Esoterica blends would be too exclusive to be archetypical. But, if that's the case Penzance is the first Balkan that comes to mind.

I was thinking that there would be a difference between what I prefer and archetypical. The best blends aren't always archetypical.

I don't give a rats hiney about FVF, but I know that it is the most commonly regarded Virginia.

 

[BROBS]

Escudo is definitely famous, it's just not the same blend anymore that got famous. IMO. I don't suggest that one to people any more.

I did say that Haddos, if we weren't splitting hairs. I don't have a problem with dark fired being in my archtypical VaPers. YMMV Jeremy has said that burleys are in more blends than we all may be aware of.

I agree on Elizabethan... but Cabbies is no longer in production (or distributed in the US), right? St James might as well not be, because it's usually harder to find than sasquatch, and Dunbar... ha ha... I would think that Esoterica blends would be too exclusive to be archetypical. But, if that's the case Penzance is the first Balkan that comes to mind.

I was thinking that there would be a difference between what I prefer and archetypical. The best blends aren't always archetypical.

I don't give a rats hiney about FVF, but I know that it is the most commonly regarded Virginia.

Right I don’t like Elizabethan, either

but I’d call those blends fairly representative of VaPers. Haddos has a bit more than just an undetectable amount of burley etc IMO.

is cabbies out of production? I didn’t know that if so

 

[tobefrank]

Burley: Five Brothers, Solani Aged Burley Flake, Semois, Carter Hall

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Right I don’t like Elizabethan, either

but I’d call those blends fairly representative of VaPers. Haddos has a bit more than just an undetectable amount of burley etc IMO.

is cabbies out of production? I didn’t know that if so

They still make Cabbie's but you have to really hunt for it.

 

[tobefrank]

Aromatic: Bob's Chocolate Flake, Cult Blood Red Moon, Lane 1Q

 

[cosmicfolklore]

They still make Cabbie's but you have to really hunt for it.

Crap, when I was last in The Briary, they told me that Cabbies and Bothy were being discontinued. So, I bought them all. Maybe they were just misinformed, or duping me into a larger purchase than I would ordinarily make.

 

[lukasstrifeson]

Crap, when I was last in The Briary, they told me that Cabbies and Bothy were being discontinued. So, I bought them all. Maybe they were just misinformed, or duping me into a larger purchase than I would ordinarily make.

Maybe I'm not as up to date as I had thought. I have bought Cabbie's every year until the Pandy, have they discontinued them?

Wow, might have to treat those last 2 tins of Bothy I have more gentlemanly... ?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Maybe I'm not as up to date as I had thought. I have bought Cabbie's every year until the Pandy, have they discontinued them?

Wow, might have to treat those last 2 tins of Bothy I have more gentlemanly... ?

Maybe I was told wrong. If no one on here has heard, most likely I was just jipped.

 

[brooklynpiper]

That Aubrey will tell you anything!

 

[shanez]

The best example of a Balkan I can think of is Balkan Supreme.