For the past year or so I’ve been having a lot of fun putting together my own blends. Generally I prefer Virginia and vaper commercial blends, but all of my attempts to blend my own of that type have at best been worthy of no regard, with most being abject failures. I’m batting about .100 with that style (with a total of about 20 different combos). On the other hand, I’ve made several several tobacco-forward aro blends that have been great and of which I’ve mixed up several ounces after taste testing. Invest in some good components and have at it.
Aro blend that actually tastes great
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For an aro I really like is SWR aro. Good flavor but still burley forward. Not too sweet. Nice smoke.
I tend to like tobacco that is mild on sweetness. SWRa fits that bill for me.
I tend to like tobacco that is mild on sweetness. SWRa fits that bill for me.
I just tried Autumn Evening last night. It was a courtesy purchase that I made when smoking at a shop with friends. My cellar is overflowing and since AE was relatively inexpensive and aromatics are the one class of tobacco that I have little of, I figured, what the heck. To my surprise, it was very tasty, not overly moist, needing only a little drying, and left little crud in my cob. It'll be what I smoke around my non-smoking friends.
I've got some Luxury Twist Flake on the way. Not exactly an aro, but looking forward to trying this one.
Cavendish gets used as a base for various flavorings and gets a bad rap. It can be an excellent condiment or even base if used correctly. I like C&D Tuggle Hall, for one example. But even if you don't like that one, I think there are other good ones out there. 'Embers, I think it may be true that aromatics are for the experienced smoker, but I feel sure most begin with aromatics, and most stay with them. As Russ O. reminds us, over 90% of pipe tobacco sales are aromatics, which is why there are so, so many.
When smoking a cased or aromatic blend, my ability to appreciate the underlying tobacco was always diminished, as my palate was focused on the flavoring. Thus I find curious the declarations about the quality of the underlying tobacco as being poor, as in American tobaccos, or excellent as in the English. Maybe I would also have found this true had I smoked the Americans.
BCA, even in spite of the pg. Takes some drying, like leaving the Ziploc open in the car for a month or so, but.... 
So since starting this thread, I have tried numerous blends suggested here. For future reference I'll post my experience. For the record, I'm not as experienced as other smokers on this site, but maybe my findings can help other newer smokers.
Rattray Orange (Exotic Orange, Exotic Passion whatever it's called): Absolute best I've tried so far. Flavorful tobacco, can taste and smell the orange, but not overbearing or goopy. This blend right here is an aromatic I like.
Peretti's Thanksgiving Day: Very flavorful. Quality tobacco. Mild topping. This is another blend that I like. Thanks to @Ashdigger for sending me some of this
Two Friends English Chocolate: I got an ounce of this in a trade. I'm still working through it. This is a nice blend. The tobacco is quality and flavorful and the cocoa/chocolate is pleasant. This could be one I get again.
Leavitt & Peirce - Cake Box: Another nice blend. Very mild, not goopy. I received a half ounce sample of this in a box pass. Not sure I would order again, but it wasn't bad.
Luxury Twist Flake: Nice blend. I like LBF and LNF better though.
Molto Doce: Kind of bland to me. It seemed a better quality or Aro than many others I have tried, but didn't really strike me as a tasty blend. It smelled wonderful though.
MB Vanilla Flake, Autumn Evening: I had a similar experience with both of these blends. They both tasted nice and smelled amazing, but on retrohale I got an unpleasant celery-like note. Not really my thing.
GLP Vanilla Creme: Maybe it was the age of the virginias, but this one was harsh to me.
Kendal Dark Vanilla: Again, maybe I'm not a SG Virginia guy. This one was kind of harsh.
I have some Bagpiper's Dream and Blend for Carey Grant I have yet to pop open. I also have some Country Squire Figgy Pudding on the way. I'm looking forward to trying them out.
Rattray Orange (Exotic Orange, Exotic Passion whatever it's called): Absolute best I've tried so far. Flavorful tobacco, can taste and smell the orange, but not overbearing or goopy. This blend right here is an aromatic I like.
Peretti's Thanksgiving Day: Very flavorful. Quality tobacco. Mild topping. This is another blend that I like. Thanks to @Ashdigger for sending me some of this
Two Friends English Chocolate: I got an ounce of this in a trade. I'm still working through it. This is a nice blend. The tobacco is quality and flavorful and the cocoa/chocolate is pleasant. This could be one I get again.
Leavitt & Peirce - Cake Box: Another nice blend. Very mild, not goopy. I received a half ounce sample of this in a box pass. Not sure I would order again, but it wasn't bad.
Luxury Twist Flake: Nice blend. I like LBF and LNF better though.
Molto Doce: Kind of bland to me. It seemed a better quality or Aro than many others I have tried, but didn't really strike me as a tasty blend. It smelled wonderful though.
MB Vanilla Flake, Autumn Evening: I had a similar experience with both of these blends. They both tasted nice and smelled amazing, but on retrohale I got an unpleasant celery-like note. Not really my thing.
GLP Vanilla Creme: Maybe it was the age of the virginias, but this one was harsh to me.
Kendal Dark Vanilla: Again, maybe I'm not a SG Virginia guy. This one was kind of harsh.
I have some Bagpiper's Dream and Blend for Carey Grant I have yet to pop open. I also have some Country Squire Figgy Pudding on the way. I'm looking forward to trying them out.
Two very different blends from one another, but both are favorites of mine.
I've tried Old Toby and Rivendell from Country Squire. Both are fantastic. Old Toby is a bit goopy, but it still smokes very well. I plan on trying Figgy Pudding as well. I'd like to read your thoughts on that one.
My wife doesn’t like the smell of English blends so I started looking for tolerable aromatics to smoke when she is around. Plum cake is pretty cool because it has some lat. in it. I really like autumn evening. I also ordered a few tins from boswells. So far I’ve only tried their Christmas cookie and it’s damn good. I think I’ve finally gotten to a place where I can smoke an arro correctly without burning my mouth.
A friend gifted me some Boswell’s Bear Blend and it was quite good. They have a reputation for doing a good job with aromatics. You might try one of their sampler packs to see if there’s something you like.
I very rarely smoke an aromatic. When I do, it’s often when I will be around family and friends during some holiday. The pleasant room note gets compliments rather than complaints.
My favorite aromatic is SWRA. No PG flavor that I detect & the flavorings are applied lightly & compliment the tobacco, rather than overwhelm it.
I very rarely smoke an aromatic. When I do, it’s often when I will be around family and friends during some holiday. The pleasant room note gets compliments rather than complaints.
My favorite aromatic is SWRA. No PG flavor that I detect & the flavorings are applied lightly & compliment the tobacco, rather than overwhelm it.
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