Belgian Tobacco and Pipe Brand Recommendations

[usmcpiper03]

So I’m going to be traveling to Belgium and would like some recommendations on pipes and tobacco to look at bringing home. I am hoping to do this at each country I travel too. This would help my pipe collection as well as experiencing some tobacco I might never get otherwise.
Look forward to everyone’s input

 

[craiginthecorn]

I think you can probably buy their tobacco more cheaply here in the USA than in Belgium (except for the bouchons), but if I were in the neighborhood, I'd visit Tabac Manil. They have a museum there. The tobacco is very unique. The smoking experience is somewhere between straight burley in a pipe and smoking a cigar.
http://www.tabac-semois.com/manufacture.html
I'm headed to Scotland in August and have been disappointed to learn that the British tobaccos that are hard to get here are also hard to get there, and when you find them, they're far more expensive.

 

[usmcpiper03]

Thanks for the link. I’ll try to check that out while I’m there.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

USMC Piper;well If I were going down there in Belgium I definitely would look for some Tabac de Semois, there are several independent producers still out there, and their product vary from each another,but I have a reason to believe These traditional Tabacs de Belgium are far from being available everywhere,in the end, allow me to bring some other Belgian Semois names to your knowledge,J.P Couvert Vallee du Mont d'Or(this a lighter version of Tabac Brumeuse by Manile) Tabac de Semois Joseph Martin 'Langue de Chien and Vieux Bohan' these come like medium and shag cut.Hope this has some help, Bon Voyage,

 

[bazungu]

I just found out, as a Belgian, that the biggest production region in Belgium was in fact not Semois but in Wervik, near the border of France and West-Flanders. I found some very old cartons of tobacco (maybe 50 years old) on a secondhand website but I did not buy it since the content is going to be dry as bone. I can barely find any information about it although they do have a museum and tobacco is still grown on a very small scale, not sure if this is burley like in the Semois region but most likely it is. I believe Belgium was mainly famous for short filler cigars, if I remember correctly it was one of the biggest producers world wide but of course the tobaccos were not grown in Belgium.

If you like shag cut tobacco, there are a lot of Dutch/Belgian traditional brands that might tickle your fancy.

 

[jitterbugdude]

Tabac de Semois Joseph Martin

I highly recommend Joseph Martin's Semois. It is so much more flavorful and smooth than the Vincent Manil stuff.

 

[mso489]

My experience is limited to the Tabac-Manil Semois thick and medium cut. I have also sampled the shag version, but it is more of a blend, whereas the other two are single leaf burley variant, which I prefer. It is one of my favorite tobaccos, maybe since I haven't tried the Joseph Martin version, or maybe it would be anyway. This is a very dry fast-burning leaf that goes best (in my opinion) in a tall medium to narrow chamber. Some really dislike it, but if you enjoy it, you probably really like it a lot. In terms of pipe brands, I don't own any Belgium pipes, but a family member sent me a Kemberling from Austria that is beautifully crafted and smokes well. Most of the pipes you will encounter are 9mm filtered, but you can smoke them without the filter, or if you like a more focused draw you can buy an adaptor. Tobacco is pricey in EU, so I wouldn't plan on buying much. I have not encountered much pipe tobacco in duty-free shops at airports coming and going, but when I go, I look for it.

 

[usmcpiper03]

Thanks, I will probably just get a little each trip I take there this year for work. And for the pipe I’ll talk to the tobacconist and try to find something that will remind me of my visit that I can enjoy back home. Thanks everyone for the advice. I am new to pipe tobacco(other than aromatics)and have not tried many blends but I’m wanting to branch out as I used to smoke cigars a lot and loved the flavor and aromatics are just not doing it for me anymore. I’ve smoked them in hopes the room note would be pleasant but missing a more full flavor. Don’t get me wrong the experience and relaxation is great even with aromatics, but am ready to see what else is out there. Started with aromatics for my wife to not offend her nose, but I do all my smoking outside so she has told me not to worry about the smell and smoke what I like. I know the Tabac de Semois is supposed to be different than any other burley so that would be interesting to see how I like it. I am going to try to get to the Tinder Box in Dublin and get some small samples of lots of blends to start figuring out my taste.

 

[mso489]

If you're in Dublin you may want to go to the Peterson store which is centrally located. I had no idea Tinder Box had a shop in Dublin. They just closed their shop in Raleigh, N.C., but I believe they have opened (maybe under the same management?) at a newer mall in nearby Durham, N.C. I've enjoyed cigars in the past, but I find a pipe is much less expensive per smoke and allows you to mix and adjust blends in away you can't with cigars. It's a different smoking experience, and better to me.

 

[usmcpiper03]

There is a Peterson store in Dublin Ohio?I also agree with you I much more enjoy my pipe smoking g than the cigars and do find it cheaper per smoke if you don’t account for the pipe collection bug. I find the pipe to be much more relaxing and peaceful.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

And yet,speaking of Tabac de Type Semois,do remember to pack 'em tighter that You would usually do.