Best VaPer Straight From the Tin

[Relax62]

As some of you may have seen from my previous post…. I’m really starting to enjoy VA’s, Va/Pe’s, and some VA/Bur’s. However, I’m finding that none of them are quite working for me, although the ones that got me started liking them are those that I purchased, smoked (didn’t like), and stored in a jar for the last 6-9 months, so just as everyone has said… aging does these blends a lot of good.

Do now that most, if not all, agree on aging Virginia blends… what’s the best you all recommend straight from a new tin. The #1 & 2 recommended ones will be ordered immediately. Please keep in mind… I’m just getting into Virginia’s, and while I don’t mind strong tobacco’s with great flavor, Right now I’m looking for something that smokes smooth and cool.

 

[Scottmi]

Viprati and Dorchester and especially Deception Pass for easy smooth immediate smoking

 

[Peter Turbo]

Acadian Flek and Janneman Flake

 

[Briar Lee]

As some of you may have seen from my previous post…. I’m really starting to enjoy VA’s, Va/Pe’s, and some VA/Bur’s. However, I’m finding that none of them are quite working for me, although the ones that got me started liking them are those that I purchased, smoked (didn’t like), and stored in a jar for the last 6-9 months, so just as everyone has said… aging does these blends a lot of good.

Do now that most, if not all, agree on aging Virginia blends… what’s the best you all recommend straight from a new tin. The #1 & 2 recommended ones will be ordered immediately. Please keep in mind… I’m just getting into Virginia’s, and while I don’t mind strong tobacco’s with great flavor, Right now I’m looking for something that smokes smooth and cool.

About a year ago I paid $240 for six pounds of Peter Stoykebe Luxury Navy Flake, and I’m on my second pound and a half box.

I have lots of other Va Per tobaccos I smoke in pre 54 Marxman pipes, but PS LNF is the benchmark Va Per to my tastes.

Plus it’s better the longer it sits.

 

[alaskanpiper]

GL Pease Penny Farthing (pack tightly)
Sillem’s Councillor Flake
Dan Salty Dogs
Sutliff Match Victorian (bulk)
CD Bayou Morning Flake
SG St. James Flake
Rattray’s Old Gowrie
HU Aus Dem Krater No. 2
Sutliff Whimsical (will be tough to find now)
Escudo
Watch City 558
Peretti no. 8 slices
Reiner Long Golden Flake

Among others

 

[Winnipeger]

Add to the above:

Bayou Morning
Telegraph Hill

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Escudo
Deluxe Navy Rolls
St. James Flake
Cabbies Mixture
Curly Block (bulk stick)
Firestorm
All of these smoke well right out of the tin imho & age beautifully. Enjoy the VaPer Voyage …it’s a damn tasty one. ️

 

[Sigmund]

When you can get it in the US HU Directors cut.

HU Louisana Broken Flake

Another vote for Salty Dogs though I understand its expensive in the US.
Salty dogs also makes a fantastic condiment to add to a vaper bowl. I use it like that more than I smoke it straight.

Dan Pipe: St Bernard Flake

There are plenty of great ones straight from the tin. Some prefer their VaPers younger.
Reading the internet can make you feel bad that you dont have a 10 year old cellar.
Its just not reasonable if you are new to this.

 

[proteus]

WCC rouxgaroux
WCC rythym and blues

 

[jaytex1969]

Another vote for Viprati.

 

[brooklynpiper]

Peter Turbo’s suggestion of KBV I like because everything I’ve smoked from an actual tin has needed time to relax.

That being said I think there are blends that don’t really seem to age as well or need time to open up but are fine: Deluxe Navy Rolls and Escudo.

And I would still include the all star: Cabbie’s

 

[Chasing Embers]

Any of them. Aging may change them, but it isn't always for the better.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

HU Old Fredders

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Not everyone's tastes are going to be the same. I wouldn't suggest more than half of these. First off, by "straight from the can" mean that you don't want to have to dry them? Second, you place a lot of trust in the taste of strangers.

I mean, most of these are quality tobaccos, but if you mean no drying time, even the best smoke that meets you tastes, can be steamy and unpleasant if too much moisture is left in the tobacco. I personally prefer my tobaccos to be almost bone dry to bone dry.

 

[MattRVA]

GL Pease Telegraph Hill because it’s really good and I don’t see it mentioned enough.

 

[SBC]

VaPers exist in quite different sub-categories, and you might love one sub-category and dislike another. Both components are diverse -- this is especially true for the VA component (dark, red, yellow), but also for the perique component (which ranges from plummy to peppery, two very different experiences).

For a dark VaPer, Salty Dogs is my favorite (and possibly my favorite tobacco of all time).

For a red VaPer, I would have said Cringle Flake 2022 till it recently ran out.
Instead I'll suggest an under-appreciated blend: Boswell's "J.M's Private Stock." It looks dark, but it tastes like tangy red, with (I think?) a very slight cocoa topping.

For a weak yellow VaPer, OGS is of course extremely popular. For something much stouter, I recently tried Peretti's London Flake and it tasted like mature hay laced with curry spice. Not my normal cup of tea, but extremely high quality in its idiom.

 

[jbfrady]

If you're looking for cool smokes, the cut is key. Coins and hot pressed flakes (European style pressed flakes rather than the American "Flake" where it's a crumble cake disguised as a flake) are going to smoke cooler due to leaf density. If you don't want it burning hot, don't rub the flakes out beyond just the minimum to pack the bowl.

Personally I'd second two of those already said. Peterson De Luxe Navy Rolls and Stokkebye Luxury.

 

[sablebrush52]

Pretty much any of the above. Some of them may benefit from aging, some of them won't.

It also depends on what you want to get out of the deal. Straight out of the tin varies with the manufacturer, with some tinned at a more ideal smoking moisture and others pretty wet, which tends to mute flavors, in my experience.

One that hasn't been mentioned is GLP Stratford, a very nice Va/Per, and GLP Haddo's Delight, which is a bit more polarizing, as it's not your grandpa's Va/Per. Another GLP Va/Per that I like is Telegraph Hill. It's good when freshly released, but I haven't found much of a reason to age it. The decade old tin I recently opened wasn't much changed.

My favorite Va/Per, straight, was McClelland 2015, a bulk flake that is no longer made, but which was so well made that it was really ready to go when released, not always true of the above suggestions.

 

[kcghost]

You ask a silly question and you get a silly answer. "Best" is just a preference determined by personal choice. There are literally hundreds of VaPers out there. We can give you recommendations as to what we like. But you will have to try them to see what works for you. I will recommend three to try: Six Pence by Greg Pease, Stone Henge by Greg Pease and Mad Fiddler by Cornell & Diehl. There are literally 1000's of blends we could recommend.

 

[Buffalo]

Instead of asking what is best from all of us, which can be very subjective, instead ask which blends would we suggest?

As @SBC said, there are sub catergories of Va/Pers out there, ranging from bready and sweet to peppery and bold. All of the suggestions above are good starting places, but don't get overwhelmed but the choices. Pick a couple blends and give them a try, keep a notebook handy to jot down what you think of them. Then try a couple more. That's the best thing about pipe smoking currently, there are literally thousands of blends to choose from.