Blends That Never Fail

[deathmetal]

Dry to the touch when lightly squeezed, but still pliant.

Interesting moisture standard. Will have to try that.
I just need to make a "favorites" thread somewhere and keep adding to it as I find new treasures. Any good blend is a fallback.
I have to say that Royal Yacht is -- was -- the best of them, however.

 

[halfy]

My never fails:
Dunhill Flake, DLNR, Elizabethan Mixture (it's actually quite picky about pipes, I now keep no more than tenth of all the pipes I ever owned), Dark Flake
Capstan, all of them
Rattray Old Gowrie, Hal O' the Wynd
HU Old Fredder's Broken Flake
Three Nuns
F&T, Blackjack, Cut Virginia Plug, Golden Mixture
J. F. Germain, Special Latakia Flake, Brown Flake
Solani, 633, 660

 

[mso489]

Tabac-Manil Semois thick or medium cut. Yeah, I know, it's a single leaf, not a blend. It just tastes like a blend to me.

 

[workman]

I notice that quite a few of the blends mentioned on this thread are unhip otc-blends. I'll add one: MacBaren Scottish Blend. Really the only otc-blend where I live, but nice as an occasional smoke, and easy to handle.

I think it is important to have something mundane from which the outstanding can stand out, if you know what I mean.

 

[balkisobrains]

I would do some on-the-job vs. off-the-job comparo-smokes too. You'll probably find blends and/or packing/prep/pipes that work great sitting down, but not so good when you can't pay attention to it. :puffpipe:

 

[luigi]

I'm a newbie too and am still experimenting with my "virgin" palate but I've discovered three blends that never put me down, even after have smoked several tins:

- Dunhill's Nightcap (probably won't be available so easily, specially after the recent buying fever once they told it's not produced any more)

- Peterson's Irish Flake (needs some effort to prepare but it's a nice tobacco, strong and tasty, excellent choice when you need some nicotine)

- MacBaren's Mixture Scottish Blend (easy available, not too expensive, barely has any added flavours; in my opinion it's the best when dried completely but not that much it turns into dust; I somehow crave for more even after a big bowl, wish it had more nic hit).

 

[virginialover]

STG Escudo Navy De Luxe, J.F.Germain Brown Flake, Special Latakia Flake and King Charles Smoking Mixture, Manifatture Sigaro Toscano Comune.

 

[gkr1]

Nightcap, Beacon Extra and Artisan's Blend.

I have to agree as well, BTW nice avatar! Who is he?

 

[glassjapan]

The ones that never fail for me:
GLP Cairo

GLP Temple Plug

McC Yenice Agonya

Stonehaven

McCranie's Red Flake/Ribbon

SG Full Virginia Flake

 

[btp79]

These are my current "go to" blends in no particular order:

Nightcap

Iwan Ries Gourmet English (good all day smoke)

Barclay Rex Vincent (later in the day/evening)

 

[beefeater33]

The blend that NEVER lets me down............ GLP's Westminster........ perfect every time, I LOVE the stuff!!... ::

 

[cortezattic]

Old Dominion

 

[deathmetal]

That looks pretty frickin' tasty...

 

[edwinbaz]

That looks pretty frickin' tasty...

+1
When it comes to reliability in terms of packing easy, keeping lit and overall tastyness, I think the ribbon cut Dunhill blends are fantastic. In terms of always being a satisfying smoke, right now it's Anniversary Kake and St. Bruno for me.

 

[deathmetal]

Blends that are always welcome around here:
1. Royal Yacht (RIP)

2. My Mixture 965 (RIP)

3. Nightcap (RIP) and Engine 99

4. Five Brothers

5. Cotton Boll Twist

6. Old Joe Krantz, preferably pre-2016 version which is better

7. Prince Albert

8. Amsterdam

9. Brown Twist Sliced

10. Irish Flake

11. Irish Oak

12. Perfect Plug

13. La Brumeuse

14. Kendal Dark

15. Best Brown No. 4
That's a good starter list. Can't go wrong with any of those.

 

[elvergun]

I have to agree as well, BTW nice avatar! Who is he?

That is Sampdoria's ( Serie A team from Genoa ) old logo.

 

[molach95]

The main "never fail" blend in my head is St. Bruno RR. It's just like the old adverts; no matter where you are in the country, if you need pipe tobacco in a pinch you'll find some half decent St. Bruno for sale nearby, along with Condor RR and a bone dry pouch of Clan that's been sitting there for eons. It's not the best smoke but you can't really go wrong with it, and we'll probably always have that as an option.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

1 + for Molach95, btw now when Clan is produced by Mc Barens I've found it has improved quite significantly.

There must be some reason why these unhip' basic European and British OTC blends have been around for decades now.

Amphora, St Bruno & Condor, Mc Baren, Singleton, I feel safe when I have some stock of these in my modest cellar, I here I go further to more sophisticated blends for sure,but this basic stuff is a backbone' of my pipesmoking.

 

[mso489]

My old-timer dependable blends are Iwan Ries Three Star Blue, Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic, and Edward G. Robinson, and the more recent PC Russ O.'s Log Cabin and Chestnut.

 

[shanegreen]

Beefeater Westminster is one of my Favorites. Have you tried Gaslight?