Bulk Tobacco Similar To Five Brothers?

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Jeremiah Johnson

Starting to Get Obsessed
Apr 15, 2020
188
812
Westchester County, NY
I think Five Brothers is all Burley, so is there a bulk all-burley with a similar cut?

What I’m really chasing is Picayune. I tried Daughters & Ryan Two-Timer…meh. Not sure what was in Picayune. I have a two-oz tin I’m saving for some time.
 

khiddy

Can't Leave
Jun 21, 2024
403
2,262
South Bend, Indiana
blog.hallenius.org
If you're trying to chase Picayune, if I'm reading the notes on TobaccoReviews correctly, it's not an all-burley blend, but one that has flue-cured golden virginia, Samsun Turkish, perique, and dark fired burley. Five Bros ain't gonna do it on its own (and not even as an ingredient, except perhaps in trying to approach the purported strength of Picayune - but the flavor is wrong, not being dark-fired).

The reported lineup of leaves in Picayune puts me more in mind of C&D's Billy Budd Blonde (burley, cigar leaf, perique, virginia; just missing the dark fired and the Samsun). C&D Oriental Silk (oriental, turkish, perique, virginia) is just missing the dark fired burley. Briarworks Country Lawyer (black cavendish, cigar leaf, kentucky, oriental, turkish, virginia) has the oriental (not sure if it's Samsun), but it's not available in bulk. None of these are shag cut, though, and some bring cigar leaf or Cavendish to the table, so they're not perfect replacements.

One thing you might consider is D&R's Ryback. A shag cut that is cheap as chips and fairly strong on its own, it's dark-fired Kentucky, burley, and virginia. It's only missing the perique and the Samsun, which you can get as a blenders (Sutliff offers Blended Turkish, which includes Samsun, Yendje, and Basma; perique is offered by both C&D and Sutliff). I love Ryback on its own and I use it as a base in several home blends. It's fantastic, and if you started there, you may be 66-75% of the way to your goal.

One note I found in a TR review: "As a substitute, I like C&D Exclusive with a dash of Izmir and a dash of Five Bros."
 
Last edited:

khiddy

Can't Leave
Jun 21, 2024
403
2,262
South Bend, Indiana
blog.hallenius.org
Yep, they are like $27 where I shop. That's 5 packs.
View attachment 345473
I snagged 5 pouches of 5B for $2.50–3.00 via cigarbid. At that price, a fella can afford to use it as a liberal blender.

But we've gotten away from the OP's actual point, which was that he is trying to find a blend similar to D&R Picayune. This side discussion about 5B is a bit of a red herring.
 
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MattRVA

Lifer
Feb 6, 2019
4,672
42,133
Richmond Virginia
C&D blending tobacco will get you a Picayune approximation but it isn’t easy. For a good bulk burley: C&D Dark Burley or C&D Burley Ribbon Cut. I’m partial to the White Burley too. Potential Picayune recipe:
C&D Bright Virginia
C&D Red Virginia Ribbon
C&D Dark Burley
C&D White Burley
C&D Izmir
C&D Dark Fired Kentucky
C&D Granulated Perique
… might be able to drop the bright Virginia/white burley.
I love Picayune and it’s one of a kind but Old Joe Krantz scratches a similar itch.