Cheap Tobacco is Better Than It Should Be

[Briar Lee]

Tonight I’m up for a smoke and i filled my Tom Howard Aged Algerian “Big Boy” copy with the cheapest grade of tobacco sold, the kind that sells for $12 a pound for roll your own smokers. It’s Golden Harvest Red by Rouseco.

It says right on the package

MANUFACTURED FOR USE IN A PIPE

( When I was a lad there were vending machines in the rest rooms of gas stations that sold novelty items. )

Although most of this low priced shag gets rolled up into cigarettes it’s actually a delicious smoke in a pipe.


Another red package I have from Republic Tobacco reads its 95% foreign and 5% USA tobaccos.

75 cent an ounce pipe tobacco tastes like smoking Marlboros in a pipe, but Marlboros are tasty and mild.

I have a tin or two or Capstan and that’s better tobacco for a pipe.

But no way it’s ten times better, just somewhat better.

When the do gooders finally tax cheap pipe tobacco off the shelves we will all be the poorer for it.

 

[Lumbridge]

Some of that RYO stuff is decent in a pipe with a tighter pack and a bit of hydration. I used to smoke Smoker's Pride Rich Taste every now and then before they stopped making it, and I liked it alright for $10 per pound. I bought a pound of Ohm Au Naturale Gold a while back, but have yet to actually smoke any of it. I sometimes pack a pinch of it into the bottom of a bowl to soak up moisture and to act as what I call "sacrificial dottle." Maybe I'll smoke some one day soon to see if it's any good.

 

[Sigmund]

Im my tobcco tasted like a cigarette Id sell all my pipes. Good tobacco os worth 50 times more.

 

[Grangerous]

Spot on, @Lumbridge! @ray47 turned me onto the Smokers Pride Rich Taste. It’s a simple and very tasty smoke where tobacco is the star of the show. It’s a shame they no longer offer the large Red bag, but I do believe it comes in pouches.

Your second use for it, Lumbridge and I often do this as well… First pinch into a pipe is whatever tobacco I may have that is either inexpensive or unfavored; the “sacrificial dottle” as you call it.

And on edit: @BriarLee? I suppose Granger as well as any of the other mass produced Codger blends can be included.

While these are not as “inexpensive” today as they once were, they are certainly not considered among the honored “small batch” and “boutique” blends that garner most of the forums attention.

But I’d take Granger over Penzance. In the end, it’s personal preference.

 

[dog_park_piper]

Daughters & Ryan is economical and has some absolutely fantastic smokes

 

[Briar Lee]

Im my tobcco tasted like a cigarette Id sell all my pipes. Good tobacco os worth 50 times more.

Lane and Sutliff both market dozens of “pipe shop” grade bulk tobaccos at about $30 a pound.

Those tobaccos are the mainstay of pipe smoking.

The pure Virginias and Vap Pers and other luxury tobaccos are about $40 a pound, in bulk.

The contract cost to the big tobacco companies is about $2-3 a pound for the leaf and another $2.83 for the federal tax. Less than $6 a pound for any of it, tax paid.

The $12 a pound shag tobaccos are good, smokeable burley blends.

For about $16- $24 a pound there are many “value” premium blends that can’t really be distinguished from the $30 a pound blends.


Really the biggest difference is our pride.

 

[Sigmund]

I guess it depends on what blend you call cheap. If we are taking trash...no thanks. But sure, pretty much anything can be repackaged and marketed at an inflated rate. THere is no such thing as 16 dollar a pound tobacco in Europe. Not even close so you may as well smoke the good stuff. Ive never seen anything sold in bulk bigger than 250 grams. Thats about 50 bucks.

Most tobacco is around 200 per kilo (2.2 pounds). A normal tin is typically about 12 bucks....so not higher than the US by a lot. We simply dont have the option to by bulk which dramatically reduces the price.

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Sutliff Edgeworth Ready Rub match is one of my mainstays.

 

[El Capitán]

I'm a fan of sutliff, lane, Peter Stokkebye, and the like. I consider them cheap tobaccos with exquisite flavor. I cannot stand RYO brands.

 

[K.E. Powell]

I smoke maybe 2-3 times a day at most, so quantity is rarely a quality for me to consider. A 2oz. tin of luxury tobacco can last me a long while, whereas a big bag lasts too long; I cannot smoke that much tobacco before it either dries out or I am forced to commit considerable space for its proper storage. As it currently stands, I have enough tobaccos jarred to keep me going probably for an entire year or two before I'd have to buy more. So, a value-bag of drugstore tobacco doesn't appeal to me.

That being said, there are plenty of "cheap" pipe tobaccos that are really good and tasty. I've always enjoyed SWR and PA, even the occasional pouch of Capt. Black can be a welcome change of pace. Five Brothers and D&R are also wonderful, and can be had in large quantities. Inversely, there are lot of luxury blends that are utterly absurd in their pricing, e.g. many SPC tins and a handful of legacy blends that are kind of overrated.

Price can indicate quality, but not necessarily so. You won't really know how good any tobacco is until you smoke it for yourself.

 

[Sigmund]

The cheapest I can get is about 7 bucks a pouch. Its not bad. It tends to burn a little fast and hot so you need to pace yourself. But if cheapo stuff is 7 Id rather pay the extra 5 bucks for really nice tobacco.

 

[Briar Lee]

My ancestors were US cavalrymen and if I can live long enough to find the time I want to go to Broadus Montana where my great, great grandfather scattered Roman Nose’s warriors in a desperate charge of the 12th Missouri Volunteer Cavalry.

Lucky for me he rode with the 12th Missouri in 1865 instead of the 7th in 1876.

When I read the journals that exist of the western troopers they all were addicted to manufactured tobacco the sutler’s sold.

When it ran low they smoked sage grass.

They all wanted a briar pipe, many carved their own.

And the Indians vastly preferred the soldier’s tobacco to their own. When they got some they smoked it until it was all gone in big parties and wanted more of of the good stuff.

Good tobacco is a very old product.

 

[ThermionicScott]

A few of my local tobacco shops (which hardly have anything of interest to pipe smokers except cobs and pipe cleaners) have PS Amsterdam Shag on the hooks, which is decently-rated. I might give it a go one of these days...

 

[Bbailey324]

A few of my local tobacco shops (which hardly have anything of interest to pipe smokers except cobs and pipe cleaners) have PS Amsterdam Shag on the hooks, which is decently-rated. I might give it a go one of these days...

I've never tried that one but I have had the PS Turkish Export which is quite good. Samsun and bright Va.

 

[greysmoke]

It certainly is.... I bought the tobacco in this jar in 2012. Bargain blend contained the sweepings of the company's blending table gathered up, bagged, and sold at a low price. I've continued to add my own leavings to the jar, which is why it's still substantially full. I began storing it in a Yankee Candle jar which has given it a faint floral aroma -- sort of like my own personal faux Lakeland. All sorts of stuff is in here: mostly aromatics but some VAs, Burleys, Latakia, etc. Give it enough time and the flavors meld together. No complaints.

C&D used to have something like this called "Hoover's Blend."

 

[Lumbridge]

Your second use for it, Lumbridge and I often do this as well… First pinch into a pipe is whatever tobacco I may have that is either inexpensive or unfavored; the “sacrificial dottle” as you call it.

But I’d take Granger over Penzance. In the end, it’s personal preference.

I wasn't sure if anyone else did this. It's a good way to prevent the waste of my more expensive tinned blends, while also keeping the smoke dry.

As far as Granger over Penzance, I'm the same with Carter Hall. My palate and smoking technique aren't refined enough to pick out all of the flavors in rare, boutique tobaccos, and there's a certain degree of hype surrounding many of them as well, which they don't always fully live up to. Some may turn their nose up at OTCs and bagged blends, but I prefer to keep an open mind and decide for myself what I like and don't like, rather than telling myself that they can't be any good because they're so cheap. Some of those cheapo blends, like several of the Smoker's Pride blends, are surprisingly good.

 

[dog_park_piper]

Nicotine (always in first place)

+

Not-nasty flavor

+

Half-way decent pipe or better

=

Greatness

 

[Lumbridge]

whereas a big bag lasts too long; I cannot smoke that much tobacco before it either dries out or I am forced to commit considerable space for its proper storage.

My system - I take a few ounces out of the bag, load it into a wide-mouth pint jar, and then seal the remainder of the bag in mylar. When the jar runs out, I'll open the mylar outer bag, refill the jar, and reseal the mylar. I apply the heat seal at the very top of the mylar bag so that I can just cut that part away when I want to open it and I have plenty of slack left to reseal it. It takes up no more space in my "cellar" than the bag of tobacco itself.

 

[FurCoat]

I'm a big fan of Low Country Natural Virginia and Burley. Less than 20 bucks a pound on sale. Easy going smoke and ages quite well.

 

[geoffs]

One thing I've noticed is that while a cheap cigar can be a chore to get through, I'm perfectly happy enjoying bowl after bowl of the right codger or bulk blend. If all I had to smoke for the rest of my days was SWR or Amphora I'd be OK with it.