Chopped Cigar Leaf, and Blends Containing It.

[pantsBoots]

I think I have a tin of C&D Seersucker hidden back somewhere - I need to try it out. Also received some Peretti Cuban Mixture in the mail today. I'm sitting on nearly a pound of 10-year-old chopped cigar leaf that is purported to be Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey factory clippings and to be honest, the jars have that buttery, fruity, woody smell I associate with Hoyo. I've been meaning to experiment with this leaf, just not sure what sort of mixes and it what proportions cigar leaf is typically used. Guess I'll start with a simple VaBur and see where it goes from there.

 

[markus]

I think I have a tin of C&D Seersucker hidden back somewhere - I need to try it out. Also received some Peretti Cuban Mixture in the mail today. I'm sitting on nearly a pound of 10-year-old chopped cigar leaf that is purported to be Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey factory clippings and to be honest, the jars have that buttery, fruity, woody smell I associate with Hoyo. I've been meaning to experiment with this leaf, just not sure what sort of mixes and it what proportions cigar leaf is typically used. Guess I'll start with a simple VaBur and see where it goes from there.

Sounds delicious!
I don't know why, but I never thought of adding actual Cuban cigar leaf, probably because I haven't had any available.
Let us know how it turns out!

 

[camaguey]

I think I have a tin of C&D Seersucker hidden back somewhere - I need to try it out. Also received some Peretti Cuban Mixture in the mail today. I'm sitting on nearly a pound of 10-year-old chopped cigar leaf that is purported to be Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey factory clippings and to be honest, the jars have that buttery, fruity, woody smell I associate with Hoyo. I've been meaning to experiment with this leaf, just not sure what sort of mixes and it what proportions cigar leaf is typically used. Guess I'll start with a simple VaBur and see where it goes from there.

I had about a pound of Cuaba clippings that i used for my blends. After that , i see no difference in my mixtures using nicaragua or honduras leaf. After you mix with other tobaccos , the whole concept of a cigar is changed. Do not expect to have the same taste of the cigar...just a different mixture for your pipe. I suggest to begin with 20% and from there you may add more or less. I also suggest to use some neutral cavendish and/or stoved virginia.

 

[mso489]

I don't fear ghosts much, except maybe Lakeland's rose geranium, so maybe I'm not helpful on this score. But I enjoy C&D Billy Budd with cigar leaf a lot and have never noticed any ghosting problem, though I might have enjoyed the carryover of flavor if I had. Also, I have a lot of pipes, over 90 I think, all in rotation, and I don't build cake, so ghosting may be less of a problem for me anyway.

I'ver heard nothing but good things about GLP Key Largo, but I haven't opened my tin of that yet. I do have C&D cigar leaf that I use in home mixes, and it has excellent flavor on its own and for mixing, and I have no complaints about ghosting. If you are sensitive and particular about this, you might decide ghosting is a problem for you, but from my perspective, it is zero problem.

I agree that cigar leaf in a pipe is not a cigar experience. Cigars are carefully constructed to give a certain flavor profile and burn characteristics pro-ordained by the maker. With pipes, you influence the experience by packing and technique. Cigar leaf is good pipe tobacco, but doesn't make it like smoking a cigar.

 

[logs]

I agree that cigar leaf in a pipe is not a cigar experience. Cigars are carefully constructed to give a certain flavor profile and burn characteristics pro-ordained by the maker. With pipes, you influence the experience by packing and technique. Cigar leaf is good pipe tobacco, but doesn't make it like smoking a cigar.

Indeed. I had to let go of the idea that cigar leaf in a pipe will taste like it does rolled in cigar. I used to always be disappointed by cigar leaf blends because they never quite captured the same flavors. But now I just take look for what they can offer... which can be a lot if used properly.

Truthfully, I wish blenders wouldn't use the term "cigar leaf". It's a generic label that only causes confusion. There are a lot of different varieties of leaf that can be used in cigars and they don't all taste the same. There's not one type of cigar leaf; there's a rainbow.

 

[mso489]

Yes, wrapper leaf is nothing like the other tobaccos in a cigar. Connecticut is a big cigar wrapper state, and who would ever think of it as the tobacco belt, but it is some of the best wrapper tobacco.

For me, cigar leaf in a pipe gives a lot of balance and refinement to a blend. It is as much how it sets off the other tobacco varieties than its own flavor that makes it unique and flavorful. If I remember correctly, C&D cigar leaf pipe tobacco is Connecticut wrapper leaf. Time permitting, I'll correct this if it is wrong. I'll check it.

It's Pennsylvania chopped cigar wrapper leaf. Not Connecticut, but along those lines.

 

[macaroni]

I like snipping a couple of small rings off the end of a cigar I'm about to smoke and adding them later to pipe tobacco. This summer, it's mostly fruity aro's (very dry) with a touch of cigar leaf. I also cut up the cap and use it in the mixture.

 

[Jack the ripper]

Stormfront. I really don’t notice any ghosting.

 

[Kal]

I found Wilke Sailor Jack to be a fantastic blend with Maduro cigar leaf.
He also has more blends with cigar leaf.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

To me Warped The Haunting tasted the most like a cigar. I also like Billy Budd Blonde as it lacks the latakia most cigar blends contain.

 

[--dante--]

I've liked just about every blend I've tried that contains cigar leaf, but I don't think I've smoked enough of them in any one pipe to get any ghosting (at least I never detected any). The two I stuck with were Country Lawyer and Billy Budd. I imagine the type of leaf is a factor, but I'm not that familiar with cigar leaf.

 

[John Brandt]

I found Wilke Sailor Jack to be a fantastic blend with Maduro cigar leaf.
He also has more blends with cigar leaf.

Thanks Kal