Read through all the postings so far, with great interest. Thanks for all the information.
My first choice for a "condimental" tobacco is cigar-leaf. I use it to punch up and add some complexity to many of the ho-hum blends that are offered. It works wonders, and I like the thicker, creamy, smoke feel that it adds to many blends, without altering the original flavors - when used in smaller amounts. It's like the cigar-leaf is there, but then, it's not there..... Almost unnoticed.
However, I having a hard time finding some different choices when it comes to the type of cigar-leaf that's offered as a "blending" tobacco. I have found Pennsylvania Maduro. For personal-blend mixing, I've used cigar "trimmings" -that I bought at a local shop that specializes in making hand-rolled cigars- but I have no idea what kind of cigar tobacco were used in those trimmings. I asked the hand-roller to sell me some "mild cigar-leaf", so who knows what I bought, but it does work well in my homemade cigar-leaf mixture.
So, where can I find different kinds of cigar-leaf that can be used for blending into pipe tobacco? Will I have to buy whole-leaf, and shred it myself?
Just asking.
Frank
NYC