Cigar vs Pipe tobacco
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"Actually, cigar leaf and pipe leaf are very similar. They both are grown and cured in a similar fashion.They both go through a fermentation stage."
Be that as a may ... I think that the common ground stops beyond drying and fermentation. I suppose that the drying stage, at least, is a mandatory process for all tobacco - cigarette included. Back to our case, even the fermentation process, I would argue, is different. Yes, fermentation is a common metabolic process, but the conditions and timing in both cases differ. Beyond fermentation, the "manufacturing process" as I call, for pipe and cigar go on different paths. Not to mention that fermentation is only an early process in the development of the final product - from the fermented leaf to the finite tobacco tin or cigar, the process is long, complex, and fundamentally different from one another.
Be that as a may ... I think that the common ground stops beyond drying and fermentation. I suppose that the drying stage, at least, is a mandatory process for all tobacco - cigarette included. Back to our case, even the fermentation process, I would argue, is different. Yes, fermentation is a common metabolic process, but the conditions and timing in both cases differ. Beyond fermentation, the "manufacturing process" as I call, for pipe and cigar go on different paths. Not to mention that fermentation is only an early process in the development of the final product - from the fermented leaf to the finite tobacco tin or cigar, the process is long, complex, and fundamentally different from one another.
There were some really good posts a few years back from Steve Saka and J.Drew of Drew Estate a while back regarding why their sticks threw out so much smoke. It had some good info about cigar making, lemme look for a sec...
https://www.reddit.com/r/cigars/comments/19el4o/ama_steve_saka_ceo_of_drew_estate_today_february/c8nb74c/
Boom. Also, I think a very large part in difference is that cigar tobacco has been cultivated to very particular strains and off shoots of those strains. I guess all flora is that hough...but you have like Habano tobacco, PA Broadleaf, Corojo, SUmatara...uhhh...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_tobacco
And I think it's time to hit 'send post'
https://www.reddit.com/r/cigars/comments/19el4o/ama_steve_saka_ceo_of_drew_estate_today_february/c8nb74c/
Boom. Also, I think a very large part in difference is that cigar tobacco has been cultivated to very particular strains and off shoots of those strains. I guess all flora is that hough...but you have like Habano tobacco, PA Broadleaf, Corojo, SUmatara...uhhh...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_tobacco
And I think it's time to hit 'send post'
So has pipe tobacco. There are many, many strains of tobacco that can be used for pipe smoking but the pipe manufacturing community has never bothered to pursue them.
The real difference is in how well each manufacturer is able to market his product as being "special" and "unique".
I've used cigar leaf in a fair number of blends, and while it definitely adds a certain amount of flavor and kicks up the nicotine content somewhat, the main reason I've usually added cigar leaf to a blend is because it kicks up the smoke volume. When I blended Virginia Spice originally, it had no cigar tobacco in it, but I noticed that the smoke was very thin, which can lead to some people puffing too fast or hard trying to get more smoke out of it. A little bit of Broadleaf didn't change the flavor all that much, but it definitely increased the density of the smoke.
Russ
Russ
This is my take on the whole world of cigars verses pipes. In the cigar aficionado world, excellence is marked as being as close to the Cuban cigars of the 1950's as possible. Just as Balkans all tend to try to make their blends as close to what they remember Balkan Sobranie of the 70's and 80's. However, that limits the flavors of cigars to 90% of all cigars trying to obtain one specific flavor by +/-10%. Sure, there are a few flavored cigars and cigars made with other leaf, but 90% is all about that one taste.
Whereas in pipes, we honor diversity. The range of flavors is much more far reaching. Latakia, Virginias, aromatics, cigar leafs, OTC, from cherry to grandma's soaps.
To me, cigars is like all of the worlds Dr. Pepper whereas pipes are all of the worlds drinks.
Whereas in pipes, we honor diversity. The range of flavors is much more far reaching. Latakia, Virginias, aromatics, cigar leafs, OTC, from cherry to grandma's soaps.
To me, cigars is like all of the worlds Dr. Pepper whereas pipes are all of the worlds drinks.
I like a good cigar, actually prefer Dominicans to Cubans, at least the ones I've tried. But I'm a pipe guy mostly. I do like to keep cigar leaf to add to other leaf and blends on a whim. It doesn't make a pipe like a cigar, but it is a good condiment to keep around, along with Izmur, Lat, Perique, and unflavored black Cavendish.
It doesn't take a lot of googling and watching youtube videos about the Cuban cigar industry before encountering the sad news that it has been on the decline since the cigar boom of the 1990s. Though the expertise of the Cuban workers is/was undoubted, growing up within and going on to work for the industry, doing work they were proud to do with care and precision, during the boom the Castros increased production to sell more cigars. Meanwhile, by pushing production part the point where quality stopped and quantity prevailed, they depleted what was once fabled soil quality and hurried the tobacco through the curing barns.
There are a series of interviews of Steve Johnson and a companion voicing this opinion. Marty Pulvers recently said the same in a blog. Mr. Pulvers is a pipe man but has many contacts within the industry. I've been reading on his site for three years and buying pipes for the same length of time and trust him implicitly.
My opinions are just my opinions. I have no horse in the race, but I do have considerable distrust for the pseudo-socialist, corrupt Cuban regime, and it makes sense that they would ruin a venerable industry to line their pockets.
Another difficulty I have smoking Cuban is the long chain of trust one must tolerate to procure them. One has to trust what someone tells him privately, on a cigar board, that vendor X sells the genuine article and then transfer that trust to the vendor, who trusts the intermediary that buys the cigars. This is trust far beyond what I can tolerate, especially given the price of cigars.
Entire threads on Cuban boards discuss counterfeits at length, opinions resting on the quality of the maker’s stamp or details in the band, etc. Certainly dedicated smokers know how the Partagas D4 that they are currently enjoying compares to their conglomerate memory of the D4s past, which would appear to be the only valid test for authentication.
I myself haven't a clue regarding authenticity. If I knew someone personally who travelled to Cuba who could distinguish fakes, I would feel a lot better about dropping $200.00 on a box.
I've said as much on Cuban forums. The post was not well-received.
There are a series of interviews of Steve Johnson and a companion voicing this opinion. Marty Pulvers recently said the same in a blog. Mr. Pulvers is a pipe man but has many contacts within the industry. I've been reading on his site for three years and buying pipes for the same length of time and trust him implicitly.
My opinions are just my opinions. I have no horse in the race, but I do have considerable distrust for the pseudo-socialist, corrupt Cuban regime, and it makes sense that they would ruin a venerable industry to line their pockets.
Another difficulty I have smoking Cuban is the long chain of trust one must tolerate to procure them. One has to trust what someone tells him privately, on a cigar board, that vendor X sells the genuine article and then transfer that trust to the vendor, who trusts the intermediary that buys the cigars. This is trust far beyond what I can tolerate, especially given the price of cigars.
Entire threads on Cuban boards discuss counterfeits at length, opinions resting on the quality of the maker’s stamp or details in the band, etc. Certainly dedicated smokers know how the Partagas D4 that they are currently enjoying compares to their conglomerate memory of the D4s past, which would appear to be the only valid test for authentication.
I myself haven't a clue regarding authenticity. If I knew someone personally who travelled to Cuba who could distinguish fakes, I would feel a lot better about dropping $200.00 on a box.
I've said as much on Cuban forums. The post was not well-received.
Smoke both very regularly. When I want a cigar I want a cigar. When I want a pipe I want a pipe. They are not interchangeable. Keep around 50-75 cigars in my humidor and have at least 25 different pipe tobacco blends in open jars at the moment so diversity isn't a problem. I've smoked enough to have favorite blends of each but I still do not have any regulars. I'm all about trying something new. I do save my cigar clippings and add them to the miscellaneous jar. Never smoked out of it so I don't have any input but I enjoy pipe blends with cigar tobacco in them. If only someone made a blend heavy in Brazilian Mata fina. I wouldn't have to search for anything but new pipes to smoke that blend out of.
Good timing ... just got another 10 pounds from them and am doing some rolling today. :D
BTW ... 2 pounds of that was the Mata Fina and it's amazing.
The Paraguay Flojo Seco is also very good.
This pic is of Indonesian Besuki wrapper on the far left with Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero, Seco and Viso:
BTW ... 2 pounds of that was the Mata Fina and it's amazing.
The Paraguay Flojo Seco is also very good.
This pic is of Indonesian Besuki wrapper on the far left with Dominican Piloto Cubano Ligero, Seco and Viso:
"There are a series of interviews of Steve Johnson and a companion voicing this opinion" should be Pete Johnson.
supdog I never knew they sold it like that. Have you ever purchased tobacco like that? How much do you get for the money?
Stumbled across this. Perfect for the special moment when you want a cigar and a pipe at the same time.
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Brand-new-pipe-PARONELLI-prototype-smoking-cigar-handmade-/182402434598?hash=item2a78084626:g:NM4AAOSw9GhYY5of
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Brand-new-pipe-PARONELLI-prototype-smoking-cigar-handmade-/182402434598?hash=item2a78084626:g:NM4AAOSw9GhYY5of
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