Different Blends?

[goosetime]

Hey all,

Could someone give a brief overview of the different types of tobacco blends? I understand the lines aren’t exactly set in stone but I’d like to know more. Latakia, Virginia, English, aromatic?

 

[Streeper541]

In general;

English, Burley, Virginia & Aromatic.

Check these out:

Pipe Tobacco Primer

Our recommended list of the finest pipe tobacco available.

www.gentlemansgazette.com

Ouellette's Tobacco Types/Descriptions - PIPES and CIGARS

Get a guide to different tobaccos and save on a variety of blends here at PIPES and CIGARS.

www.pipesandcigars.com

 

[mso489]

Streeper541 boiled it down nicely. Aromatics can be Virginia or burley based, mostly. And Cavendish is processed tobacco that can be made from either Virginia or burley. After that, it gets quite complex, but with this information, you can figure out most blends, if not always exact proportions of the different tobaccos. You learn a lot by reading pipe tobacco pages of online retailers, the specs not the romance literature.

 

[goosetime]

Thanks much both of you!

 

[judcole]

Good to remember, too, is that terms like "English" and "Balkan" are marketing terms. with no precise definition.

 

[AlanH]

Streeper541 nailed it! Many sub categories with in those main categories ​

 

[kcghost]

VaPer is a subset of Virginias.

 

[ak2000]

Isn't Oriental a category?

 

[AlanH]

Isn't Oriental a category?

Is it imperialist to say that a subset of English?

 

[judcole]

Isn't Oriental a category?

Is it imperialist to say that a subset of English?

I have always thought of these sorts of blends this way.
Working from a base of Virginias (wherever they are grown, blenders then include leaf from the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Then

• If the blend is oriental forward, with little or no latakia, I think of it as an Oriental blend. I think of blends like Skiff, EMP, and Presbyterian in this category.
• If the blend is latakia forward, with other oriental tobaccos in the back seat, as it were, it is an English blend. Squadron Leader and Standard fall into this category.
• If the latakia and other orientals are all more balanced, with neither one in control, it is a Balkan. This term was originally used because of the great success of Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, back in the day. Note, however, that SG Balkan Flake has no orientals other than latakia, so it is not a Balkan under this definition.

Please note that this is how I think about these blends, and YMMV. Again, all these terms are marketing terms, and are subject to debate, Personally, these days, I've simplified it even more - either a blend has latakia, or it does not.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

I have always thought of these sorts of blends this way.
Working from a base of Virginias (wherever they are grown, blenders then include leaf from the eastern end of the Mediterranean. Then

• If the blend is oriental forward, with little or no latakia, I think of it as an Oriental blend. I think of blends like Skiff, EMP, and Presbyterian in this category.
• If the blend is latakia forward, with other oriental tobaccos in the back seat, as it were, it is an English blend. Squadron Leader and Standard fall into this category.
• If the latakia and other orientals are all more balanced, with neither one in control, it is a Balkan. This term was originally used because of the great success of Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, back in the day. Note, however, that SG Balkan Flake has no orientals other than latakia, so it is not a Balkan under this definition.

Please note that this is how I think about these blends, and YMMV. Again, all these terms are marketing terms, and are subject to debate, Personally, these days, I've simplified it even more - either a blend has latakia, or it does not.

That is my take as well.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Lakelands... they're pretty much aromatics, but I notice that most guys like to separate them by gender. Aromatics for little girls, and Lakelands for men.

I don't... but I just notice that some do.

 

[Bengel]

Lakelands... they're pretty much aromatics, but I notice that most guys like to separate them by gender. Aromatics for little girls, and Lakelands for men.

I don't... but I just notice that some do.

Who you calling little, lad?

 

[sablebrush52]

• If the blend is oriental forward, with little or no latakia, I think of it as an Oriental blend. I think of blends like Skiff, EMP, and Presbyterian in this category.
• If the blend is latakia forward, with other oriental tobaccos in the back seat, as it were, it is an English blend. Squadron Leader and Standard fall into this category.
• If the latakia and other orientals are all more balanced, with neither one in control, it is a Balkan. This term was originally used because of the great success of Balkan Sobranie Original Smoking Mixture, back in the day. Note, however, that SG Balkan Flake has no orientals other than latakia, so it is not a Balkan under this definition.

This works for me as well as it is a sensible definition that relates to blend content.

 

[bullet08]

Who you calling little, lad?
View attachment 125650

That's a proper highland lassie.

 

[goosetime]

Lakelands... they're pretty much aromatics, but I notice that most guys like to separate them by gender. Aromatics for little girls, and Lakelands for men.

I don't... but I just notice that some do.

Oh deary me... I sure hope I seem manly enough as I repetitively suck on an oblong, vaguely dick-shaped object for hours at a time...