Discover RYO Type Tobaccos

[Briar Lee]

Man, has the economy gotten so bad that lawyers can't make enough money to buy real pipe tobacco? wow!

No I can afford the best.

What fascinates me is in those little smoke shops they are selling $10 to $12 a pound pipe tobacco that is honestly good pipe tobacco.

The store I was at today and spent six dollars, one customer was in front of me buying a pound of Gambler Gold and no tubes, and another came in and bought a Dr Grabow and a pound of Buoy Gold.

There’s a lot of everyday pipe smokers who smoke the lowest priced tobaccos in a pipe.

And they know something most of us don’t, all those RYO type tobaccos are good, non aromatic, high quality ribbon cut pipe tobaccos. There is fierce competition at the low end of the market and they are selling a whole lot of tobacco.

We are paying a lot extra for propylene glycol and flavorings, you know?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

No I can afford the best.

What fascinates me is in those little smoke shops they are selling $10 to $12 a pound pipe tobacco that is honestly good pipe tobacco.

The store I was at today and spent six dollars, one customer was in front of me buying a pound of Gambler Gold and no tubes, and another came in and bought a Dr Grabow and a pound of Buoy Gold.

There’s a lot of everyday pipe smokers who smoke the lowest priced tobaccos in a pipe.

And they know something most of us don’t, all those RYO type tobaccos are good, non aromatic, high quality pipe tobaccos.

We are paying a lot extra for propylene glycol and flavorings, you know?

As I had said earlier, I started off smoking RYO in my pipe, but once I tasted good pipe tobacco, I didn't stick with RYO. And, your wrong about all pipe tobaccos having PG and flavorings. RYO also has PG and flavorings. It just isn't as noticeable.

And, sure, a pair of General Dollar tennis shoes may work as well as a pair of Nikes, but no one who doesn't have a mental illness and can afford a pair of Nikes would wear Dollar General tennis shoes.

The one thread that runs through all of your posts is "the cheapest is the best." Good for you, but you also say a lot of things about the other tobaccos that just isn't true.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Most of the 'smoke' shops in my area are vape and weed stuff with minimal tobacco, even RYO. I'll have to keep looking around for some of these low cost blends to try. I go in the places to buy butane and ask about pipe tobacco but usually to no result.

I have the same problem .

 

[Briar Lee]

I have the same problem .

In Missouri Four Aces is taxed at $2.83 a pound federal and 10% of wholesale state tax. So is Capstan.

If Four Aces costs $11 a pound there’s $2.83 federal and maybe 75 cents state tax.

Look at why there are few cheap smoke shops in Florida. $2.83 a pound federal tax plus 25% of wholesale and a 60% surcharge.

Xxx

The primary excise taxes on tobacco in Florida are on cigarettes, though many states also have taxes on other tobacco products like cigars, snuff, or e-cigarettes. The tax on cigarettes is 33.9 cents per cigarette if 1,000 cigarettes weigh no more than 3 pounds, 67.8 cents per cigarette if weighing more than 3 pounds per 1,000 cigarettes and the cigarettes are shorter than 6 inches long and other surcharges relative to the weight and length of the cigarettes. A tax on all other tobacco products of 25% of wholesale price and a surcharge of 60% of wholesale price to both those who distribute and buy tobacco products.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

In Missouri Four Aces is taxed at $2.83 a pound federal and 10% of wholesale state tax. So is Capstan.

If Four Aces costs $11 a pound there’s $2.83 federal and maybe 75 cents state tax.

Look at why there are few cheap smoke shops in Florida. $2.83 a pound federal tax plus 25% of wholesale and a 60% surcharge.

Xxx

The primary excise taxes on tobacco in Florida are on cigarettes, though many states also have taxes on other tobacco products like cigars, snuff, or e-cigarettes. The tax on cigarettes is 33.9 cents per cigarette if 1,000 cigarettes weigh no more than 3 pounds, 67.8 cents per cigarette if weighing more than 3 pounds per 1,000 cigarettes and the cigarettes are shorter than 6 inches long and other surcharges relative to the weight and length of the cigarettes. A tax on all other tobacco products of 25% of wholesale price and a surcharge of 60% of wholesale price to both those who distribute and buy tobacco products.

So looks like I need to buy on line, or when I’m out of state. Thanks

 

[Briar Lee]

So looks like I need to buy on line, or when I’m out of state. Thanks

Which is a shame.

If people are going to sin, it is better their sin dollars go to local merchants.

People will sin regardless, anyway.

 

[Skippy Piper]

Rouseco Golden Harvest Yellow, $12 a pound.

But there are no bad brands of cheap tobacco in the stores, I’ve tried yet.

The store owners tell me to avoid silver brands, those are ultra mild.

Golden Harvest Yellow is close to a straight Virginia. No additives or flavorings.

It’s poor man’s Capstan.

I've actually been using Golden Harvest Yellow as an RYO tobacco for a couple years now and definitely like it the best of all the cheapo big bag tobaccos I've tried. It tastes very clean with no detachable toppings to my palate, though I'm pretty confident it's a Virginia/Burley mix and not just a straight Virginia.

If you're looking for a really nice and superlatively inexpensive straight Virginia though then give Daughters & Ryan Three Sails a try. It's shag cut so I think it performs better as a RYO tobacco than a pipe tobacco, but you'll definitely get the full grassy bright Virginia experience from it.

 

[dog_park_piper]

Whole leaf and D&R are what I smoke for some time now. I only want the flavor of tobacco leaf

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Whole leaf and D&R are what I smoke for some time now. I only want the flavor of tobacco leaf

I do too. That's one of the reason why these "RYO Type" tobaccos interest me. Many of them seem to have minimal flavorings. And it seems they have little if any PG. I'm going to try some of the "red bags," see how they compare to the dark burley I usually smoke.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I once scored a big can of Bugler from the late 80s from Pipestud.

It was legit delicious. I rolled many squares, and packed many bowls with it.

 

[Briar Lee]

I once scored a big can of Bugler from the late 80s from Pipestud.

It was legit delicious. I rolled many squares, and packed many bowls with it.

Bugler is still sold as a straight up taxed $24 a pound cigarrete tobacco, so is Top.

They are really good cigarette tobaccos, mild and flavorful. They are moist, highly flavored, mild.

If you like them, you’ll just be in love with any of the red, blue or gold pillow sack blends.

Silver blends are mild like Bugler and Top.

 

[Cobler]

So far I've bought two of the big plastic bag "pipe" tobaccos.

OHM Turkish Red: quite nice. Lovely aroma in the bag, slightly spicy smoke. I'd guess it's like old early 1900s Camel in that while it has some Oriental tobacco, it may also have flavored burley pulling some of the weight as an "Oriental".

Gambler Gold: (purchase inspired by Briar Lee's recent lauding of Gold blends). Seems like good quality tobacco, but just kind of bland. There isn't as much choice in smoke shops around here - lots of OHM and Gambler, but little else in the bagged pipe tobacco tier. I may try the OHM Gold "Au Naturelle" next. As someone else said, I suspect these Gold blends aren't straight Virginia, just from visual inspection.

Gambler is around 85% foreign tobacco, as an aside. I wonder which countries, types and curing methods?

I think of these bagged tobaccos as old-time "smoking tobacco" instead of being consecrated as only RYO or only pipe.

 

[Hillcrest]

Yesterday I purchased a 12oz bag of Rouseco Golden Harvest Silver for under $13.00 to try specifically because it is supposed to be blended to be milder than the RGH mild blend. The bag note is clearly plum and prune. I couldn't find any reviews of it online. The company does say they sell their tobacco dry to allow for more volume and to humidify it a bit, an hour before smoking. I will let you know what its like when I try it. The price was right for an experiment. It is allegedly a burley blend - Burley, Oriental and Virginia and I am highly sensitive to burley but we'll see what happens. It is ribbon cut and says pipe tobacco as opposed to RYO. Rouseco makes both.
I can always donate it if I don't like it. I also have tried Peter Stockebye English Export mixture cigarrette tobacco this week which was actually pretty tasty but incredibly strong tobacco ... a little goes a long way for a long while ... might be a good mixer to add nicotine to another blend.

 

[username]

Been smoking my way thru a 6 oz bag of buey silver bought on a whim since it was so cheap. its ok. not sure what makes it silver vs gold. I figured Red was meant to mimic malabros. I want to try some of the turkish blends

 

[Briar Lee]

A note about the difference between smoking all natural (gold) value tobacco in a pipe and cigarette.

In a cigarette , in a few weeks I think you’ll never want another commercial cigarette again. Basic, pure aged tobacco is so much better without flavorings and toppings you get hooked hard. The tubes have the same burning qualities old time cigarettes had, and burn all the way down without going out. Maybe the makers add a bit of Maryland. There’s a reason Bull Durham was made for well over a century,,,,it was good smoking.

As for a pipe, the real stuff is much “pipeier”, bolder, and you’ll realize how many flavorings and casings and propylene glycol there was to make brand distinction.


I have a pouch of thirty year old Our Advertiser that might be better today then when I opened it. All natural tobacco ages about like an all natural cigar, indefinitely.

Try a six ounce bag of any brand of Gold.

Best five or six dollars you’ll ever spend.

 

[WirelessSmoke]

I bought a 6oz bag of Gambler Regular on a whim at convenience store a few months ago, and I find it's plenty good enough for a chore pipe. I sometimes have a pipe while doing some outdoor chores, and found I'm too busy with the tasks at hand to really pay any attention to the nuances of my "good stuff." I figured I'll smoke the good stuff when I have a chance to sit, relax, and enjoy a bowl. I'll have the cheap stuff when I might be too busy to even remember what I loaded up with.

 

[krizzose]

Seems like there may be market niche for an enterprising blender with a Chinese noodle press to start selling RYO-based crumble cakes.

 

[Briar Lee]

Seems like there may be market niche for an enterprising blender with a Chinese noodle press to start selling RYO-based crumble cakes.

What there truly is a market for is a spicy, complex RYO blend. They have to keep a ribbon cut. But they can blend any one of maybe a hundred or more different leaf types and grades, and casings are unlimited.

I’ve counted over a hundred flavors of RYO bagged tobaccos.

Like anything else, they’ll not want the customer to detect a change in the recipe.

Every blend of the dozen or more I’ve tried is good, and distinctive, and monochromatic.

The Buoy Gold I like the most is mostly Virginia bright leaf, but there’s a richness and nutty chocolate flavor undertone I suspect comes from a little burley,,,but not much.

Even the menthols aren’t overcome by menthol.

They know their business. The prime objective is a good, mild cigarrete, but the same tobacco tastes good in a pipe.

 

[rakovsky]

I had Cherokee Blue (Smooth/Light) RYO earlier, in January. The smell and taste and aftertaste were fine. It was not harsh on the mouth when I smoked it in the Grabow pipe. When I retrohaled or accidentally breathed it into the lungs, it was harsh, and the more I did so, the harsher it got. But it wasn't harsh on the mouth.

A reviewer said that Cherokee Silver (Smoothest/Ultralight) was less harsh, but still too harsh when he smoked it as RYO.

Cherokee Red is the full nicotine edition. I didn't try that.

Seneca's Nectar and Ohserase Manufacturing RYO got good reviews from people who tried different brands, and I'm wondering if they are harsh or not. They both come in regular and "Smooth" versions. Nectar's Smooth version is with a Yellow label and called "Gold."

Ohserase makes Ten Pointer, Farmer's Gold, Dean's, and Signal.
Their customer service told me that Signal was their flagship brand and best in a briar pipe.

I'm guessing she might have told me that last part because the discount stores that sell RYO are flooded with cheap pipes: ebony or pearwood Chinese pipes of unknown wood, glass pipes, tiny-chambered metal pipes, cheap pipes with elementary-school-craft fair quality sculptures.

Another reviewer told me he really liked Ten Pointer the most, but I don't know how many blends he tried.

 

[rakovsky]

Most of the 'smoke' shops in my area are vape and weed stuff with minimal tobacco, even RYO. I'll have to keep looking around for some of these low cost blends to try. I go in the places to buy butane and ask about pipe tobacco but usually to no result.

In my area in the southeast, I have been to about 30 discount stores. It's common for them to have vape or weed-related products that I think stop short of full classic normal weed. It was also common for them to have big RYO bags.

Maybe 1/3 of them had Captain Black. I found at least 1 with a couple codger blends- Half and Half, SWR, stick in my mind, besides the Cpt Black series.