Do You Ever Add a Pinch of Something to a Blend?

[RonB]

I was enjoying Pegasus (which has a little Black Cavendish) and some Dark Fired Kentucky Blends lately and thought about adding a pinch of Black Cavendish or Dark Fired to one of my mild blends (probably VA dominant) to see what it would taste like. I know many have added VA to one of the DFK tobaccos as I have to tone it down a bit, and I think it tastes great.

I'm sure some of you have done this. What is your experience? What are your favorite combinations?

Thank you!

 

[Chasing Embers]

Penzance and 1-Q
Old Dark Fired and Black Twist XX

 

[RonB]

Penzance and 1-Q
Old Dark Fired and Black Twist XX

Wow, Old Dark Fired plus Black Twist XX is strong plus stronger, right?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Wow, Old Dark Fired plus Black Twist XX is strong plus stronger, right?

That is if one considers ODF strong.

I like to tweak and mix blends as well. To me aromatics are weak blends that need a little help, so I have been known to jack them up a tad with some Stokkebye's Dark Fired Kentucky, just to bring them up to mild, IMO.

And, sometimes a pinch of latakia or perique can make a boring blend a little more exciting, like boring old monochromatic ODF does better for me with both a pinch of latakia and perique, imo. Otherwise, it's hard for me to finish a tin of ODF.

I also really like to take a flake of LTF and LNF and twist them together to make for a better balance of flavors.

Jeesh, I tend to mix and mangle a lot of things to bring them more to my tastes.

 

[coming to_falling too]

That is if one considers ODF strong.

I like to tweak and mix blends as well. To me aromatics are weak blends that need a little help, so I have been known to jack them up a tad with some Stokkebye's Dark Fired Kentucky, just to bring them up to mild, IMO.

And, sometimes a pinch of latakia or perique can make a boring blend a little more exciting, like boring old monochromatic ODF does better for me with both a pinch of latakia and perique, imo. Otherwise, it's hard for me to finish a tin of ODF.

I also really like to take a flake of LTF and LNF and twist them together to make for a better balance of flavors.

Jeesh, I tend to mix and mangle a lot of things to bring them more to my tastes.

I've ordered some perique and DFK to try my hand at a bit of tweaking/mixing. Going to especially try your recommendation of adding perique to ODF. What ratio do you usually use? Just eyeball it?

 

[Chasing Embers]

Wow, Old Dark Fired plus Black Twist XX is strong plus stronger, right?

Never considered either very strong but combined they're like barbecue.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I've ordered some perique and DFK to try my hand at a bit of tweaking/mixing. Going to especially try your recommendation of adding perique to ODF. What ratio do you usually use? Just eyeball it?

Yeh, just eyeball it, but try to keep it beneath 20% ratio to ODF, because any more than that can taste a little acrid below the halfway point on the bowl. Experiment. Playing is the best way to learn. You may even come up with something that suits your palate better.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I never mess with blends I like which are the ones I would be smoking. I figure I have a greater chance of screwing it up than I do of making it better.

 

[jyrreb]

When I was new to pipe smoking, just after McClelland retired, I saw a video or post or something saying mixing Lane RLP6 and PS English Luxury would give a similar taste profile to Frog Morton... ... ... it was interesting. Not horrible but interesting. Haven’t tried mixing anything since.

However, I did smoke a bowl of Windjammer in my English-only pipe and the hint of Latakia was nice enough to make me wonder about throwing a pinch in. We’ll see if I ever do.

 

[Infantry23]

I haven't really tried blending too many things. I mixed Stanwell's Vanilla with Moontrance and it was so/so. I think I just had some left over tobacco that was just enough for a bowl. Perhaps I should think more about blending some things, but I am lazy and I think to myself "if I have to blend tobaccos to enjoy it I probably won't do it."

 

[mso489]

If I have a pinch or two of a blend left, I will add it to what seems to me a complementary blend. If I have time, I will mix the two in a small bowl to thoroughly join the two. Alternately, I will add an amount of mixing tobacco to a blend, such as cigar leaf to an English blend, unflavored black Cavendish to burley or some other blend, or a dash of Virginia to a burley. Usually these ad lib mixes are pleasant variations, and sometimes they are downright terrific. These kinds of mixes seem like a good fallback in case the variety of available blends decreases due to the new regs. You can do a lot with a little with mixing. Also, it is an amusing way to increase the variety of your cellar.

 

[wolflarsen]

I'll keep a jar of Vanilla Custard around for the times when I'm in the mood to sweeten up some Plum Pudding or Balkan Supreme. The sweet vanilla flavor is quite strong so doesn't take much to get the job done.

 

[homesteader]

I like making blends by combining other blends, such as Hobbit's Weed or Ghost of Frog Morton. I have also sometimes added a little Latakia or perique to a single bowl's worth of tobacco, sort of like I would add black pepper or salt to food. I have tweaked a couple of blends when I liked the result. For example I like Revelation Match but I also mixed a version with a little perique added.

 

[peregrinus]

I keep a tin of blending Perique at hand and occasionally add it to SG FVF, McCranies Red Ribbon and even blends already containing Perique such as HU Director’s Cut to spice things up a bit.

 

[F4RM3R]

Yep. Not every blend is for every taste and if it just ain't cutting it, then spice it up to your liking. Although I do think it's important to give a blend a chance and understand what the blender was going for before writing it off. Most of the time I'll just appreciate it for what it is, but it all depends on the blend, mood and how strong it is. Too weak just ain't worth my time.

 

[kcghost]

I'm with Hoosier. Nothing good would become of me playing at being a blender.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Regularly, and its usually Five Brothers to tone down toppings/add strength to aromatics. I also often enjoy a 50/50 mixture of SPC Plum Pudding and Sutliff Creme Brulee/Molto Dolce. Don't knock it till you try it.

I will also add a pinch of perique to some straight VAs, or a tiny pinch of Latakia to a VA/Or from time to time.

 

[F4RM3R]

I kind of see it like when you go to restaurant and want to add salt or a condiment to your meal. At some fancy places there is no salt on the table because the chef has salted the meal to perfection and balance of tastes. And it's true that you might ruin the balance intended by the chef. But is every chef going to make a meal that suits your tastes all the time? Probably not. Sometimes it needs a little salt, sauce or something with a little kick.

 

[mso489]

I guess there are no rules, but I like to refer to this sort of thing as mixing, rather than blending, because I think of blending as something done with intent and knowledge often using heating, pressure, and aging, whereas what I do is simply putting together what someone else has already blended or otherwise prepared. The pros, and near pros, can spend months or years concocting and re-jiggering a blend using various processes of the blender's trade.

 

[anotherbob]

those last bits in the tin that don't a bowl make get mixed together and it ranges from amazing in a way that makes you feel like blenders get too much credit and sometimes it's meh and you start admiring blenders again.