Do you make your own blends?

[smokeydogg]

I was searching through the forum about guys making their own blends with limited success, maybe I wasn't using the right key words. I picked up a couple oz of straight tobacco types to experiment with making my own blends and was curious to know if anyone else has had a lot of success in doing this? I have read about guys adding a little here and there to their favorites to help perfect, but not much about building their own. I would imagine that this is mostly due to so many ready great blends available that people don't feel the need. With rising popularity of craft beer and home brews I was wondering if this trend has grown into the pipe smoking community too?

 

[smokeydogg]

My first attempt has turned out good, not great, but I enjoy smoking it. Maybe since it is "mine" I am bias.

I also took on the project as a learning experience. It has felt like I have found out more about my personal taste and about the flavors of each tobacco in a couple days than almost all of my previous smoking years. Adding a little here and there and tasting the difference has been a real eye opener.

 

[lordofthepiperings]

I don't think it's a very common thing, for pipe guys to do home blending. I've heard of some people saying, "I like this blend, but I added a bit more Perique to it.", or what not, but I haven't heard of too many people that outright do their own blending from scratch by going on SmokingPipes and ordering blending Virginia, Latakia, and Perique from C&D to come up with their own percentages and mix it up themselves.

 

[bnichols23]

The problem with blending (or "mixing" as mso calls it when the subject refers to individual smokers doing it vis-a-vis a company or pipe shop) is that most smokers won't have the advantage/storage/budget available to have the stock needed to do 24 oz of A, 11 of B, 6.75 of C, 4.2 of D, & 2.5 of P(erique).
Some do, yeah, but they're the ones who approach what you might call "craft blending." For most people it's not only too involved, it's just plain not doable since to do it right means doing at *least* 5 lbs at a time.

 

[ray47]

The only home blend I mix is a 50/50 mix of Lane Limited 1Q & BCA. Always have a pound on hand.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I grow my own blends. I have been growing Virginias and playing with different types of curing techniques. So far, when I think I have screwed up, I come back to them a year later and they are awesome. I make ribbon cuts and twists. This year I have added a semois and a Japanese tobacco that is supposed to have an anise flavor.
That whole "buying mixers" and blending them thing just didn't seem like enough for me. Really, you are merely mixing already smokable leaf together. How bad could someone screw that up. You could just toss in a handful here a pinch here and get something that is tasty. The only blended tobaccos that have not set well with me, is when people start adding in flavorings and homemade toppings. The worst was when someone had handed me some home blended at a pipe event and it ended up being topped with mint... blech. Otherwise, blend away. It's not rocket science.

 

[brassmonkey]

I make my own blends for the simple reason that it is a lot cheaper to import whole leaf tobacco than to buy tins due to very high taxes here. One 50 gram tin costs about $110, of which $70 is taxes, but I can get whole leaf for about $50 a pound tax free and sent from USA. So far I have flue cured virginias, dark air cured, maryland, latakia and izma oriental. Also waiting on some St James periqe and fire cured to arrrive. Blending is quite popular with some pipe smokers but not so much on this forum.

I've been making some ropes but mostly shreddding, blending and jarring. Its good fun especially if you have some orientals and latakia to play with.

 

[bnichols23]

Yeah, cosmic, knowing you grew your ownlwaf, I was thinking specifically *of* you when I spoke of individuals who actually did do their own blending.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

For most people it's not only too involved, it's just plain not doable since to do it right means doing at *least* 5 lbs at a time.

Not necessarily. I have a few blends of my own. I started out with the Cornell & Diehl Blending Kit which gets you started with small 10 gram batches, and I still use that system but simply multiply it to make more.
For example, a blend could be as follows
Red Virginia 5 gram

Bright Virigina 2 gram

Latakia 1.5 gram

Turkish Izmir 1.5 gram ... for a total of 10 grams. It's a pretty small amount, but if you're happy with it, you could easily multiply by 5 to make 50 grams or more of the blend. 50 grams is about the size of most tins, 1.76 ounces.
50 grams of the same blend would read as...
Red Virginia 25 gram

Bright Virginia 10 gram

latakia 7.5 gram

Turkish Izmir 7.5 gram.
This method works quite well for me, and it's quite fun and rewarding when you stumble upon a blend you like. I've found also, that after blending, that most blends seem to improve after they've been jarred up for a few weeks to a month as the components have had some time to marry. So if you like a blend, you might just love it after it sits for a while.

 

[witchofthehollow]

The only home blend I mix is a 50/50 mix of Lane Limited 1Q & BCA

OMG This is a classic mix I enjoy weekly :D

 

[JimInks]

I've done a bit of home blending the last few years, only using tobaccos varietals rather than mix them with prepackaged blends. I still occasionally mix up something and smoke 'em.

 

[jitterbugdude]

smokeydogg, If you want to get in to blending get yourself a good scale and a notebook. Keep track of all your blends bt writing down the formula. You don't need to use a lot of tobacco per blend. I usually mix 25g blends. If they don't turn out well I haven't lost a lot of tobacco.

 

[luigi]

I tried it but I prefer the taste of existing mixtures. It's easier to buy a tin where all the tobaccos are already married and there are so many different blends to try that it will probably take several years to try the most known names. I like to "dress up" some light OTC's though, usually with a pinch of perique.

 

[bnichols23]

"Not necessarily. I have a few blends of my own" -- Okey, fair enough, anthony! I think in terms of the "shake" to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed throughout. Like mixing paint -- the more you make (to a point), the more uniform & consistent it is. But then again I admit I *do* come from a shop perspective where I had the bar & understock at my disposal.

 

[bnichols23]

"prefer the taste of existing mixtures." -- Roj-oh, luigi, same deal. I made a personal blend years ago that was (admittedly by my own highly snooty & opinionated standards) Letter Perfect. That shop (never mind the mall it was in) is long gone now [demo'd in '07 http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/landover_mall.html] , as is my blend, but Chimney Smoke from a shop in Gatlinburg is as close as I've ever come to having it again. JimInks did a review of it here -- http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/4197/gatlin-burlier-chimney-smoke

 

[mikefu]

I blend a few, my favorite being 75% stokkebye English Oriental Supreme with 15% BCA and 10% Stokkebye 313 Oriental for some punch and strength. It hits the niche that Frog Morton used to fill, of a slightly sweet, oriental forward English-type blend. I really like it.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

But then again I admit I *do* come from a shop perspective where I had the bar & understock at my disposal.

I am officially jealous. ::

 

[bnichols23]

Worry not. That was in another toback Galaxy far far away & long long ago. :rofl:

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

That was in another toback Galaxy far far away & long long ago.

With locations on Tatooine, Hoth, and the forest moon of Endor? :mrgreen:

 

[unkleyoda]

I do a 50/50 mix of Proper English and 965 from time to time. But, that's it.