English Blend for Beginners
- Thread starter Irish Piper
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Watch City Cigar has a great one. Old Black Magic.
my favorite and close to being not just my favorite in that style but up near the top of the list of favorites blends period. Well it would be Kramers Blend for Cary Grant. It's the most middle of the road blend I've smoked in the must unimaginably great way. Weirdly it's precisely what I expected it would be just from the name. If it was a cologne it would be manly yet you'd think this could pass for a perfume for the wife too. I love that stuff. It's also English enough to scratch that itch and sweet and aromatic enough there is a fair chance that if your a guest at a non smokers house they'll let you light that one up. I plan on buying it in bulk instead of the stupid sample tins (that's one of my dumb jokes, although it is how I feel about tins).
From what I've heard the other recommendations are great and are in fact all three seem to be a trio in that when one of them is mentioned often someone will say you need to also try the other two. Which I still need to try them, but I've been around long enough to say that how frequently and widely these are recommended and the way they are that I feel solid about endorsing the recommendations.
So, I tried the Early Morning Pipe last night. I was very surprised at how mild it was. Almost too mild. This could be down to the fact that I smoked it pretty much right out of a freshly opened tin. Maybe it needed some drying time, I don't know. It didn't seem overly most to me, but maybe I need a bit more experience with judging that sort of thing. I've got plenty of other blends to try anyway. I think that I'll set it aside for a bit and come back to it. I'm putting all of my open tobacco into glass jars and out of the direct sunlight.
I've not decided if I'll try anything new today. Probably not, and revisit something I've had already. I'm really enjoying the Vauen Bavaria Mixture. Living in Bavaria, I had to give that a try as soon as I saw it. ?
I've not decided if I'll try anything new today. Probably not, and revisit something I've had already. I'm really enjoying the Vauen Bavaria Mixture. Living in Bavaria, I had to give that a try as soon as I saw it. ?
I really like Presbyterian mixture. But he last time I smoked some, my wife said, "Why did you smoke that awful stuff?" Apparently she didn’t find it as appealing as I did. ?
My wife has said the exact same thing lol
My wife also hates the room note of English blends. When we're on the front porch for happy hour and I have an English or Balkan, she says I should go to the backyard with that smelly pipe!
Drucquer and Sons have an excellent line of English blends ranging from very mild English to very potent in terms of flavor. Regarding strength of nicotine, the strongest I noticed was Prince's Blend and perhaps my least favorite as far as taste went. The other blends seemed to be about the same strength level of nicotine, not too much and not too little.
From my recollection in order of lightest flavoring to most intense it went something like this:
Inns of Court
Red Lion
Devil's Own (which was a bit sweeter than the others and sold as more of an "American" blend).
Prince's Blend
Blairgowrie (sold as more of a Scottish blend with higher notes of Oriental tobacco)
Trafalgar (quite an amazing blend, very sharp and intense)
Levant Mixture (very smooth, balanced, yet a high amount of Latakia. They knocked this one out of the park and was one of my favorites).
I don't have any experience with "First Amendment" but I heard it's really good as well although from the descriptions online it isn't a "standard" English blend the same way something such as Highland Targe or Black Malory from Rattray's would be.
I highly recommend buying all flavors and give it a shot if you can. I found a few of my all-time favorite blends from this line and I cannot recommend them enough. It's quite hard for me to get them where I am, but you should have no issues ordering internationally from Smoking Pipes.com and they are the only ones who carry this line (unless there is some import restriction on tobacco in Germany)
I didn't read through all the other posts on here but I bet a few members recommended Rattray's Red Rapparee and Black Malory. I also love these blends, as well as Highland Targe. I hope you enjoy them if you decide to give them a try!
I would add they are a bit more pricey than other blends but it was really interesting for me when I tried them to compare each to the other and see the similarities and differences between them.
From my recollection in order of lightest flavoring to most intense it went something like this:
Inns of Court
Red Lion
Devil's Own (which was a bit sweeter than the others and sold as more of an "American" blend).
Prince's Blend
Blairgowrie (sold as more of a Scottish blend with higher notes of Oriental tobacco)
Trafalgar (quite an amazing blend, very sharp and intense)
Levant Mixture (very smooth, balanced, yet a high amount of Latakia. They knocked this one out of the park and was one of my favorites).
I don't have any experience with "First Amendment" but I heard it's really good as well although from the descriptions online it isn't a "standard" English blend the same way something such as Highland Targe or Black Malory from Rattray's would be.
I highly recommend buying all flavors and give it a shot if you can. I found a few of my all-time favorite blends from this line and I cannot recommend them enough. It's quite hard for me to get them where I am, but you should have no issues ordering internationally from Smoking Pipes.com and they are the only ones who carry this line (unless there is some import restriction on tobacco in Germany)
I didn't read through all the other posts on here but I bet a few members recommended Rattray's Red Rapparee and Black Malory. I also love these blends, as well as Highland Targe. I hope you enjoy them if you decide to give them a try!
I would add they are a bit more pricey than other blends but it was really interesting for me when I tried them to compare each to the other and see the similarities and differences between them.
haha that's the same situation I am in! My gf loves the smell of an aromatic, but as soon as I light up an English blend inside she leaves the room in disgust!
I tried to solve this by offering to buy a pipe for my gf so she could smoke it with me. She noticed though that the one I was suggesting for her was one I had been looking at online for a few weeks. One of the hazards of browsing for pipes in the same room. I was discovered and my plan foiled lol
Yeah, I'll bet that's been tried countless times by countless members over the years and probably never worked.
My wife has never smoked anything in her life, so that would be a really hard sell. Although...she has said we should do more things together... ?
To my calloused and jaded tongue all cherry cavendishes and all mild English blends taste the same.
Think about it. You’re in a tobacco factory making Cult Blood Red Moon and you fill all the orders, and then there’s an order for Smoker’s Pride Cherry Cavrndish. You won’t change the recipe much, if any. It has to taste like a cherry sundae at the drive in.
The same thing applies to all English blends. You can’t use any flavorings. You have to use mostly Virginia, some Orientals, a little sourness from Perique, and then enough Latakia to make the blend smell like Bee Jay Catfish bait.
I have several pounds of Best Of The Rest English, $16.99 a pound.
www.pipesandcigars.com
It’s delicious, but it stinks like catfish bait.
Without the pungent aroma of Latakia, it would be a good Va Per.
Think about it. You’re in a tobacco factory making Cult Blood Red Moon and you fill all the orders, and then there’s an order for Smoker’s Pride Cherry Cavrndish. You won’t change the recipe much, if any. It has to taste like a cherry sundae at the drive in.
The same thing applies to all English blends. You can’t use any flavorings. You have to use mostly Virginia, some Orientals, a little sourness from Perique, and then enough Latakia to make the blend smell like Bee Jay Catfish bait.
I have several pounds of Best Of The Rest English, $16.99 a pound.
Best of the Rest English - PIPES and CIGARS
Find Best of the Rest English Packaged Pipe Tobaccos at the lowest prices here at PIPES and CIGARS!
www.pipesandcigars.com
It’s delicious, but it stinks like catfish bait.
Without the pungent aroma of Latakia, it would be a good Va Per.
Buying anything direct from the US is not worth it. The tariffs usually end up doubling the price, in my experience. This started around 2017...... Ordered 3 pair of Levis jeans for $35 each and had to pay 90€ in customs fees. Each. Would have been cheaper to fly there and buy them.
Most of the American tobacco that is recommended on this forum is not available here. At least my searching has produced 0 results. Probably for the same reasons. ?
I know tobacco is totally different but with the aroma of breakfast working it's way to the living room I can imagine a "mixed fruit" jar of jelly from Smuckers - "all the goop we had left over, stirred together and waiting for your biscuit."To my calloused and jaded tongue all cherry cavendishes and all mild English blends taste the same.
Think about it. You’re in a tobacco factory making Cult Blood Red Moon and you fill all the orders, and then there’s an order for Smoker’s Pride Cherry Cavrndish. You won’t change the recipe much, if any. It has to taste like a cherry sundae at the drive in.
The same thing applies to all English blends. You can’t use any flavorings. You have to use mostly Virginia, some Orientals, a little sourness from Perique, and then enough Latakia to make the blend smell like Bee Jay Catfish bait.
I have several pounds of Best Of The Rest English, $16.99 a pound.
Best of the Rest English - PIPES and CIGARS
Find Best of the Rest English Packaged Pipe Tobaccos at the lowest prices here at PIPES and CIGARS!
It’s delicious, but it stinks like catfish bait.
Without the pungent aroma of Latakia, it would be a good Va Per.
I'm really sorry to hear that. There are tariffs where I am, but they are not that high. In that case, I would recommend Rattray's since I have seen that for sale on German sites. Kolhase and Kopp also make an English blend or two but I haven't tried them. Solani also has some English blends. I haven't tried those, but there blends are awesome, also available on some German sites.
I've already bought some Rattray's 7 Reserve and the Red Reparee, but I've not tried them yet. The others you mentioned I've seen as well. Thanks for your suggestions.
I suggest Presbyterian, Early Morning Pipe, and My Mixture 965.
I am a beginner myself and have found Presbyterian to be very nice. It's mild and easy to deal with. Certainly not complex and not a very strong taste at all, but it's good.