Fun Blending Your Own

[biz]

I have been on a kick lately, mixing my tobaccos to make blends just for one bowl. It's been great. I would love to hear about some of the combos you have come up with that you enjoy.

 

[FurCoat]

I have a few pounds of blending tobacco but haven't worked up the courage to start blending. I have found a few recipes that I might try. Ernie at Watch City has a series of articles, I believe 6, where he explains the process of blending. It's a worth while read.

 

[Alex.Jr]

Butternut burley with some dark bird’s eye.

 

[gamzultovah]

One of my go-to VaPers is a 50/50 mix of Sutliff Crumble Kake Va. and Crumble Kake Va/Perique. A very easy going blend.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I some times enjoy C&D's white burley mixed with a bit of their izmir Turkish.

 

[kcghost]

I couldn't blend tobacco if you put a gun to my head.

 

[smudgersmissingleg]

The only time I gave it a try was when I mixed Germain's Rich Dark Flake and Brown Flake 50/50. The results were disappointing.

 

[Sweet Home Alabama]

My local tobaconist will add more of this or than if asked.

 

[Dublin Old Man]

I have been on a kick lately, mixing my tobaccos to make blends just for one bowl. It's been great. I would love to hear about some of the combos you have come up with that you enjoy.

I do the same. The key is for one bowl. If you like it then you can make it in larger quantities. The other key is to remember the tobaccos and respective percentages used.

 

[hawky454]

I gave up on it.. anytime I created something, I always wanted a "real" blend. I will sometimes tweak a blend by adding more Lat or Perique but other than that, I leave the blending up to the professionals. It can be fun to try your hand at it though, some people only smoke their own blends.

 

[mso489]

The pros make blends, I just mix. I like to make up mixes a few bowls at a time, though sometimes I will just do one bowl to finish off a bit of a tin. The basic mix is equal parts (adjust proportions to suit) burley and Virginia, and add a good pinch of Cavendish. But I will try anything with anything else. Some great smokes have come from these slap dash experiments.

 

[WVOldFart]

I like to leave a blend as is and enjoy it for what it was made to do. I only mix tobaccos when I have gotten a blend that doesn't do it for me. I will then add some Cavendish or other good mixer to help put some fire in the original blend. I only mix one bowl at a time, because I know that I do not have the talent of the Master Blenders. I'm libel to make Swamp Gas Mixture 695, smoke only if all your senses died 3 years ago.

 

[SBC]

I mixed Cabbie's with Three Nuns. Instead of getting a multiplication of their virtues I got their lowest common denominator. I wished that I had both back. Instead of gaining a union, I lost the two parts.

I don't see myself mixing existing blends, again.

Now, creating blends with pure components is something I'd be keen to try. I just haven't yet.

 

[Inspired Idler]

I've heard some guys mention a mix they dubbed "Black and Blue". 50/50 Balkan Blue and Black House. I might mix up a batch and try it soon.

 

[Grangerous]

Yeah I’ve given up on this idea. Even mixing blends with others. It’s an art.

 

[mso489]

To enhance your chances of enjoying a home mix, I suggest mixing single leaf tobaccos, or at least predominantly base burley or Virginia with only one other, or two if you are feeling lucky. Keep the predominant leaves to two, using maybe one other as a condiment. A pinch of Cavendish, cigar leaf, Turkish, etc. -- only one -- as an accent. Or just add one condiment to an already acceptable blend. Mixes of more than three tobaccos tend to be muddy and harsh, in my experience.

 

[LotusEater]

I’ve been mixing different combinations of bright and stoved Va, Macedonian prelip, Turkish Ribbon and Latakia. I’ve also been adding cigar leaf to a few blends e.g. Lane HGL. It all tastes pretty good but I’m hoping I stumble upon something really interesting. I’m not holding my breath though and if I don’t oh well. I’ve pressed some of my mixtures into cakes and I’d like to start experiment with different casings.
It is an enjoyable pastime.

 

[biz]

I have made multiple combos that taste awesome. If you mix just one bowl, you can always repeat it, and still have the base tobaccos to smoke on their own without making 16 ounces of one blend. I find it refreshing because you add so many more combos to your cellar. Its like changing a recipe while cooking.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

Pipes and cigars is offering build-a-blend kits now. The mixing bowl is extra.

Seriously.

 

[krizzose]

I was doing a lot of it for a while, mostly with mediocre results.

In doing so, however, I found a couple of blending components I really like, particularly Stokkebye 702 burley. Now I’m a Virginia smoker first and foremost, but I could smoke 702 by itself all day. Simple but not boring, and very satisfying. And it’s a fantastic base to mix with small amounts of aromatics if you don’t want the full effect. It’s also great 50/50 with bulk Virginias like Yorktown, rubbed out Sutliff 507C, Watch City Rhythm & Blues, etc.