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dkmdvm

Lurker
Feb 7, 2020
37
105
New to pipe smoking. Have been mainly trying out otc blends and aromatics and have liked most of them. Got ahold of some hybrids, including HGL and some Sutliff Aro/English. Smoking the HGL now and even though I guess it's a "weaker" English, I may have found my new passion. Looking forward to trying something a little stronger. Where to go from here?
 

dunnyboy

Lifer
Jul 6, 2018
2,622
32,912
New York
There are probably hundreds of latakia blends and everyone has his favorites. You might enjoy going on smokingpipes.com and using their tobacco locator to look at the descriptions of blends containing latakia. Personally, I like a number of the GL Pease English/Balkan blends, especially Abingdon, Westminster and Blackpoint. My favorite Drucquer & Sons blend is Levant.
 

wolflarsen

Part of the Furniture Now
Jul 29, 2018
863
2,498
Welcome to the forum!
MyMixture 965 was my first love. Nightcap is a benchmark latakia mixture for many. Plum Pudding Special Reserve is a latakia masterpiece. Potlatch is lighter on the latakia side but with a delectable mix of burley, cavendish, and other flavors.
If you like latakia you'll probably also like dark fired Kentucky leaf and Old Dark Fired is a living legend that you won't want to miss. It comes in a ready rubbed bulk version that will be a little easier than dealing with flakes for a new guy.

If you're just breaking out of OTC's and aro's you're about to embark on a spectacular journey. Make sure that you enjoy the process of exploring different blends and genres of tobacco rather than obsessing about finding that perfect smoke. There are functionally zillions of fantastic blends to try and I gotta say, I'm jealous. Oh to be a virgin again...
 
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hauntedmyst

Lifer
Feb 1, 2010
4,014
20,813
Chicago
Welcome to the forum!
MyMixture 965 was my first love. Nightcap is a benchmark latakia mixture for many. Plum Pudding Special Reserve is a latakia masterpiece. Potlatch is lighter on the latakia side but with a delectable mix of burley, cavendish, and other flavors.
If you like latakia you'll probably also like dark fired Kentucky leaf and Old Dark Fired is a living legend that you won't want to miss. It comes in a ready rubbed bulk version that will be a little easier than dealing with flakes for a new guy.


Agree with all of that. Also try some Old Ironsides, Pirate Kake. Kramers Father Dempsey is good. Park Lanes Knightsbridge is fantastic.

Btw, ignore Olkofri. His girlfriend broke up with him on a Latakia factory tour and it emotionally scared him irrevocably.
 

alaskanpiper

Enabler in Chief
May 23, 2019
9,449
44,135
Alaska
Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding
Balkan Supreme
Boswell’s Northwoods (they make good aros too)
The Country Squire Shepherd’s Pie
(don’t miss old toby for an aro as well)
Peretti Royal
Watch City Ahab’s Comfort
Peterson Nightcap
HU Fayyum and/or Fayyum Kake
Smoker’s Haven Our Best Blend
Esoterica Margate
Esoterica Penzance
Esoterica And so to Bed
Gawith and Hoggarth Bob’s Chocolate Flake

To name a few:)

The first two (among others) are easy to find, so I’d hit them up first
 

karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,620
10,024
Basel, Switzerland
Seattle Pipe Club Plum Pudding
Balkan Supreme
Boswell’s Northwoods (they make good aros too)
The Country Squire Shepherd’s Pie
(don’t miss old toby for an aro as well)
Peretti Royal
Watch City Ahab’s Comfort
Peterson Nightcap
HU Fayyum and/or Fayyum Kake
Smoker’s Haven Our Best Blend
Esoterica Margate
Esoterica Penzance
Esoterica And so to Bed
Gawith and Hoggarth Bob’s Chocolate Flake

To name a few:)

The first two (among others) are easy to find, so I’d hit them up first

Love Bob's, but I don't get any Latakia from it while smoking it, and maybe once when sniffing the pouch. I think the Latakia that's there brings the mixture together though, it's masterfully added since it's usually very conspicuous.

On topic, If you continue like my journey has been, expect to go on a several year long Latakia kick, then you'll come 'round to the Virginias and Burleys and high quality, tobacco-forward flavoured tobaccos, now I'm having trouble with anything having more than 30% Latakia, ever since smoking GLP Gaslight it somehow broke my tolerance of Latakia-strong blends. I find it overpowers everything else, even in my beloved Nightcap (which supposedly has 50% Lat). A fantastic crossover for my tastes is Samuel Gawith's Balkan Flake, sweet and smokey.

Semi off topic, I was looking at Old Ironsides, as on paper it looks like a cheaper alternative of Balkan Flake, but I always see it in the context of Lat-bombs, which I'm really not interested in. What gives?
 
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dkmdvm

Lurker
Feb 7, 2020
37
105
Awesome responses. Thanks for all the recommendations. I have some Nightcap to try next. Wolflarsen, I also have some Old Dark Fired to try. Looking forward to that. I'll report back once I've done further research!
 

rushx9

Lifer
Jul 10, 2019
2,299
17,246
43
Shelby, NC
What is this Sutliff BSOSM I keep seeing? Can’t find it by searching on the big vendor sites. I found a BSOMM on smokingpipes, Balkan Sobranie Original Mix Match.

I can't find either on the Sutliff website bulk page.

The marketing is not strong with this one.
It is BSOMM. I've noticed it listed under different names by different vendors as well. My guess is they don't want it to be too obvious that it is Whiteknight in bulk form?
This listing on TR came up as a H&H blend, but when I clicked it the heading says Sutliff.
Screenshot_20200320-105216_Chrome.jpg
 
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NomadOrb

(Nomadorb)
Feb 20, 2020
1,698
13,785
Central OH
Welcome! There's been many great blends mentioned, but I must recommend Pirate Kake by C&D. If you're having the same reaction I had to latakia, then you gotta try this. It's basically all latakia, and will give you the most creamy, smooth, latakia goodness.

Enjoy whatever you choose!