My Journey into Burley Blends

[Choatecav]

As some of you may have recently read in the “Birth Year Dunhill” thread, I was fortunate to bump into my now good friend, Jim (aka @Grangerous) who helped me, after many years to fulfill my dream of owning a birth year (1956) Dunhill. Not only did he assist me in this but in the transaction he surprised me by including a sample of the three tobaccos that are in his regular rotation.

Please note that by choice, I am a Virginia, Vaper and occasionally English blend smoker. But, I have been wanting to branch out and sample more Burley based blends. Jim’s samples fit that to a tee as the three he sent were “quintessential” burley based blends: Granger, Pegasus and Winchester.

Out of respect for his generosity, I wanted to give my meager and humble assessment/review of what I experienced when smoking these blends…. So, here ‘tis….

Granger: A burley based “codger” blend for certain I found this to have a very pleasant room note with a good flavor from the start. I did pick up some sweetness that reminded me of a maple syrup essence but also some woody basics. I did not hit it hard but I got the feeling that if I had, I would have gotten a little tongue bite. I will say that I could notice more nicotine than I am used to but by going slow it was not bad and I really enjoyed the overall experience.

Pegasus: This blend, made by Cornell & Diehl, has multiple burley tobaccos in it and while not as pleasant on the room note as Granger, I still found it pretty good. I did read that it contains some Virginias as well and I could pick up on those pretty quick. It was a cool burn and the tanginess of the Virginias was enjoyable. I found myself smoking it a bit faster at first, but had no sensation of bite. I did have to relight it more often than the Granger, but not a problem. However….. with my hitting it a little faster, I got into deeper waters of nicotine before I knew what I was doing. So, with the head spinning a little, I laid it down and came back to ground zero before relighting and going easy. Smoking it this way, I found it to be very nice, indeed.

Winchester: This one is also made by C & D and is made up of Red Virginia, Burley and Black Cavendish. Again, I liked the room note and fragrance and when I lit it up, I could taste the Va’s and the burley and they all seemed to play well with the Cavendish and each other. I think I learned my lesson on the Pegasus to not go at it like I was “killing snakes” and to approach it slow and easy. It was wise to do this as the nicotine was very much there, but when taken in moderation, I really liked the experience. Burned cool and I tasted more of the syrup, the wood and maybe a nuttiness. Maybe because of my education with the other two, I smoked this with respect and patience. This may have been my favorite of the three.

I have learned that smoking Burleys is a different trip than doing Virginia’s and English blends and once one realizes that, they can really have a lot of fun weaving through the landscape of pipe tobaccos that are out there. My mom always said that as a kid, I would eat anything that was laid on my plate and I wanted to not smoke my pipe with “blinders” on but rather branch out and dabble in all of the offerings out there. I would encourage others to do the same, if they have not already.

Well, if JimInks happens to read this, he will feel no competition whatsoever in these tobacco reviews given my amateurish attempt, but I enjoyed doing it.

I will close by saying thanks again to @Grangerous for sending me the samples to enjoy and for everything else.

 

[Grangerous]

Pegasus is the favorite of all three. Although I smoke Granger more often as a pallet resetter, if that makes sense. Winchester is an occasional treat, because I always enjoy it as I return to it, but if I smoke it repeatedly, it becomes cigar-like and then I’ve had enough until the next time.

I suggest giving Pegasus, which needs to be enjoyed slowly, another go. It has a ginger snap sweetness, very creamy smoke and a pleasant sourness that weaves in and out. It’s room note is comfort food to me.

Thanks for the reviews and again for the kind words, Mark.

 

[dottlejockey]

Some great burleys out there. For me, Pegasus is certainly among them.
Nice reviews! And nice of Grangerous for the generosity.

 

[Mr_houston]

Good write up, @Choatecav.

I’m in the same boat as a VA and English guy. Not a fan of anything aromatic, cavendish, nor ashy tasting. To me, that means burley.

But I do keep an open mind and do try VaBurs. Also some modest ventures into DFK.

 

[BingBong]

I was hoping for Haunted Bookshop vs Pegasus fisticuffs, but hey, another day.

 

[sardonicus87]

Certified burley boy myself.

If you're looking to branch further in, I can recommend several that you might like.

Old Joe Krantz (original brown label) and Haunted Bookshop are both blended by C&D. They're somewhat similar, HB having a kind of "darker" and "muskier" taste than OJK. I personally prefer OJK and am not the biggest fan of HB, some like both, some have a clear preference for one over the other.

Mac Baren HH Burley Flake is one of my top 3 burley of all time. Definitely try this one, and it's a good example of burley being more floral. And by floral here, I don't mean floral scents like you find in soap, I mean floral like if you ever licked the nectar on a honeysuckle stamen, or smelled star jasmine or tea olive flowers.

If you like the more chocolate/cocoa tasting aspects of some burleys, I'd recommend Wessex Burley Slices which tend to lean more toward the cocoa side, or if you prefer more chocolate over cocoa, you can give Solani ABF a try, but I personally wasn't impressed at all with the latter.

Another good one for the "sweeter" and woodier side of things is Savinelli Jupiter.

And if you find you like burley, you have to try Tabac Manil/Tabac de la Semois "Petite Robin" or "Reserve du Patron". Semois is nothing like any burley you've ever tried, definitely smoke it as is, do not try to rehydrate it. "Petite Robin" you have to take care with, as dry as it is and fine cut, it burns really fast. You might also only want to do half bowls or take breaks if you don't have a higher tolerance for nicotine.

And if you like PSLNF, Mac Baren Navy Flake is very similar but based on burley instead of VA, which can help to showcase the difference in a type when it's based on VA or Burley.

In my experience, burley is best fresh. If I open a tin of burley, I try to finish it within a month. To me, anything longer than that and most of them start to taste kind of stale. Other types of tobacco simply just start to taste less bold, but burley goes stale. Though I generally prefer all my tobacco fresh-opened and un-aged (beyond any aging done by the manufacturer).

Another thing with burley, many people tend to focus on the chocolatey and nutty aspects (much to my dismay), but burley has just as much of a range in flavor as Virginia. Other quintessential flavors, some of which you've already picked up on, are woody flavors, floral and tea-like flavors, nutty flavors (from light sweet nut like macadamia or butter nut to darker/warmer/woodier nutty flavors like walnut and pecan), coffee and toffee-esque flavors.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Certified burley boy myself.

If you're looking to branch further in, I can recommend several that you might like.

Old Joe Krantz (original brown label) and Haunted Bookshop are both blended by C&D. They're somewhat similar, HB having a kind of "darker" and "muskier" taste than OJK. I personally prefer OJK and am not the biggest fan of HB, some like both, some have a clear preference for one over the other.

Mac Baren HH Burley Flake is one of my top 3 burley of all time. Definitely try this one, and it's a good example of burley being more floral. And by floral here, I don't mean floral scents like you find in soap, I mean floral like if you ever licked the nectar on a honeysuckle stamen, or smelled star jasmine or tea olive flowers.

If you like the more chocolate/cocoa tasting aspects of some burleys, I'd recommend Wessex Burley Slices which tend to lean more toward the cocoa side, or if you prefer more chocolate over cocoa, you can give Solani ABF a try, but I personally wasn't impressed at all with the latter.

Another good one for the "sweeter" and woodier side of things is Savinelli Jupiter.

And if you find you like burley, you have to try Tabac Manil/Tabac de la Semois "Petite Robin" or "Reserve du Patron". Semois is nothing like any burley you've ever tried, definitely smoke it as is, do not try to rehydrate it. "Petite Robin" you have to take care with, as dry as it is and fine cut, it burns really fast. You might also only want to do half bowls or take breaks if you don't have a higher tolerance for nicotine.

And if you like PSLNF, Mac Baren Navy Flake is very similar but based on burley instead of VA, which can help to showcase the difference in a type when it's based on VA or Burley.

In my experience, burley is best fresh. If I open a tin of burley, I try to finish it within a month. To me, anything longer than that and most of them start to taste kind of stale. Other types of tobacco simply just start to taste less bold, but burley goes stale. Though I generally prefer all my tobacco fresh-opened and un-aged (beyond any aging done by the manufacturer).

Another thing with burley, many people tend to focus on the chocolatey and nutty aspects (much to my dismay), but burley has just as much of a range in flavor as Virginia. Other quintessential flavors, some of which you've already picked up on, are woody flavors, floral and tea-like flavors, nutty flavors (from light sweet nut like macadamia or butter nut to darker/warmer/woodier nutty flavors like walnut and pecan), coffee and toffee-esque flavors.

Of the “woody” flavors you mention, I would include pine and cedar, among other conifers. Some claim to pick up on these in straight relatively unadulterated white burleys, like c&d’s, but i find they are really pronounced in WLT’s Kentucky burley. There’s an almost oriental-like dimension to burley which I wish more blenders would let shine through

 

[lithicus]

I've tried OJK and HB by C&D and enjoyed them quite a bit. But, I too am a mostly Va/VaPer enjoyer; only occasionally smoking an english blend. I've heard great things about burley and have wanted to branch out more. But, never spent the time to look into other recommend blends. Thank you for posting this! I'll have to give some of these a shot

 

[Choatecav]

Good write up, @Choatecav.

I’m in the same boat as a VA and English guy. Not a fan of anything aromatic, cavendish, nor ashy tasting. To me, that means burley.

But I do keep an open mind and do try VaBurs. Also some modest ventures into DFK.

I've tried OJK and HB by C&D and enjoyed them quite a bit. But, I too am a mostly Va/VaPer enjoyer; only occasionally smoking an english blend. I've heard great things about burley and have wanted to branch out more. But, never spent the time to look into other recommend blends. Thank you for posting this! I'll have to give some of these a shot

Thank you, gentlemen for your kind words and encouragement.
I've always thought that even though I have favorites.... I don't want to close any doors on potential pleasures....

 

[Choatecav]

Certified burley boy myself.

If you're looking to branch further in, I can recommend several that you might like.

Old Joe Krantz (original brown label) and Haunted Bookshop are both blended by C&D. They're somewhat similar, HB having a kind of "darker" and "muskier" taste than OJK. I personally prefer OJK and am not the biggest fan of HB, some like both, some have a clear preference for one over the other.

Mac Baren HH Burley Flake is one of my top 3 burley of all time. Definitely try this one, and it's a good example of burley being more floral. And by floral here, I don't mean floral scents like you find in soap, I mean floral like if you ever licked the nectar on a honeysuckle stamen, or smelled star jasmine or tea olive flowers.

If you like the more chocolate/cocoa tasting aspects of some burleys, I'd recommend Wessex Burley Slices which tend to lean more toward the cocoa side, or if you prefer more chocolate over cocoa, you can give Solani ABF a try, but I personally wasn't impressed at all with the latter.

Another good one for the "sweeter" and woodier side of things is Savinelli Jupiter.

And if you find you like burley, you have to try Tabac Manil/Tabac de la Semois "Petite Robin" or "Reserve du Patron". Semois is nothing like any burley you've ever tried, definitely smoke it as is, do not try to rehydrate it. "Petite Robin" you have to take care with, as dry as it is and fine cut, it burns really fast. You might also only want to do half bowls or take breaks if you don't have a higher tolerance for nicotine.

And if you like PSLNF, Mac Baren Navy Flake is very similar but based on burley instead of VA, which can help to showcase the difference in a type when it's based on VA or Burley.

In my experience, burley is best fresh. If I open a tin of burley, I try to finish it within a month. To me, anything longer than that and most of them start to taste kind of stale. Other types of tobacco simply just start to taste less bold, but burley goes stale. Though I generally prefer all my tobacco fresh-opened and un-aged (beyond any aging done by the manufacturer).

Another thing with burley, many people tend to focus on the chocolatey and nutty aspects (much to my dismay), but burley has just as much of a range in flavor as Virginia. Other quintessential flavors, some of which you've already picked up on, are woody flavors, floral and tea-like flavors, nutty flavors (from light sweet nut like macadamia or butter nut to darker/warmer/woodier nutty flavors like walnut and pecan), coffee and toffee-esque flavors.

You obviously know your burleys. Thanks for the comments and recommendations.

 

[Choatecav]

I was hoping for Haunted Bookshop vs Pegasus fisticuffs, but hey, another day.

I had to laugh at your comments on the fisticuffs. A vision of a boxing ring popped into my mind with the announcer saying, "In this corner, fighting out of Philadelphia, PA. and wearing the white trunks.... HAUNTED BOOKSHOP........."

 

[The Novice Piper]

Also worthy of mention is Cobblestone's Hiking.

I'm on a burley run as well. It can be difficult to find a straight burley; most touted "burley blends" are a mixture of different tobaccos combined to accentuate the burley taste, or a straight burley with some kind of topping or casing as a condiment.

Hiking is a legitimately straight burley that's simply been prepared to showcase the natural flavors in their best light, and it's done very well. To me, it smokes very much like a Virginia-- with a variety of subtle flavors throughout the heat range, a natural sweetness on the light end, and earthy vegetative tones not far from hay, reeds, bark, etc.

 

[Grangerous]

I smoked a bowl of C&D Big n Burley this morning. Touted by fans as a “Light English for Burley Lovers”

Any amount of Latakia, Perique, Oriental etc is not my cup of tea, although it is applied with a light hand. This is primarily Burley and a strong one. I noticed the nicotine.

I equate this to Haunted Bookshop which contains Perique and is another nicotine powerhouse.

I enjoy venturing off path sometimes, only because it makes me appreciate the favorites I regularly enjoy. -After these two, a bowl of Pegasus becomes a perfect treat for me. The flavors pop and Pegasus definitely fits squarely into the comfortable all-day-smoke category. For me.

For those that enjoy more nicotine and love their Burleys, there are blends for all takers.

 

[Pipke]

I have these burleys in my currently-smoking tobacco rotation: Pegaus and Tabac Manil Semois. Love the semois burley.

 

[khiddy]

I smoked a bowl of C&D Big n Burley this morning. Touted by fans as a “Light English for Burley Lovers”

Any amount of Latakia, Perique, Oriental etc is not my cup of tea, although it is applied with a light hand. This is primarily Burley and a strong one. I noticed the nicotine.

I equate this to Haunted Bookshop which contains Perique and is another nicotine powerhouse.

I have had two bowls of Big n Burley over the past week, and I will say that it has *not* grown on me. There's a bitterness there that just overpowers any pleasure to my tongue. It may still be too fresh (I bought it in bulk last month, just before the big sale at SP), so I'll give it a few months in the jar before I make a final decision on whether it stays in my cellar, but the initial results are... not promising.

 

[Grangerous]

I have these burleys in my currently-smoking tobacco rotation: Pegaus and Tabac Manil Semois. Love the semois burley.

I have not sampled Semois and I need too; unless what others have said is true… that 5 Brothers is its American equivalent.

When a burley fan gets around to cleaning the cabinets.

 

[Choatecav]

I have not sampled Semois and I need too; unless what others have said is true… that 5 Brothers is its American equivalent.
View attachment 343821
When a burley fan gets around to cleaning the cabinets.

Jim, you may end up finding Jimmy Hoffa buried amongst all of those cans of tobacco........

Have you or any readers had much experience with a C & D blend called Billy Budd? It is heavy with Latakia, but has Burley and really hit me with nicotine. I'm finding that nic hits are the main obstacle I run into that keep me from really latching onto burleys. I love the flavor but my head gets to spinning.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

Jim, you may end up finding Jimmy Hoffa buried amongst all of those cans of tobacco........

Have you or any readers had much experience with a C & D blend called Billy Budd? It is heavy with Latakia, but has Burley and really hit me with nicotine. I'm finding that nic hits are the main obstacle I run into that keep me from really latching onto burleys. I love the flavor but my head gets to spinning.

I enjoy billy budd. For me it is not so much lat heavy as an interesting chord struck with cigar leaf and Latakia combined. I always felt the flavor was stronger than the nicotine in that one. I certainly did not get a nic hit from it the way I do big n burley or ojk.

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I have had two bowls of Big n Burley over the past week, and I will say that it has *not* grown on me. There's a bitterness there that just overpowers any pleasure to my tongue. It may still be too fresh (I bought it in bulk last month, just before the big sale at SP), so I'll give it a few months in the jar before I make a final decision on whether it stays in my cellar, but the initial results are... not promising.

I have found that blend benefits especially from a few months in a jar. It really reduces those “barnyard” notes c&d’s power burleys often have. That said, it’s never going to be sweet

 

[HeavyLeadBelly]

Of the “woody” flavors you mention, I would include pine and cedar, among other conifers. Some claim to pick up on these in straight relatively unadulterated white burleys, like c&d’s, but i find they are really pronounced in WLT’s Kentucky burley. There’s an almost oriental-like dimension to burley which I wish more blenders would let shine through

I love catching notes of cedar in burleys and why I love that earthy, woody, flavor in the morning with coffee.