Newminster and my quest for the Lat Bombs

[harkpuff]

In my search for the ultimate "Lat Bomb" I was able to acquire and try the Newminster Ultimate English and found it to be quite good. However, I noticed as mentioned in other conversations that I've had that the Ultimate English did not appear to have a tremendous amount of Latakia in it, but still I found it to be the heaveiest of the Lat blends I have tried to date.

This arrived in the mail while I was away and I could tell what was in the package by the aroma eminating from the dining room where the package was placed. My wife announced that somthing very stinky arrived in the mail for me and complained it was stinking up her dining room and asked me to get it out of there. She was right! I could smell this stuff through all of the packaging material. However, according to most that I have talked to I'm still dabbling in middle of the road Lat land.

I'm thinking....."man, if this stuff is not considered a Lat Bomb....I'm wondering what a true Lat bomb must be like. How do you keep from blowing the lid off the mason jar??
I really love the Latakia and several have steeped my curiosity to begin collecting the real Lat bombs that have been mentioned to me, like Pirate Cake etc.
Someone mentioned the GL Pease and I love Pease products. Which of the Pease blends would be considered the bombs?
I realize that this is a subject steeped in opinion....but it would be fun to start a "Lat Bomb" list for the Lat lovers and possibly in some way rate the size of the bomb.....500lb, 1000lb, 2ton, ATOMIC, KAAABOOOM!
Harkpuff
Edit: Moved to Pipe Tobacco Discussion, L.

 

[lestrout]

hark - check out Pease's chronicles - he discusses how the taste of strong Latakias may not totally depend on the percentage of the actual Latakia. I haven't made up my mind about the new Lagonda, but Abington and Odyssey are among his heavier Lats.
For Da Bombs, try Pirate Kake, Bow Legged Bear and Da Vinci from C&D, Ten Russians from Hermit (which has quite a few fully flavored Lats), Lancer's Slices, and Park Lane Bengal.
hp

les

 

[joshwolftree]

like the odyssey

see this thread for my thoughts on it. now for an all day smoke at work I use a lighter lat blend that I get mixed up at the B&M. but for that wake you up in the morning holy cow lat bomb it's black coffee and odyssey all the way, heck add a coupla old bay pickled eggs and you have breakfast

 

[shawn622]

I am a big fan of all the Newminster English blends. H&H Cerberus is the heaviest Latakia blend I have ever tried. Odyssey is good too. You can always buy some blending Latakia and customize your stash.

 

[baronsamedi]

Just buy some Latakia and smoke it. P&C carries it.

 

[jbbaldwin]

Just buy some Latakia and smoke it. P&C carries it.

While you're there, Brebbia makes a latakia flake - Brebbia Flake that's nice, IMO.
Ten Russians is beyond wonderful, too.

 

[cigrmaster]

When I was an English smoker, my go to lat bombs were GL Pease Odyssey and Ravens Wing, both were loaded with good stuff. I also enjoyed his Cairo blend. I also used to really enjoy his Samarra as well. One more I would recommend that hardly gets talked about is Two Friends Deacons Downfall. That is also a partial Pease blend. The last two I mentioned also have a little Perique which I found to be real interesting because of the spiciness it adds.

 

[rcstan]

You might enjoy SG Commonwealth Mixture . It's my go-to English when looking for Lat. Very simple straight forward half Latakia half VA and not bitter or overbearing.

 

[captainsousie]

Not Pease but how about MacBaren Vintage HH Syrian? It really showcases the Syrian lat.

 

[philobeddoe]

+1 on Pirate Kake, it's not very interesting to smoke, but I believe it contains 70% Latakia.

 

[harkpuff]

Thanks for all you great advice on this subject.

Regarding 100% straight Latakia.....I have tried that in the past but find it to be one sided and boring.

Even though I like heavy Latakia, it still must be coupled at least with some great Virginaia's to make it interesting.

One example that is rather light on the Latakia but still one of my all time favorites is Samual Gawiths Navy Flake. A great Virginia Flake with a little Lat pressed in.

For some reason I love the flakes. I love everything about them. I know they are more work, but I love messing with them. I love the way they pack and burn. Ohhhhh that slow smolder that can go for an hour or better. And the way they become more complex as it burns down to the bottom of the bowl. FANTASTIC!!

And if packed right they can burn so cool that you can hold the bowl firmly in hand and experience only a mild warmth in the palm.

Harkpuff

 

[baronsamedi]

Gl Pease Sextant is pretty mighty and it's flake cut. Penzance is too.

 

[jpberg]

Hark, one blend that I think should be included on everyone's latakia journey is Pipeworks & Wilke 400. It's a robust blend that's very flavorful, but one that does not contain a silly (ala Pirate Kake) amount of latakia.