Not a Huge VaPer Fan, But...

[moses]

As it turns out, I love me some H&H Louisiana Red. In my (admittedly) limited experience, this seems to be a paragon of the genre.
Now knowing this, I'm looking for suggestions to broaden my experiences with VaPer's.
And: GO!
Also, thanks in advance. ::

 

[moses]

The 10 minute update: I got antsy and just ordered a couple tins of H&H Virginia Spice. Russ' blends generally seems like a pretty solid bet.
This past week has pretty much been a long and drawn out battle with TAD. I'm not even sure of exactly WHAT I've got coming anymore. And I'm okay with that. :mrgreen:

 

[uberam3rica]

Virginia Spice is good. H&H Anniversary Kake, H&H AJ's VaPer, Samuel Gawith St. James Flake, Escudo, and Erinmore Flake are good also.

 

[Perique]

Lots of threads on this topic to read through, but specifically to H&H VaPers, I would recommend adding Anniversary Kake to your list. Excellent fresh, spectacular aged.
I smoke mostly VaPers and have tried as many as I can, with help and suggestions from the board. My favorites, in rough order, are:
Escudo

PS Luxury Bullseye Flake*

Haddo's Delight*

Anniversary Kake

PS Luxury Navy Flake

GLP Fillmore

HH Acadian Perique*

Beacon Extra

GLP Telegraph Hill

St James Woods
*hybrid VaPers (may contain Cavendish, burley, Kentucky, etc)
I have some McConnell Scottish Cake that I haven't tried yet. Aging it a bit. So that may make its way into my favorites list. I wouldn't consider Erinmore Flake or Orlik Sliced to be VaPers, but I enjoy both.

 

[zdwebb12]

I really like Esoterica Dunbar and Dorchester. They're really good VaPers if you can ever find any. :roll:

 

[moses]

Excellent! Thanks all. It's good to feel the ol' TAD glands swell with new possibilities!

 

[ohin3]

Solani 633 Virginia Flake is a must.

 

[morton]

Some excellent suggestions by previous posters, I like many of those blends too. You might try 4noggins Prairie Wind for an inexpensive bulk VaPer. I have grown very fond of it and Rich is not only a site sponsor but an excellent etailor as well as nice to talk to on the phone. He sent me a sample of it with an order one time and that set the hook for me. I've got a few pounds aging now and plan to add more.

 

[jah76]

Excellent suggestions by everyone.
Welcome to the site Moses!

 

[moses]

Alright. Until next week's paycheck, this is my latest order:
Anniversary Kake (4)

MORE Louisiana Red (2)

AJ's VaPer (2)

Gawith Commonwealth (1)(Not related to the VaPer discussion, it's just on my list for every time I buy)

Escudo (2)

Aaaand... A brandy spankin' new Savinelli Varese Billiard.
I know nothing about the pipe, but they caught me with Varese. Ha!

 

[moses]

And Jah: Thanks for the welcome!

 

[moses]

Also, you may have noticed, at the moment I'm a little hung up on Hearth & Home. Not My Fault! Russ blends like a freakin' magician.

 

[moses]

Oh, and Roth: Yeah, OGS was actually the first tobacco I found that I really enjoyed. My 100g tins don't mention perique though.
"A mixture of golden, mature Virginia tobaccos from the traditional tobacco districts in eastern USA..."
I had no idea there was supposed to be perique in here. But then again, I'm no shrewd judge. Also, almost immediately after I found Orlik, I discovered latakia. Things spun out of control, and fast. ::

 

[chopsie]

While Peterson Irish Oak doesn't have as much of a perique taste as Dunhill De Luxe Nay Rolls I thinks its quite a nice smoke as well.

 

[rhogg]

A rabbit hole of wonderfulness......... Your life is changed!

 

[ohin3]

I can tell you that that tin of Commonwealth is certainly not going to keep things from getting further out of control. That is some fine English! Do yourself a favour with the Escudo though as it is one of the most misunderstood yet phenomenal tobaccos out there. Take your time with 'er. Dry it out till its anything but damp. Carefully pack your pipe...if its too tight, dump and repack before lighting. Char, let it settle, tamp, full char, and then slow steady sipping for the rest of the bowl. If Escudo is a tad too moist, packed too tight or smoked too fast it will present as a hot bloated mess, but if treated with care it will provide a profound smoking experience.

 

[moses]

ohin: Yeah, I have yet to be disappointed with what I've picked up from Sam Gawith. It all started with 1792 because it seemed weird enough to be interesting. Then came Best Brown, Sam's Flake, and FVF when I could finally get my hands on it. Commonwealth was a recent acquisition, and I think it's my favorite Gawith blend. They seem to know what they're doing with VA's. Very distinctive taste. I love it with the lat.
Also, a surprise hit was McClelland's Orient 996. I picked that up when i was questing for some Syrian lat blends. It turned out that I loved everything in that one. It actually kicked off my (increased) interest in VA blends. Also orientals, but I'm starting small. My Yenidje Highlander and Yenidje Supreme haven't come in yet, otherwise this post may have been about orientals.
Basically, I'm trying to figure out exactly WHAT about that blend is tickling me so much. It just may be the red VA's. It may be all of it. Time will tell.

 

[moses]

So.. A lot of tins came in today. :mrgreen:
As pertains to this thread, among the spoils were:
H&H Anniversary Kake

H&H AJ's VaPer

Escudo

GLP Haddo's Delight

(more) H&H Louisiana Red
*Joy!*
The rest were:
(more) SG Commonwealth

McClelland Legends

McClelland Yenidje Supreme

McClelland Bombay Court

And a new pipe.

Lots of "work" ahead of me. ::

 

[moses]

Brief update: Haddo's = yum!

 

[captainbob]

Caution! My CBB is a Va/Per? Not really. 32% Red Virginia and 8% Perique and it is a light English aromatic, Latakia content is 10%. Not for the Purist of Va/Per. However, several Va/Per smokers have told me it is a great alternate. My point? Consider any light English aromatic containing Va/Per as an alternate (especially as a crowd pleaser). There is a minority of this type of blend to be sure. However, there are numerous offerings. You don't have to try mine. Just look for Va/Per aromatics containing a small amount of Latakia. Cornell and Diehl has several, but they are a minority. Personally, my base-line in blending is Va/Per. So, I have my favorites, as many mentioned above are all great. I found the best way to enjoy the "purist Va/Per smoke" is to have a suitable alternate now and then.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________