Oriental?

[stanlaurel]

I know that this definition is subjective but I am trying to see what people think.
It seems like there are some blends that are sometimes called "Oriental" and sometimes called "English".
Examples are things like Red Rapparee, London Mixture, Presbyterian, etc.
These also tend to be blends where there is a debate about whether they contain Latakia at all.
What is an Oriental?

 

[papipeguy]

Here's a great primer from Russ Oiulette.
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/faq/article/132/ouellettes-tobacco-types-descriptions

 

[jackswilling]

^^^ That is a great resource for the component tobaccos. Here is how Russ describes the blends themselves:
Ouellette's Blend Categories
There are many descriptive terms for pipe tobacco blends, and, it seems, that just about every company has their own nomenclature. Below, I give a list of what I consider to be the main categories of tobaccos. Although some companies will differ from my terminology, it applies to how we refer to our Hearth & Home tobaccos, and can be used for any.
English- The older use of the term “English blend” just meant that the tobacco used was unflavored, since, under old laws, processors in the UK were not allowed to add much of anything to their tobaccos. Today, the description is a bit more specific. For my purposes, an English blend is a tobacco which has a dominant note of Latakia, and the secondary flavor comes from Virginia(s).
Balkan- Similar to an English, but after the Latakia, the most prominent flavor will come from Turkish or Oriental tobaccos. The name, of course, comes from the superb Balkan Sobranie (a blend which used some of the most outstanding Orientals ever).
Scottish- An English blend with Cavendish added, usually. Dunhill 965 is one of the classic Scottish-type blends.
Virginia- Pretty self-explanatory; a blend which is all, or overwhelmingly dominated by Virginia tobaccos. Sometimes a little Burley or Oriental might be added for balance or to mitigate the sharpness that Virginia can exhibit.
Va/Per- These blends are predominantly Virginia with the addition of Perique. The sweet and spicy characteristics of Perique work very well in combination with the sugary and somewhat acidic nature of the Virginias.
Aromatic- These blends are usually made with lighter flavored base tobaccos (Virginia, Burley, Carolina, Maryland) with flavors, usually in the form of syrups, added. The main drawback to these blends is that the tobacco rarely tastes the same as it smells.
Burley- Again, the reference is apparent. The blend will be primarily Burley, and may have other tobaccos added in condimental amounts, but will exhibit mainly the characteristics of Burley, which is usually a nutty and somewhat sour flavor.
Oriental- The flavor will mostly come from Oriental or Turkish tobaccos, with Virginias and/or Latakia and, possibly, other tobaccos used for “spice”.
There are also a number of crossover blends, such as American/English (English with Burley), English/Aromatic and others, but these descriptions should at least help to make more sense of all this.
http://www.pipesandcigars.com/faq/article/134/ouellettes-blend-categories

 

[jackswilling]

I like Frog Morton On The Town best of the Frog blends. It is described as an "oriental" but it has a fair amount of latakia so no one would cry if they called it an English or even a Balkan blend.
Manufactured By McClelland

Blend Type Oriental

Contents Latakia, Oriental/Turkish, Virginia
"Frog Morton formulated this exceptionally mellow blend, fragrant with Basma, smooth and rich with Latakia, for his evening at the opera."
As Captain Barbossa said, "The Code is more what you call guidelines, than actual rules"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GMkuPiIZ2k

 

[newbroom]

Orientals can have flavours that range from sweet to musty to buttery to floral. Since most of them have a pronounced flavour a little can go a long way. According to a German master-blender 30% on the whole of a mixture is the maximum. I would say that 25% is enough. But if you like a specific oriental you can also smoke it straight although I don’t recommend that. Together with some Virginias they really sing. If you smoke it in a blend halfway the bowl the oriental taste often is the strongest.

Here's a very informative link from which that quote was taken: Basma

 

[jerwynn]

I've been superiorly enjoying glp's Cairo of late... the catalog description says it's as much orientals >
"Cairo is a wonderfully complex mixture of Red, Orange and bright Virginia tobaccos, exotic Oriental leaf, and just a whisper of Perique from G. L. Pease. The flavor is naturally sweet, slightly nutty, delicately spicy and rich. Subtle citrus-like notes harmoniously support the more robust flavors of the darker Virginias. A medium-bodied tobacco with a delicate aroma, Cairo will satisfy Virginia lovers and the connoisseur of Oriental mixtures alike."
I definitely get a wonderful 2-part invention out of this that is clearly virginias, "something else"(I'm assuming the orientals), and wisps of perique providing the accents and grace-notes. This has helped me to understand, identify, and appreciate the influence of orientals a lot better.

 

[pagan]

Orientals tend to be sweet and fragrant, or as it seams to me a similar smell and taste of vanilla, and some are spicy depending on the blend, notable ones are Smyrna, Basma, Dubeck, Bashi Bagli, Xanthia and many more. Orientals are a blend rather than a type of tobacco and the use in other blends are small amounts to heavy or Oriental forward blends, that I presume would determine if a blend is an Oriental or contains Orientals.