Pipe Smokers Who have Settled on a Few Standbys

[Suilven]

Thanks edger. I like your perspective on this. I've only been pipe smoking for a year but due to my Old Guy status i don't have time to experiment with blends for years. Furthermore, tobacco prices are high where I live. i want to find maybe 3-4 affordable blends that suit me and stick with them. I've discovered i really enjoy mild Virginia (especially) and Cavendish, and I don't like much flavoring nor a strong nic-hit, so if anyone has recommendations along those lines please pass them along. Cheers!

 

[F4RM3R]

I only process and make my own blends and am always tinkering and trying something new. I do have a book of recipes in which there are probably 25 or so worth repeating blends, but I find myself not making new batches of old blends as much, mostly because some of them aren't really as strong as i like but they taste great and perhaps I'll make them up for some boys at the pipe club when the time comes.

There are endless possibilities with blending and processing, depends on my mood and phases i go through. Lately it's been heavy orientals with perique and more often than not i like complex blends with many tobaccos(kentucky, stoved virginias, perique, oriental latakia)

I always like to have a nice full english around(with kentucky and perique) but it's probably my least smoked blend. Or another go to blend of mine with kentucky, stoved va's , oriental and perique. But i have narrowed down my active jars of blends to only having around 3 or 4 at a time to choose from. I like to have something lighter, something a little strong and complex and maybe a powerhouse for those end of the day smokes, plus the English incase the mood strikes.

So compared to many people here, my choices are very limited, but always changing.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I only process and make my own blends and am always tinkering and trying something new. I do have a book of recipes in which there are probably 25 or so worth repeating blends, but I find myself not making new batches of old blends as much, mostly because some of them aren't really as strong as i like but they taste great and perhaps I'll make them up for some boys at the pipe club when the time comes.

There are endless possibilities with blending and processing, depends on my mood and phases i go through. Lately it's been heavy orientals with perique and more often than not i like complex blends with many tobaccos(kentucky, stoved virginias, perique, oriental latakia)

I always like to have a nice full english around(with kentucky and perique) but it's probably my least smoked blend. Or another go to blend of mine with kentucky, stoved va's , oriental and perique. But i have narrowed down my active jars of blends to only having around 3 or 4 at a time to choose from. I like to have something lighter, something a little strong and complex and maybe a powerhouse for those end of the day smokes, plus the English incase the mood strikes.

So compared to many people here, my choices are very limited, but always changing.

I shoot for serendipity. I don’t know how it escaped me, but I never labelled my twists. So each one is a surprise, ha ha. I will label now going forward, but I actually like trying to figure out what is in my blends as I smoke them.

 

[edger]

Thanks edger. I like your perspective on this. I've only been pipe smoking for a year but due to my Old Guy status i don't have time to experiment with blends for years. Furthermore, tobacco prices are high where I live. i want to find maybe 3-4 affordable blends that suit me and stick with them. I've discovered i really enjoy mild Virginia (especially) and Cavendish, and I don't like much flavoring nor a strong nic-hit, so if anyone has recommendations along those lines please pass them along. Cheers!

Thanks for the kind comments. You should try at least two of Cornell and Diehls blends. Yorktown and Derringer. Both are available in bulk at reasonable prices. Cheers!

 

[Suilven]

Thanks for the kind comments. You should try at least two of Cornell and Diehls blends. Yorktown and Derringer. Both are available in bulk at reasonable prices. Cheers!

Thanks edger. I've tried Amphora Virginia and Amphora Black Cavendish and enjoy both. I'm just awaiting delivery of tins of MacBaren's HH Pure Virginia, MacBaren's Vanilla Flake, and Astley's No. 55 Elizabethan. It'll be my first time trying those. I'll make note of the C&D blends for next order. I haven't ordered any bulk yet, but it seems it's about time. Much appreciated. Best to you!

 

[F4RM3R]

I shoot for serendipity. I don’t know how it escaped me, but I never labelled my twists. So each one is a surprise, ha ha. I will label now going forward, but I actually like trying to figure out what is in my blends as I smoke them.

Haha yes that can be fun. I have a couple of those mystery jars kicking around. Sometimes I'll even play the guessing game in the morning, after I've mixed up some blends the night before with a few drinks in my hands haha

 

[anotherbob]

funny thing after reading this thread I realized I keep buying the same blends for 80 percent of my purchases

 

[didimauw]

90 percent of the time I smoke two tobaccos. The other ten percent, I bring in two more.

 

[cigrmaster]

Since you have so few blends in your cellar I would try to put specific blends for the same pipe and dedicate it for a few months and see if that is something you enjoy. For instance I have 2 pipes dedicated to my batch of 2007 Stonehaven. The pipes love it as do I. It really makes a difference when you have smoked 25 bowls in the same pipe. I think you might enjoy this. I also dedicate all my pipes to certain genres as that works well for me. I am sure there are people who think I am nuts as they never build cake and in my opinion people who don't let cake build up are really missing out on some great flavors.

 

[tatter]

I have narrowed my tastes considerably. While I still enjoy variety, now it is more variations on the same theme. I am starting to whittle down the celler to better suit this trend, Hopefully some of you can be the benefactors!

 

[jewman22]

Not quite there yet, yes I do have a couple blends that I keep coming back to, but I find the hunt for something just a bit better to be the best part of the hobby.

 

[OneGoodBulldog]

I certainly know what I like now, but if the compulsion to try a new tobacco ever ceases I'll be more than a little sad. I want to always have some pressed Virginia of some type around, but I still like the getting-to-know-you period that occurs with a new blend. That being said, I also want to find different tobaccos for different occasions. Still searching for a steady all day work smoke, a Latakia I like and a Cavendish that isn't too steamy.

Of course if I had my druthers I'd be smoking nothing but Mac Baren, but that's a little expensive for the amount I like to smoke. I also want to get into pressing my own tobacco using whole leaf, so that may turn into something.

I guess I like both worlds. I want my go-to smokes and I like variety.

 

[karam]

When I just smoked Nightcap I thought that's all I need, then DLNRs happened, then ODF, then Lakelands, 1792 and G&H ropes, then Motzek.

There's enough variety in the above genres to keep me going for ever I think, aside from very few SPECIFIC blends, I go by blend type nowadays.

 

[newbroom]

I'm now in a gotta catch em all modus to see what I like but I want to settle for a X amount of blends I like and stockpile those. Maybe in 1 or 2 years I'm at that point.

It took me about 3 yrs to become most reliant on simple, bulk blends and varietals. It was a blast!