Recomendations For Someone Crossing Over From Aro's to Va's

[slowwideturns]

I would like to hear what everyones suggestions would be. I've always been an aro guy but I tried a va flake (mccleland honeydew) and really enjoyed it.

 

[ulrich]

Erinmore flake seems to be one of those tobaccos that kind of straddle the line between an aro and a virginia, give that a try maybe?

 

[matchstickman]

People tell me that McClellands Gray Havens is classified as an aromatic, but I'm not really sure that's waht I would call it for what its worth. It is a matured Virginia, Burley, and Perique blend that is incredibly mild, cool smoking, and burns very easy.

 

[shawn622]

I really enjoy most of Samual Gawiths Va offerings. Sam's Flake, Best brown, and Kendal Plug are all really nive. St. James Flake is amazing too. You may want to try MacBarren Navy Flake. It is very nice.

 

[pitchfork]

I really enjoy most of Samual Gawiths Va offerings. Sam's Flake, Best brown, and Kendal Plug are all really nice.

The Gawith flakes are also easy to smoke. Many VA's require very careful, slow smoking or else they taste like hot, ashy air. With many British flakes, like the ones from Sam Gawith and Gawith and Hoggarth, you can get away with puffing a bit harder or faster and still get good results. That's something to consider if you're not already experienced smoking VA's.
I haven't had Sam's Flake, but Best Brown Flake, Best Brown #2 (from Gawith Hoggarth), Full Virginia Flake, Medium Virginia Flake, Glengarry Flake (which is lightly sweetened with honey or something) are all good VA flakes that are yummy and easy to smoke.

 

[rd02sir]

Petersons 3 P's and university flake are good. Very little casing on both with nice tobacco flavor.
Also MacB Club Blend is one of my favaes at the moment.

 

[barkar]

Frog Morton is a good choice for entering the English blend world. (no bite)... ::

 

[crpntr1]

Park-lane connoisseur flake

SG FVF

&Lane MV-1000

 

[lordofthepiperings]

Definitely Samuel Gawiths Full Virginia Flake. I just smoke aromatics, but was gifted a bit of a tin of that blend and it's really good. Nice natural sweet flavors and an appealing room note. It can be hard to track down though, so I've heard a good substitute is SG's Golden Glow. Also, give GL Pease's Union Square a go. I popped a tine of that a couple weeks ago and it's pretty good as well.

 

[captainprophesy]

I really enjoy most

of Samual Gawiths Va offerings. Sam's Flake, Best brown, and Kendal Plug are all really nive.

I agree... but one of my Favorites is still SG - FVF... highly recommend it.

 

[rigmedic1]

I had a lot of trouble enjoying Virginias, and that was after 25 years of aromatics and Balkan blends. The key for me was to use a fresh pipe, and keep a couple of pipes dedicated to Virginia tobaccos. My favorites are the McClelland Christmas Cheer blends, and McClelland 221B Honeydew. The absolute best I have had is from the House of Calabash: "Nothing Quite Like that First Pipe of the Day", pricey, but worth it!

 

[cortezattic]

Mac Barens Mixture Scottish Blend is a Virginia-forward blend, and probably has enough flavoring from the Burley and Cavendish components to ease you toward mature Virginias -- if that's your goal.
I also encountered a delightfully flavored Virginia, Newminster's #80 Norway Pipe Cut, a medium Va/Burley/Oriental with a nice gentle sweetness, and none of Va's piquancy.

 

[zanthal]

+1 for MV-1000

 

[taerin]

Moontrance is my current favorite pipe tobacco, it is an aromatic VA tobacco flavored with vanilla burbon. For a VA, without the aromatic I love Peter Stokkebye Luxury Bullseye Flake. It comes in these really cool looking Bullseye flakes which puts the cherry on the top.

 

[hawk60ce]

Mac B vanilla cream flake. Still probably an 'aro' but is aa bice flake with sone good flavor

 

[lonestar]

MacBarens HH Matured Virginia is excellent and affordable. To me, most of the MacBarens have a bit of an aromatic quality to them. That is a fine blend though, easy to smoke, very high quality leaf, and just a touch of flavoring.

 

[hawk60ce]

Maybe why i like MacB's so much

To me, most of the MacBarens have a bit of an aromatic quality to them.

 

[galeon]

Here is my list of the VA, VA Flakes, and VA/PER blends that I currently have on hand. All are great and easy to smoke with the exception of the MB Virginia #1:

Samuel Gawith:

Full Virginia Flake

Sam's Flake

Best Brown Flake
G.L. Pease Union Square

Escudo Navy DeLuxe

Solani Silver Flake

Rattray's Half O' the Wynd

Hearth & Home Anniversary Make

McClelland 5100 Red Cake

Wessex Brown Virginia Flake

Dunhill Flake

Peterson Irish Flake

Mac Baren Virginia #1

McClelland Blackwoods Flake

Mac Barren Vanilla Cream Flake

 

[cigrmaster]

This list is my current rotation. The TR designates tin ready meaning ready to smoke right out of the tin in most cases.
Virginia Flakes:

Fribourg&Treyer Cut Virginia PlugTR and Vintage-TR

Wessex Campaign Brigade Dark Flake, Brown Virginia Flake , Gold Virginia Flake ( brown and gold TR)

Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake and Full Virginia Flake

Hamborger Veermaster TR

Dunhill Flake TR

Astley’s no. 44 Dark Flake TR

Solani Silver Flake TR

John Aylesbury Luxury Flake TR
Virginia/Perique Flakes

Escudo

Solani 633 TR

Samuel Gawith St James Flake

Wessex Brigade Sovereign Curly Cut TR

 

[rd02sir]

Im currently in the same boat, crossing over to Va's from aros.
Had a nice meet with a forum member hfearly today. We had a nice chat over a bowl. He invited me over to try some Sam Gawith FVF and I LOVE it!! He gave me many many more samples to try; Erinmore flake, Escudo Navy deluxe, MacB Navy deuxe, Rattrays Marlin Flake, and Sam Gawith St.James just to mention a few. So far the Va experience is nothing but good *knock on wood*