Recommend Me Some Good Aromatics

[Wellington]

I'm gonna give a little back story, because I need to rant to people who know pipe stuff haha.
I primarily smoke Latakia heavy blends, and I have always had a hard time getting along with virginia tobaccos for some reason, I can't seem pull flavour out of them very well, it ends up tasting like ashes and gets hot in my mouth, even when I'm careful to try and smoke slow (I do tend to smoke quicker than I should, but Latakia is very forgiving for me, seems to gently let me know when I'm smoking it too hot). I don't smoke every day, and for the last few years I really only have smoked a few times in a year, until the last few months.
Anyway, I just got back home from camping and was enjoying a really nice Latakia blend I love, but I smoked a few times a day, and it got to be too much, it's just so strong and 'latakia-ie' that to smoke it in the morning, afternoon and evening was a little much, which I wasn't expecting.

Anyway, several years ago I had picked up about an ounce of a bulk blend when I was in Vancouver for the week, it was INCREDIBLE, and if there was any Latakia in there at all it was very little, but I doubt it was. It smelled really nice, nutty/sweet (I'm not good at distinguishing different elements of taste) and tasted like it smelled, it was unreal. If I could have known what it was I would have stocked up.

I never thought of it being an aromatic because I thought I didn't like aromatics and always thought of aro's as weird chemical falvourings (wine, cherry, cotton candy). But in hindsight, it probably was. It didn't burn my mouth at all, not sure what would have been in it. Mostly brown tobaccos, there way have been some black cavendish.

So I was looking at 4noggins (they're a better bet I think for shipping to Canada) and landed on Otter Creek, seemed interesting, and I happened to be asking my brother about aromatics and he happened to have some he's going to mail me to try before I order which is handy.

So while I'm looking into aromatics now after 10 years of pretty well only Latakia blends and a bit of OTC stuff, I was wondering if you guys had some suggestions. I'm not very interested in things like Cherry MacBaren, which for some strange reason I've had a sealed tin of for probably 7 years . . .

 

[olkofri]

Sillem's Black.

 

[ben88]

Lane HGL.

 

[wordheavy]

Give The Country Squire tobaccos a shot. I think you should definately try Hunting Creek, which is an English Aromatic; I really like it. Also, Old Toby and Rivendell are outstanding.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

My “must try” list:
St Bruno ready rubbed
Edward G. Robinson’s Pipe Blend
Planta MMXII Ripe Marula Fruit
Mixture 79 (maybe just order an ounce at first- some people don’t like this one)

Also I just started trying a few of the aros from Wilke’s, and I’ve been very impressed at how natural the toppings taste. If you want a traditional old school American-style Burley and Cavendish aro, they seem to have that genre nailed down.

 

[gerryp]

Since you like latakia, you might want to check out Edward G. Robinson. It's pretty mild, it doesn't bite, and it has a pleasant and unique assortment of toppings.

I like Rattray's aros, They do 2 types: the first are the heavily topped ones like the Summer blends and Exotic Passion. They tend to be goopy and need some drying time, but they taste and smell great. These are very sweet. The second type includes Bagpiper's Dream and Westminster Abbey. I think these are more in the English style of aros, meaning more balanced and with more subtle toppings that don't dominate the tobacco.

I recently bought a tin of G.L. Pease's The Virginia Cream, and I like that one a lot.

For going outside the box, try a Sam Gawith, or Gawith and Hoggarth, Lakeland blend. They tend to be very floral, which doesn't agree with a lot of people, but worth trying even if you hate it. You could say they are iconic. They can also knock you on your arse. Dark Flake Scented is an example of a strong Lakeland blend.

While not classified as an aro per se, G.L. Pease Stonehenge (which was developed with John Gawith) seems like one. It has a really nice cocoa topping and a hint of the Lakeland floral scent. Great stuff.

I'll stop there, hope this helps!

 

[Chasing Embers]

If you can't taste Virginias yet, you're going to find aromatics disappointing.

 

[weezell]

Lane HGL.

Yep, the way to go...

 

[olkofri]

HGL is one those Lane's blends I actually recommend.

 

[chopper]

Butternut Burley [the 4noggins version is said to be the same as Scottys BB but better value]

Thomas's Blend.

I recently opened a tin of Orlik Racing Green that I'd describe as a semi-aro which I could smoke all day. Not overly sweet. The mild topping does not drown out the tobacco flavour.
It's a new favourite that I highly recommend, especially to someone breaking into aromatics.

 

[Chicken-Farmer]

Newminster No. 23 BlackBerry Brandy bulk. Very lightly cased. Smokes wonderfully without tongue bite.

 

[Elric]

Burley Light Without Bite and Edward G Robinson would be my recommendations.

 

[ray47]

I'm primarily a Burley smoker, but lately I've been hitting the aromatics. My favorite by far is MacBaren's Vanilla Cream Loose Cut. A couple of days ago I found a mason jar in my cabinet half full with Lane Limited Very Cherry. Its been in there for 5 yrs and WOW did it ever taste good. I may just buy 8 ounces and put it away for a couple of years.

 

[prairiedruid]

Going into Fall I love smoking C&D Autumn Evening

 

[unadoptedlamp]

Rattray's Exotic Orange and Blood Red Moon from Cult are two great ones. They are quite different from one another and seem to be made with quality leaf.

 

[wolflarsen]

Sutliff Aromatic English 504c
Scotty's Trout Stream
Cult Blood Red Moon
Country Squire Old Toby
7 Seas Black
C&D Haddo's Delight (not considered aromatic by some)

 

[eugenepark]

If you can't taste Virginias yet, you're going to find aromatics disappointing.

Is my understanding correct that Virginias have that clean and sweet taste found in Cigarette tobacco? I have smoked VaPers before and the flavor breakdown between those seems like:

Sweet = from Virginia
Pepper/Spice/Plummy/raisiny = from Perique

 

[Chasing Embers]

Is my understanding correct that Virginias have that clean and sweet taste found in Cigarette tobacco?

Depends on the Virginia. Sweet sometimes, grassy hay others, sometimes even charbroiled beef.

 

[lawdawg]

Is my understanding correct that Virginias have that clean and sweet taste found in Cigarette tobacco? I have smoked VaPers before and the flavor breakdown between those seems like:

Sweet = from Virginia
Pepper/Spice/Plummy/raisiny = from Perique

Just to clarify, the plum / fig / raisin taste can also come from "dark" Virginia tobacco, whereas the "bright" Virginias tend to have more of the grassy citrus notes.