80% c&d dark burley mixed well with 20% c&d white burley. Smoked slowly—the “breath method” or similar—it’s a near perfect, smooth hi nic blend—for me
Recommendations for Low Harshness High Nicotine Blends
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Those are the definition of harsh in my opinion. I think that they are not well rounded and poorly blended… no offense. I’m amazed Russ had a hand in them honestly because I do like most of the blends I’ve tried from him. These new War Horse Bars are nothing like the original but even on it’s own merits I think it’s a very poor effort to emulate an old English style pipe tobacco, I’d much rather smoke the real thing. The new War Horse blends have a fan base though, so there are people that like them obviously. The OP had mentioned that this blend was harsh for him too. I think the word harsh has different meanings to us though, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to me but I think it has negative connotations.
- Disclaimer, the statement above is just my opinion, is totally meaningless and was not intended to upset anyone. Smoke what you like and like what you smoke. My take is probably from shear disappointment, Green was touted as a Condor replacement for a long time before it was released so I was greatly disappointed when I first took a whiff of the aroma coming from my mailbox when first delivered (I got them from P&C so the tins opened up in the box and yes I could smell it from the garage).
MacBaren Rustica and HH Bold Kentucky are another couple of heavy hitters.
I agree with the Dark Birds Eye and Pegasus recommendations.
St. Bruno in the pouch if you haven’t tried it already.
Indeed, I did miss the OP's verdict about WH.
Personally, I'm not fond of it and agree with your opinion. But it has its fans as you pointed out and when people ask for high nicotine blends, well, the Horse is definitively in that category. It does pack a wallop!
Now that I think of it, another blend I should mention in this category is definitely Peretti No.8 Slice. I picked up this particular blend at Peretti’s on a business trip to Boston a few months back. For how mellow, sweet, and smooth it is, I couldn’t believe how much nicotine was still there to be had.
It’s not so much that I’m looking for the strongest nicotine blends out there, I’m just noticing that there tends to be some blends that have higher nicotine that are surprisingly tame in harshness, as well as some very mellow blends that have a surprising amount of nicotine, and visa versa.
Think of it as a ratio, nicotine content over harshness, or smoothness over nicotine content. I’m looking for lower values of harshness when stacked against higher values of nicotine. It’s all a spectrum, and yes it has it’s subjectivity. Some blends may seem more harsh to some than others.
It’s not so much that I’m looking for the strongest nicotine blends out there, I’m just noticing that there tends to be some blends that have higher nicotine that are surprisingly tame in harshness, as well as some very mellow blends that have a surprising amount of nicotine, and visa versa.
Think of it as a ratio, nicotine content over harshness, or smoothness over nicotine content. I’m looking for lower values of harshness when stacked against higher values of nicotine. It’s all a spectrum, and yes it has it’s subjectivity. Some blends may seem more harsh to some than others.
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Literally like butter. Seriously!
Tabacs de Semois and Condor Long Cut Brown
I wonder if I got a weird batch of it. I like the stuff a lot, enough that I'm going to order more, but it arrived dry as dust and I cannot retrohale it at all because of the harshness. I ordered 2oz bulk from 4noggins, idk if that matters. Is it smoother from a tin?
You can try rehydrating a little or pack super tight if it is bone dry. C&D blends used to come very dry because Craig’s philosophy was that you shouldn’t be paying for water. The tin might be slightly moister. More recent C&D blends tend to be more conventional in their moisture content. I’m not sure where the current standard is on their legacy blends.
Seconded. War Horse Green is smooth but packs a nice punch.
C&D Burley can have a rough edge. It mellows or you become used to it either one. Sometimes smooth as can be. I retro all the time. It’s cube cut burley, Crooner. It does come a bit drier than some others.
On edit. I’ve only had the tins of Crooner. I plan to jar a couple of pounds. I enjoy it also.
I’m actually quite interested in all of you out there who are suggesting Semois for its buttery smoothness. I see there is a variety of Tabac Manil in stock at smokingpipes. All I know is that this is a unique, European Burley, but I know nothing else. Could someone describe/share their experiences with this particular varietal? I’d love to know more!
1792 has a good feel to it. Interesting flavor. It definitely gets your heart moving.
Votes so far:
1792 - 4
Semois - 3
Condor - 3
Dark Birds Eye - 2
Pegasus - 2
Irish Flake - 2
Royal Yacht - 2
War Horse Green - 2
War Horse Red - 2
Haunted Bookshop - 2
McConnell’s Latakia Flake -1
Commodore Flake - 1
GH Dark Flake - 1
St. Bruno - 1
Rustica - 1
Bold Kentucky - 1
80/20 C&D Dark Burley/White Burley - 1
Old Joe Krantz - 1
Old Joe Krantz Blue - 1
Gentleman Caller - 1
GH Kendall Kentucky - 1
1792 - 4
Semois - 3
Condor - 3
Dark Birds Eye - 2
Pegasus - 2
Irish Flake - 2
Royal Yacht - 2
War Horse Green - 2
War Horse Red - 2
Haunted Bookshop - 2
McConnell’s Latakia Flake -1
Commodore Flake - 1
GH Dark Flake - 1
St. Bruno - 1
Rustica - 1
Bold Kentucky - 1
80/20 C&D Dark Burley/White Burley - 1
Old Joe Krantz - 1
Old Joe Krantz Blue - 1
Gentleman Caller - 1
GH Kendall Kentucky - 1
Many of those would probably have more votes but we didn’t want to duplicate.