Recommended Tobacco "Rotations"

[molst]

Hi all, I hope you managed to switch year just fine!

I just had the idea that we could share either our current "rotations" or our most recommended rotations in this thread.

Here in Sweden its freezing outside and I think that affects the taste in such a way that I can't make any review notes, so instead I summarize my autumn experiences so I can share the selection I will keep after trying 10 or so highly rated tobaccos the last 6 months.

These are the ones I will make sure to keep in my rotation during 2022:

SG S:t James Flake - This is my current favourite of all tobaccos

Rattrays Old Gowrie - Very nice and well balanced, slightly citrusy

SG Kendal Cream Deluxe - A sweet twist to a mainly virginia taste

SG Navy Flake - The only tobacco with Latakia that had made it into my rotation so far. A very special, unique and flowery, taste that can be too much towards the end of the bowl but still very nice for special occasions or variety

Some of the tobaccos that didn't make it was more Latakia forward blends like Squadron Leader and Old Dublin, aromatics with questionable topping tastes like Connoiseurs Choice, and the SG 1792 Flake which was just way too strong for me.

It would be great to see your selections! Cheers!

 

[DanWil84]

Be sure to get a lot of "I don't have a rotation, I smoke whatever whenever I like". I'm still exploring, but what will be in my weekly rotation for sure when I've smoked my open tins:

Macbarren Navy Flake, love the tobacco ratios and the topping to me is very light but pleasurable.
Presbyterian, English Oriental forward, to me its very creamy, my favorite morning smoke.
Macbarren Golden Blend, Burley with the right touch of Virginia, to me very cocoa-ish without getting gritty dry boring like Solani Aged Burley Flake.

I'm still figuring out some English, a Va and Va(Per) blends to pick to cellar.

 

[Grangerous]

In order of preference:

STG Granger
C&D Pegasus
C&D Crooner

The above three I could live with as a rotation.

Some additional favorites:

C&D Burley Flake #2
C&D Old Joe Krantz Blue
C&D Briar Fox

Peterson University Flake
MacBarren Navy Flake

 

[Chasing Embers]

I just had the idea that we could share either our current "rotations" or our most recommended rotations in this thread.

I tend to smoke the same tobacco until the tin is gone or I get bored with it.

 

[mortonbriar]

I smoke what is open, and then open something else. I usually have about 3 things open at once. There was a time when I got a kick out of having a dozen blends on the go, things settle I guess.

 

[Ahi Ka]

I smoke whatever @mortonbriar has open too

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My rotation is constantly changing, but currently it is...

PS Sweet Vanilla for my aro (smoked in the morning if at all)
McCrannies Red Ribbon and a jar of my homegrown Virginias for my Virginias
C&D Pegasus for my VaBur
C&D Epiphany and Germains Royal Jersey for my latakias, which I only smoke in the colder months.
C&D Burley Flake #1 for my strong end of day smoke

As I finish one, I will open something else, and usually I will have a VaPer or a cigar blend open in the warmer months.

 

[captpat]

I rotate genre’s instead to blends, too much exploring to do to focus a a few specific blends. For example I’ll usually have a VA, VAPER open and then either a burley or latakia open as well, sometimes both. I’ll smoke till a tin is emptied then open another. Today I have ABF and Scottish Cake open

 

[pip01]

My current core rotation is:

GH Bosun Cut plug
GH Dark Flake Scented
GH Bob's Choc Flake
GH Dark Birds Eye
MC British Woods (2006)
MC 2009 Xmas Cheer
GLP Gaslight
Wessex Burley Slice
MB Golden Extra
Sillems Copenhagan
Rattray Exotic Passion.

As I finish these off they get replaced with different blends. I'm still deciding what to replace these with.

 

[Peter Turbo]

trying to kill a drawer of aromatics i have, it looks long but most of the jars are almost empty:

Solani Red Label (i actually really like this one)
The Country Squire Bills Blend
Lane 1Q
PS Nougat
PS Optimum
SG Chocolate Flake
Amphora Full
DT Blue Note
Sutliff Blend 07
Wilke Peanut butter

 

[kcghost]

Welcome from KC!! You should keep your pipes separate by what you smoke in them. Aromatic pipes away from English pipes and English away from Vaper pipes.

 

[Servant King]

I have way too many jarred blends right now, but hopefully sometime in the not-too-distant future, I will narrow things down to about a 6-12 blend rotation. If that day were today, it'd probably look something like this:

MacBaren Vanilla Roll Cake
Drew Estate Gatsby Luxury Flake
Ashton Gold Rush
Peterson Univ. Flake
MacBaren Golden Extra
Balkan Sasieni
John Bull Royal English
Lane 125th Anniversary
Dunhill Aperitif

A couple of these are discontinued, so obviously I'd be a bit lighter on those than the rest. I hope I get to this point, but for now, I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of open blends I have, which is both a good and bad thing.

 

[F4RM3R]

Mostly whole leaf blends for me. Current trends are Kentucky/ burley stoved plugs and twists and some burley based English. Light on the Latakia, heavy on the burley.

 

[Toast]

At the moment:
Charatan, Virginia Three Year Matured
GH, Dark Birds Eye
GH, Kendal Kentucky
Gemain's, Brown Flake
Germain's, Uncle Tom's
Mac Baren, Bold Kentucky
Mac Baren, HH Mature Virginia
Peterson, Irish Mixture
SG, Golden Glow
SG, Lakeland Dark
Solani, 660 Silver Flake

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Welcome from KC!! You should keep your pipes separate by what you smoke in them. Aromatic pipes away from English pipes and English away from Vaper pipes.

Like how far separated, inches, feet, different rooms?

 

[C&D Fanatic]

Similar to what others have said, I usually smoke what's been open the longest, but lean towards robust English and burleys in the winter (live in Canada so it gets cold af!) Like OJK, Arango, Haunted Bookshop, Mountain Camp etc.

Summer is the Virginia forward mixes and anything flavoured like 1Q, 1M (surprisingly good 1Q alt), and Irish creams/chocolates

 

[judcole]

There are certain tobaccos that I always have open - about a dozen of those - and then I usually have another dozen open that fall under the rubric of "Gee, I feel like smoking some of this". There's not much of a pattern to any of this.

 

[sandollars]

My heavy rotation right now:

Crooner
OJK Blue
Semois
Stonehaven
Solani ABF
Wessex Burley Slice

I will always have Crooner, OJK Blue, and Stonehaven in the rotation but I mix them up with others.

 

[molst]

Be sure to get a lot of "I don't have a rotation, I smoke whatever whenever I like". I'm still exploring, but what will be in my weekly rotation for sure when I've smoked my open tins:

Macbarren Navy Flake, love the tobacco ratios and the topping to me is very light but pleasurable.
Presbyterian, English Oriental forward, to me its very creamy, my favorite morning smoke.
Macbarren Golden Blend, Burley with the right touch of Virginia, to me very cocoa-ish without getting gritty dry boring like Solani Aged Burley Flake.

I'm still figuring out some English, a Va and Va(Per) blends to pick to cellar.

Very interesting, sounds I should try a couple of those!

 

[molst]

I smoke what is open, and then open something else. I usually have about 3 things open at once. There was a time when I got a kick out of having a dozen blends on the go, things settle I guess.

Yep, I will probably settle with a few favourites in a couple of years or so but still have way too much to try out.. I'm trying a very systematic testing approach for the fun of it ?