Straight Tobaccos

[kamikazesasquatch]

So another thread (about English blends I think) reminded me of something I've been meaning to ask. I really don't know what kinds of tobacco I'm tasting other than virginia and latakia when I'm smoking. Would it be recommended to order something like the mclelland blending tobaccos so I know exactly what each type tastes like?

 

[pstlpkr]

Kamikaze you might try reading some basic materials.

E.g. Wikipedia; that explains some of the fundamentals without a lot of detail.

A basic/rudimentary explanation is a good place to start.

(For me it was a great clarifier.) I had been smoking a pipe for more than 30 years and had a real "I should have had a V-8" moment when I did that.

It's like after learning addition and subtraction one moves on to multiplication and division... then Algebra etc.

I find that when I know what a type of tobacco really is supposed to be... at its most basic...

Then smoke a blend with that tobacco in it...

It is easier for me to recognize that tobacco when I smoke it and gain a greater understanding and therefore learn to appreciate it for what it actually is.

::

 

[kamikazesasquatch]

I did some pretty heavy reading at first. I think I know what everything is supposed to taste like but my pallet sucks and I can't seem to pull the flavors others do from blends. AKA Them: "the bar-b-q flavor in this on is the X tobacco" Me: "Bar-b-whatnow?" I was thinking maybe if I just got a straight hit of each then that might give me a clear memory of what each flavor I'm tasting actually is. I might try reading about each blend right before smoking it though instead of doing a huge brain dump on all types before going on a tating spree Thanks for the suggestion. I'll let you know how that works out. Should have 10 new tins arriving any day now :D

 

[romeowood]

I highly recommend sampling straight varieties as a way to educate your palate. Like many, I'd been smoking for years without much of a thought to what was in the bowl. As my interest increased, so did my thirst for information and, consequently, my enjoyment of what I was smoking--not to mention more educated expenditures.

Hearth & Home, Russ Ouellette's marque, offers bulk varieties for blending, as does McClelland (tins too), and Cornell & Diehl.

And for the record, I regularly enjoy full bowls of straight Perique--both the Acadian and St. James--and find them delectable :crazy: :mrgreen: It will ghost a pipe, though, so be careful.

 

[lordnoble]

It should be noted that Perique packs a giant Vitamin-N wallop when smoked straight and as romeo likes tambolaka (which I understand packs a similar wallop), caution is suggested.
-Jason

 

[lestrout]

McClelland's Grand Oriental series affords a nice Cook's tour of the many varietals. Each one is in a base of Virginia so as to reveal the individual characteristics of the Oriental at hand.
hp

les

 

[romeowood]

Did I tell you I made an ad-hoc BurPer out of that Tambolaka and some Jewel of St. James Perique, Jason? It was a flavor explosion, to say the least; made my eyeballs sweat a little! I'm still working on getting a log of it over here for further experimentation. Anyone interested in going in for an order? ~$25 / 160g

 

[clanobucklin]

Aleister Crowley used to smoke rum soaked Perique. Wow! I can't imagine how that would taste - although I do like rum in my blends.

 

[matchstickman]

Aleister Crowley used to smoke rum soaked Perique

Now that is just plain cool!

 

[romeowood]

Aleister Crowley used to smoke rum soaked Perique.

Looks like I have a new experiment to run....

 

[mluyckx]

Romeo, I might be interested since I am looking for something heavy in Vitamin N to get me off the cigarettes completely.
Would you consider selling half of that ?

 

[romeowood]

PM sent mlifduyx