The Strong Tobacco Expedition

[mso489]

At some point in pipe smoking, if you aren't nicotine sensitive, you want to tour the strong blends. I don't claim to have gone to the extremes on this, but for a while I felt compelled, by curiosity I guess, to try some of the strong blends or single leaf. So here's how that went. From 4noggins I bought a sample size of Tambolaka, the Indonesian air dried tobacco and found it tasty and not inducing dizzy spells or nausea, treated respectfully. It was good in a small bowl, or smoked intermittently, or used to mix to hype milder blends. I tried some GH black rope, which is a notch less strong than the brown, and that was like flake, plug, and coin, a good long smoke in a small pipe, slow burning. Tabac-Manil Semois, the Belgium single-leaf burley variant, turned out to be just my style, not really smoking strong (to me) but just rich and flavorful, although others have found it in the head-spinning category. I found I wanted medium and mild blends in between, so the strong blends don't leave me unable to taste anything else, and now I'm enjoying a few select aromatics as well. Some of the strong-end blends I also like are C&D Stratfordshire, Old Joe Krantz and Bayou Night, and the ever popular Nightcap. Do you generally avoid the strong tobaccos, or do you only smoke them, or do you do some of each/all? I think I'd be content with medium and mild at this point, but the strong leaf still has an appeal. How about you?

 

[smittyd]

I never avoid strong tobacco , they make up most of my rotation.

 

[Casual]

I like the flavour of several strong blends, but wish they were less strong in nicotine so I could smoke more of them at a sitting. 1792 flake for example. Rustica is still in the mail, but I expect the same.

 

[wordheavy]

I don't discriminate, some mild, medium, and strong. With cigars, I learned to smoke some milder ones even if you prefer stronger cigars ,so the palette doesn't dull. I keep the same mentality with pipe tobacco. For me it keeps things interesting. Nicotine doesn't really get to me...usually.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I like it all. I don’t get much of nic hit from any of them, but I do feel it a little bit. I enjoy strong blends as much as any others.

 

[Country Bladesmith]

Some of the strong-end blends I also like are C&D Stratfordshire, Old Joe Krantz and Bayou Night, and the ever popular Nightcap. Do you generally avoid the strong tobaccos, or do you only smoke them, or do you do some of each/all? I think I'd be content with medium and mild at this point, but the strong leaf still has an appeal. How about you?

I don’t get any nicotine effects from Stratfordshire, but it is delicious, and I smoke it regularly. Bayou Night I would consider to be fairly strong, in both N and taste. I like to smoke it straight occasionally, and mix it with other tobaccos quite often. I also love Peterson’s Irish Flake, and Bayou Morning (which might be closer to the medium-to-strong mark).

 

[logs]

add Big N' Burley to the list

 

[workman]

Most of my daytime smokes are with medium strength tobaccos or milder.
In the evenings I prefer something stronger, especially if I can pair it with an adult beverage, but that's maybe 2-3 times a week, so the ratio is probably 1 strong to 10 medium/mild bowls.

 

[anotherbob]

I like really strong nic blends in a small pipe. Otherwise they go past the point of enjoyment to the point of not being sick but not feeling as good as a milder blend would. Semois is my go to nic punch by the way. It's too much in a large pipe, perfect in my nosewarmer.

 

[JLD66]

I like strong tobacco but I smoke them in smaller bowls. MB HH Bold Kentucky is my favorite because even though it’s strong it’s pretty smooth.

 

[stokesdale]

Sometimes I need my balls twisted, so I break out the Burley Flake #2; other times I just need them massaged a little, so I break out the virginias.

 

[elasmo]

These nights I'm usually ending up with Dark Birds Eye specifically for the strength.

 

[Casual]

I’m finishing up a chamber of Old Dark Fired in a trusty Butz-Choquin squat bent bulldog and thinking of this thread. It’s been a long week, my eyelids are heavy, and I chose this blend to get wrapped up in powerful smoke and drift off. A lighter blend just wouldn’t do. No sir. Not tonight.

 

[Parsimonious Piper]

Most of the blends I prefer—right now—are either high Latakia like Star of the East or Pirate Kake, or burley/dark fired Ky based, with the latter making up most of my daily rotation. I have almost no sense of smell, so I don’t get much flavor from lighter blends. The tobaccos I have pounds of are OJK, Haunted Bookshop, and HH Old Dark Fired.

 

[stogie37]

Ha! Well based on my current listing under the “Tobacco sell/trade” heading - I’m clearly not super fond of the top tier strength tobaccos. My list reads like a condensation of this post. I do like the flavor, but since moving to the steamy south, my tolerance seems to have dropped. I tend to cut these blends with something lighter so I can continue smoking larger bowls without the room spinning. I will say that WarHorse Bar, Nightcap and others that push into heavy range are enjoyable, and I’m cellared fairly deep. But Semois, Big n Burley and some heavy Dark Fired blends just aren’t worth the sweats IMO.

 

[karam]

Flavour always comes first to me, if I find none, like in OJK, or it makes me gag, like Black XX I don't care for the blend one way or another.
Getting a strong taste with strong nic I'm in heaven.

 

[seanv]

I'll enjoy some strong blends on occasion in smaller pipes. Most of my cellar is made up of medium strength or below blends. One of my favorites is haunted bookshop but for some reason I dont consider it to be a strong blend while others do. Every body is different

 

[sallow]

It always seems like I need a nap after these...

Peterson's University Flake

Solani Aged Burley Flake

GL Pease Quiet Nights