The Virginia People And The Burley People

[64alex]

I like every kind of quality tobacco but I notice I prefer blends with Virginia but not alone but as Va/Per, Va/Bur or Va/Lat/Oriental as well as Aromatics with Virginia. I care less of pure Virginia, so I think is what I like are the different condiments which change the Virginia.

 

[F4RM3R]

I prefer Virginia as a condiment to sweeten things up. Prefer burley as a condiment to strengthen things up. So neither I guess! Haha. Although when we are talking Kentucky burley, I definitely like when that stands out more so than when a Virginia stands out in a blend.

 

[Simmerdown☕️]

Love them both! For the longest time I was manly a Virginia & VaPer smoker. I definitely enjoyed quality burley blends such as Wessex Burley Slice & Solani ABF over the years. Over the past year I’ve been smoking more burley blends and have fallen in love with the comfort of Haunted Bookshop, Pegasus, and others. I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite between genres and thank God I don’t have to.?️

 

[karam]

I prefer tobaccos (any type) that have been tortured a bit with steaming, pressing, smoking, twisting, and maybe dressed up with some additives before I can taste much.

 

[trubka2]

I swing back and forth across that spectrum and smoke both every day, but what I really like the best is combinations of the two.

 

[didimauw]

Strictly Burley forward blends. I only like Virginia when a very very tiny amount is used as a condiment. No straight Virginia's for me. Or Latakia, or perique....etc etc ..

 

[logs]

What about the Pod People?

 

[davek]

I most prefer Burley with a little Virginia, but I also like Virginia with a little Burley.
If I'm wanting to buy all of what I smoke, Virginia with a surprisingly small amount of Perique is nice.

 

[gervais]

I enjoy both Virginia and Burley. However my cellar is about 3/4 Virginia and the rest is a mix of everything else so.. Guess Ill be smoking alot more Va than burley, no matter what!

 

[BROBS]

Virginia all the way. I’m ok with burley as a condiment, especially if it’s in perique or dark fired form.

Ive tried several predominantly burley flakes like Solani and the Macbaren HH. I don’t find the flavor to be objectionable but it’s not my favorite. My issue seems to be that they always have a drying effect on my throat that leaves it feeling rough.

Also dries the hell out of my lips.
It always tastes the same “nutty” regardless of blend unless it’s cavendish or DFK. Oddly enough I love DFK.
I do like VaBur that have lower amounts of burley.
I also seem to get a huge nic hit off air cured burley so I avoid that.. yet I don’t have a problem with DFK.

so I’m firmly planted in the “mainly VA” camp.

 

[rushx9]

I'm a Virginia lover but I like Semois and Kentucky a lot, especially those Italian cigars. Anytime a Burley takes over in a Va/Bur I lose interest and pure Burleys are a bore from the get go. I love Va/Pers, Perique is a fermented Burley as I understand. A quality Virginia/Dark Kentucky is also a very satisfying smoke.

^this describes my feelings towards burley as well.
Semois, DFK, African/Indian Dark Air Cured... basically any dark leaf burley is great, but the white burley/casing sponge/filler/cardboard that is in many American and Danish blends gives me no flavor and destroys my throat and sinuses. Even makes my ears pop, sometimes for days. I try to avoid it, but it's the transfat of pipe tobacco, hiding in almost everything. I've come to believe that dark leaf burley and common white burley are as genetically different as VA and Yenidje. I'd love to see manufacturers start clearly differentiating the burley varieties in their descriptions and labels, just like the growers and seed companies do.

 

[logs]

^this describes my feelings towards burley as well.
Semois, DFK, African/Indian Dark Air Cured... basically any dark leaf burley is great, but the white burley/casing sponge/filler/cardboard that is in many American and Danish blends gives me no flavor and destroys my throat and sinuses. Even makes my ears pop, sometimes for days. I try to avoid it, but it's the transfat of pipe tobacco, hiding in almost everything. I've come to believe that dark leaf burley and common white burley are as genetically different as VA and Yenidje. I'd love to see manufacturers start clearly differentiating the burley varieties in their descriptions and labels, just like the growers and seed companies do.

Yeah, there are certain burley blends that I have an allergic reaction to, sort of like hay fever. Irish Flake is one. Uhle's cube cut burley blends are hell on my sinuses. Haven't really identified what specifically causes it. Maybe a topping? Other burleys seem fine. I can smoke Pegasus or Morley's Best all day without problem

 

[kcghost]

Burley leaves a lot to be desired in my mind.

 

[cigrmaster]

I am not a fan of straight burley blends like Solani ABF or Wessex Burley Slices. I do enjoy many Virginia/burley/Kentucky blends like Solani 660 Silver Flake Orlik Dark Strong Kentucky, Mac Baren Old Dark Fired.

I also like a bunch of straight Virginia and Virginia/Perique blends. I cannot smoke red Virginia's as those burn my tongue off. I have found over 20 straight Virginia flakes and plugs to put in my cellar that have no reds in them.

 

[musicman]

I love 'em both, although I definitely tend to smoke more Virginias/VaPers, and my cellar reflects that. I probably smoke 50 percent Va/Va based, 25 percent Burley based, 20 percent Latakia based, and 5 percent Aros.

And interestingly, I've liked every Burley blend I've tried EXCEPT for Old Joe Kranz, which every one else seems to love. OJK tasted strongly musty to me and it left a strong ghost in my Burley pipe. I've got a couple oz left and I'll give it a try periodically, but so far it just doesn't play well with my taste buds.

 

[mso489]

My two great enlightening moments were with Virginia leaf when I found, first Orlick Golden Sliced, and then McClelland's blends (that's one), and slightly later when I discovered Cornell & Diehl and the artful way they were re-introducing burley as a blender's leaf, not just the old codger leaf of old. So many brands do impressive blends, but those really revised my sense of these tobaccos.

 

[ray47]

I enjoy both, but tend to smoke more burley blends. With that said, recently I've been diving more into the world of Virginias because I'm curious. Our colonial ancestors started out smoking Virginias and I'm curious about everything that involves that period of our history.

 

[mityahicks]

Team Burley, but love it all.

 

[rushx9]

I enjoy both, but tend to smoke more burley blends. With that said, recently I've been diving more into the world of Virginias because I'm curious. Our colonial ancestors started out smoking Virginias and I'm curious about everything that involves that period of our history.

I've read that the Virginia leaf commonly smoked in that time was dark and air or sun cured. Probably sharing as much genetics with dark Kentucky or cigar varieties as it does with flue cured VA.
African brown/bronze/dark VAs found in many Gawith and Rattray's blends are likely the most similar to those old Virginia varieties. Flue cured brightleaf VAs are a product of the cigarette industry.

 

[Misanthrope]

Burley’s a lot like beef brisket or lobster. Both used to be considered cheap and inferior food items, but people figured out how good they can be when prepared right.

I get on wonderfully with burley blends and also enjoy Virginias and Turkish, but have to be careful with Virginia blends because they’ll bite me if I don’t pay attention. I don’t mind that burley is kinda plain and boring sometimes, since I personally consider that an appealing feature. It’s the oatmeal of tobaccos—warm, filling, comforting, and you can always add stuff to it to jazz it up.