I’ve noticed that we in the internet pipe tobacco community like our genres—one finds scores of threads comparing various blends in their respective genres: Pure VAs, Va/Pers, English blends, Balkan, Burleys, and so on. Yet I’ve discovered that what seems to be my favorite kind of leaf/blend has very little terminology associated with it.
The Imperial Virginia:
I’m stealing this term from the user “deathmetal” who used it a while back. This leaf is a Virginia, but doesn’t fit the general descriptions of VA leaf. It is grown mostly in Africa (I see Malawi mentioned some in descriptions) but I’ve also seen Indian-grown VA mentioned as well in blends that have these qualities. It is the central ingredient in quite a few blends produced in Great Britain and Europe, though I don't think I've seen it used by any American blenders.
Characteristics of the Leaf:
--Big nic-hit
--Robust, full, earthy flavor--almost cigar like at times
--Not nearly as sweet as most VA, but not as dry and nutty as Burley either
I first noticed when I smoked Royal Yacht, I thought—what sort of Virginia is this? I loved it. It wasn’t particularly sweet itself (although the topping was a bit), and was loaded with nicotine. I asked around, and some members mentioned it was African-grown VA.
I tried Gawith’s Maple twist. Again, I loved it. Not nutty like burley—it had a hint of sweetness—but this was the sweetness one finds in a strong cigar. Again, it turns out the leaf was African-grown VA.
I started to realize that there was a constant here--
1792 Flake, another of my favorites, seems to be composed of African-grown VA from my research.
Dark Flake is equal parts dark-fired Malawi leaf and air-cured Indian leaf. Again, rich flavor, lots of nicotine.
Dark Birdseye, Kendal Kentucky, Kendal Dark, all of the twists--it seems many of the G&H and SG offerings that I enjoy so much all contain this leaf in some proportion.
I think one main thing that keeps these from being so much a coherent genre is that some have unusual toppings (1792, Royal Yacht) in addition to the Gawith blends sometimes containing a whiff of Lakeland in them. This can be a turnoff for some, thought it isn’t for me. Although some of these have a Burley or Kentucky component, the base VA leaf is really what wins me over.
Is anyone else a fan? Any other blends you’d like to mention that are in this basic genre? Any corrections to some of the things I’ve stated above?
The Imperial Virginia:
I’m stealing this term from the user “deathmetal” who used it a while back. This leaf is a Virginia, but doesn’t fit the general descriptions of VA leaf. It is grown mostly in Africa (I see Malawi mentioned some in descriptions) but I’ve also seen Indian-grown VA mentioned as well in blends that have these qualities. It is the central ingredient in quite a few blends produced in Great Britain and Europe, though I don't think I've seen it used by any American blenders.
Characteristics of the Leaf:
--Big nic-hit
--Robust, full, earthy flavor--almost cigar like at times
--Not nearly as sweet as most VA, but not as dry and nutty as Burley either
I first noticed when I smoked Royal Yacht, I thought—what sort of Virginia is this? I loved it. It wasn’t particularly sweet itself (although the topping was a bit), and was loaded with nicotine. I asked around, and some members mentioned it was African-grown VA.
I tried Gawith’s Maple twist. Again, I loved it. Not nutty like burley—it had a hint of sweetness—but this was the sweetness one finds in a strong cigar. Again, it turns out the leaf was African-grown VA.
I started to realize that there was a constant here--
1792 Flake, another of my favorites, seems to be composed of African-grown VA from my research.
Dark Flake is equal parts dark-fired Malawi leaf and air-cured Indian leaf. Again, rich flavor, lots of nicotine.
Dark Birdseye, Kendal Kentucky, Kendal Dark, all of the twists--it seems many of the G&H and SG offerings that I enjoy so much all contain this leaf in some proportion.
I think one main thing that keeps these from being so much a coherent genre is that some have unusual toppings (1792, Royal Yacht) in addition to the Gawith blends sometimes containing a whiff of Lakeland in them. This can be a turnoff for some, thought it isn’t for me. Although some of these have a Burley or Kentucky component, the base VA leaf is really what wins me over.
Is anyone else a fan? Any other blends you’d like to mention that are in this basic genre? Any corrections to some of the things I’ve stated above?