Tobacco List

[papatoad]

Is there anything remotely like a "must have" list?

Including aros, English etc? If this has been posted and I missed it,

Pardons please.

 

[hawk60ce]

for aros, boswells christmas cookie.

 

[cigrmaster]

Here is my list that I have in my rotation, they are all must haves to me. The TR after a name means ready to smoke right out of the tin on most occasions.
Virginia Flakes:

Fribourg&Treyer Cut Virginia Plug and Vintage-TR

Wessex Campaign Brigade Dark Flake, Brown Virginia Flake , Gold Virginia Flake ( brown and gold TR)

Samuel Gawith Best Brown Flake and Full Virginia Flake

Hamborger Veermaster TR

Dunhill Flake TR

Astley’s no. 44 Dark Flake TR

Solani Silver Flake TR

John Aylesbury Luxury Flake TR
Virginia/Perique Flakes

Escudo

Solani 633 TR

Samuel Gawith St James Flake

Wessex Brigade Sovereign Curly Cut TR
For aromatics I smoke Boswell Christmas Cookie, Berry Cobbler, Pennsylvania Dutch Treat and Rasberry Cream.

 

[lordnoble]

The same can be said for any reviews you read. Case in point... When I started a couple years ago, I read tons of reviews on tobaccoreviews.com and bought Peterson Old Dublin based on the glowing reviews. When I smoked it, it was the worst tobacco I had smoked. I kept the tin, didn't smoke it for a over a year and when I finally did, it was wonderful. No, the tobacco hadn't mellowed in that amount of time. I had just grown as a pipe smoker and found what made that blend so good. So even looking at reviews won't give you the answers you're looking for until you've found a few blends that "do it" for you. Then when you find one that people are saying is similar, you can look into it.
This said, I have found Villiger Mid Day to be and excellent aromatic, as is Lane 1-Q. For Virgina/Perique blends that are currently available, Escudo Navy De Luxe is great as is Peter Stokkenye Luxury Bullseye Flake. For Latakia blends, Newminster Luxus is a light "English" whereas Hearth & Home Blackhouse is fantastic for the heavier Lat blends. Virginias are tough because the two I would recommend (Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake and Dan Tobacco Hamborger Veermaster) are hard to come by. Burley blends are still a mystery to me, so I can't comment on them.
Hope this helps!
-Jason

 

[daytonsean]

Luxury Tobacco Reviews
This is a neat little site that not only does good reviews, but gives you a break down of what tobacco's are in the blend that you're smoking. And take rothnh's advice, grab up a general sampler of something. You might find out that you only enjoy a smoke that everyone hates. Or the opposite; you might hate the things that everyone else suggests. Trying them out is the fun part.

 

[papatoad]

... so what I'm hearing is spend money? LOL!

Sheesh, Ask a simple question.

I'll go with buying some samples. Who's the easiest to deal with?

 

[daytonsean]

Do you have a local shop?

 

[papatoad]

Yup sure do...a couple actually.

 

[gwynclan]

When you get the rep here, sign up for the box pass.

 

[judcole]

Welcome to the forum.
Rothnh and lordnoble are both correct. Read their posts carefully, especially lord's comment about Old Dublin.
Next, if you have a local shop where they actually know something about pipe tobacco,they can be an invaluable resource.
And, since you asked, I'll tell you what my gotta have's are.
Latakia based blends:

Peterson Old Dublin

MacBaren H&H Vintage Syrian

McCranie's Murdock's Pipe

SG Balkan Flake

Hearth & Home Larry's Blend
Virginias:

SG Best Brown Flake

McCranie's Red Ribbon

Benjamin Hartwell Signature
Aros: Don't smoke 'em
Burleys: I am just starting to explore burleys. Hearth & Home Beverwyck has made the list.
Happy smoking. And YMMV.

 

[undecagon]

Actually....there IS an all-in-one place must have list! You can find it here!
::snicker snicker::
:wink:

 

[papatoad]

Ha ha ha.... very funny. Guess I'll need a second job undecagon.
Thanks for all the tips. I'll try some sample packs and see what I can learn.
THIS IS GONNA GET 'SPENSIVE!

 

[buster]

Well Papa, what are you interested in? You can go to your local shop and sniff a few of the bulk jars. Bring an empty pipe and ask if you can sample the most interesting one. Then buy a sample or three to bring home. An ounce sample will only run you a few bucks. Some shops like my local shop even have tins you can sample from.

 

[nsfisher]

My stash and still growing
Penzance

Stonehaven

Margate

Walnut

Kendals Kentucky

Drum

1-Q

MacBaren's Mixture

Savinelli English Mixture

Latikia Flake #9 Brebbria

Half & Half

Old Dublin

Sillem's European Blend

MacBarren's 7 Seas Royal

MacBarren's Highland Blend

Frog Morton

Frog Morton on the Town

Lane's BCA

Ratray's Hal O The Wind

Five Brothers

1792 Flake

Carter Hall

No Bite Delite

Dark Birdseye

 

[matchstickman]

Get one of everything that ever existed anywhere ever...period.
Seriously, like others have said, your tastes are going to differ from what someone else on here may think, so its a good idea to just go slow and grab a few blends at a time. It might be a good idea to get a tobacco from each "category", such as Virgias, Englishes, Aromatics, Burleys, etc.

 

[mrenglish]

Just remember, unless you really hate the blend you try, keep it for later. As your tastes change, you may find yourself liking a blend you initially did not enjoy.

 

[papatoad]

Wow... thanks everyone! Anyone that is easy to work with for sample packs other than pipeinhand? That guy and his folks ROCK!

 

[sparroa]

SmokingPipes sells 1 oz bulks, pipes&cigars apparently does good samplers, 4noggins sells a fixed sampler pack of their house blends - there are a lot of options out there.
I personally find experimenting with tins works best but these other routes are cheaper.

 

[nsfisher]

Try the Hearth & Home Sampler Pack from Pipes&Cigars. Good deal and a great way to try out 6 new blends at a good price

 

[philip]

like others have said, your tastes are going to differ from what someone else on here may think...

Also, in six months your tastes will differ from what they are now. So if you try a blend you don't care for much, put it away for a few months and try it again. You might be surprised.
Experimenting is a large part of the fun.