I am not a heavy pipe smoker…Just enjoy a one bowlful and and a drink in the evening before bedtime…I have used and enjoyed several different brands of pipe tobacco…I recently selected a pack of Velvet…I don’t think I have ever used it before…It was really smooth and enjoyable…Now I am hooked on this brand
Velvet tobacco
- Thread starter Texas1940
- Start date
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It's about the mildest tobacco I have smoked, but a good burning burley. If that's what you enjoy, stick with it.
Velvet has been around for well over 100 years, been the go to for many a pipe man. I smoke it occasionally but I’ve never been fond of the broad cut of it. I prefer a finer cut tobacco. It’s great find an OCT blend you really enjoy that you can smoke without killing the pocket book.
OTC’s are the truth. They’re the pipe tobacco equivalent of Wild Turkey. Always available. Always a pleasure. Smoke what you find enjoyable.
When I smoke velvet, I always imagine a box of drug store chocolate covered cherries, past their expiration date, stored in a dusty antique desk
I'm a rare few who doesn't care for Velvet. To me, smoking Velvet is the true definition of smoking hot air.
Finding a go-to that you enjoy is a win. Having several that you can count on is even better. One can do far worse than making friends with a long-standing OTC. Stock up and enjoy!
At least in theory Velvet might be exactly the same as it was a century ago.
Later, after the Velvet Joe ad campaign, the ads bragged about genuine maple sugar being used to sweeten Velvet.
I’ve smoked Velvet for fifty years now along with many other blends.
About thirty years ago I think Velvet underwent the worst quality decline of any OTC tobacco, but in the last ten years it’s as good as when I first smoked it fifty years ago.
It’s not only mild, it has a signature sweet taste only Velvet has.
Later, after the Velvet Joe ad campaign, the ads bragged about genuine maple sugar being used to sweeten Velvet.
I’ve smoked Velvet for fifty years now along with many other blends.
About thirty years ago I think Velvet underwent the worst quality decline of any OTC tobacco, but in the last ten years it’s as good as when I first smoked it fifty years ago.
It’s not only mild, it has a signature sweet taste only Velvet has.
Now let me start this off by saying I love codger blends. I have a tub of most of them on hand at any given time. Velvet is probably my favorite out of all of the STG smokes. I smoke mostly C&D Burleys and the Middleton Boys( Carter Hall & Prince Albert.) However, Velvet will always have a place in my bowl. I don't think I've gone a week since I began pipe smoking 6 years ago without at least one bowl of Velvet. It's an amazing smoke.
I smoked this a couple times recently — my good friend, who tries to buy local, which means buying the OTC stuff (we don’t have a good pipe shop around here), allowed me to dip into his pouch of Velvet. All I can say is that I was pleasantly surprise. Yes it was mellow, but also surprised me with having a subtle dark fired aroma to it in the bag. Would def smoke again.
That's one I've never tried. I'll add a pouch to my next tobacco order 'cuse you never know till you try it. I'm surprised no one mentioned blending it. 
Long Live Velvet ,
Some of you might find this interesting , it's quite thorough for being so short , amusing to say the least
Some of you might find this interesting , it's quite thorough for being so short , amusing to say the least
All of this Velvet attention had me revisit Velvet this morning. I knew I had a pouch somewhere and it was still moist, so it has a bit more humectant applied to it than Granger.
The best way, for me, is by direct comparison. So this morning it was Velvet vs Granger. (Granger is in the black sandblast)
They’re both of the same ilk. Both STG. Both Kentucky Burley. Both very mild in flavor and nicotine. Both are smooth and very easy going.
The Velvet has a bit more sweetness that hits the tongue at a different place than Granger. I get a white sugar sweetness. Its there, quite simple and enjoyable. Burns well. A simple, easy to enjoy , tasty smoke. I can see how any of the OTC’s could become one’s go-to.
With OTC’s, subtle difference makes all the difference. For me, I’ve just grown to love Granger. For my chemistry, it always delivers a taste I expect. But if only Velvet or only SWR or only Carter Hall etc etc existed…. I’d still enjoy
my pipes.
I enjoyed alternately puffing away between sips this morning. It’s the best way for me to taste the subtle differences. @Texas1940, I’m glad you found a tobacco that clicked.
The best way, for me, is by direct comparison. So this morning it was Velvet vs Granger. (Granger is in the black sandblast)
They’re both of the same ilk. Both STG. Both Kentucky Burley. Both very mild in flavor and nicotine. Both are smooth and very easy going.
The Velvet has a bit more sweetness that hits the tongue at a different place than Granger. I get a white sugar sweetness. Its there, quite simple and enjoyable. Burns well. A simple, easy to enjoy , tasty smoke. I can see how any of the OTC’s could become one’s go-to.
With OTC’s, subtle difference makes all the difference. For me, I’ve just grown to love Granger. For my chemistry, it always delivers a taste I expect. But if only Velvet or only SWR or only Carter Hall etc etc existed…. I’d still enjoy
my pipes.I enjoyed alternately puffing away between sips this morning. It’s the best way for me to taste the subtle differences. @Texas1940, I’m glad you found a tobacco that clicked.
I find Velvet the mildest of standard OTC/codger blends. Granger, SWR, and SWR Aromatic are a step up in flavor and strength, though still mild. SWR Aromatic is burley based, with Virginia as a condiment, flavored with three liqueurs, which is pretty uptown for a codger blend, and it remains tobacco forward, with the flavoring not overdone. All of these burn exceeding well, better than many premium blends, partly because of the uniformity of the cuts.
I highly recommend the video post by vosBghos, post #12, on the history of Velvet. The small Chicago blender was bought out by various larger outfits over the years, but is said to be back to its original formula and is as good as ever. During WWI it was adopted by the doughboys as a RYO cigarette tobacco as well as a pipe tobacco.
A friend gave me a tin that was his Father’s. Estimated to be 50 plus years old. Opened it up to very crispy dry tobacco
Up until I found the internet and pipe forums I'd not ever heard of much less seen an OTC Burley codger blend.
Since then I've tried Carter Hall, Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh.
All fine blends that I could smoke all day.
Then I bought some Granger from SunriseBoy.
Due to my appreciation of the previous Burley blends and the way @Grangerous really talks it up [best thing since sliced bread, right mate?] I was really looking forward to its arrival in the post.
When it did I eagerly packed an MM Country Gentleman. Lit her up and got puffing.
First impression was good. Another nice Burley codger blend. Maybe I should have bought more while I had the chance I was thinking [Not easy to get tobacco here at a reasonable price]
Then when I got halfway through the bowl, things changed and not for the better. The taste turned bitter.
The MM cob was chosen because it had just been cleaned a couple of bowls prior.
No tobacco goes to waste here. Usually when I've bought a tobacco that didn't suit my tastes I've been able to tweak it by adding a bit of this or that or mixing it with another blend.
The taste of the Granger at the halfway mark however, has me in fear that I could ruin good tobacco by adding even a smidgeon of the stuff.
Not that I'd ever bin tobacco or use it as compost.
Maybe there's a fellow Aussie who'd like to do a swap?
It's not as bad as I make out. I've got real crappy taste anyhow so don't take my comments seriously.
So who'd like to swap another OTC Burley for a couple of ounces of Granger?
Just ask Grangerous and he'll tell you it's good stuff. No really.
Since then I've tried Carter Hall, Prince Albert and Sir Walter Raleigh.
All fine blends that I could smoke all day.
Then I bought some Granger from SunriseBoy.
Due to my appreciation of the previous Burley blends and the way @Grangerous really talks it up [best thing since sliced bread, right mate?] I was really looking forward to its arrival in the post.
When it did I eagerly packed an MM Country Gentleman. Lit her up and got puffing.
First impression was good. Another nice Burley codger blend. Maybe I should have bought more while I had the chance I was thinking [Not easy to get tobacco here at a reasonable price]
Then when I got halfway through the bowl, things changed and not for the better. The taste turned bitter.
The MM cob was chosen because it had just been cleaned a couple of bowls prior.
No tobacco goes to waste here. Usually when I've bought a tobacco that didn't suit my tastes I've been able to tweak it by adding a bit of this or that or mixing it with another blend.
The taste of the Granger at the halfway mark however, has me in fear that I could ruin good tobacco by adding even a smidgeon of the stuff.
Not that I'd ever bin tobacco or use it as compost.
Maybe there's a fellow Aussie who'd like to do a swap?
It's not as bad as I make out. I've got real crappy taste anyhow so don't take my comments seriously.
So who'd like to swap another OTC Burley for a couple of ounces of Granger?
Just ask Grangerous and he'll tell you it's good stuff. No really.
Velvet is a blend I sometimes recommend to people who may be sensitive to burley, but want to try a burley-forward blend anyway. It's about as mild as it gets, is cheap, and not hard to find. It's not my cup of tea, because it is a bit lacking in punch for my tastes, but I can be a wonderful blend to just puff away on, especially in a cob. It's a good blend for newbies to cut their teeth on, too, because it smokes coolly and stays lit.
It's nice that you've found an 'all day' blend that suits your tastes.
The fact that it's an OTC blend is a bonus.
I'd really like to try Velvet and it would be nice to have another really mild blend for a morning smoke with my morning mugs of tea so I had the choice between a Burley blend and the really mild blend that I have now, MacBaren Vanilla Cream which is predominantly Virginia. [Since you enjoy mild blends I'd highly recommend you try MBVC. It's not at all moist and it's lightly topped so one can still taste the tobacco]
I've recently just ordered 1lb of BLWB [Burley Lite Without Bite] and 1lb of ERR [Edgeworth Ready Rubbed] neither of which I've previously tried, in the hope that at least one will fill that slot.
I find that mild blends smoked from time to time set off stronger blends. If you smoke nothing but strong blends, that gets to be the base line and that's all you can taste or enjoy. Whereas if you can smoke a really mild blend from time to time, enough that it doesn't taste like hot air, it evens up my taste so the strong blends come through in their complete glory when I do smoke them. All this is subjective, but it works for me.
So Velvet can be a good set-up for Bayou Night or Tuggle Hall.
So Velvet can be a good set-up for Bayou Night or Tuggle Hall.