Very limited pipe tobacco in Asia

[adrianslomo]

Gentlemen,
I have just taken up pipe smoking very recently and have only smoked around 5 times. I bought a set of 5 corncob pipes and I haven't even smoked all of them. However, I plan to purchase a briar or rosewood pipe very soon. As for tobacco, I have only tried one, MacBarren Orange and Honey.
Here is my predicament: Pipe tobacco in the Philippines is very, very limited.
There are only two outlet chains that sell pipe tobacco, and here are the ONLY available items: Captain Black (Cherry, Original), MacBarren (Original, Orange and Honey, Vanilla, Grape), and Half and Half. That's it!
I know there are a lot of very good choices in the US and overseas, but, given that I am inexperienced in this, I have no idea what to prioritize to build up on my supply.
Please suggest tobaccos that should appeal to a noob such as myself. I can then try to establish a connection in the US to have them shipped to me 2 or 3 at a time. I might need to spend for shipping so I would need to take it slow due to budget constraints.
Given the limitations here, I still do enjoy the hobby. Hoping for your responses that should educate me further.

 

[briarbuck]

There are a couple of folks in your area that post here occasionally. Hope they can chime in. Welcome, this is a great place for information.

 

[adrianslomo]

Thank you! Hope they can hook me up.

 

[mso489]

Do I understand that you are stuck with the blends you mention and cannot order online? Or if you order online, the customs makes it prohibitively expensive? It's an interesting predicament, but I'm not quite sure what your access and limitations are. Members have plenty of blends to recommend, but can you get them?

 

[cigrmaster]

Welcome to the site. If you can get your packages past customs then I would recommend the following online stores.
4noggins.com

tobaccopipes.com

smokingpipes.com
I hope you can do business with these folks. As far as blends to try here are a few that are readily available.

Capstan Blue Flake

Escudo

Mac Baren Old Dark Fired

Savinelli Doblone d'Oro

You will need to read up on how to smoke flakes. It is worth it.

 

[adrianslomo]

mso489 - yes, I believe I can order online. I will just need to know what to get and do research on which sites can be the most cost-effective. The local online stores don't seem to have pipe tobacco.
Harris - thank you for your suggestions! I will definitely look those up. Smoking flakes sounds interesting, I may give it a try.

 

[cigrmaster]

adrian, you are welcome. Good luck in your journey. I have been at this for over 20 years and I still learn new stuff.

 

[redglow]

Welcome aboard! I like the flake tobacco the best. But, there are so many good mixtures out there to discover. I hope you can get some shipped in there!

 

[mikethompson]

Welcome! Online ordering has opened up many new possibilities for Canadian pipe smokers as well. Good luck on the journey!

 

[judcole]

MacBaren Original Choice and Vanilla are decent representations. I'm surprised that MacBaren Mixture (Scottish Blend) is not available.

I would suggest that your biggest problem is determining who is going to ship to the Philippines, and then address the blend issue. You can do significantly worse then exploring the offerings of MacBaren, which are widely distributed. Good luck!

 

[foursidedtriangle]

Ok you can look up tobaccoreviews.com to see what you like then try to find it online. Each blend is a recipe from one or more components of virginia, burley, latakia, orientals, perique, cavendish. You will find which components you like by trying them.

 

[mso489]

Not everyone would agree, but I find window shopping the tobacco pages of online retailers useful to learn about various genres, constituent tobaccos in blends, condiment tobaccos, and cuts (loose, flake, coin, plug, rope, shag). I'd sample small quantities -- one small tin, one ounce bulk, a pouch -- and keep quantities limited even when you love something. Your tastes will change. Take your time. Sample widely single-leaf Virgnia, Va Perique, English, Balkan, dark-fired and dark-fired blends, burley blends (Cornell & Diehl does well with burleys), and so on. Jar blends to keep them fresh, and save the jars of what you don't like since it may improve with age or your tastes may change. This is somewhat my usual pitch, and I apologize for repeating myself from time to time, but I hope it is saving others money and time.

 

[buster]

If you have family in the US who could buy and ship to you it might get through customs easier? I use to work for a wine club in California. One customer would buy wine then when he visited on business I would package it for him and he would take it to ship himself and say it was olive oil to avoid being noticed. If the shipping label said WINE CLUB on it it would get sent back. He lived in a state with very strict laws regarding alcohol. He had very good taste in French and Italian wine.

 

[adrianslomo]

Wow! I'm really delighted with all your replies!
I found another brand they sell locally here, Borkum Riff. That's my third stock and I'm beginning to discern some differences: which one is sweet, which one smokes hot, which one burns completely, etc. Maybe I'll find a deeper appreciation when I've tried a few more.
I am exploring online options, including a local FB seller whose brands I don't recognize at the moment. I do have a family in the states but they only come home once a year. I'll investigate our customs laws regarding tobacco. Our president just recently signed a law prohibiting smoking nationwide. We'll see how that goes.
I really appreciate all the advice I'm getting! Keep em coming. I'm so thankful I've found this site.

 

[mso489]

I like Borkum Riff Bourbon a little better than other BR's, if that's available, though you might prefer another BR blend. You might try prompting pipe tobacco retailers to widen their selection a little, and give them a suggestion or two. Probably suggest readily available, widely distributed over-the-counter blends, so the retailer can find and get them, if he/she's interested.

 

[buster]

You could buy bulk tobacco and have it shipped to your family state side. Then when they visit once a year they could put it in their checked bags. Delayed gratification but it would avoid double shipping costs. Pipes and cigars has a sale at the moment on Lanes bulk. One pound bags are $27.50 and ya get a $5 gift card for your next order. I had a $10 gift card from a previous order so it made my order very affordable. I like 1Q and RLP6 others here might have recommendations on Lanes blends.

 

[foursidedtriangle]

BR cherry cavendish is not bad, online there are more options of course.