Virginias With Both Bright & Dark Notes

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Skippy B. Coyote

Can't Leave
Jun 19, 2023
451
5,618
St. Paul, MN
Now that spring is starting to sproing, or however that goes, I've been finding myself nudging away from my fall and winter burleys and trying out some straight Virginias and Virginia/Perique blends to see if I can find some I really like. Some like Orlik Golden Sliced and Peter Stokkebye PS400 Luxury Navy Flake have really bright and grassy profiles with notes of hay, citrus, green tea, and occasionally honey. Others like Peterson Elizabethan Mixture are very dark and bready tasting, and Capstan Blue has a distinctly vegetal taste that's like dragging your tongue through a vegetable garden.

What I'm really looking for though is a Virginia that brings all of those flavor elements together into one. Something with those bright grassy hay, tea, and citrus notes, but that also contains dark bready and vegetal notes. A "full spectrum Virginia" if you will. To my surprise I did actually find one that fits the bill, which is Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia, but it made me curious if there might be some other blends worth trying that fit the flavor profile I'm looking for! The HH Pure Virginia is great and I could probably be totally satisfied Virginia wise just smoking that, though it never hurts to have more to have more options and I like trying new blends.

So, any recommendations? puffy
 
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Skippy B. Coyote

Can't Leave
Jun 19, 2023
451
5,618
St. Paul, MN
Yorktown by C&D is one that immediately comes to mind
If you like HH Pure Virginia, I would suggest Union Square as a companion for sure worth trying.

Thanks for the recommendations guys! I had been pondering trying out Yorktown, Union Square, and Peterson Flake next and it sounds like at least 2 of the 3 should be on the right track for what I'm looking for! puffy
 
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Skippy B. Coyote

Can't Leave
Jun 19, 2023
451
5,618
St. Paul, MN
Order placed! I ended up picking up tins of C&D Yorktown and GLP Union Square, as well as a tin of Peterson Flake since it's I know it's a really well renowned pure Virginia blend and I've been meaning to try it (plus it's a heck of a lot easier to come by than Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake). While I was at it I decided I could probably use to have a dedicated small pipe for Virginias, since I already have small pipes dedicated to Burleys, English blends, Lakelands, and aromatics... and it's hard to say "No" when there's a free tin of Cornell & Diehl involved. 😅

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