What Blends to Bring Home from USA?

[Distant Roads]

Hello everyone! I am a newbie in pipe smoking. I've smoked a few different blends so far. I dedicate each of my pipes to each type of blend: English, Burley, Virginias, Aromatic blends.

I will visit the USA in a month. I have the opportunity to buy some "American" blends that are not available (or not allowed to order) in Europe. Very exciting!

Please help me decide. What would be your advice for American blends:

1. „The most legendary/the most traditional“ American blend

2. „really interesting“ American blend

3. „most common“ American blend

4. „Classic/typical/best“ American English blend

5. „Classic/typical/best“ American Aromatic

6. „Classic/typical/best“ American Virginia-based blend

7. „Classic/typical/best“ American Burley and other

Anything else I should bring home?

Thanks in advance!

 

[BayouGhost]

Assuming we are ruling out Danish/German/UK and other European blends:

1. Carter Hall gets a lot of talk, but I have yet to try it.

2. Ken Byron Ventures Myrkwood with its added rustica element or maybe something with dark fired like C&D Jackknife plug.

3. GL Pease Union Square. Repeated later.

4. LJ Peretti Tashkent. Drucquer and Sons Blairgowrie. GLP Sparkplug.

5. I don't smoke aromatics so no answer here, but maybe Boswell's Northwoods qualifies since it may have an aromatic topping. I may be incorrect on this.

6. GL Pease Union Square, C&D Opening Night, Ken Byron Ventures: VanGogh

7. Old Joe Krantz and Pegasus by C&D. 8 State Burley if you can find it.

8. Added category. Virginia-Perique. C&D Bayou Morning ribbon or flake.

I could probably re-make this list 5 times with all different choices, but this was a quick try. Good luck.

 

[Sig]

Check out Cornell & Dhiel and GL Pease while you're here. I'm pretty sure you cannot get them in Europe.
Also Carter Hall, Prince Albert, Half & Half, Sir Walter Raleigh and Five Brothers for American style "over the counter" blends.
For American OTC aromatics, you can try Captain Black.....if you choose. The Captain Black seems to be the nostalgic smell most non smokers refer to as "what grandpa used to smoke". The typical pipe aroma.
Read through the Cornell &Dhiel blend descriptions on their website and choose what sounds good.
It's like $3 an ounce, so you can try a bunch.
GL Pease has a bunch of European inspired blends with an American twist. I talk to a lot of Europeans who find his take on European blends very interesting. His blends are made by Cornell & Dhiel too.

 

[bullet08]

For English blend, pick one of GLP blends.

For the rest, a tub of Carter Hall. And a pack of Velvet as a joke.

 

[OzPiper]

Hello everyone! I am a newbie in pipe smoking. I've smoked a few different blends so far. I dedicate each of my pipes to each type of blend: English, Burley, Virginias, Aromatic blends.

I will visit the USA in a month. I have the opportunity to buy some "American" blends that are not available (or not allowed to order) in Europe. Very exciting!

Please help me decide. What would be your advice for American blends:

1. „The most legendary/the most traditional“ American blend

2. „really interesting“ American blend

3. „most common“ American blend

4. „Classic/typical/best“ American English blend

5. „Classic/typical/best“ American Aromatic

6. „Classic/typical/best“ American Virginia-based blend

7. „Classic/typical/best“ American Burley and other

Anything else I should bring home?

Thanks in advance!

Do a search on SmokingPipes
They are the biggest and best retailer and have data on ALL their sales.
Go to ”search” and input “Best Burley“ or “Best American” or “Best VaPer” etc.
Look for makes you CANNOT buy in Lithuania or the EU
Happy browsing

Just be aware that the blend with the most votes and praise MAY NOT accord with YOUR tastes.
Early in my pipe journey I bought a couple of very highly rated blends and absolutely HATED them - as in couldn’t finish a bowl

Also look up how much tobacco you can bring home with you before you have to pay taxes on your purchase.
I live in Australia where we are only allowed to bring in 50gm/2oz before the exorbitant Oz tobacco excise (AUD $1.90 per gram) kicks in

 

[makhorkasmoker]

I’d definitely bring some crooner. It has deer tongue—a native herb of the American South—and burley. While the blend itself may not be super old, it’s one of the few commercial remnants of a deep tradition

 

[Pooh-Bah]

I’d definitely bring some crooner. It has deer tongue—a native herb of the American South—and burley. While the blend itself may not be super old, it’s one of the few commercial remnants of a deep tradition

Seconding an endorsement of Crooner - deertongue grass is a classic additive that used to be in (for example) Half&Half, and which has been largely neglected recently.

So far as aromatics go... I don't know if Three Star Blue or Mixture 79 are available in the Old World, but they'd qualify as classics.
Hugh Hefner of Playboy supposedly favored Mixture 79, which could be a fun anecdote to share with any friends or relatives who share your smoking space.

 

[JKOPP4673]

I am a huge aromatic smoker and if you are looking to take back something different that you will not find away where else that the USA...Check out 1) JM. Boswell - Christmas Cookie, Pa Dutch Treat, and No Bite Delight.
2) Country Squire..Tombigbee, RiverBoat Queen, and Cherokee 3) Sutliff Bulk blends Queen Anne's Revenge, Molto Dulce, Panna Cotta, Holiday Mix, and Creme Burlee...I have all of these in my collection right and out of the ones mentioned here....Tombigbee and Molto Dulce are the two I recommend the most....

Keep in mind shipping from vendor to your location ...Country Squire is typically pretty good to me... maybe 5 -7 days....via Postal Service ......Might be able to get Molto Dulce form them as well...otherwise Smokingpipes.com will have it....

Hope this helps.

 

[JKOPP4673]

Also.. MIlan tobacco also has some fantastic traditional Colonial blends in there selections as well... Ther eis Also some Sleepy Hollow out of Strauss.. you might get lucky and be able to score that..It only available once a year Sept - Oct 31st......SH is also a FANTASTIC Aromatic.....

 

[Sigmund]

Make sure to double and tripple check how much tobacco is permitted. You dont want trouble with customs. Count your grams. A 2 oz tin is 57 grams, not 50.

Definitely buy the best grades of tobacco you can get. Classic or not, dont drag home junk. I think the max is 250 grams which isnt a lot (8.8 ounces). If you are traveling with another non smoking adult they can carry in the same for you.

You MIGHT???? be able to carry in more IF you pay EU taxes on them. However, Ive no experience with that and given the level of training exhibited by most folks working in airports Id be concerned. The literature suggests problems if the custom agent decides to presume you are bring it in for resale.

Then the last possibility is that the customs folks might just waive you through with no questions. At that point you will wish you brought a suitcase full!

There are a lot of gret blends here in the EU and it take some effort to get it but its easier to get your hands on them without crossing customs borders. Anyway best of luck and I hope you love what you bring home. Travel safe!

Rules for carrying alcohol and tobacco in the EU and leaving and entering the EU - Your Europe

Travelling in the EU with; wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks, cigars, cigarettes and other tobacco products. Leaving and entering the EU with alcohol and tobacco.

europa.eu

 

[Distant Roads]

Make sure to double and tripple check how much tobacco is permitted. You dont want trouble with customs. Count your grams. A 2 oz tin is 57 grams, not 50.

Definitely buy the best grades of tobacco you can get. Classic or not, dont drag home junk. I think the max is 250 grams which isnt a lot (8.8 ounces). If you are traveling with another non smoking adult they can carry in the same for you.

You MIGHT???? be able to carry in more IF you pay EU taxes on them. However, Ive no experience with that and given the level of training exhibited by most folks working in airports Id be concerned. The literature suggests problems if the custom agent decides to presume you are bring it in for resale.

Then the last possibility is that the customs folks might just waive you through with no questions. At that point you will wish you brought a suitcase full!

There are a lot of gret blends here in the EU and it take some effort to get it but its easier to get your hands on them without crossing customs borders. Anyway best of luck and I hope you love what you bring home. Travel safe!

Rules for carrying alcohol and tobacco in the EU and leaving and entering the EU - Your Europe

Travelling in the EU with; wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks, cigars, cigarettes and other tobacco products. Leaving and entering the EU with alcohol and tobacco.

europa.eu

Thanks a lot. I didn't think about that, I will look into the situation more closely and stay on the safe side.

 

[BingBong]

Haunted Bookshop and Haddo's Delight are two I'd bring back, chiefly because they come up quite often in discussion - maybe Black Frigate (?) as well.

 

[The Novice Piper]

I may be stating the obvious here, but make sure you have your tobacco source determined before you arrive.

Just because you're in the States and can legally purchase something doesn't mean it will be available on the shelf. Most brick and mortar stores I've been to have a very limited selection of commercial blends, unless you're in a renowned pipe specialty shop. Those are few and far between here.

I would suggest having someone help you order what you want online and have it delivered to their house where you can pick it up. Most tobacco deliveries within the U.S. will take about five days.

 

[Distant Roads]

I may be stating the obvious here, but make sure you have your tobacco source determined before you arrive.

Just because you're in the States and can legally purchase something doesn't mean it will be available on the shelf. Most brick and mortar stores I've been to have a very limited selection of commercial blends, unless you're in a renowned pipe specialty shop. Those are few and far between here.

I would suggest having someone help you order what you want online and have it delivered to their house where you can pick it up. Most tobacco deliveries within the U.S. will take about five days.

Thank you, this is exactly what I am going to do! I will order the blends online to US address and then pick them up when I am visiting.

 

[Grangerous]

Are you visiting friends or family In the US? If so, you can have them place your order of multiple 1-2 Ounce Samples from an online vendor like Smoking Pipes and have it waiting for you.

That way, if one or two of those blends is to your liking, you’ll have time to order greater amounts of those during your month stay.

Orders usually arrive within a week.

 

[Distant Roads]

By the way, does anyone know if there are pipe tobaccos to buy in Chucago O'Hare Airport?

Are you visiting friends or family In the US? If so, you can have them place your order of multiple 1-2 Ounce Samples from an online vendor like Smoking Pipes and have it waiting for you.

That way, if one or two of those blends is to your liking, you’ll have time to order greater amounts of those during your month stay.

Orders usually arrive within a week.

Thanks for the great advise!

 

[Grangerous]

By the way, does anyone know if there are pipe tobaccos to buy in Chucago O'Hare Airport?

Thanks for the great advise!

I think you will find very little Tobacco. The US is very much anti smoking. It will vary State by State, but where I live, the local drug stores require your drivers license to purchase cigars. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Mail Order is your best bet during your stay. But if you find a drug store offering pipe tobacco, it will likely be Captain Black Variants or Carter Hall and maybe Half n Half.

The premium blending houses and blends you’ve read about are easily obtainable by mail order and are reasonably priced.

A major city like Chicago will likely have quality cigar shops, which may carry a better assortment of pipes and tobacco, but I wouldn’t expect much of the latter.

Cigars are quite popular today. Pipes are rarely seen.

Good luck and much fun on your visit.

 

[ThomasS]

By the way, does anyone know if there are pipe tobaccos to buy in Chucago O'Hare Airport?

Thanks for the great advise!

I didn't see anything on Friday (9/13)

And considering the whole place is adamantly non-smoking "including vapes and smokeless tobacco" as they repeat endlessly, along with reminders to never let strangers handle your luggage and a really cheesy welcome from the Chicago mayor... I don't expect there will ever be again.

There might, possibly, be something in the Duty-Free store (I basically never qualify to go in there, so I'm not sure)

 

[Auxsender]

By the way, does anyone know if there are pipe tobaccos to buy in Chucago O'Hare Airport?

Thanks for the great advise!

Definitely not.

Stick to well known brick and mortar stores and online retailers.
Also, someone previously mentioned buying bulk. I suspect you might have a problem bringing untinned tobacco back home but I might be wrong.

 

[Roach1]

If your in Chicago visit Iwan Ries.