What Is Your Favorite English or Balkan Blend Right Now?

[cosmicfolklore]

Wait, I was following you Hawky, having never tried Black Frigate, I thought I understood why you say it's not an English, nor a Balkan. But, to me Billy Budd is a straight up English, one of my favorites. I like it better than Nightcap. So now, I am not sure I am following the line of thought. Latakia means English, Orientals (with or without latakia) means Balkans. Billy Budd is packed out with latakia. So, I am not sure I understand now.

 

[hawky454]

I would say that Billy Budd is closer to an English than BF because it does have a good presence of Latakia but to get technical, a real English blend traditionally doesn’t contain Cigar Leaf or Burley in it which Billy Budd has a strong presence of Cigar Leaf. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get into this old debate. All that really matters is that a blend tastes great and I really like both Billy Budd and Black Frigate I just don’t think they fit in the English category... in the end who cares?? Maybe the batch of BF that I had was different or maybe it’s just my palate but I’ll be damn if I can taste any Latakia in it. To me it would be like calling Edward G. Robins Pipe Blend an English because it has a trace amount of Lat in it. I also thought there was always an inside joke when it came to C&D’s small batch Straight Up English when in fact it has Burley in it which would make it not a straight up English but rather an American hybrid of sorts. Maybe I was the only one laughing??

 

[hawky454]

Have any of y’all tried Temple Bar? I think it tastes a lot like Black Frigate.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

We can just call them cross-overs and be done with it, ha ha. That's how I see EGR, the froggy blends, and those Lane Ltd aromatic Englishes. I'm not sure if cigar blends are truly in a category of their own, as a few very good VaPers contain cigar leaf to add mouth-feel to the blends, as in Virginia Spice. Spectre and Billy Budd are just Englishes, IMO. But, for argument's sake, we can just throw them in the cross-over section as well. Multi-purpose tobaccos. ::

 

[hawky454]

I’ll agree with ya! Let’s shake on it!
Do you have any plans to try Black Frigate in the future? I would like to hear your thoughts on it. I don’t have any popped tins at the moment otherwise I’d send some your way. It really is a nice, unique blend.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I may try it this winter. I tend to avoid latakia in the summer. It usually gets cold enough for me to smoke latakia around mid-December. If I have to start wearing socks, then it's latakia time, ha ha.

It's still mid 80's here.

 

[hawky454]

I may try it this winter. I tend to avoid latakia in the summer. It usually gets cold enough for me to smoke latakia around mid-December. If I have to start wearing socks, then it's latakia time, ha ha.

It's still mid 80's here.

You bring up my point. I am just like you in that I don't like to smoke Lat blends in the summer time, it just doesn't mix well. It's like working construction in the dead heat of summer and having a scorching cup of hot coffee to quench your thirst... just doesn't appeal to me.
BUT...
Black Frigate's Lat content is so minuscule I can't even tell it's there. It's a very good summer smoke in my opinion. The Orientals on the other hand are very noticeable and work very well with the hearty rum topping. I held off opening my tin of Black Frigate in the summer time for the same reason and waited till the cooler weather hit but it turned out to be unnecessary, I actually prefer this one in the summer time.

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

I've never tried Black Frigate, so I can't comment on that but Hawky does have a point. Some blends are listed in a category; however, they don't exactly fit that category. If you look at Samuel Gawith's Perfection blend, it's listed as an aromatic. In my opinion its a nice English blend as I can't detect the vanilla top note that's supposedly added to it. To me it's similar to Skiff Mixture and nowhere near an aromatic. At least I wouldn't call it an aromatic.

 

[cossackjack]

Under-the-radar:

Brebbia Balkan

Ashton's Artisan Blend

 

[unkleyoda]

I've always viewed Black Frigate an aromatic. Not in the same vein as 1-Q, but it still has a topping that is obviously not tobacco flavoring.
I've heard blends like Black Frigate, Bothy Flake, The Solent Mixture, PS Luxury Flake, et cetera, referred to as 'English aromatics'.
Either way, to each-their-own Embers. I know you've been fighting anyone that calls BLack Frigate an aromatic. I'm not sure why. I'll always refer to it as an aro.
Oh, the original topic:
965

London Mixture

Nightcap

PS Proper English

Squadron Leader

PS Oriental Supreme

Old Dublin

 

[txpiper07]

Nightcap and My Mixture 965. I also really like Dunhill Durbar coming in at a solid 3rd place. I’ve had some of the SPC English blends and wasn’t thrilled, looking forward to trying the English blends from Country Squire.

 

[hawky454]

UnkleYoda thank you man, I don’t feel like I’m taking crazy pills anymore.
MetalHeadCigarGuy I totally agree with you, Perfection should def be classified as an English (topping is just a whisper of vanilla), I don’t think true aromatic smokers would be happy with this one.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

No Hawky, you're not crazy,... well, like I am a good judge of crazy? ha ha. But, anyways yea, there are blends that don't fit their categories, and where some may have one foot in one category and for others vica versa. Some will say that Orlik's Golden Sliced is a VaPer, while technically they are, but probably one in a hundred would ever say they could taste it. Wallace Flake and University Flakes seem to be only flavored with tobacco flavors.

It may be that the rum flavoring is what has been keeping me away from Black Frigate. I can handle some liquor toppings, but others just make me nauseous. I also avoid things that have whisky added.



Anyways, did I mention that Ashbury is my favorite Balkan?

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

. I know you've been fighting anyone that calls BLack Frigate an aromatic. I'm not sure why. I'll always refer to it as an aro.

I don't think he's necessarily fighting anyone that's calling it an aromatic. It's just that by today's standards, it's really not an aromatic. Sure it has rum... but if that alone makes it an aromatic, then McClelland Navy Cavendish should be considered an aromatic, when it's labeled as a Virginia. Personally, though, I would consider Black Frigate more of a Balkan than an English as it's more oriental forward with the latakia kind of hiding in the background. It is, I guess, one of those blends that can flirt with a number of categorizations, not necessarily to be locked down as either.
The more I sit here typing all this out, the more I'm confusing myself... so I will give it my own categorization... Super Awesome Piratey Rum Soaked Semi-Smokey Awesomesauce :mrgreen:

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Ahhh, but a cavendish is not flavored with a topping, but is flavored in the cavendish process. Technically, in industry terms, anything that has a topping (which is flavored later in the process) is an aromatic, even if it undetectable (for some dumb reason) and even if it is rum. LTF, which is a moderately strong aromatic tasting flake, is not an aromatic, because of the same reason, it was flavored early on in the Cavendish process. These are just industry terms.
We, as the consumers are free to bash each other over the heads and call them whatever we want, as the term aromatic has very little to do with how it tastes or what the smoker thinks. Capiche? ::

 

[cosmicfolklore]

When this comes up, someone usually wakes up Russ and trots him over hear to say this same thing, so I just saved him some trouble, but it has been said many times on the forum. ::

 

[Chasing Embers]

Did Russ write this?
https://www.pipesandcigars.com/faq/a-little-bit-about-aromatic-blends-aromatics-101/1818143/

 

[cosmicfolklore]

I have no idea, but it seems to be more about what the topping (top dressing) is made of, which he mentions is usually an alcohol.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

So... I guess some numbnuts is going to go wake the man up and march him out here... Ha ha. Hey, lets call in a CEO!

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Don't stop now! I am just few more posts away from 13,000. ::