Hi everyone I am a new pipe smoker, currently a cigar smoker. I would like to start smoking a pipe and have bought a few things to get started. My main question right now is what kind of tobacco should I be looking at. Currently I enjoy strong full flavor Dominican cigars. I like the full flavor and full body tobaccos. I enjoy complex flavors building throughout the smoking experience. What kind of blends should I look to start with to smoke a pipe? I've tried the otc aromatic blends and none of them left me wanting more. Should I look into some English blends maybe?
What kind of tobacco?
- Thread starter PeteyPiper
- Start date
It’s all gonna be very subjective. If you like strong and full body tobaccos, try HH bold Kentucky by MacBaren. English blends might not be a bad option either.
I'd suggest C&D burly flakes. GlPease Key Largo and certainly an English blend. Though to be totally frank a lot of the complexity shows up with technique. All of the ones I have suggested though are tobacco forward and somewhat hearty but not hammer to the head hearty blends which are more forgiving of technique then average blends. Oh and the Burly flakes don't get much press but when they come up certain people rave about them. Though at the end of the day you might surprise you self by which blend you love the most. I joke often that pipes run on magic. Why is this blend great and this blah? It just has a little more magic in it. Why does this pipe smoke so great while the rest smoke just good? Magic. It's a joke because I don't think it's the case, but it helps sometimes to look at it that way.
The Warped tinned tobacco has cigar leaf in it, but isn't overpowering. I'd recommend Warped: Until the End. Dark Fired Kentucky with cigar leaf, very smooth and enjoyable. Another one to consider is Tabac Manil, which is grown in a one man operation in Belgium. A unique burley that again is reminiscent of smoking a cigar. I could smoke either of these all day.
If you like cigars with body and strength, with a classic, authentic taste. I think you might like among many others, Pirate Kake, Sansepolcro, HH Pure virginia by mc baren. From C&D you have a great variety of intense and tasty tobacco.
I second this. Especially burley flake #1 and #3.
English and Balkan Blends would be my first choice.
As a cigar smoker myself I would suggest Burleys, Dark fired and Vaper’s. There’s not any pipe tobacco that will actually taste like cigars so you’ll be better off not expecting it to. Look at pipes for what they are which is something different than cigars.
You could hop on Smoking Pipes and check out the bulk section and pick up some 1 oz bags of a few tobaccos to try to see what your tastes might be. Especially before the end of today, since they are having a 4th of July sale and all tobaccos are 10% off.
Some blends you might want to check out, that are currently available:
Newminster: No.400 Superior Navy Flake
Peter Stokkebye: PS402 Luxury Twist Flake
Kramer's: Father Dempsey
Cornell & Diehl: Star of the East Pipe
Cornell & Diehl: Haunted Bookshop
Cornell & Diehl: Billy Budd (contains cigar leaf)
Some blends you might want to check out, that are currently available:
Newminster: No.400 Superior Navy Flake
Peter Stokkebye: PS402 Luxury Twist Flake
Kramer's: Father Dempsey
Cornell & Diehl: Star of the East Pipe
Cornell & Diehl: Haunted Bookshop
Cornell & Diehl: Billy Budd (contains cigar leaf)
While it's true that no pipe tobacco will taste exactly like a cigar, GL Pease makes a blend called Robusto which includes cigar wrapper leaf, along with red Virginia, orientals and Latakia.
Yes, there are several different blends that use cigar leaf, the thing is that smoking a pipe is a different experience from smoking a cigar, even chopping up a cigar and smoking it in a pipe doesn’t taste the same as simply smoking the cigar. So in my opinion it’s better to appreciate each for what it is than to expect one or the other to be something it can’t. I’ve also tried a lot of cigars that use pipe tobacco these have all ended up being a disappointment for me.
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You have a long fielday to go. In addition to onestrangeone suggestion , i would add english blends. Dominican cigars have body but usually lack of strength if you compare with a cuban or nicaraguan cigar. There is a new world to discover with vapers, darkfired, burleys and some english blends.
Briar Works Country Lawyer has cigar leaf in it. You might enjoy it. Also, if you're looking for bold flavors, seek out blends with Dark Fired Kentucky.
Wow I wasn't expecting this many answers so quickly I can tell this is a very active community! I should say this, I don't expect any pipe tobacco to taste like cigars but I just wanted to describe what I currently smoke. LFD double ligero, so I'm use to full body full strength. I did order some blends over the weekend to try out, they should be here tomorrow afternoon. I ordered a variety that seem popular. Mac barren hh old dark fired, Peterson nightcap, gl pease gaslight , gl pease quiet nights, plum pudding, and Bengal slices. I appreciate all the recommendations and look forward to trying them out.
That's a good selection, enjoy!
I do wish I joined this forum before I ordered so I could have added a few more. Im going to look up the blends that all of you recommend and order more.
Cornell and Diehl has lots of high quality, full bodied, natural blends. I’d recommend Opening Night, Pegasus, Briar Fox, Burley Flake 1, and a Bayou Morning. That will give you lots of different blend types and you’ll experience lots of different ways you’ll have to prepare the tobacco.
Good choices . . . Also suggest a perusal of L. J. Peretti - Plenty of quality Englishes and balkans (try Royal).