What natural tobaccos should I try?

[990rick]

Right now I'm smoking a mix I made up that consists of IQ, Mild Burley and Dunhill 965, sometimes with a pinch of Perique. I'm real new to pipe smoking so I don't know much about what-all is in the IQ and the 965, but I have the feeling that IQ is treated with some sort of chemical preservative. If anyone know if this is true or not I'd sure like to know. In the meantime, I'd like to search for tobaccos that are as natural as can be. I know there's a heck of a lot of pesticides and other chemicals applied to growing tobacco, but any help in steering me to sources of tobacco and blends that at least aren't treated with synthetic chemical preservatives would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[cortezattic]

Rattray's Hal O'the Wynd and Old Gowrie work for me; but why don't you email Rich Gottlieb at 4noggins

and have him put together a sampler for you? Just be sure to specify either commercial blends or

house blends (Prairie Wind !) or both.

 

[marmal4de]

Jack at sterling tobacco has a few natural blends too.

 

[clanobucklin]

A lot of blenders don't use chemicals or preservatives. Try blends by Russ Oullette in his Hearth and Home bulk blends from Pipes and Cigars. They are bone dry and have no 'junk' in them. You can humidy them to your own personal taste. I personally add a little distilled water (lightly mist) to them - to get the right humidification.
The nice thing about unpreserved bulk tobaccos is that you get more tobacco and less stuff your body can live with out.

 

[cortezattic]

Ditto clanobucklin -- good choice! I've always been impressed by Russ Ouellette's blends;

and you do get more for your money when the tobacco is at the required moisture level and no more.

(Adding an unnecessary 5% moisture to the leaf means a hidden 5% mark-up on the price.)
.

Tip: Go to LuxuryTobaccoReviews.com and select tobaccos by the categories listed in the left hand column.

 

[990rick]

Thanks guys. I've sent an email to 4noggins and am looking into the H&H samplers. I'll post what happens next.

 

[lonestar]

Third vote for H&H here.

Some really good blends, and some really great prices.

 

[pstlpkr]

I am compelled to second Cortez's first suggestion.
Rattray's Hal O' the Wynd
It's top O' the heap IMHO.

 

[unclearthur]

I love the very dry H&H blends. More smoke for the buck once I humidify to my taste.

 

[lonestar]

I've never smoked any Rattrays. I probably should have added one or two of them to my last order, heard too many glowing reviews.

 

[tiltjlp]

Before automatically hydrating naturally dry blends, such as Russ's H&H or my own John Patton blends, I suggest you try a few bowls the way the blender made them. You might be surprised how much more flavor you get. Just remember that drier tobacco smoked slowly will always perform better than moister blends smoked faster. Drier blends seldom need a ton of relighting either.

 

[kcvet67]

@tiltjlp: I've become quite a fan of your blends in recent months. I love Quadruple Virginia and Cool Hand Fluke.

 

[romeowood]

@990 keep an eye out for "Organic Pipe Dreams" on eBay. It was tinned by the folks at Cornel & Diehl, and is the most "nude" smoke I've ever tasted. It was produced for a short time in 2008; I think a few more years in the tin and it will become one of the all-time greatest smokes. It's very light in body and mild in taste, so set time aside for a clean, fresh palate to enjoy it fully.
Great suggestions from the rest also, particularly Hearth & Home and Sterling / 1776 tobaccos.

 

[990rick]

Lots of good input. I've put together a sampler order for H&H. And I will try them dry before attempting any moistening. Thanks to all for the help!

 

[tiltjlp]

@kcvet67, it doesn't surprise me that you like both Quad Va amd Cool Hand Fluke. The Virginias are the same, just that Perique is added to make Cool Hand Fluke.

 

[990rick]

Got my H&H blends last night. So far I've tried the Virginia Stroll, Virginia Spice, Burley Kake and Anniversary Kake. The Stroll is too hot on the tongue for me. The Spice is better, but it seems to lack complexity. The Burley Kake is very sweet-tasting (I'm not a big fan of sweet) and reminds me of Perique. I love Perique as an undertone, but this Perique-like flavor as the most forward impression doesn't do it for me. I think some will really like it. Just not me. The Anniversary Kake is the best of the four for my tastes, but none of them come close to being as satisfying as the hybrid blend I describe in the "A blend of my Own" thread. I have two more H&H blends to try, but I don't think I'd buy any more of the ones I've sampled thus far. I'll probably be giving them all another shot, but I expect I'll be offering to trade with someone for some other 'natural' blends to try. Paying for samplers could get very spendy. I am curious about Cornell & Diehl blends. And if anyone has any knowledge of a natural blend that is very similar to IQ, and one that is very similar to Dunhill 965 I'd sure appreciate hearing about them.