I'm not very knowledgeable in this area but I have enjoyed every G L Pease blend I've got my hands on. It's not always easy in the uk
Who Is Your Favorite Pipe Tobacco Blender?
- Thread starter Mike N
- Start date
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I don’t want to think about the facts. In my mind tobacco is harvested from the shrubs and bushes of some mystical and mysterious forrest by pipe smoking gnomes.
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Mike McNeil
Herbert Motzek
Hans Wiedemann
Maxim Engel
Charles Rattray
Herbert Motzek
Hans Wiedemann
Maxim Engel
Charles Rattray
I've got to go with Ernie Q. I've tried 8 of his blends so far, and love every one of them.
I don't have one favorite blender, but I'll list a few, in no particular order, whose blends I enjoy.
Hans Wiedemann
Greg Pease
Carl McAllister
Ernie Q
Russ Oullette
Per Jensen
Mary McNeil
Charles Rattray
And there are the unremembered Blenders of years past who gave us St. Bruno. Three Nuns, Capstan, the Germain's blender who worked with Steve Richmann to create the Esoterica line up, and all of the blenders who worked to keep blends from shifting over time until conditions made that too difficult to continue.
Hans Wiedemann
Greg Pease
Carl McAllister
Ernie Q
Russ Oullette
Per Jensen
Mary McNeil
Charles Rattray
And there are the unremembered Blenders of years past who gave us St. Bruno. Three Nuns, Capstan, the Germain's blender who worked with Steve Richmann to create the Esoterica line up, and all of the blenders who worked to keep blends from shifting over time until conditions made that too difficult to continue.
As of right now my favorites are probably Jon David Cole & Quinn Crawford of The Country Squire.
I ought to add: Joe Lankford, Mel Feldman and Ed Burak.
Jonathan Wood, who would never call himself a blender, but head of operations at Sutliff, who is responsible for more blends, or at least keeping them consistent through major changes in availability, than most will ever know.
At the 2019 Chicago show I had to say “excuse me” as I squeezed past two gentlemen in conversation to get to the bar; they were Per Jensen and Mike McNeil. I took the opportunity to thank them for the many wonderful smokes I had enjoyed of their blends. Later on at the Mac Baren table, Per talked me into a tin of HH Burley Flake. I’m very glad he did.
I have to say Russ Oullette, hands down.
Not just because he blended several of my favorites, but because of the incredible skills he's shown resurrecting old, NLA blends and creating products blended for and beloved by thousands, that he doesn't necessarily much care for. That is a true master, folks. Like a 32-star chef, who must prepare a top-flight menu, catering to all tastes, especially those that are not his own.
Not just because he blended several of my favorites, but because of the incredible skills he's shown resurrecting old, NLA blends and creating products blended for and beloved by thousands, that he doesn't necessarily much care for. That is a true master, folks. Like a 32-star chef, who must prepare a top-flight menu, catering to all tastes, especially those that are not his own.
Charles Rattray is my favorite that's still available.
GOAT - Mike McNeil
GOAT - Mike McNeil
It's Pease for me by a long shot. His stuff, particularly the Balkans, is just perfect to me. Russ Oullette would be a close second due to his re-formulation of the old Sobranie blends, Bengal Slices, and his fantastic P&C blends that I rarely hear anyone talking about (10 to Midnight and Anniversary Kake are fantastic). I'd love to know who the master blender at Gawith is just so I have a name to put to the products that I love so much from there.
Roughly in order for me:
Russ Ouellette has such a broad span of amazing work.
Mike and Mary. RIP McClelland
Joe Lankford of SPC blends (RIP Joe). Can't believe he wasn't somewhere on page 1.
Per Jensen, also whatever wizard came up with Mac Baren Navy Flake
Craig Tarler & Bob Runowski
Russ Ouellette has such a broad span of amazing work.
Mike and Mary. RIP McClelland
Joe Lankford of SPC blends (RIP Joe). Can't believe he wasn't somewhere on page 1.
Per Jensen, also whatever wizard came up with Mac Baren Navy Flake
Craig Tarler & Bob Runowski
Bob Runowski. I'm partial to earthy and bitter blends, and he exceled in making blends in that profile.
I have two favorite blenders, and I'm gonna go in completely opposite directions on this one.
The first is Gawith Hoggarth / Samuel Gawith, because no one does dark fired Virginias like Gawith. There's a lot of blending houses that do dark fired Burleys (aka Dark Fired Kentucky) but fire cured Virginias seem to be a distinctly Gawith thing and they provide an incredible amount of nicotine strength while still being very smooth and gentle in a way that DFK could never hope to match. Some of my favorites are 1792 Flake, Coniston Cut Plug, Bosun Cut Plug, Kendal Dark, and Brown Bogie.
My other current favorite blending house is Lane Limited. I know, almost zero nicotine right? The thing is I'm a habitual retrohaler, and on those occasions that I'm not desiring a mega dose of nicotine and just want to relax and smoke a pipe for the simple sake of smoking a pipe, I don't think any other company makes blends as perfectly smooth and gentle on the retrohale as Lane. With most Lane blends I can exhale every single puff through my nose and not feel even the slightest tingle or hint of sting in my sinuses. Captain Black Original (or RLP-6 in a pinch) and Very Cherry are my current favorites.
In any case, those are my two favorite blending houses. One with lots of nicotine and one without, though both make blends that are about as smooth and gentle on the olfactory bits as their styles of tobacco get.
The first is Gawith Hoggarth / Samuel Gawith, because no one does dark fired Virginias like Gawith. There's a lot of blending houses that do dark fired Burleys (aka Dark Fired Kentucky) but fire cured Virginias seem to be a distinctly Gawith thing and they provide an incredible amount of nicotine strength while still being very smooth and gentle in a way that DFK could never hope to match. Some of my favorites are 1792 Flake, Coniston Cut Plug, Bosun Cut Plug, Kendal Dark, and Brown Bogie.
My other current favorite blending house is Lane Limited. I know, almost zero nicotine right? The thing is I'm a habitual retrohaler, and on those occasions that I'm not desiring a mega dose of nicotine and just want to relax and smoke a pipe for the simple sake of smoking a pipe, I don't think any other company makes blends as perfectly smooth and gentle on the retrohale as Lane. With most Lane blends I can exhale every single puff through my nose and not feel even the slightest tingle or hint of sting in my sinuses. Captain Black Original (or RLP-6 in a pinch) and Very Cherry are my current favorites.
In any case, those are my two favorite blending houses. One with lots of nicotine and one without, though both make blends that are about as smooth and gentle on the olfactory bits as their styles of tobacco get.
Definitely try TK-6! It's my absolute favorite aromatic currently produced. It's cherry but they soften it with vanilla. It's incredibly balanced and smooth imo... def my (current production) deserted island tobacco.
PS, I'm sending out that other "Cherry" tomorrow
Definitely try TK-6! It's my absolute favorite aromatic currently produced. It's cherry but they soften it with vanilla. It's incredibly balanced and smooth imo... def my (current production) deserted island tobacco.
PS, I'm sending out that other "Cherry" tomorrow
TK-6 is definitely on my list of blends to try, along with Hazelnut, Buttered Rum, BL/WB, BCA, and Black Raspberry. I'll be picking up an ounce of each to try next month!
And don't worry, your goodies are going out in the mail tomorrow too. I just got a little behind schedule on things this week!
