I've often wondered what a combination of two finely matched excellent blends would turn out like? Something like, say, Esoterica Margate (Latakia and Orientals) plus Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake (Virginia). Or Escudo (Virginia and Perique) plus Solani Aged Burley Flake (mix of various burleys). Never tried it myself. Anyone else?
Any blending success stories?
- Thread starter KarlMaldensNose
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I smoke house blends but when I'm near the end of a few bags I put them in a bowl. It usually works out pretty good for me. I like how it goes from one flavour to the next.
Gregory Pease just wrote an article on this very subject that is worth a read. I think most pipesters try their hand at blending at some point (or, more correctly in my mind combining blends or creating 'parfaits') - and everyone seems to have a 'tailings-jar' kicking around.
Pipes&Cigars.com also runs a 'fusion lab', which allows a pipe-smoker to order different types of blending tobaccos (including cased and topped aromatic types) to play around with blending; with the best blends (as identified by Russ Oulette and the rest of the P&C staff) actually going into limited production.
Pipes&Cigars.com also runs a 'fusion lab', which allows a pipe-smoker to order different types of blending tobaccos (including cased and topped aromatic types) to play around with blending; with the best blends (as identified by Russ Oulette and the rest of the P&C staff) actually going into limited production.
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- #4
I've come close to mixing blends and parfaiting them before, but always chicken out when the time comes. I know it's just a few grams and nothing's gonna explode, but if it doesn't turn out great it seems like such a waste to me... of good tobacco, of a smoking session (of which there are only so many when it's hard to find time for even one bowl per day). I don't know, I was hoping some of you might have some secret recipes in your cellar that you would share with us here.
Thanks for the link, Adam. I'll check it out. I very much enjoy reading Mr. Pease's musings on all things tobacco. On a somewhat unrelated note, could you guys imagine what kind of masterpiece Greg might produce if his blends were made from J.F. Germain tobaccos instead of Cornell & Diehl's? I guess you'd have to share my appreciation of Germain products in order to care about that hypothetical. I know some would argue that he already is pumping out fabulous blends with C&D base 'baccy, and I wouldn't disagree with that (Charing Cross and Maltese Falcon make me drool), but there seems to be a common denominator among Germain products that I enjoy more, although my experience with both houses is admittedly limited.
Thanks for the link, Adam. I'll check it out. I very much enjoy reading Mr. Pease's musings on all things tobacco. On a somewhat unrelated note, could you guys imagine what kind of masterpiece Greg might produce if his blends were made from J.F. Germain tobaccos instead of Cornell & Diehl's? I guess you'd have to share my appreciation of Germain products in order to care about that hypothetical. I know some would argue that he already is pumping out fabulous blends with C&D base 'baccy, and I wouldn't disagree with that (Charing Cross and Maltese Falcon make me drool), but there seems to be a common denominator among Germain products that I enjoy more, although my experience with both houses is admittedly limited.
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My favorite blend is from my local B&M called "Blutos Black Death". Its 40% Latakia, 40% Perique and 20% Burley.
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- #6
The name seems appropriate when you look at those percentages and the particular combination of those three tobacs... not a combo I remember seeing before. You didn't come up with the blend, did you? I know some tobacconists let their "special" customers develop blends for them.
I did not come up with it, but it is one of those private blends they keep on the down low. It's not as scary as the name, but it does make nightcap taste like an aromatic.
I do the Frankenblend as well. I usually take a bowlful from the bag when I first get it and chuck it in the mason jar and shake it around for a bit to get it well and truly mixed.
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- #9
I save the last bit of fine powder shake from my tins, too, but not for smoking in later lean times. My basement has some nasty-*** big spiders and tobacco is a natural deterent for them. I boil up around 10 tbsp. of yesterday's tobac with a half gallon of water and spray the basement coners, baseboards and door frame leading outside with the mixture. So far so good. When I first moved in, I was squishing on average two or three spiders a day. Now I see one maybe every other week or so. But these last straglers are the alpha males, the toughest of the tough, the biggest of the big. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the last one I killed was a tarantula, it was so big.
Bigger spiders are usually the females... But tobacco solution is a fantastic natural deterrent for bugs because of the smell and taste. I think that might be a good use for my dottle actually... if I buy a house with a spider/ant problem. I'm much more cool with spiders than ants.
Genius! I am going to have to give this a try, seems much safer than our current method of letting the widows thrive in the dark corners to keep the wolf and brown spider populations controlled. Our garage, my man-cave and the in-law suite in my basement seem to be a microcosm of the Amazon basin, I swear the spiders down there grow big enough that you can actually hear the click of their pedipalps as they scurry around (possibly seeking small dogs and migets as a food-source).
I often mix McClelland 2015 with Solani Aged Burley Flake. Wonderful together.
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- #13
Sounds like a good match... kind of like what I wondered about in my original post with Escudo and ABF.
I think Solani ABF and Sam Gawith FVF could be great additions to many blends, or even just combining the two together... both very rich and deep tobaccos in their own right. Maybe add ABF to blends without any burley that are a bit thin and need some deep mellow foundation. With FVF, I think the possibilities are endless... for instance, a lot of McClelland blends I've tried are simply too light and wimpy, but propping them up a bit with a solid Virginia like FVF might do the trick.
For tonight's smoke, I think I'll try either a FVF+ABF or FVF+Margate (Latakia and Orientals) combo.
I find either burley or virginia mix well with pretty much anything.
