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Your "go to" leaf...(groan)

I really dont like threads that ask "what is the best" because you might get 20 replies with 20 different answers. This is not a "desert island" or "if you had to pick only one" type question either. I'm new at this and just wanted to see what some piping veterans are filling their bowls with.

So, when you want a nice, comfortable, satisfying, no-nonsense, smoke that you know you can rely on, which tobacco are you reaching for?

I haven't gotten any exotic or boutique tobaccos yet, and thought maybe I would see a trend in your responses, which usually indicates some level of satisfaction and agreement. So, I'm not really looking for recommendations, just curious about what you all are smoking most often, or stocking up on because you couldn't imagine not having it..something you know you can get easily without going online and refreshing your browser hoping to score a couple of tins of a special or limited edition.

I know I could probably browse the POTD thread, or "BL Acquisition" threads and get a very general idea, but I'm not looking for what might be a passing fad, just solid standards.

Anyway, I'm pretty simple. I know if I stuff some Prince Albert into my beat-up, burnt-up MM cobb, grab a cup of coffee, and go to my deck for a smoke that it will end very well. If I want something sweet, I have been liking Sutliff Molto Dolce, or even 1M.

So, what's yours?
 
Like our shaving hobby, I have sampled enough at this point of my career to know what I like and want to continue buying. I have 3 blends in rotation right now, outside of some samples that some very kind B&B members have sent. Two of my 3 blends I make myself with various tobaccos. They're basically non-Aromatic blends and consist of VA/Burley/Turkish and VA/Burley/Turkish and Dark Fired. The Dark Fired one has a pinch of Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic to give it a bit of balance.

For a commercial blend- something easy to find, inexpensive and smells and tastes great- Smoker's Pride Black Cavendish. It's made by Lane- and in my estimation is a rougher version of their popular BCA blend. Not goopy wet, burns very well, great aroma and taste. I think Walgreens sells it locally but it's on sale at Pipes and Cigars like every other month, so I just buy from there.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I think for me the attraction is the incredibly diverse choices one has.
I have several blends that I like and smoke perhaps more frequently than other specific blends, (Field and Stream Match, Peterson Sherlock Holmes, Sutliff Mark Twain, and a blend of Captain Black and Prince Albert), but it's only more frequently than others because there are so many others.
I think I smoke those ones I mentioned less frequently overall when compared to the total amount I smoke of other types combined.
I started off with the codger blends exclusively and also enjoyed Molto Dolce. I didn't much care for Perique, and didn't like Latakia at all.
Now I find that I am reaching for blends with those ingredients more and more. I think I likened it to when you had your first beer. If subsequent beers always tasted like the first one you ever had, there'd be a LOT less beer drinkers in the world today.
Same with tobacco. It took some time for me to develop a palate that could truly appreciate the nuances of different blends.
I think we live in a (thankfully) indulgent world where we have such choices available. I think it was not uncommon for our fathers or grandfathers to have a brand that they bought, smoked, and stuck with for the larger portion of their lives.
Much like our fathers and grandfathers might laugh at us for the several brushes, razors, soaps and aftershaves we collect, they likely would have had a similar outlook on a vast deep and wide "cellar".
At least in the tobacco world, there is a small advantage to such a cellar - our fathers and grandfathers likely didn't fear their favorite blend would just up and disappear, and if it happened to, there were several others very similar ready to step in and fill the gap.
Disappearing brands, changing blends, ever increasing legislation restricting tobacco purchase, rising tax rates, and even the dying of availability of certain tobacco types has a tendency to make some of us try to prepare a storm cellar for the future.
 
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I think for me the attraction is the incredibly diverse choices one has.
I have several blends that I like and smoke perhaps more frequently than other specific blends, (Field and Stream Match, Peterson Sherlock Holmes, Sutliff Mark Twain, and a blend of Captain Black and Prince Albert), but it's only more frequently than others because there are so many others.
I think I smoke those ones I mentioned less frequently overall when compared to the total amount I smoke of other types combined.
I started off with the codger blends exclusively and also enjoyed Molto Dolce. I didn't much care for Perique, and didn't like Latakia at all.
Now I find that I am reaching for blends with those ingredients more and more. I think I likened it to when you had your first beer. If subsequent beers always tasted like the first one you ever had, there'd be a LOT less beer drinkers in the world today.
Same with tobacco. It took some time for me to develop a palate that could truly appreciate the nuances of different blends.
I think we live in a (thankfully) indulgent world where we have such choices available. I think it was not uncommon for our fathers or grandfathers to have a brand that they bought, smoked, and stuck with for the larger portion of their lives.
Much like our fathers and grandfathers might laugh at us for the several brushes, razors, soaps and aftershaves we collect, they likely would have had a similar outlook on a vast deep and wide "cellar".
At least in the tobacco world, there is a small advantage to such a cellar - our fathers and grandfathers likely didn't fear their favorite blend would just up and disappear, and if it happened to, there were several others very similar ready to step in and fill the gap.
Disappearing brands, changing blends, and even the dying of availability of certain tobacco types has a tendency to make some of us try to prepare a storm cellar for the future.

Completely agree on the variety point, which is why it is possible that I may never actually see the bottom of any of my shaving soap containers - but if somebody asked me for my "goldilocks" I would immediately think of one or two. Same with razors, blades, and especially brushes.

I know tastes are subjective, and change, which is why I specifically did not ask for recommendations. I knew I would be getting opinion but was still curious to see the responses.

...and I'm one of the "less" beer drinkers. 😄
 

Kentos

B&B's Dr. Doolittle.
Staff member
There are hundreds of really great blends out there, and how a blends tastes is greatly influenced by mood, the weather, what you ate before, what you are drinking, the pipe, the age of the leaf, maybe even the earth’s rotation at that time lol.

For me HOTW never disappoints, and Old Joe Krantz is a close second.
 
I think for me the attraction is the incredibly diverse choices one has.
I have several blends that I like and smoke perhaps more frequently than other specific blends, (Field and Stream Match, Peterson Sherlock Holmes, Sutliff Mark Twain, and a blend of Captain Black and Prince Albert), but it's only more frequently than others because there are so many others.
I think I smoke those ones I mentioned less frequently overall when compared to the total amount I smoke of other types combined.
I started off with the codger blends exclusively and also enjoyed Molto Dolce. I didn't much care for Perique, and didn't like Latakia at all.
Now I find that I am reaching for blends with those ingredients more and more. I think I likened it to when you had your first beer. If subsequent beers always tasted like the first one you ever had, there'd be a LOT less beer drinkers in the world today.
Same with tobacco. It took some time for me to develop a palate that could truly appreciate the nuances of different blends.
I think we live in a (thankfully) indulgent world where we have such choices available. I think it was not uncommon for our fathers or grandfathers to have a brand that they bought, smoked, and stuck with for the larger portion of their lives.
Much like our fathers and grandfathers might laugh at us for the several brushes, razors, soaps and aftershaves we collect, they likely would have had a similar outlook on a vast deep and wide "cellar".
At least in the tobacco world, there is a small advantage to such a cellar - our fathers and grandfathers likely didn't fear their favorite blend would just up and disappear, and if it happened to, there were several others very similar ready to step in and fill the gap.
Disappearing brands, changing blends, and even the dying of availability of certain tobacco types has a tendency to make some of us try to prepare a storm cellar for the future.
A lot of truth here.

I like a broad variety of tobacco, but the overwhelming majority of my cellar is VA-based. Luckily I adhered to the "buy early, buy often" philosophy, as a lot of favorites are either no longer available or in short supply.

Marlin Flake, Salty Dogs, Stonehaven, FVF... all consistently delicious. McClelland bulk 5100 (or any McC red VA) is maybe the perfect all-day smoke IMHO.
 
My go to everyday smoke is Arango Balkan Supreme. Its cool, mild and always tasty. I could be happy if all I had was PS LNF and there are several blends I like better than these, but they are for special environments and occasions.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I need variety. I get bored of individual blends far too quickly.

I keep ten small jars available, which hold about 25g of tobacco each. these get refilled up from Mylar pouches, which I've sealed with 1/4 of a tin in (12.5g). All my smokes come from those 10 jars, and when a jar is empty, I will refill from the same blend type/family, but not necessarily the same blend. They are labelled A to J, and I keep a note of what's in them in a little notebook, in case I can't be certain which pipe to grab by smell alone.

Often though, I'll just grab a "miscellaneous" pipe, and a random jar, without much care about what it is, who made it, or when. I don't tend to lose any enjoyment for not knowing, but occasionally I will think "Ooh, what's this?"

As for the rest of my stash, some is poached and labelled, and the rest is in screw top vac sealed tins. Mostly single tins of any given blend, but do have a few multiples. I stopped stocking up before the poundage hit double figures, and no longer have the notes I made about what I actually have ageing. I'll just enjoy rediscovering it, one tin/pouch at a time. No pressure, no hunting down unobtainium, no fear of missing out, and the pipes are no less enjoyable for it.
 

Claudel Xerxes

Staff member
I think the more you smoke, the more apt you will be to find easy no fuss blends. Not just from variety, but you'll become more familiar with your pipes, a good puffing cadence, the proper moisture content for each blend, climate, etc..

McClelland 2015, MacBaren HH Old Dark Fired, C&D Bourbon Bleu, Escudo, and most English blends are some that come to mind for me.
 
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