Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[deluxestogie]

...Stokkebey English Oriental Supreme. ...alarming dryness in my mouth. Is there a particular reason for that?

All commercial pipe blends contain chemical casings. All of them contain varying constituents and concentrations. Like tomatoes bred for surviving transport, commercial pipe tobacco is engineered to survive its supply chain, yet arrive in a condition that meets consumers' expectation of "moist" tobacco. Add to that the predilection of most commercial pipe blenders for "improving" the pouch aroma and room note. So you have a chemical soup served up on a scaffold of tobacco.

Beyond that, I have no answer.

Bob

 

[KiwiGrown]

I gave up cigarettes with one of those e-cigarettes, it's main ingredients are PG and VG, for years I had headaches and felt dry.

I recently switched to snus as quick nic hit, the headaches and dry feeling are gone.

PG is the main culprit, something about the way it works it sucks the moisture out of your mouth.

 

[alPol05]

So you have a chemical soup served up on a scaffold of tobacco.

Thanks, Bob. It looks like this soup doesn't sit with me very well.

 

[alPol05]

PG is the main culprit, something about the way it works it sucks the moisture out of your mouth.

Thanks, KiwiGrown. That was my suspension also.

 

[alPol05]

Bob,

Your Warspur recipe calls for Air-Cured Virginia. I can't find any source for this tobacco. Any suggestions?

 

[deluxestogie]

Air-cured Virginia is what every grower of Virginia ends up with, unless they have access to a flue-curing chamber.

deluxestogie's Warspur (an English Mixture)

• Virginia air-cured: 30%
• Oriental: 30%
• Latakia: 35%
• Black Cavendish or Dark Air: 5% (optional, to add body)

I assume your question is what commercially available leaf would be a close substitute. That's a challenge. I suppose the closest would be Flue Cured Virginia Thin Leaf (1st priming). Maryland is air-cured, but has a different character.

The truth is that my air-cured Virginia is not the same as the next grower's air-cured Virginia anyway. So if you have any flue-cured Virginia, just give that a try. That would be a fairly typical "Oriental heavy" Latakia blend.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

Bob,

Thanks for your comments. I am actually looking for exactly what you specified in your recipe - Air-cured Virginia. I have made two mixtures of Warspur sometime ago and I am smoking these currently. I used Bright Virginia and Red Virginia. I want to try your original mixture but I need Air-cured Virginia. There is obviously a reason you used this tobacco and I want to try that before I write down my observations and have questions.

Although I use many commercial varieties of tobacco currently, my long-term plan is to move slowly toward pure tobacco. Before I get there, I will have to use what I have and use WLT for resupplies as needed. Anyway, maybe someone who reads this post will be able to sell me some Air-cured Virginia and I will take another step forward. Or... maybe you can sell some of yours?

FYI, this morning I started smoking your Perl of Shibam. Excellent and works very well for me. It is light and mellow to have this as a morning smoke! I will be writing about it somewhat later since I have another version in melding right now.

Thanks,

 

[deluxestogie]

Delilah

This yummy blend is powered by the WLT Samsun component, balanced with WLT Perique, and spiced with a touch of WLT Lemon Virginia. The Samsun renders is mildly aromatic, while the heavy Samsun presence is tamed with the Perique. In this blend, bright leaf is an important, though minor actor, filling the role of providing just a gentle tang. Partway through the bowl, I begin to taste sweetness.

This is considerably lighter than my usual blends.

recipe for Delilah (parts per 16)

• WLT Samsun: 10
• WLT St. James Perique: 4
• WLT Lemon Virginia: 2

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

...maybe you can sell some of yours?

Sorry. I'm not a tobacco vendor.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

Thanks, Bob, no offense intended.

 

[deluxestogie]

Tercios ("thirds")

My batch of homemade Perique from the Spanish landrace burley, Baldió Vera, produced a mildly fruity, generally mild Perique. It seems to have a pH in the same ballpark as most other Perique, but it reflects a gentle, subtle, boutique quality. If you substitute St. James Parish Perique, or any other homemade Perique, start with a lower proportion of Perique, and work your way upward.

Tercios is smoother than my Semibreve, at the expense of being 3 ingredients, rather than Semibreve's "half-and-half" recipe.

Tercios

• Lemon Virginia: 1/3
• Burley Cavendish: 1/3
• Baldió Vera Perique: 1/3

Tercios simplified

• Lemon Virginia: 1/3
• any Cavendish: 1/3
• any Perique: 1/3

Bob

EDIT: Notice that for the simplified version, I don't suggest "any burley", but rather, "any Cavendish". The Cavendish process dramatically moderates the burley impact. While you might like this with burley, instead of a Cavendish, it would be quite a bit more potent than is my own preference.

 

[greenmonster714]

My first thought through blend. I've always wanted a Perique heavy blend and well here it is. I started off with making just one ounce. No need to make a large batch of something ya find out to be horrible..lol.

4g WLT Redtip VA
4g. BigB's Orange Bright Leaf VA
4g. BigB's Aged Burley
6g. WLT Turkish Basma
10g. BigB's Perique

The aroma of this blend is one of aquired taste. Some may think sweet and mushrooms. Some may just say stanky. I guess it depends on the freshness of the Perique one uses. This blend has freshly shredded Perique from BigBonner in it. Pungent is a good word to describe the fresh and slightly overpowering aroma. This blend would be better with a little age added to help the other leaf burst through the heavy Perique.

The blend smokes rather easily and stays lit rather well. I taste a slight bitter which could just be it needing more time to mature. Other than that it is a mild smoke with a slight bite of the tongue. Adding some Cavendish may be something you may consider if you attempt this blend. Perhaps that would soften the bite.

I call the blend Thor's Hammer.

 

[deluxestogie]

Great contribution to the FTT Blending Library.

Thor's Hammer looks daunting and tempting. Without having attempted the blend yet, I can see where Thor gets his power and his slight bitterness. Perique raises the pH, and so does Burley, though to a lesser degree. Since the Perique outnumbers the total flue-cured, the blend is leaning into alkaline. And alkaline means more absorption for the same nicotine concentration. That is, more alkaline means more impact for Thor's Hammer.

Acid-Base Slider:

• flue-cured = acid = sour
• Perique = base = bitter

I will emphasize that a pipe smoker's taste preference may lie anywhere along that acid<-->base line. My own blends often aim at a balance point, though not always. If you reduce the Perique to minimize the bitter, you will simultaneously lose some of the nicotine punch as well as some of the darker notes to the aroma.

I should also mention that the brighter (lighter colored) the flue-cured, the more acidic is its taste, and the less robust its aromas. So going with oranges and reds subtly nudges the slider toward the alkaline, while buttressing its richer tones.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

Thanks for the input Bob. That helps me understand some things that may help smooth a few rough edges. I'm hoping time in a mason jar will help the flavors blend. Only time will tell.

 

[Leftynick]

I am lucky enough to receive a generous amount of Brazilian Cavendish from Tutu before he move out of Indonesia. I didn't have time to play with it until yesterday. I smoke it in cigarette case but unimpressed. It smelled really sweet but very light in taste. Last night I crave some high kick pipe tobacco I decided to make some my own blend using cavendish that I got.

40% sun cured virginia (I used Indonesian sun cured virginia)
40% Brazilian Cavendish
10% Air cured Liquica (or any dark air cured variety)
5% Dark fire cure
5% air cured kasturi (or any heavy nicotine variety, perique might be nice)

The sweet cavendish balanced out all my other heavy, earthy tobacco. The liquica is really nice in a pipe. It is good for cigar but in pipe it really shine. Sun cured virginia is only used for base blender. The fire cure compliment the liquica earthy taste. I made a small batch of this and stored it in baby foor jar for further aging.

I suspect that the Brazilian cavendish were made by adding sugar. This blend give off some commercial pipe blend taste and after taste. Whole leaf tobacco will always give off some raw after taste. I dont know whether home made cavendish will taste the same, might be interesting to try.

My only regret is I dont ask Tutu for any Liquica seed. I think the closest that I can replace this leaves is with some Little Dutch leaves.

 

[deluxestogie]

Interesting blend. They will always improve noticeably a few days after blending. I think a fair number of home growers either air-cure or sun-cure their Virginia, rather than build a flue-cure chamber.

There is a missing 20%, but the relative amounts are pretty clear. Thanks.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

I wanted to chime in to this thread and say something about deluxe stogies pearl of Shabam. I blended some of this with all WLT product. This is an awesome blend.! It reminds me of dunhill early morning pipe, but 1000% Better. My hats off to Don @ WLT and deluxestogie. I can’t wait to process my other leaf and blend more. I feel guilty for even daring to compare it to any commercial products. It’s truly in a league of it’s own. The Virginia Bright leaf is creamy and sweet butter. The Izmar spicy and light. Perique unmatched and the Latakia I can’t get enough of

 

[deluxestogie]

Thank you for the kind words.

I believe that the most important discovery is that you can create, from whole leaf ingredients alone, excellent pipe blends. Not just good enough to smoke, but mixtures that are superior to the cased, vacuum packed, factory stuff.

The only thing that is lacking is that wonderful surprise aroma, when you first open the tin. It's like the difference between an excellent meal served at a restaurant versus an even better meal that you prepared from scratch yourself. You've blown the moment of surprise.

Bob

 

[Levi Gross]

This is so true! I put nothing in this blend at all except the correct measures of each tobacco. I will NEVER EVER BY STORE BOUGHT TOBACCO AGAIN. It is either going to come from Don @ WLT, out of my garden, or if I have the pleasure; from sampling other members tobacco. I am just starting this blending adventure, but could smoke Pearl of Shabam every day.

Thank you for the kind words.

I believe that the most important discovery is that you can create, from whole leaf ingredients alone, excellent pipe blends. Not just good enough to smoke, but mixtures that are superior to the cased, vacuum packed, factory stuff.

The only thing that is lacking is that wonderful surprise aroma, when you first open the tin. It's like the difference between an excellent meal served at a restaurant versus an even better meal that you prepared from scratch yourself. You've blown the moment of surprise.

Bob

 

[Leftynick]

Interesting blend. They will always improve noticeably a few days after blending. I think a fair number of home growers either air-cure or sun-cure their Virginia, rather than build a flue-cure chamber.

There is a missing 20%, but the relative amounts are pretty clear. Thanks.

Bob

I am confused with the amount. Sorry. It is 40% sun cured and cavendish.

You're right, it is improving. I will try to age it some more before trying it again.