Pure Tobacco Pipe Blends You Can Make

[deluxestogie]

WLT Basma Pastry Party--blending notes

This is part of my continuing effort to explore pipe blends made without Latakia. My initial thought was to create a blend that was at least half WLT Basma, and seasoned with flue-cured (mostly red) and a good dose of St. James Parish Perique.

WLT Basma Pastry Party: first trial

• WLT Basma: 8 parts (50%)
• WLT Lemon VA: 1 part (~6%)
• WLT Red VA: 3 parts (~19%)
• WLT Perique: 4 parts (25%)

I allowed this blend to rest overnight. When I smoked a bowl the following morning, my clearest impression was that it tasted bitter. Aha! Too alkaline!

Lemon Virginia to the rescue. I added 4 more parts of WLT Lemon Virginia, in order to make the blend more acidic.

WLT Basma Pastry Party: FINAL

• WLT Basma: 8 parts (40%)
• WLT Lemon VA: 1+4 parts (25%)
• WLT Red VA: 3 parts (15%)
• WLT Perique: 4 parts (20%)

Of course, this was not exact, since I had already smoked a bowl from the initial blend. But it's close enough--as close as I often get in any of my pipe blending.

The final blend of WLT Basma Pastry Party offers a slightly earthy, slightly "woody" pouch aroma. The smoke is smooth on the tongue--no bitterness and no tongue bite. It is soft and mellow in character, with a mild floral touch from the rich Basma content. The nicotine strength is medium to full.

Next up will be an array of similar blends using Prancak-N1 and Baldió Vera Perique.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

Straight Black Mammoth

Black Mammoth is generally considered a Dark Air variety. The Dark Air tobaccos that I've sampled are excellent as a blending condiment, but more than about 6% seems overwhelming. There is no way that I would smoke Dark Air straight.

The Black Mammoth shown above is from BigBonner. The leaves are huge, and are air-cured. But the aroma of the leaf is much more subtle and inviting. So I shredded some, and stuffed it into a corncob.

I can say that the nicotine level is robust--more so than any of my blends. It burns well and offers a surprisingly smooth taste and soft smoke aroma. There are not many tobaccos that I would consider suitable to be smoked straight in a pipe. This Black Mammoth works well. The flavor is not particularly complex, but it's enjoyable and quite smokable alone in a pipe.

I will play with using it as a major blend component, perhaps with a mild Cavendish and a soft, sweet Oriental.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

That Basma blend sounds tasty. I'll have to mix some of that up. Good to know about BigB's Blk M. I have some but have not tried it yet. Would I go good as a cigar filler?

 

[deluxestogie]

...BigB's Blk M. I have some but have not tried it yet. Would I go good as a cigar filler?

My guess is that Black Mammoth would work well as a cigar filler condiment.

Bob

 

[deluxestogie]

This is a matrix of WLT Perique blends that I created back in 2014. If I posted it back then, I can't locate it. When using home-made Perique, this is a good starting point, though the proportion of Perique may need to be increased to balance tongue bite.

Bob

EDIT: I have a printout of this matrix, as well as the Balkan matrix taped above my tobacco blending area. Sometimes, I start with a random quantity of one component, then look-up what blend will work with it.

 

[alPol05]

Bob,

I believe you have done an amazing work with your charts. I have been searching internet and bookstores for any writings on principles of blending and I found zilch. For anybody who would like to learn about blending tobacco, your charts are a solid guide. Thank you for all the work you have done!

Wiktor

 

[deluxestogie]

Some years ago, when I had called Cornell & Diehl about slightly modifying one of their blends for my own preference, I was fortunate to speak with the late Craig Tarler. What impressed me the most was that he could ask me detailed questions about how I wanted the taste of the blend to change, and could then immediately recommend which ingredients to increase and decrease in order to effect that change. [I do miss Craig Tarler in the pilot seat at C&D!]

I thought that skill required a lifetime of knowledge. It turns out that you just have to have a wide selection of tobaccos on hand, and a few years of playing with them. And, as a bonus, you get to grade your own final exam.

Bob

 

[greenmonster714]

I liked the Thor's Hammer so well after it sat for a while. I just had to make more. Blended a 8oz batch to store for a month. It will probably be even better by then.

This will make one ounce.
4g Red Tips WLT
4g Orange Brightleaf BigBonner
4g Aged Burley BigBonner
6g Basma Turkish. WLT
10g Perique. BigBonner

 

[deluxestogie]

Boom! When a pipe blender starts repeating a particular blend, then something special is going on. Here's a percentage breakdown of Thor's Hammer:

If you are fond of burley-forward, American style pipe blends, then greenmonster714's Thor's Hammer should get you there, and without all the glop of the commercial stuff. Given the proportions of burley and Perique, you are not likely to be lacking a nicotine hit.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

I am so starved for a good tobacco, I am smocking whatever I blend without waiting for it to meld enough to reach its full potential. This is an obvious mistake, as I learned from experience in last 2 months. The longest melding blend (over a month) I had was one of the versions of WarSpure originated by deluxestogie. Although that version was one of several I have made (I am at version 6 now) and it is not the one I will pursue, I smoked it with a pleasure.

This waiting time is a very difficult test for me!

Wiktor

 

[deluxestogie]

alPol05, You might find Spanish Moss (in the grid a few posts back) to be a tantalizing direction to head. I'm currently puffing my way through a half-pound of it that I mixed up last weekend.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

alPol05, You might find Spanish Moss (in the grid a few posts back) to be a tantalizing direction to head. I'm currently puffing my way through a half-pound of it that I mixed up last weekend.

Bob

Bob, thanks for pointing this to me. I am sure all these blends you offered are very good - I tried some of them. However, the issue I discovered is that I have to have much lighter blends. Two reasons for that: I used to smoke cigarettes Winston Lights 100 for many years. Second, I smoke many (way too many) bowls a day and I get saturated with nicotine way too much. So, I am experimenting with some of your base recipes to arrive with a blend that I can enjoy and not kill myself.

I am very close with a WarSpur modified to my needs and will be posting a full report soon. It is a very interesting experience that I enjoyed, although admittedly, very trying my patience.

Wiktor

 

[greenmonster714]

I am so starved for a good tobacco, I am smocking whatever I blend without waiting for it to meld enough to reach its full potential. This is an obvious mistake, as I learned from experience in last 2 months. The longest melding blend (over a month) I had was one of the versions of WarSpure originated by deluxestogie. Although that version was one of several I have made (I am at version 6 now) and it is not the one I will pursue, I smoked it with a pleasure.

This waiting time is a very difficult test for me!

Wiktor

While you wait you could order some John Patton or John Cotton blends to help ya through the wait. The blends from either one are very good and not at all loaded down with casings or flavoring. Once I get ahold of some nice latakia I want to try and clone some blends from both of them.

 

[alPol05]

While you wait you could order some John Patton or John Cotton blends to help ya through the wait. The blends from either one are very good and not at all loaded down with casings or flavoring. Once I get ahold of some nice latakia I want to try and clone some blends from both of them.

greenmonster714,

I am actually not that desperate. I have a dozen or more tins, some open some not. I have plenty of tobacco that I can and smoke every day. I guess I was trying to express my frustration about the melding time - the time frame I created myself. Here is the reality... Honest! Few replies up Bob delicately suggested that I don't have to wait that long (a month), and he tells us that he smokes his Spanish Moss soon after he makes it. I do the same, sometimes I just start smoking a few hours after I am done with blending. However...

About two weeks ago I opened a jar of one of the blends that I made and put aside and... stop paying attention to it. So, I opened a jar and the aroma (I guess pros call it tin or pouch aroma. I call it jar aroma...

) was so nice, I could not believe that longer melding time could produce it. I was amazed and my neurons started clicking... "I need to give a blend some time to mature."

Anyway, this is the longer version of my previous post that you responded to.

As to the tins and commercial blends, I am very frustrated and in many cases (most) disappointed. When I said goodbye to cigarettes, I was lucky enough to read proper material that fell into my hands. I rather quickly learned and realized that there is more to the tobacco (a product of nature) than putting some shredded stuff, laced with flavors of chocolate, vanilla, or anything else in my bowl and smoke it. And believe me, I am not trying to be a smart ass here or preach any gospel. I simply want to share my own thoughts and experience. I had my dose of 1Qs, BCAs, and Captain Blakes... I know this is not what I want!

As to the melding time... Ha... Ha... Last week I made another version of WarSpur - 100g. Today I have less than half of the jar left. That's my melding time... Can't wait too long - that's the truth.

Best,
Wiktor

 

[deluxestogie]

Wiktor,
Pouch aroma is significantly altered by pressing--even gentle pressing, like tightly hand rolling the blend within a freezer Ziplock, and putting it beneath a substantial book for a few days. On one of the pipe forums (which I visit about once every two or three years), one member used a standard caulk gun to press tobacco within a glass jar. I think he left it overnight, then just sealed the jar for storage. Although that is a handy way to fit more blend into a small container, it also melds the blend more rapidly.

Greater pressure will alter the tobacco, by rupturing some or all of the laminar cells (bruising), and give you something different.

I don't really understand all the mechanical or biochemical details of what's going on with gentle pressing of a blend, but it does make a difference.

And then there is the "forget" factor. I enjoy the pouch aroma of a blend that I've set aside for a few days, while smoking something else. I've just forgotten how nice it's always been.

We're all just playing in the sandbox.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

Wiktor,

Greater pressure will alter the tobacco, by rupturing some or all of the laminar cells (bruising), and give you something different.

Bob

Bob,

You just put another gem in front of us all. I will have to start a serious notebook with all these gems and start organizing all this.
This might be one crucial step that I will need to employ to get me where I want to be. Thanks much.

Wiktor

PS. Have you ever thought about putting together a guide, a booklet, a serious book where you can put these gems of your experience together? If I would see something like that, I would buy it at once, with no hesitation.

 

[deluxestogie]

Have you ever thought about putting together a guide, a booklet, a serious book where you can put these gems of your experience together? If I would see something like that, I would buy it at once, with no hesitation.

But this entire thread, the whole forum in fact, is free and available now.

There is a book in the works.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

There is a book in the works.
Bob

I am glad to hear about the book. Excellent move!

I am a member of several forums which I still visit, although less often than 6 months ago. I meet there more and more people that are interested in making their own blends, but they, in most cases, do not know where to turn. I always direct them here to this forum and tell them a bit about what I am trying to do. I know for sure they make a visit here and are surprised that this bank of info exists.

Wiktor

 

[deluxestogie]

I believe that the greatest revelation for most pipe blenders is that the actual, natural blending components (unflavored, and with no commercial casing or predestined shred) are available in whole leaf form. The majority of urban and many suburban pipe smokers have little interest in growing their own tobacco, but the techniques available on this forum for creating Perique, Cavendish and various pressed tobaccos, such as twist, plug, flake and coins, can be happily applied to purchased whole leaf.

Bob

 

[alPol05]

I general, I agree with your view. There are of course multiple issues that your statement touched on, and more often than not I am puzzled by the attitudes of pipe tobacco smokers. As a neophyte, I tend to see many issues that I either do not understand or many affairs in a stark contrast.

First, a quick comment on growing tobacco. It is a fascinating hobby and activity, and members of this forum are heavily focused on that. However, for urban dwellers, it is difficult to engage. There are many reasons for that. My case - I live in the apartment, I am the older guy with no access to grounds to grow anything but a few herbs in a pot. The suburbanites are to busy to maintain a standard of living and pay mortgages.

As to the tobacco smokers, I think there is a herd mentality in the community. Not long ago I signed up for three groups on FaceBook with a hope to learn something. What did I get - an endless posts of "What pipe/tobacco did you smoke today?", with pictures of sweated and bearded guys with their pipe clinched tight and comment like: "Relaxing with XXXX this evening." If what I saw is a relaxation than I thank you very much! Well, CANCEL that!

Then there are posts about tobacco: "I am smoking XXXXXX (replace with a name) for the first time. I like it very much." Well... no light at the end of this tunnel.

And there is the whole affair with the aromatic tobaccos. I started with these because this is all I was offered and I didn't know any better. I was convinced I like it... until the first blend I made with pure tobacco. Recently I opened a massive jar of 1Q - a blast of sugar and vanilla almost knocked me off my feet. I'll spare the readers the detailed description of the convulsions my body went thru.

Again, I am not trying to knock anybody off or be judgemental. I am simply describing my own experience.

I guess in one word I can conclude the diagnosis - EDUCATION. If one is willing to live in a bubble of what one knows and not curious to take ONE step outside, we become a herd of sheep. Going outside of a comfort zone is scary, dangerous, and could mean hard work. Who wants to go thru that experience?

But... If one takes a step and is persistent enough to find a forum like this one, one will say "Holly Canolli - Look at this!" Where else one can find a concentration of brains with curiosity, creativity, hard work, and willingness to take a risk in the field of tobacco?

I better stop my rant here... Most likely, I will continue later.

Have a good Sunday!
Wiktor