Alpine
Moderator
Ha! Back to the pipe eventuallly @Sid.Stavros ! I love your pictures anyway, both pipes and cigars, but the pipes…
pier
pier
What Pipes or Pipe Tobacco did you smoke today? (2024-2025)
- Thread starter Sid.Stavros
- Start date
The Haroo ln
Haroon
TigerTom
Well-Known Member
Stokkebye Natural Dutch Cavendish
Sutliff Balkan Sobranie Match in a lattice meerschaum. I was pretty upset when STG bought Sutliff and abruptly pulled the piug on this, which had become my favorite smoke. That was really what got me more into trying to blend my own pipe mixtures. I wanted to replicate this, exactly if possible. I never really have, but I have settled upon Towers of Antioch (sort of - my home grown VA is probably not really flue cured, as I never got it to the higher temperatures required) as my new go-to, other than on the days I feel more like a VA/Per. I've been nursing my jar witht he last few ounces of the Sutliff mix along.
Well, a few days ago I scooped an ounce or so of the Sutliff blend into my tobacco pouch and have been smoking it exclusively. My ToA is not the same, but it's dawned on me that I actually like my blend better. The Sutliff has a sort of harshness in the nose and mouth; I don't know if it's their Latakia or some sort of humectant (though this stuff will get crispy dry) or what. Maybe it's even got some Perique in it, I don't know. Point is, I'm no longer upset that I can't get any more of it.
(Bonus points if you can identify the tool behind the pipe...)
Well, a few days ago I scooped an ounce or so of the Sutliff blend into my tobacco pouch and have been smoking it exclusively. My ToA is not the same, but it's dawned on me that I actually like my blend better. The Sutliff has a sort of harshness in the nose and mouth; I don't know if it's their Latakia or some sort of humectant (though this stuff will get crispy dry) or what. Maybe it's even got some Perique in it, I don't know. Point is, I'm no longer upset that I can't get any more of it.
(Bonus points if you can identify the tool behind the pipe...)
I've found that to be true as well. There is not a single historic, commercial blend (covering over a half-century of sampling) that I am tempted to purchase, in preference to home blended pipe tobacco.
Bob
I still haven't made a VA/Per that I like as much as I do Escudo, but what I do have now is perfectly acceptable to me. The only loser in this exercise is the owner of my local cigar and pipe store. I like the guy, and I like his store... but I can't see buying any more tobacco there. I used to occasionally, even though his prices are substantially higher than online ordering, simply to support the local shop. I do still buy the occasional pipe from him, though.
About a decade ago, I discovered a tin of Rattray's Red Rapparee (VA and Orientals) in a local tobacconist shop. I had not seen it since the late 1970s. The young clerk had never sampled Rattray's before. So I purchased the tin, and opened it for him to smell and sample. I was immediately embarrassed, when I realized that it was quite different from what it had been decades earlier. Humectants added! Made in Denmark! Rattray's Black Mallory used to be one of my favorite blends. I now find today's product vile.
Bob
Bob
TigerTom
Well-Known Member
We got a bit of relief from the triple digit weather we've been having, so I lit up some Rattray's Dark Fragrant.
I am so sorry to hear that @Sid.Stavros. My greatest fear is the day when I lose my parents even now as a grown man. I will be praying for his soul. Bless you my friend and the Lord is your comforter.Fellow pipe smokers, i have been absent from the forum lately and for a reason. My father had a problem with one of his heart valves, we had a coronary angiogram in November 2024 but neither the local cardiologist nor the one at the public hospital we went to told us anything. The local cardiologist was very reassuring, "it's nothing...it's a minor operation...it won't take long...you'll be back the same day" etc. Suddenly my father's health deteriorated, we brought him here to Athens to a private hospital for a pre-operative check-up, the results were very bad and then we were forced to admit him for hospitalization, we spent a fortune and after 15 days the doctors told us "there's nothing we can do" because the damage was unreversed.
We took him home to the village and he passed away the next day in front of my mother. Yes, he was 87 years old but he walked with minimal help from a cane, he drove normally, he went shopping alone - to the pharmacy etc, if the doctors had warning us earlier he could live few years more, God rest his soul.
I am travelling tomorrow for the funeral's final preparation, few puffs with Captain Black Royal.
I will be ''Out of Forum'' for the next weeks too.
Sid.Stavros
Well-Known Member
Hello from Athens-Greece, we have sun and 87 'F here.
Little sample bowls of straight Virginia (straight stem cob) and straight Burley (bent stem cob) just to develop a little better understanding of their flavors. As it turns out, what I thought was all VA from my 2023 crop contains some unknown percentage of Burley, with the inclusion of some of the recently discussed TN Red Leaf. I’ve never tried straight burley before; now I know how to spot it. For me it’s a much more robust/full bodied smoke than VA, with some significant “spice” in the nose. I wouldn’t call it “nutty”, though I guess I understand that description from others. I’m getting a better idea understanding of how to spot different components in some of the commercial blends I have.
Flue cured burns my tongue. I feel a throat hit with burley.
I was prepared for some tongue bite with the flue cured, but got none. The burley was like getting a good dose of pepper in the nose, and had a slightly more "cigarette" taste to it, though not enough to be objectionable. I'll be trying out some new blends containing burley. Next up: MD 609.
Sid.Stavros
Well-Known Member
Greetings from Athens-Greece, we have sun and 87 'F here.
Last night I tried a little mix of 1/3 burley, 1/3 lemon VA, and 1/3 Cavendish that I cooked a couple years ago, made form VA that was kilned but not fully flue cured. It wasn't bad, but would benefit from something to add a little more complexity. I'll experiment with some Perique, Latakia, and Oriental and see what works. Or maybe just try a few blends from Bob's books. 
I thought I didn't like burley, but apparently it was just that I hated about every commercial blend I tried that had it. I really do not enjoy the humectants and toppings.
I thought I didn't like burley, but apparently it was just that I hated about every commercial blend I tried that had it. I really do not enjoy the humectants and toppings.
Sid.Stavros
Well-Known Member
Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen from Athens-Greece, we have sun and 83 'F here.
TigerTom
Well-Known Member
Samuel Gawith Full Virginia Flake Burnt Ends. When they press and steam tobaccos for Full Virginia Flake, it doesn't produce a perfectly shaped plug, so the edges (which have been exposed to more steam and heat) are trimmed off before the plug is sliced into flakes. Typically these trimmings were discarded, but someone got the bright idea to sell them.
This is the strangest tobacco I've had to prepare. While flakes are my favorite cut, this is just weird. In the package, it looked like thick cut jerky. I ended up having to do a pseudo cube cut, and the pieces are so dense it was as if I loaded gravel into my pipe. Fortunately, the flavor is pretty good. Smooth, not overpowering. The typical zesty sweet tones of Virginia are there, but they are muted. Doesn't bite unless I puff on it like a Hoover.
Beautiful pipe
Thanks! It looked pretty ratty when I got it. It was one of the first pipes I restored, and I didn't know enough to protect the markiings so you can barely read the logo but yes, the grain is beautiful. I don't remember of it's a Standard or Flame Grain, but back then even the lower end pipes often were just beautiful.
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