1. Cigarette Tobaccos

There are only a handful of general types of tobacco that are used in most cigarettes, even though a cigarette can be made from any of the 3000 varieties of smoking tobacco, as well as Nicotiana rustica varieties.

Flue-cured or Bright Tobacco: The generic term, “bright tobacco” refers to any flue-cured tobacco. Flue-cured Virginia tobacco is usually the primary component of a cigarette blend. Since leaf harvested off different stalk positions flue-cures from brighter (at the base of the plant stalk) to darker and redder going up the stalk, the flue-cured leaf is available in a range of shades. Typical ranges are from a light lemon yellow color to “red” Virginia. While the brighter (lower) leaf presents a lighter though sweeter edge, the redder leaf offers a richer aroma and a higher nicotine content. Flue-cured leaf from Canada is generally milder and lighter in color, though not as flavorful, as that from the US. This difference is mostly due to the use of milder strains of Virginia tobacco that were specifically developed in Canada.

Burley: This is a specific class of tobacco with relatively high nicotine content and a more alkaline smoke than flue-cured. Burley is always air-cured. It lacks the sugars of flue-cured tobacco. It is known for increasing the “throat impact” of a cigarette blend, as well as for being able to better absorb any casing solution applied to the tobacco. Burley is often the second ingredient, by weight, in an American cigarette blend, though some Canadian brands have no burley. There are nonetheless Canadian varieties of burley (e.g. Harrow Velvet) that are generally milder and lighter in color than most US burley varieties.

Maryland: Maryland class tobacco (for example, MD 609) may be substituted for some or all of the burley in a blend recipe, providing a similar nicotine concentration (higher than that of flue-cured Virginia), while not contributing a distinctive burley taste. For cased cigarette blends, Maryland tobacco has a greater tendency to hold on to the casing than does burley.

Oriental: This is a large group of milder, sun-cured tobaccos from the regions of the former Ottoman Empire. These are sometimes referred to simply as “Turkish”. As a group, they are low in nicotine, relatively sweet, and often mildly floral in aroma. In typical American cigarette blends, an Oriental makes up around 10% of the tobacco. Camel cigarettes traditionally contained Samsun as their Oriental component, while others use or used the milder, Basma types. including Xanthi and Izmir. Prilep is a unique, sweet, Basma-like leaf developed in Prilep, Northern Macedonia.

Perique: A small portion of deep brown, pressure-cured perique will nudge up the apparent strength of a cigarette. It does this by raising the pH (reducing the acidity) of the smoke. At least one commercial cigarette brand adds perique to its blend.

Perique: A small portion of deep brown, pressure-cured perique will nudge up the apparent strength of a cigarette. It does this by raising the pH (reducing the acidity) of the smoke. At least one commercial cigarette brand adds perique to its blend.

Rustica: Nicotiana rustica is a different species than common smoking tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). It tends to be harsher and generally a lot higher in nicotine. Commercial cigarette blends with Rustica are not uncommon in Russia and Eastern Europe.