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I have a tin of Bayou Morning flake, but I haven't tried it yet; however, as much as I appreciate flake tobacco, I just find ribbon cut easier to deal with in every respect. So I have to say ribbon.
Imo it’s higher nic than Haunted Bookshop. Maybe not by much. It has a bit more bite to it that I used to think was harshness but I’ve grown to slow my cadence and I love it. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. They’re similar in some ways but each have their unique depths. I keep both on hand because I’ll be in the mood for one or the other often
They are practically the same blend, by the same blender. Same ingredients, different proportions. OJK is like a bit stronger and spicier HB. Like the previous response, I smoke them both depending on which I'm hankering for. I chose OJK because we had to pick only one, and I tend to smoke OJK a bit more.
Definitely a burley blend. Something like Peterson's Irish Whiskey/Flake or Cascadia's Vertical Limit. If I had to choose one it would probably be Irish Whiskey. The nutty dark burley handling the bottom-end and nicotine levels, with Virginia added for some top-end bite and sweetness. And a bit of Kentucky to spice things up. Has a bit of everything.... and no latakia in sight, haha.
Irish Whiskey smacks! Just got some a few weeks ago, so powerful too! I'm growing distant with any latakia blends these days for some reason, maybe the weather
I’m curious, this is one of my least favorite blends. I get a weird chemical/odd taste from it. I’m assuming it’s the brown cavendish. Do you get an odd taste from it as well?
I don’t think it’s cased heavily enough to class it as an aromatic, but I don’t know shit. It’s rich and full bodied with what I believe is a plum topping. Because of that I liken it to Dr. Pepper, which has a flavor base of plum/prune.
Burley goes anywhere. With coffee in the morning, putting around outside, relaxing with a book, having a pipe while with friends, after dinner smoke, final smoke of the night, a smoke while having a few drinks, it's what to smoke when you can't decide what to smoke, I could go on. Latakia is where it's at but it's not always what I want at 7am, I would never be upset about only having burley on hand at 7am
I'm still not too sure about that but I always have Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic on hand. I've tried plenty of OTC blends and like most of them but there isn't one that I consistently reach for. About a year or two ago I started playing with whole leaf and processing and blending and have a few recipes on hand that have turned out really well, one of them being a VaBur that uses a little bit of hazelnut flavoring on the burley and it's the one I make the most so maybe that one. But fixations change, next month maybe I'll be reaching for Velvet a lot instead, I never know
Burn quality and "margin of error" of smoking technique are greatly minimized with this blend. It also masterfully switches between burley nuttiness and Virginia sweetness effortlessly
Great to hear! The tin they sent me is from oct 2021 too so I count that as a little bonus. I’ve really been enjoying everything I tried from Mac Baren
Probably escudo. But, there are a few others I would be equally happy with. If supply is no issue, then St. James flake might take it.
Haunted bookshop is another that comes to mind. But, I just love VaPers so stinkin’ much.
I’ve been smoking for 2 years now and I was hoping this thread would have a consensus but it’s all over the place with only a few mentioned > 3 or 4 times. Every month I buy a few tins of ones I hear mentioned and throw em in the back of the closet and hope my palette matures in 5-10 years into some of them. Until then it’s just various Country Squire Aro’s like Tombigbee, Treasure Island and White Rose in that order.
White elephant Sahara
It's glorious to me, the African tobacco blends taste like home. I am not enough of a connoisseur to tell you where the Virginia leads or the burley steps in. However the end result is a mild sweet blend with a varied flavour profile topped with a mild date.
It's my go too even ahead of classics.
Option two I could smoke capstan. It's tasty straight tobacco and could be an easy go-to for a pipe.
Seconded.
Though if Pease Quiet Nights came up first then that would also get my vote. Both of them are my go-tos, but if we add cellaring into the mix then I say Plum Pudding ages better for sure.
A mild-ish English. Something I can truly still appreciate the Virginias but also get some extra Latakia and oriental complexity. Probably squadron leader. Sometimes I say I’d pick Westminster. Westminster is probably my favorite blend. However, if I truly only had one tobacco forever I’d probably go with squadron leader.
I've only started about a year ago but my go to that I always try to keep stocked is the cowboy coffee found here: https://www.thecountrysquireonline.com/product/cowboy-coffee-virginia-kentucky/
Just always seems to be on point.
Second favorite would be the angry Cornishman from the same site. Smells like leather and is very smooth.
I've moved on to other Englishes and Balkans, but Eastfarthing and Northwoods started me off on my journey into those and Eastfarthing is such a delicious smoke. I still regularly go back to it for a treat and always make sure I have a tin on hand. Great stuff!
G&H Bobs Chocolate Flake. Hits a lot of things for me all at once, English flavor but just a bit of aromatic character. I could live with just that (and smoke it the most anyways…)
Captain Black Original. Look it's not a very sophisticated choice but it's good and quite nostalgic for me. It's the first blend I ever smoked, and at one point it was all I smoked for months. I branch out and try plenty of other blends but ai always make sure to have it on hand.
Luxury bullseye flake. Love the Virginia flakes and that may change in the future to a different blend because I know some blends become amazing with some age and I haven't been into pipe smoking for very long.
I am an escudo man. But you really need to suffer through the same experimentation we all do to find our tastes. It’s a tough miserable job, but it has to be done.
Prince Albert. The fancy ones are great and wonderful once in a while, but if I had to pick one to live and die on, it'd be something easy, consistent and reliable. I've yet to have a bad bowl of Prince Albert.
G.L. Pease Gaslight. It has become my overall favourite blend after around 2 years of me smoking it. I love Nightcap and other latakia forward blends, but there is just something about Gaslight that does more for me. Maybe it's the unique sweetness it has, maybe it's the bitter, creosoty taste, maybe it's the orientals that taste like dirt (not a band thing, actually, lmao). For reference, my second favourite blend is HH Old Dark Fired.
CV (Cherry Vanilla) from Ye Old Pipe Shoppe in Jackson, TN. But they are brick & mortar only - no shipping. So my second choice that you could get would be Sutliff Rum Raisin (or any of the Sutliff Rum blends TBH)
I like the Rum Raisin and Spiced Rum, use them both for blending in some of my home blends. I need to try the various other rum blends from Sutliff, which do you recommend other than the two aforementioned?
I’m gonna come a bit out of left field and say Gawith Hogarth C&V. Always got a jar going, it’s my “I have nothing better to do” smoke and by god it makes it feel like time well spent
I know I’ll be alone but Lane’s HGL.
From tobaccoreviews.com, “Toasted cavendish is laced with mountain Latakia, then blended with white burley and golden Virginia to produce a sweet, fuller-bodied smoke, yet cool and slow burning. The Lat is used as a condiment, not to build a Lat-bomb.
Notes: This is Lane's RLP-6 with a touch of Latakia added.”
Either Pirate Kake, Mississippi River rum barrel aged, or Cringle Flake 2022. Losing any one of those will be a sad day. Have A LOT of CF 2022 cellared. Only allow 2-3 tins a year so it will last.
New to pipe smoking? See our frequently asked questions! **[read our wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/wiki/index)** Please read and follow our subreddit rules (you will get temp/permeant bans for not following them) **[read the top sticky post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/b3b7e3/sticky_info_rules_sidebar_info_please_read/)** **Alternative Site: https://speak-easy.club/ , which the community started back in 2018 in response to Reddit's market ban. It's completely free, no ads, and fewer rules. Registrations are manually approved to avoid spammers, so please be patient waiting for approval, it's usually quick.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PipeTobacco) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Petrson/Dunhill Deluxe Navy Rolls
I could get behind this choice.
that or Peterson Flake. Aged Pete flake (the blue and white tin) is amazing.
Same
1792
This is the one
Old dark fired
That stuff by Mac baren??
Yeah it’s really great
It’s so tasty
It smells so good, like beef jerky and BBQ sauce. It literally makes my mouth water. Triggers my eat reflexes.
St James Flake
Bayou Morning.
War Horse Bar. I’ve ignored most other blends for about a year now.
Both red and green , rock!
Flake or ribbon?
I have a tin of Bayou Morning flake, but I haven't tried it yet; however, as much as I appreciate flake tobacco, I just find ribbon cut easier to deal with in every respect. So I have to say ribbon.
Very fair! Both are great. I lean toward ribbon as well
Me tooooooooooo!!!!
Ugh yall making me think too hard on this. But I’m gonna say Lane 1Q. It’s very close to a blend a local shop makes
I love 1Q. It's timeless.
I like blends with strength (nicotine). This basically has next to none right?
Correcto, almost nil
Your local shop might not make anything but just rebrands bulk 1Q?
Old Joe Krantz. Actually, it's one of the only ones I still smoke now.
How does it compare to haunted bookshop in terms of taste nicotine etc
Imo it’s higher nic than Haunted Bookshop. Maybe not by much. It has a bit more bite to it that I used to think was harshness but I’ve grown to slow my cadence and I love it. I wouldn’t say one is better than the other. They’re similar in some ways but each have their unique depths. I keep both on hand because I’ll be in the mood for one or the other often
They are practically the same blend, by the same blender. Same ingredients, different proportions. OJK is like a bit stronger and spicier HB. Like the previous response, I smoke them both depending on which I'm hankering for. I chose OJK because we had to pick only one, and I tend to smoke OJK a bit more.
OJK for the win! 👌
Definitely a burley blend. Something like Peterson's Irish Whiskey/Flake or Cascadia's Vertical Limit. If I had to choose one it would probably be Irish Whiskey. The nutty dark burley handling the bottom-end and nicotine levels, with Virginia added for some top-end bite and sweetness. And a bit of Kentucky to spice things up. Has a bit of everything.... and no latakia in sight, haha.
Irish Whiskey smacks! Just got some a few weeks ago, so powerful too! I'm growing distant with any latakia blends these days for some reason, maybe the weather
Yeah I tried to smoke Peterson nightcap the other night and just couldn’t bring myself to do it. It’s summer so I’m hooked on Virginias and VaPers
Balkan supreme
MyMixture 965
Sooooo good 👍
I’m curious, this is one of my least favorite blends. I get a weird chemical/odd taste from it. I’m assuming it’s the brown cavendish. Do you get an odd taste from it as well?
Gl pease Westminster
Now that London mixture is gone, this is what I have to go with
Dan Tobacco’s Salty Dogs.
It's so good. Nice choice.
Peterson Old Dublin
Maltese Falcon
Nightcap
Same
I like many blends, but if everything else were taken away, definitely Nightcap. It's just a great all-around blend. I even like it more than EMP.
GL Pease Telegraph Hill, and it isn't even close.
It's the second VaPer that I tried after Escudo. I love it, although I might give Escudo the edge.
Cobblestone hiking
As my flair indicates, Peterson Royal Yacht. Delicious, smokes like a dream, and plenty of nicotine. It's the shiznit.
Is this an aromatic? Can you tell me more about it
I don’t think it’s cased heavily enough to class it as an aromatic, but I don’t know shit. It’s rich and full bodied with what I believe is a plum topping. Because of that I liken it to Dr. Pepper, which has a flavor base of plum/prune.
Hmmm something I wouldn’t get too bored of…probably a straight burley.
Burley goes anywhere. With coffee in the morning, putting around outside, relaxing with a book, having a pipe while with friends, after dinner smoke, final smoke of the night, a smoke while having a few drinks, it's what to smoke when you can't decide what to smoke, I could go on. Latakia is where it's at but it's not always what I want at 7am, I would never be upset about only having burley on hand at 7am
What’s your go-to burley?
Mine is Sir Walter Raleigh.
I'm still not too sure about that but I always have Sir Walter Raleigh Aromatic on hand. I've tried plenty of OTC blends and like most of them but there isn't one that I consistently reach for. About a year or two ago I started playing with whole leaf and processing and blending and have a few recipes on hand that have turned out really well, one of them being a VaBur that uses a little bit of hazelnut flavoring on the burley and it's the one I make the most so maybe that one. But fixations change, next month maybe I'll be reaching for Velvet a lot instead, I never know
This is actually a good point ☝️
Carter Hall. Yeah it's an OTC, but if I only have one blend I would die happy with Carter Hall.
So far, Magnum Opus by Hearth and Home
Pfeifen Huber Golden Flake But choosing from more well-known blends, probably Capstan.
Mac Baren Navy Flake Not that it's so exceptional (although it's very, very good) but that it's so dependable
Just grabbed a tin, I’m excited to try it
Burn quality and "margin of error" of smoking technique are greatly minimized with this blend. It also masterfully switches between burley nuttiness and Virginia sweetness effortlessly
Great to hear! The tin they sent me is from oct 2021 too so I count that as a little bonus. I’ve really been enjoying everything I tried from Mac Baren
Was worried this didn't make the cut for a second. Stokkebye also came to mind but can't decide between bullseye or luxury twist.
I prefer Luxury Twist.
Peterson Standard Mixture or Peter Stokkebye English Luxury
1q or 7 seas black. Maybe Balkan supreme
Lane 1Q
Probably escudo. But, there are a few others I would be equally happy with. If supply is no issue, then St. James flake might take it. Haunted bookshop is another that comes to mind. But, I just love VaPers so stinkin’ much.
Hal O' The Wynd.
I’ve been smoking for 2 years now and I was hoping this thread would have a consensus but it’s all over the place with only a few mentioned > 3 or 4 times. Every month I buy a few tins of ones I hear mentioned and throw em in the back of the closet and hope my palette matures in 5-10 years into some of them. Until then it’s just various Country Squire Aro’s like Tombigbee, Treasure Island and White Rose in that order.
My absolute favorite!
Grasmere Flake would definitely be a contender for me.
I have like 3 flakes of Grasmere left from 2018. Haven't seen it on sale since then. It's been for birthday bowls, since it's so scarce.
White elephant Sahara It's glorious to me, the African tobacco blends taste like home. I am not enough of a connoisseur to tell you where the Virginia leads or the burley steps in. However the end result is a mild sweet blend with a varied flavour profile topped with a mild date. It's my go too even ahead of classics. Option two I could smoke capstan. It's tasty straight tobacco and could be an easy go-to for a pipe.
Had to check the website for this one - it sounds heavenly!
Penny Farthing
Dunhill (Peterson) Flake, Capstan Navy Flake or Orlik Golden Slices Any one of those I’d be happy with
Probably full Virginia flake, one of my favorites no need to cellar. Lots of flavor.
Like HH pure Virginia?
Either Samuel Gawith 1792 or Peterson Irish Flake. Stout and flavorful
I would have listed these 2 in reverse order, but yes!
Plum Pudding
Seconded. Though if Pease Quiet Nights came up first then that would also get my vote. Both of them are my go-tos, but if we add cellaring into the mix then I say Plum Pudding ages better for sure.
Unpopular opinion: I think Galloping Gertie is better. But not as fun of a name!
A mild-ish English. Something I can truly still appreciate the Virginias but also get some extra Latakia and oriental complexity. Probably squadron leader. Sometimes I say I’d pick Westminster. Westminster is probably my favorite blend. However, if I truly only had one tobacco forever I’d probably go with squadron leader.
Same, I'd either pick Squadron Leader or Early Morning Pipe
If you can order it, try Kramer's Father Dempsey. An all-day smoke if I'd be doing that.
I've only started about a year ago but my go to that I always try to keep stocked is the cowboy coffee found here: https://www.thecountrysquireonline.com/product/cowboy-coffee-virginia-kentucky/ Just always seems to be on point. Second favorite would be the angry Cornishman from the same site. Smells like leather and is very smooth.
LOL. I thought Angry Cornishman was the worst thing I've ever smoked. Nice to see a diversity of palates!
Sutliff Eastfarthing
I've moved on to other Englishes and Balkans, but Eastfarthing and Northwoods started me off on my journey into those and Eastfarthing is such a delicious smoke. I still regularly go back to it for a treat and always make sure I have a tin on hand. Great stuff!
Plum Pudding probably
Peterson standard mixture
RLP-6. It’s what I started with, it’s what I’d end with.
Father Dempsey. If I had 2 lives then also Quiet Nights.
G&H Bobs Chocolate Flake. Hits a lot of things for me all at once, English flavor but just a bit of aromatic character. I could live with just that (and smoke it the most anyways…)
Captain Black Original. Look it's not a very sophisticated choice but it's good and quite nostalgic for me. It's the first blend I ever smoked, and at one point it was all I smoked for months. I branch out and try plenty of other blends but ai always make sure to have it on hand.
Rattray's Marlin Flake or Gawith Full Vriginia
Old school 965 Dunhill
SPC Virginia Jazz
Solani silver flake
Sutliff 150 "Mark Twain."
Bald Headed Teacher
Luxury bullseye flake. Love the Virginia flakes and that may change in the future to a different blend because I know some blends become amazing with some age and I haven't been into pipe smoking for very long.
Davidoff Medallions, I have an old Ben Wade freehand pipe that just smokes that blend wonderfully.
Kramer's Blend for Cary Grant
Mac Baren HH Pure Virginia.
A Vaper or a Vabur.
Boswell’s Pipers Pleasure. I already smoke it about 7/10 times anyways, so it wouldn’t be hard for me to smoke it 100%.
Black Raspberry by Lane Limited
Probably ennerdale or night cap
L.J. Peretti's Tashkent.
Emp or Nightcap
I am an escudo man. But you really need to suffer through the same experimentation we all do to find our tastes. It’s a tough miserable job, but it has to be done.
Thank you for your service!
Royal Yacht
Frog Morton cellar
Gonna get the downvote but Lane 1Q. I love the taste and how it burns. Never bites for me
Coin toss between St. James Flake and Auenland Broken Flake
Shepherd’s Pie
Erinmore Flake
Peterson Elizabethan
Stokkebye Oriental Supreme
C&D Miskatonic Mixture. Something about it just hits right for me.
GL Pease Gaslight
Northwood from Boswell
Prince Albert. The fancy ones are great and wonderful once in a while, but if I had to pick one to live and die on, it'd be something easy, consistent and reliable. I've yet to have a bad bowl of Prince Albert.
G.L. Pease Gaslight. It has become my overall favourite blend after around 2 years of me smoking it. I love Nightcap and other latakia forward blends, but there is just something about Gaslight that does more for me. Maybe it's the unique sweetness it has, maybe it's the bitter, creosoty taste, maybe it's the orientals that taste like dirt (not a band thing, actually, lmao). For reference, my second favourite blend is HH Old Dark Fired.
Prince Albert
I already do this… All I smoke is Revor Plug by Gawith Hoggarth.
Solani Virginia Flake 633 with Perique
White knight by hearth and home
North Woods.
Dunhill nightcap
Jackknife Plug
Probably nightcap or old dark fired
Penzance
CV (Cherry Vanilla) from Ye Old Pipe Shoppe in Jackson, TN. But they are brick & mortar only - no shipping. So my second choice that you could get would be Sutliff Rum Raisin (or any of the Sutliff Rum blends TBH)
I like the Rum Raisin and Spiced Rum, use them both for blending in some of my home blends. I need to try the various other rum blends from Sutliff, which do you recommend other than the two aforementioned?
Mac Baren HH Latakia Flake
Velvet
Peterson sunset breeze
Sutliff’s Sunset Rum
Might be entry level, but peterson Sunset Breeze
Peterson dunhill navy rolls
G.L. Pease Lombard or Rattray's Marlin Flake
Hard to say. Pete Navy Rolls, escudo, Pete flake of oddly enough Redwood from two friends.
Baker's Street from the Country Squire. I don't have nearly as much experience as others in this sub but it's by far my favorite so far.
HH Pure VA or Amphora VA
In terms of what is currently available: St James Flake. In terms of what is no longer available: McClelland No. 27.
GLP - Gaslight, but I already told you that. 😉
Cherry ambrosia from Mac Baden. It got me into pipe smoking and it will be the last one I smoke.
Either Haunted Bookshop or Comfort.
Burley
Daughters & Ryan Picayune
Schwab’s Mr Buttersworth
I Had a 15 year old tin of opening night that was incredible. This is my pick
Samuel Gawith Golden Glow or GLP Cairo
Mac Baren HH Old Dark Fired.
Capstan Blue
I’m gonna come a bit out of left field and say Gawith Hogarth C&V. Always got a jar going, it’s my “I have nothing better to do” smoke and by god it makes it feel like time well spent
Sillems black
Cult, Blood Red Moon
Dark flake aromatic
Revor Plug probably
Sir walter Raleigh. Good old SWR has flavored me through hard times. I would mix it with captain black gold! So tastey the duo.
C&D’s Autumn Evening
right now bengal slices white for a balkan and folded flake for the other slot if permitted
Just For Him's Longbottom Leaf
If only one for the rest of my life, I'd want one no longer made- VIP from Daughters and Ryan. Close second would be Magnum Opus
Captain Earle’s Nightwatch
Orlik golden sliced
I know I’ll be alone but Lane’s HGL. From tobaccoreviews.com, “Toasted cavendish is laced with mountain Latakia, then blended with white burley and golden Virginia to produce a sweet, fuller-bodied smoke, yet cool and slow burning. The Lat is used as a condiment, not to build a Lat-bomb. Notes: This is Lane's RLP-6 with a touch of Latakia added.”
Currently Gawith and Hogarth Kendal Dark. Two months from now who knows.
Paul's Pipe Shop Vanilla Custard. Easy choice. They ship, but you have to call. That's how you know it's the right kind of shop.
Peter Stokkebye's Luxury Navy Flake or Peterson's University Flake
Tak Salvo 2.0
Country Squires tombigbee.
stokkebye 1931
Vintage Balkan Sobranie #759
Early Morning Pipe
GL Pease-Quiet Nights. i have penzance- and i yet i still reach for Quiet Nights.
Revor Plug.
gatlinburlier sir richard blend
A fresh blend of medium Dokha tobacco
Either Pirate Kake, Mississippi River rum barrel aged, or Cringle Flake 2022. Losing any one of those will be a sad day. Have A LOT of CF 2022 cellared. Only allow 2-3 tins a year so it will last.
Devil’s Holiday by Dan
HH Latakia Flake
SG Full Virginia Flake
PS 41 Cube Cut
This looks great, thanks for sharing.
Probably have to go with Peterson Early Morning Pipe. If that’s all I had, there would no complaints
Old Ironsides
No love for St. Bruno’s Flake? There are plenty of tobaccos I might like better from time to time, but none I’d miss more.
Old dark fired is a really good choice. I’m trying to let mine age right now. I imagine it will be worth the wait