New Pipe Smoker With A Question? Ask an Old Fart

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Hi guys,

I'm not new to pipes, but I'm new to researching pipe tobaccos more thoroughly than just telling myself "that smells good" when I check something out in a store.

My difficulty is that I'm finding, in a shocking (!!) similarity to the cigar world, a lot of misinformation out there. I'll look up a given commercial blend and one site will say, "This blend is primarily Virginia, with just a touch of Latakia", while another source will describe the same blend, saying "Almost all Latakia, but a little pinch of Virginia keeps it balanced". Or, more troubling, a review might say, "This is one of the rare blends made without a casing", while another review will say, "The dark rum flavoring, while subtle, is noticeable in the room note".

Total inconsistency!

So, my question to you guys: can you point me at a good (preferably online) source of info about commercially available blends that you trust to provide accurate information?

Thanks, everybody.

Welcome to the world of perceptions.

You want to know what is in a blend, ask the blender.

If you want to know what people think of a blend, then read reviews. Someone who likes Latakia may think there is very little in blend, which someone else may think contains very little.

Someone may think there is a light casing on a tobacco, while someone else will perceive that there is not casing, but that the natural flavors of the constituent tobaccos bring that aroma and/or flavor to the senses. For example, I do not believe there is any casing whatsoever on Esoterica Dorchester, but it certainly seems to smell of maple, as if there were a casing. So, some will claim that there is a casing.

I know this is not being very helpful, but that's reality.

What I like to do is read about the tobaccos present from the blender's own information. Then I look at different reviews and try tobaccos myself. I go back to those same reviews and find those reviewers who had similar tastes and appreciation for the same tobaccos. Then, in the future, I can look for those perceptions on tobaccos I might be interested in trying.

I know it isn't an exact science, but that's how I do it.

For this purpose, this is the review site I like - it is very comprehensive in the number of tobaccos it lists. It will also prove the first part of this note. http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/

[Doctorossi]

Thanks a lot, Todd!

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

I know this is not being very helpful, but that's reality.

Yeah, reality has a way of not being very helpful sometimes.

[Lear31MX]

Ok old farts I have a few questions. Just bought a couple of pipes and looking into starting down another slope...

Is there a type of tabacoo I should stay away from when breaking in a new Brul pipe? (i.e. shag, flake, ribbion or flavored.)

From what I've seen/read some people don't fill the bowl up for the first 3-4 time with a new pipe. So do I need to really pack the first 1/2 of the bowl tight or just like I was going to do the regular three fill method?

Also just out of curiosity how many of you pro pipe smokers use the three fill vs. the putting tabacoo in your hand and twisting the tabacoo in to the pipe like this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XHYP...eature=related

Thanks.

[Commander Quan]

That is the first time I have seen that particular method of filling a pipe. Although it doesn't seem all that different than the Frank Method, I would imagine that the linked method gives you far less tactile feedback to how tightly the tobacco is being filled.

Whatever method you choose to use (try various ones) you want to remember that the tobacco in the bottom of the pipe should be the least dense, and it should gradually get tighter to the top layer. As you gradually get better with the 3 layer, Frank, J.J. Fox, or whatever method you use, you will eventually own your own system for filling pipes that work best for you.

For your initial break in I would stick with a standard ribbon cut, or rubbed out flake tobacco, and try to smoke it as coolly as possible. It's not necessary to smoke only half bowls if you are smoking all the way to the bottom, half bowls are recommended, to get cake to develop in the bottom half of the pipe, but the funny thing about pipe cake and the Tooth Fairy is that they never come when your waiting for them, so just smoke your pipe and enjoy.

[Lear31MX]

Sounds good thank you Derrick

[RevSmoke]

Anthony, however you fill the bowl is fine - as long as it works for you.

Also, you don't need to fill the pipe only partway, fill it to the top and smoke it to the bottom. That is key - smoke it completely to the bottom. The reason many don't fill completely is because some find it difficult to smoke to the bottom of the bowl, and when breaking in a new pipe, that is important. You need to build cake all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

Something else that helps is this. After smoking completely to the bottom, while the pipe is still warm, stir up you ash/dottle, cover the top of you pipe with the palm of your hand, and shake is so that the ash coats the inside of the bowl, then set it down to rest for a couple days. This helps to develop a consistent cake.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[Lear31MX]

Originally Posted by RevSmoke

Also, you don't need to fill the pipe only partway, fill it to the top and smoke it to the bottom. That is key - smoke it completely to the bottom. The reason many don't fill completely is because some find it difficult to smoke to the bottom of the bowl, and when breaking in a new pipe, that is important. You need to build cake all the way to the bottom of the bowl.

Something else that helps is this. After smoking completely to the bottom, while the pipe is still warm, stir up you ash/dottle, cover the top of you pipe with the palm of your hand, and shake is so that the ash coats the inside of the bowl, then set it down to rest for a couple days. This helps to develop a consistent cake.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

Thanks Todd, I smoked my third bowl last week and did all those thing. Enjoyed it immensely.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by Lear31MX

Thanks Todd, I smoked my third bowl last week and did all those thing. Enjoyed it immensely.

Sometimes breaking in a new pipe can be a royal pain. Done right though, the rewards later are immense.

Enjoy your pipes.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[DPD6030]

Not really a question but I'm going to buy my first pipe while in FL at the Epic cigar herf. I plan on buying a cob pipe and looking at pipe tobacco. I guess I do have a question.

What do you recommend (pipe baccy wise) for a new guy that really hasn't smoked a pipe other than a few puffs from my brother's pipe at the Shack Herf.

[Emjaysmash]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Not really a question but I'm going to buy my first pipe while in FL at the Epic cigar herf. I plan on buying a cob pipe and looking at pipe tobacco. I guess I do have a question.

What do you recommend (pipe baccy wise) for a new guy that really hasn't smoked a pipe other than a few puffs from my brother's pipe at the Shack Herf.

Being as you came from cigars, I would suggest an English Blend. (More robust tobaccos, and a heavier flavor than other types of blends) I found I liked these the most when I started smoking a pipe. I would recommend Dunhill's My Mixture 965.

Andrew,

Most of the popular blends you see mentioned around the pipe section would probably treat you well. Something like Squadron Leader, Best Brown Flake, Escudo Navy Deluxe to name just a couple. If my wurld wasn't in upheaval I'd offer to shoot ya out some samples...

Eh screw it, PM me your addy and be patient I'll see what I can do ;-)
Or if one of you guys want to throw em under the bus rat'im out.

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Not really a question but I'm going to buy my first pipe while in FL at the Epic cigar herf. I plan on buying a cob pipe and looking at pipe tobacco. I guess I do have a question.

What do you recommend (pipe baccy wise) for a new guy that really hasn't smoked a pipe other than a few puffs from my brother's pipe at the Shack Herf.

Wait till you get here, I'll hook you up with samples of my favorites.

In the meantime, here's some information, one of the easiest I have found to describe the major tobacco types in three categories.

One of the basic skills of a novice is to be able to differentiate between the three main blend types.
The English blends (often also called "mixtures") normally include no artificial additives. Usually they contain as a vital ingredient strong and smoky Latakia coming originally from Syria

For a novice starting his adventure with pipes it still today is common to tell about some old myth about Latakia, namely that it gets its personal taste from camel dung. Tobacco is supposed to dry hanging on rafters inside of primitive buildings heated by burning camel dung in a stove.

Normally at least Virginia and/or Burley, perhaps also some Oriental tobacco are with in the English blends. Often but not always the English blends also contain a very strong, peppery tobacco called Perique. It is only grown in certain restricted areas of Louisiana. Actually Perique is not a a special species of Nicotiana like Burley or Virginia but an old method of fermentation. The process is very arduous. Tobacco is put many times under a high pressure that makes it ferment in its own juices. Gradually and arduously out of this comes a very special tasting, strong and spicy tobacco, added carefully in some blends. Perique gives the typical flavour and bite to many of those mixtures, called English. It might be added that the well-known Tabasco also comes from Louisiana. In fact, there indeed exists certain similarity with Perique and Tabasco.
The second of the main types of blends is called Aromatic.
By adding some natural or artificial flavours in the blend we can get often especially for a non-smoker deliciously smelling tobacco. Usual additives are e.g. vanilla, chocolate, various berries, fruits or nuts, rhums. whiskies, liqueurs, etc. Often the tobaccos in the group of aromatics are specially fermented using a process called Cavendish
A certain weakness is usual with these aromatic blends, namely they do not smoke as dry as the English. They may make pipe wet leaving certain gunk in them. One cannot smoke a pipe to the bottom so that only dry ashes were left after smoking a bowl. Instead of dry ashes out comes a wet dottle perhaps even a cm or more high in the shape of the bottom part of the bowl.

Virginia blends can become added as the third main type among pipe tobaccos. Usually there are many different types of Virginias, even as many as nine of them in a blend. Often also Perique is included in a lesser amount. Virginia blends are usually pressed and sold in flakes. They age very well and thus it is wise to buy them more at a time and stash for later use. You must puff these SLOWLY not to get tongue burn, but if and when you learn this you'll most probably never leave them.

Personally I prefer the English blends, but can also sometimes for a change smoke e.g. some very carefully with vanilla flavoured, still dry burning Cavendish tobacco. During the last years I have begun to appreciate the Virginia blends. Especially those from J.F. Germain.

It is from this website. http://personal.inet.fi/koti/antti.k...ki/tobacco.htm

[RevSmoke]

Here's another bit of dandy information from the www.pipes2smoke.com site.

Pipe Tobacco:
All pipe tobaccos are either a blend of different types of tobacco (90%) or, and there a few of these, one type of tobacco that has been treated or processed in some way. The only straight, single type, tobaccos that I am aware off are Virginias. E.G. Gawith's Full Virginia Flake.

The flavor , aroma and burning characteristics of a pipe tobacco are a combination of the types of tobacco used, the way the tobacco was processed and the cut of the tobacco(s) used.

CUTS.
FLAKE: Tobacco that has been pressed into a brick then cut into flat flakes that may vary in size. It must be rubbed out into smaller pieces before smoking. Generally flake tobaccos are cool burning and with a few exceptions ( Gawith Balkan Flake, Krumble Kake), are pure Virginia's.

RIBBON CUT: Tobacco that has been pressed then cut into long, thin ribbons. It is not as long or as fine as SHAG cut. Shag cut is very similar to cigarette tobacco in cut. This can be Virginia or Oriental.

CUBE CUT: Tobacco that has forced through a sieve, grate or chopped into small pieces that are often square. Typically, cube cuts are Burley tobacco.

Curly - this is tobacco leaf spun into rope and sliced. It typically is very slow burning hence it is cool smoking.

SHAG: Tobacco which has been very finely long cut. In Edwardian times it was considered an poor quality tobacco. Today, it is not. An example is McClellands Shag Cuts, Baker Street, 221 , etc. Most shags have a high proportion of Virginia in them as Virginia tobaccos have long leaves that allow this cut.

NAVY CUT: Originally the tobacco was favored by sailors. They would put it in a long thin canvas tube and twist it tight. When taken out it was a thick rope of tobacco that they could carry in their pocket. They could cut off a plug to chew or slice it to smoke in a pipe. Escudo, Three Nuns Slices and Bengal Slices are types of sliced plug. Normally it is a slow burning tobacco fitting with its sailing origins. Navy blends are often steeped in Rum as this what sailors used to to do.

Blending tobaccos:

The tobacco plant is unique in that the plant develops different characteristics and flavors contingent on the type of soil and climate it is grown in. Many tobaccos blends have added natural and artificial flavorings added, but if the climate and soil is of poor quality the tobacco will never be a quality smoke. That is why tobacco isn't grown in the UK. Good soil but too wet a climate.

VIRGINIA - comes in an almost infinite variety red, brown, black, lemon, orange, wheat orange-red etc.

It is the mildest of all blending tobaccos but because it has the highest natural sugar content by itself it can often burn hot.

It is used in almost all blends as it burns well.

Its characteristic is a natural sweetness but certain types have to steamed or stoved to eliminate their tannic acids which can impart an acidic taste.

BRIGHT Virginia - is from the Carolinas and is normally very pale in color almost white.

BURLEY - "white burley" - is a mutation of Virginia that developed in Maryland after the Civil War. It has natural tobacco taste, almost nutty, and will never "bite." It takes flavorings and casing especially well as it has very little taste of its own. It is the most common base tobacco in drugstore blends.

CAVENDISH - Cavendish is a process of curing and/or a method of cutting tobacco leaf. A steamed Virginia is a Cavendish. Cavendish takes aromatics very well. "Black Cavendish, is Kentucky Green River Burley steamed with either sucrose or fructose and not washed," Craig Tarler of Cornell & Diehl. The best Cavendish is washed out after steaming to remove the sweetness. The treating and/or the cut bring out a natural sweet taste that is typical of Virginia tobacco. Cavendish is a tobacco that has a light taste, is mild and packs easy.

All Virginia tobaccos have a high nicotine content because they typically are grown in nitrogen rich soils.

Condiment tobaccos: These have a very strong taste and often aroma. They are rarely smoked straight. They normally used as flavoring in blends and to modify the burning characteristics of a blend.

Perique - Louisiana - is grown in only in St, James Parish in Louisiana. It originated with Native Americans who steeped the tobacco in its own juice in hollow logs. Today, its produced by fermenting twist in their own juices under pressure for 9-10 months. It is still steeped in its own juice to make it Perique. It is very strong and few blends have more than 10-15% added.

Havana - Is grown in the Vuelta Region of Cuba - in Santiago Province. The best cigars in the world come from there.

Deer tongue -is the leaf of the wild vanilla plant. It is very hot if over used. It is added in small quantities to blends and has a unique aroma.

Oriental tobaccos: They are typically very fragrant, variable sugar content and have virtually no nicotine because they are grown in nitrogen poor soils in arid regions of the Middle East and Greece, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia. They are bought up in massive quantities by the large cigarette companies.

There are two broad types of oriental Turkish and Greek.

The Greek includes Basma, (Frog Morton on the Town), Mahalla, Xanthi, (Ashton Old Dog), Dubek, Yenidji (original Balkan Sobraine).

The most common Turkish type is Smyrna, the best of which is called little ears in Turkish.

Latakia - From Syria/Cyprus (smoked Oriental tobacco). It was accidentally "discovered" after a bumper crop in the 1880's. The surplus tobacco was stored in the rafters of Arab farmhouses. Arab peasant farmers, "fellahin" used wood and when short of wood camel dung for cooking and heating in the winter. The smoke cured tobacco imparted a unique flavoring and taste that was discovered when it was smoked.

Cyprian latakia is smoked over a banked fire of mountain shrubs, pins trees myrtle and other native woods in sheds.

Syrian latakia is smoked over different woods and herbs. The main one is Syrian oak. Syrian latakia is normally lighter in color and smokier to taste than Cyprian.

Drama - Macedonia - Greece - is a strong condiment tobacco. It is used very sparingly in blends.

One of the characteristics of Latakia and other Oriental tobaccos is that they are grown in nitrogen poor soils. This means a low sugar and nicotine content but makes the tobaccos naturally spicy.

Hope this all helps.

[RevSmoke]

Personally, I divide the different blends into these categories.

Burley Blends - blends with burley predominating as the base tobacco (Cornell & Diehl does Burley the best, although I do not gravitate toward them - if I were to have one I'd have #107 Haunted Bookshop or #126 Old Joe Krantz)
Oriental Blends - Oriental are the base. (I don't really have anything to offer here because I really don't have one that I keep around)
Virginias - without much other than different Virginias in them. (Astley's 109, Dan's Hamborger Veermaster, Esoteria Dorchester, Samuel Gawith Full VA Flake, & I'll throw Cornell & Diehl's Back Porch in here)
VaPers - have Virginias and Perique only. (Gawith & Hoggarth Louisiana Flake, Escudo, Sam Gawith St. Jame's Flake)
English Blends - have Latakia in varying amounts, and my have other consituent tobaccos. (Gawith & Hoggarth Mixture #12, Dunhill 965, Cornell & Diehl Bow-legged Bear & #416 Plantation Evening, Esoterica Penzance)
Aromatics - these have some kind of top-note or casing that flavors the tobaccos. (Two Friends Celtic Mist)

Hope these posts were helpful.

Peace of the Lord be with you.

[DPD6030]

Thanks for the info. I'll trade you cigars for some pipe tobacco! PM sent.
Posted via Mobile Device

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by DPD6030

Thanks for the info. I'll trade you cigars for some pipe tobacco! PM sent.
Posted via Mobile Device

Who suggested a trade? While you're here, you can sample from the tobacco cellar. We'll see what we want to take fishing with us and get a couple pipes in while hitting the stream. Nice thing about a pipe while fishing is this - if you drop it in, it floats, and if you can catch it, no harm done except for the loss of tobacco that was is in and all it needs do is dry out. At the most, you may have lost $1.00 worth of tobacco (if it was the really, really expensive stuff).

If you drop a cigar in the water while fishing, there are no relights... drying it out doesn't help... and you may be out a significantly larger amount of money.

[Emjaysmash]

Wait until you see his cellar. It's freaken awesome.

[jkstewart1]

Go Rev! Layin' some smack pipe smokin' style!

[RevSmoke]

Originally Posted by jkstewart1

Go Rev! Layin' some smack pipe smokin' style!

I hoped someone found it helpful.

[ApexAZ]

Hi all. I bought a couple corn cob pipes. I was wondering if the information on breaking in and caring for briars is interchangeable with corn cobs? I read somewhere that they do not need to be rested in between smokes. Is this true?

Thanks in advance!